WATCH: Chinese taxi driver kicks out coughing passenger during coronavirus outbreak

A video showing the desperate attempts by locals to avoid falling victim to the novel coronavirus has emerged showing a taxi driver taking drastic measures to avoid infection.

In the video, a taxi driver is seen carrying two passengers. The video starts with a passenger climbing into the taxi only to start coughing moments later. The taxi driver starts asking the passenger specific questions.

“Are you having a cold?” the driver asks the passenger, who apparently could not hold back a cough. Moments later the driver questions if the coughing passenger has been to Wuhan, the area where the virus was first detected. The passenger says he just got back from there, which results in the driver demanding that the passenger leaves his vehicle.

The video ends with the taxi driver asking if he should alert police.

Taxi driver in China kicks out coughing passenger who just returned from #Wuhan amid #coronavirus outbreak pic.twitter.com/FbAu02ONSf

— RT (@RT_com) January 28, 2020

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has assured South Africans it is prepared if the coronavirus makes its way to South Africa.

“We would like to assure South Africans that we are prepared for the eventuality of an outbreak.

“We have put systems in place to rapidly identify, detect and respond to any cases that may reach our shores,” said Professor Cheryl Cohen of the NICD.

The virus was first detected in Wuhan, China, in January and since then it has claimed more than 130 lives to date. More than 2,700 cases have been confirmed thus far.

“These cases were anticipated due to the proximity and close interlink of transportation modes to Asia,” Cohen said.

The institute and the health department have distributed clinical guidelines to doctors and nurses, to accurately diagnose the virus.

(Compiled by Gopolang Moloko, background reporting by News24 Wire)

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