China Virus Outbreak Forces Minister To Cancel City Visit
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
China’s minister of health, Dr. Chen Zhu, canceled plans to travel to New York City yesterday, citing official duties amid a deadly viral outbreak in China.
Dr. Chen, 55, who had been scheduled to arrive today, is set to receive an honorary degree from Mount Sinai’s School of Medicine tomorrow. He also was expected to attend a luncheon today given in his honor by the New York-based Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation. Organizers of the luncheon said Dr. Chen might address attendees via satellite feed instead.
Plans were canceled when it became clear that Dr. Chen’s presence was required in China, where a viral outbreak has killed 25 children and infected thousands of others. Despite efforts by China’s Ministry of Health to contain the virus, the number of people infected rose to 5,151 over the weekend, the Associated Press reported.
The virus, enterovirus 71, causes a severe type of hand, foot, and mouth disease. It is not related to the foot and mouth disease that affects animals.
Yesterday, the World Health Organization said the outbreak would not threaten Beijing’s Olympic Games in August.
