An “unknown pneumonia” that is said to be even more deadly than the Covid-19 virus has been reported to be infecting hundreds of people in Kazakhstan with a spike in cases since June, according to the Chinese embassy.
In a warning to Chinese citizens in the country, the embassy said that the death rate of this disease is “much higher than the novel coronavirus.”
It said that the country’s health departments are conducting comparative research into the pneumonia virus, but have yet to identify the virus. It is uncertain why the Chinese embassy has described the illness as an “unknown pneumonia” or what information it has about it, but Kazakhstani officials and media have only addressed it as pneumonia, reported SCMP.
A motorist is given a Covid-19 test in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. Photo: AFP
The areas that have recorded a significant spike in cases since mid-June are said to be the provinces of Atyrau and Aktobe and the city of Shymkent, according to the Chinese embassy’s website, citing local media reports. Shymkent and the capital city of Atyrau are 1,500km apart, while the distance between the capital cities of Atyrau and Aktobe is 330km.
So far, there have been about 500 pneumonia cases in the three places, with more than 30 patients in a critical condition. Furthermore, the whole country of Kazakhstan has reported 1,772 deaths due to pneumonia in the first part of 2020, of which 628 cases were recorded in June, including some Chinese nationals.
People queue outside a pharmacy amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Almaty, Kazakhstan June 29, 2020. Photograph:( Reuters )
“The Chinese embassy in Kazakhstan reminds Chinese nationals here to be aware of the situation and step up prevention to lower the infection risks,” the embassy said in a statement.
“Some 300 people diagnosed with pneumonia are being hospitalised every day,” Saule Kisikova, the health care department chief in the capital Nur-Sultan, told the news agency Kazinform.
What could this “unknown pneumonia” be?
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