UAE authorities on standby for China coronavirus

The outbreak is thought to have spread from Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province

Passengers walk through a thermal scanner upon their arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. EPA

Passengers wearing face masks who arrived from Taiwan undergo thermal screening at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. EPA

An officer inspects a monitor as passengers walk through a thermal scanner upon their arrival at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. EPA

Staffers open a box of face masks at Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan, China. AP Photo

Staff sell masks at a Yifeng Pharmacy in Wuhan, Chin. AP Photo

Cleaning workers in uniforms wear face masks next to a notice on preventing infection at a hospital, where a Chinese woman who was confirmed to have the new coronavirus strain is isolated, in Incheon. AFP

Medical staff transfer patients to Jin Yintan hospital in Wuhan, Hubei, China. Getty Images

A quarantine station measures passenger body temperatures at Narita Airport. AFP

A quarantine officer at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, South Korea uses an electronic thermometer to check the temperature of passengers arriving by plane from Wuhan, China, and South East Asia. EPA

People wearing masks arrive at Beijing railway station to head home for the Lunar New Year. AFP

Gabriel Leung chair professor of public health medicine at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong, speaks about the extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in China, during a press conference in Hong Kong. AFP

Head of Communicable Disease Branch, Centre for Health Protection, Chuang Shuk-kwan (L), Director of Health, Constance Chan (2L), Secretary for Food and Health, Sophia Chan (C), Chief Executive of Hospital Authority, Tony Ko (2R), and Chief Infection Control Officer, Hospital Authority (R), attend a press conference about the cluster of virus cases in Wuhan, China, in Hong Kong, China. EPA

Chinese girls wear masks near the Tiananmen Gate Tower in Beijing, China. EPA

An exterior view of a medical center in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, where a 35-year-old Chinese woman has been in quarantine since she showed symptoms of pneumonia after visiting the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province. EPA

An airport officer walks past international travelers arriving to Los Angeles International Airport on the first day of health screenings for coronavirus of people coming from Wuhan, China in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Passengers walk past a notice displayed near a quarantine control station at Narita airport in Narita, Japan. EPA

A security guard sits outside the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which has been linked to cases of Coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. Getty Images

UAE authorities are on standby to deal with any potential cases of a respiratory infection reported in China.

The outbreak, understood to be a strain of the coronavirus, first appeared in Wuhan, in central China’s Hubei province, in December.

Since then, the infection has been identified in cities in the country, including the capital Beijing and Shenzhen.

Health officials now fear it could spread globally, with several cases already confirmed in South Korea, Thailand and Japan.

On Monday, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention said it was closely following updates on the virus.

It said authorities at all ports of entry were “on standby”, with the necessary monitoring measures in place to project against any health pandemic. No cases had been reported in the country so far.

“The ministry reassures the public that the outbreak does not pose any risk to the UAE’s public health,” a statement said.

“[It] has taken all precautionary measures in cooperation with its strategic partners and is ready to deal with any travel-related coronavirus cases. All ports are on standby.”

In China, total known infections of the coronavirus are now believed to have exceeded 200 people resulting in three deaths.

The outbreak has drawn parallels with the Sars virus - also a strain of coronavirus - that killed more than 700 people in the early 2000s.

Experts believe that an animal is most likely the primary source of the outbreak, but scientists are unsure how it has spread.

Signs of the infection can include shortness of breath, coughing and a fever.

Airports in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in Japan have begun screening air passengers from Wuhan, with US authorities also announcing similar measures in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York last week.