Coronavirus: Expert says South Africans shouldn't panic

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JOHANNESBURG - As global concern for the spread of the coronavirus rises, a Stellenbosch University virologist urged South Africans not to panic.

Professor Wolfgang Preiser returned from Brussels this week where he was invited as an expert evaluator of coronavirus research proposals.

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has already warned that it’s not a case of if COVID-19 arrives on local shores, but when.

Preiser says we must be prepared for this eventuality.

“For all intent and purposes, I think a comparison with a new flu strain is really not that wrong. And that means panicking is definitely not advised," said Presier.

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Like with influenza, there are certain members of the public who are at particularly high risk.

It is these people Preiser says would need special attention and care.

“I don’t think we have a complete picture yet of how the new virus behaves.

"But from the publications that have appeared so far, it seems that it is the elderly and the chronically ill who are most badly affected, so those are the patients who will need intensive care unit treatment and who may actually die due to the infection."

The National Institute of Communicable Diseases says it remains on high alert.

It says measures are in place to detect and manage the disease should it reach South Africa.

Photos: Covid-19 outbreak (Supplied by MSN)

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$Slide 87 of 95: NEW YORK CITY, USA - JANUARY 31, 2020: Zhang Jun (L), China's Permanent Representative to the UN, has stated in his press briefing more than 130 patients have been cured of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus. Maria Khrenova/TASS (Photo by Maria Khrenova\TASS via Getty Images)$
$Slide 91 of 95: KRASNOYARSK, RUSSIA - JANUARY 23, 2020: A Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being) official uses a thermal imaging device to conduct a temperature check of passengers arriving at Krasnoyarsk International Airport on a plane from Cam Rahn, Vietnam, in connection with an outbreak of coronavirus. Andrei Samsonov/TASS (Photo by Andrei Samsonov\TASS via Getty Images)$

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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on the coronavirus outbreak as (L-R) U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams look on, at the White House on Feb. 29.

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks next to Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, during a coronavirus task force meeting at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Feb. 27.

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A man wearing a face mask walks past an installation of the Olympic rings in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 28. The International Olympic Committee is "committed" to holding the 2020 games in Tokyo as planned despite the widening coronavirus outbreak, the body's president has pledged.

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School staff leave after the government announced a 14-day closure as they found a eight-year old student was infected with the virus, at Phraharuthai Donmuang School in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 26.

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Personnel wearing protective gear spray anti-septic solution at a traditional market in Seoul on Feb. 26.

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Spanish police officers patrol outside the H10 Costa Adeje Palace hotel in Tenerife, Canary Island, Spain, on Feb. 25.

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U.N. Secretary General António Guterres speaks during an update on the situation at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, on Feb. 24.

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People wear masks in downtown Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 23. Iran's health ministry confirmed the death toll to eight in the country as of Feb. 23.

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People in traditional Korean hanbok dresses wear face masks as they visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on Feb. 23.

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Buddhist monks wearing protective face masks pray during a blessing ceremony for the people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, at a temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 22.

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Members of Red Cross board a Colombian Air Force plane that will evacuate the citizens from coronavirus-hit China, at the CATAM military base in Bogota, Colombia, on Feb. 22.

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A Chinese tourist, who was tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and isolated for treatment, gestures while accompanied by medical staff after she was discharged from the hospital following her recovery, near Colombo in Sri Lanka, on Feb. 19.

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A woman wearing a mask in precaution of the virus outbreak prays at the Kwan Im Hood Cho Temple in Singapore on Feb. 19.

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Passengers wearing protective facemasks amid concerns of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak wait to board their plane at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia on Feb. 19.

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Indians who were airlifted from Wuhan wait to collect their release certificates before leaving the ITBP quarantine facility in New Delhi, India, on Feb. 17.

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Military medics stand in a formation after deplaning from a transport aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) at the Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 17.

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A teacher gives a lecture with the help of her smart phone during an online class at a middle school in Donghai, China, on Feb. 17.

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Pictures of Pakistani students studying in Wuhan, China, are displayed by their family members during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan, on Feb. 16. The family members are demanding the evacuation of their relatives.

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A U.S. passenger gives a thumbs up to reporters while arriving at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 17, after disembarking in Yokohama from the Diamond Princess cruise ship.

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Nepalese nationals who were in Wuhan walk out from a Nepal Airlines plane at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, on Feb. 16. The chartered plane brought back 175 nationals from Hubei province.

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Family members of Pakistani students studying in Wuhan, rally outside the Chinese Consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, on Feb. 13., for the evacuation of their children from the Chinese city.

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A laboratory technician helps a colleague remove the protective suit after leaving a laboratory in Shenyang, China, on Feb. 12.

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People wave at family on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Daikoku Pier, Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.

Members of the media stand near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama on Feb. 11.

A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask as he stands guard outside National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.

Brazilian citizens from Wuhan arrive at the Air Force base of Anapolis, in Brazil on Feb. 9.

Workers produce protective clothing at a factory in Wuxi, China, on Feb. 8. The factory, which previously produced suits and sportswear, switched to production of protective clothing as demand increased due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

A Hindu devotee wears a mask as she carries a milk pot on her head at a shrine in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 8.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the media during a press conference on the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. Lam said that the government has bought 48 million masks and received 17 million more from China to counter the shortage of masks in Hong Kong.

South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has his temperature checked during a visit to a clinic in Gyeonggi, South Korea, on Feb. 8.

Flight attendants wearing protective clothing and masks serve snacks to Canadians, who had been evacuated from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus on an American charter plane, on another aircraft taking them to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton from the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Feb. 7.

People spray chemical to sterilize vehicles against the virus in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam, on Feb. 7.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks about the coronavirus situation during a news conference at the Centers for Disease Control in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 7.

Members of an emergency team participate in a drill to prepare for the potential arrival of passengers infected with the coronavirus at the Viru Viru International Airport, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on Feb. 6.

Airport security staff checks passengers using a thermal sensor screen at the Hong Kong International Airport on Feb. 6.

A tourist receives a free protective face mask from Buddhist volunteers in Hanoi on Feb. 6.

Workers in protective gear are seen on Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama, on Feb. 5, bringing patients from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.

Beds are set up at an exhibition center, which was converted into a hospital, in Wuhan on Feb. 4.

This handout photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health shows citizens being directed onto a bus by health officials as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in Feb. 4.

Health services staff members wearing protective gear interact with passengers at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 2.

Members of the Association for Sri Lanka and China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) hold candles during a vigil to pray for people who are suffering from coronavirus across the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 1.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca speaks to the press after a Turkish cargo plane carrying 42 passengers from Wuhan landed at Etimesgut Military Airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 1.

Officials make preparations in Turkish Air Forces' A400M cargo plane at Etimesgut Military Airbase in Ankara, which is to depart to China to fly Turkish citizens out of Wuhan, on Jan. 31.

China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun stated in his press briefing that over 130 patients have been cured of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus in New York City on Jan. 31.

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (C) speaks to journalists during a visit to Suvarnabhumi Airport to inspect measures in place to monitor passengers as they arrive in Bangkok on Jan. 29.

Children are seen wearing facial masks as a precaution after Nepal confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country, at Matribhumi School in Madhyapur Thimi, Nepal, on Jan. 29.

(L-R) Sabine Hagenauer of the infection department at the 4th medical department of Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, Michael Binder, medical director of the Vienna Hospital Association, and Judith Aberle of the department of virology, Medical University Vienna, address a press conference at Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 26. A Chinese flight attendant was quarantined in the hospital with symptoms of flu, in what authorities suspected as the first coronavirus case in the country.

A Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being) official uses a thermal imaging device to conduct a temperature check of passengers arriving at Krasnoyarsk International Airport on a plane from Cam Rahn, Vietnam, in Russia on Jan. 23.

Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, takes part in a news conference after a meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee to discuss about the outbreak of Pneumonia in China and other countries due to the 2019-nCoV, in Geneva, on Jan. 22.

Kazakh sanitary-epidemiological service worker uses a thermal scanner to detect travelers from China who may have symptoms possibly connected with the coronavirus at Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan Jan. 21.

Health officials watch travelers on a thermographic monitor at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on Jan. 21.

Dozens of diggers work to build a new hospital in Wuhan, on Jan. 25. Due to the large number of infected people, the government decided to establish a temporary 1,000-bed hospital.

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