The Coronavirus breakout in China has put the city on high alert. The disease, causing pneumonia-like symptoms has rapidly spread, infecting more than 2740 people and killing 80. Beijing has quarantined 18 major cities and put more than 56 million people on lockdown. Disneyland, movie theatres, McDonald’s and even the Great Wall of China have been clamped down, to stop the spread of the deadly new communicable virus. So here’s everything you need to know about the coronavirus.
What Is It?
Coronavirus is a family of virus that causes illnesses from a common cold to more severe diseases. Symptoms include fatigue, fever, sore throat, dry cough and later develop into severe respiratory diseases. Coronaviruses are transmitted between animals and people. It’s currently named 2019-nCoV and has not been previously identified in humans. The infection is believed to have started at a seafood market located in the Central Chinese city of Wuhan. Some people working at the wet market were one of the earliest victims of the coronavirus infection which broke out between December 12th to 29th 2019.
How Many People Have Been Infected?
The virus has spread rapidly. The outbreak in China happened in mid-December, and within a month two people died and 40 cases were identified. As of today, the death toll stands at 80 with more than 2300 cases. Even though the outbreak is rampant in China but the cases are fast-moving and have been found in countries like France, the UK, Australia, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan and Hong Kong. As on January 26th, the virus has spread globally.
The UK recorded five cases, Singapore has four, France has three, Thailand has confirmed its eighth and Nepal just identified its first. Scientists have revealed that each infected person is spreading the virus between 1.4 and 2.5 people. this is known as the virus’s basic reproduction number, anything higher than 1.0 means it’s self-sustaining. However, only 25% of the cases are reported as severe.
What Is The Situation In China?
China has put severe travel restrictions on its major cities and even shut down some of its important tourist spots to prevent the rapid spreading of the coronavirus. Shanghai Disneyland with a daily capacity of 100,000 has been closed. Famous temples like Beijing’s Lama Temple and iconic Forbidden City have also been prey to the clampdown. To prevent the further spread of coronavirus, seven movies which were scheduled this week have been cancelled or postponed. Mcdonald’s has shut down its operations indefinitely in five Chinese cities like Wuhan, Ezhou, Huanggang, Qianjing and Xiantao situated in the Hubei province. The Great Wall of China attracting 10 million tourists a year, has now witnessed the shutdown of its Juyongguan section and the clampdown of the Great Wall Temple fair. Did you know China Witnessed 3 Suns On The Last Day Of 2019?
Public transportation like ferry, buses metro have been temporarily halted in 13 cities. Temperatures of passengers are being checked in metro stations to detect any signs of the virus. These drastic steps have been taken as the deadly virus is spreading at a really fast rate. So much so that the 62-year-old Liang Wudong, a doctor at Hubei Xinhua Hospital died due to the coronavirus. Authorities are building 2 hospitals in Wuhan in just a few weeks to treat the rising number of patients. In Wuhan, it made compulsory for people to wear masks in public. Health authorities have also advised people to wash their hands regularly, avoid public places and wear masks outdoors. Well, we hope and pray doctors and scientists can come up with a solution to tackle this crisis.