The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday confirmed the first cases in the Mideast of the new Chinese virus that causes flu-like symptoms. The state-run WAM news agency said doctors now were treating a family that had just come from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the epicenter of the outbreak.

The statement by the Health and Prevention Ministry did not offer a number of those afflicted by the virus. It wasn’t immediately clear how the family left Wuhan and made it all the way to the UAE, AP said.

China shut down Wuhan’s airport and other transportation in the city last Thursday to stop the spread of the virus. The lockdown has since expanded to include 17 cities with more than 50 million people in all.

Emirati officials are taking “all the necessary precautions in accordance with the scientific recommendations, conditions and standards approved by the World Health Organization,” the ministry said. “The general health condition is not a cause for concern.”

Source: RT