The coronavirus was first detected in Wuhan, a city in central China on December 31, 2019. The virus is suspected to be derived from a food market where seafood and mammals were sold. To date, 17 persons are dead while more than 500 are infected as reported by Chinese authorities.
Authorities in Wuhan have quarantined the city by suspending travel to curb the spread of the virus. Additionally, all city transportation have been halted, including local buses, ferries, long-distance buses and subways.
Although travels are banned in China, one case has already been discovered in the US.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The coronavirus detected in China is known as a novel coronavirus, a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
Common symptoms include fever, shortness of breath and cough while in more severe cases, coronavirus can cause SARS, kidney failure, pneumonia and death. Officials of the WHO held a meeting yesterday in Geneva to determine whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency. According to WHO Director General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, “the decision about whether or not to declare a public health emergency of international concern is one I take extremely seriously and one I’m only prepared to make with appropriate consideration of all the evidence.” As such, discussions are continuing today, January 23, 2020 to decide the way forward.
