For those who have been keeping up with news around the world, you’d know about the condition of Coronavirus that has spread across China and is gradually making its way to other countries as well. Even with the Quarantine containment, officials are still questioning whether or not the same is efficient and good enough to sustain the overall outbreak and keep it stationed at one place.
How did it begin?
The Coronavirus was believed to be pneumonia like outbreak that started from Wuhan in China which gradually spread across the city and infiltrated the area around. Even though the virus is very common in animals, its occurrence and infestation in human beings is very rare.
The new strain of Coronavirus, termed 2019 – nCoV is believed to have been spread from the food market stationed in the Central China province and the persistent spread of it has currently reported to have affected over 9000 people globally and the number of is still rising every single day.
The sudden persistence of this virus led to airlines cutting off the flights to and from China and has also affected the overall global food chains across. It was later on January 30, 2020 that the World Health Organization issued a global emergency because of the spread of the disease across the other countries.
The very first case of Coronavirus was reported in China on December 30, 2019. The majority of the deaths have been reported to have been in Hubei province.
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What does the statistics look like?
You can also check the live mapping of the Coronavirus cases and the spread with the tracking map on:
Also check out the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Cases, provided by JHU CSSE here.
As of the latest reports from the Government and Health authorities, the reports of affected with the virus and even the deaths in Mainland China has crossed the mark of 9000+ people with the numbers consistently rising.
213 deaths have been confirmed in China itself as of today. Currently, 1,527 cases have been reported as severe and 7,781 cases of people have been confirmed and have been quarantined.
Currently, the disease has been confirmed in 18 different countries, depending on the people who have been in China when the outbreak happened.
5 cases of Coronavirus has been confirmed in the United States as well – one in Chicago, one in Washington State, two in Southern California and one in Arizona.
The issue with this strain of virus is the lack of knowledge surrounding the causative agent and the vector. The researchers are still not sure which animal is acting as a vector for this virus which is one of the primary reasons people are at risks.
The virus also has the capability of spreading from one person to the other but the scientists aren’t sure how.
What kinds of steps are being taken?
With the numbers consistently rising and the death toll on the rise as well, the Chinese government and even the other countries that have confirmed reports of the case have issued a number of precautionary declarations.
Wuhan, the city from where the outbreak started, has been on a complete lock-down, cancelling any kind of train or planes leaving from there.
Apart from Wuhan, another 12 cities around the Hubei province has been imposed with travel restrictions, asking people to station themselves wherever they are.
Later with the persistent spreading of the disease, the Chinese government also restricted all the inter-province buses, thus limiting road travel for better safety of the other citizens.
Is the constant spread a matter of concern?
It is without any doubt a concerning factor, mainly because of the fact that the researchers at the Northeastern University as well as the Imperial College London have reported that the statistics that has been reported could be five or ten times more than what the actual reports are.
There are thousands of people across China with suspected cases, which are yet to be confirmed. Some of the recent reports from the researchers suggest that the cases of Coronavirus could actually be around 25,000 but nothing has been confirmed yet.
The estimates by these scientists are based off of the population of Wuhan and the reported cases that are being treated currently.
Is the quarantine enough for containment?
Quarantines have a very hate-love relationship with the scientists. While some believe that they are effective enough, some tend to have beliefs that they could backfire. As of the current reports of the quarantines in China, the scientists across the world are skeptical whether the same is actually enough to contain the virus and possibly cure it for good.
With already 5 million people leaving Wuhan, the risks of the spread of the virus is likely to happen. The effectiveness also depends on the people and whether or not they are willing to comply with the needs and the measures imposed by the officials.
What can you do to take precaution?
With the outbreak already been confirmed in other countries like the United States, France, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, Sri Lanka and even India, it is important that people do practice precaution to further prevent the spread of the disease around.
Some of the important precautionary steps that one can abide by include:
- Steer clear from people who show flu like symptoms
- Wear an air filtering mask when stepping out of the house
- Avoid sharing personal items with people, even if they are family
- Wash your hands constantly with antimicrobial soaps to get rid of the dirt from outside
- Avoid putting your contaminated palms around your face or nose or any opening in the body
- Try and avoid animal meat and animal based products for a few weeks until everything is stabilized
The cases and new reports surrounding the Coronavirus are constantly rising with every single day. It is important that you keep yourself updated with the latest news and keep an eye out on its spreading maps.