1
1
CHINESE officials have warned of a fatal "unknown pneumonia" with a death rate higher than the coronavirus COVID-19 which is spreading across an Asian country.
Areas in Kazakhstan have seen major spikes in cases of the disease since mid-June. The country’s Health Ministry said it recorded more than 32,000 cases of a previously unknown type of pneumonia between 29 June and 5 July with 451 deaths.
The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan said the country saw 1,772 deaths in the first half of the year some of whom were Chinese nationals.
They describe the illness as an “unknown pneumonia” and, in a warning to Chinese citizens in Kazakhstan, embassy officials said: “The death rate of this disease is much higher than the novel coronavirus.
“The country’s health departments are conducting comparative research into the pneumonia virus, but have yet to identify the virus.”