NEWSCAN
Novel Coronavirus turns into an epidemic! NEW DELHI: The recent outbreak of Coronavirus has claimed more than 2000 lives so far. Governments around the world have launched emergency response services to deal with the crisis. Thousands of people have died due to the disease outbreak which has its epicenter in Wuhan, the capital city of the Chinese province Hubei. According to scientists, the disease was caused by a member of the coronavirus family. The virus may have originated in bats and then spread to humans via a snake or pangolin. Most of the people who were initially affected by the virus were noted to be active
As of February 26, 2,715 deaths have been confirmed due to the outbreak in China with 80,997 people being tested positive for the disease. Since the disease falls under the category of viral pneumonia, it cannot be treated using antibiotics
consumers of seafood. Once affected, the disease may cause pneumonia. Early symptoms of the disease include severe coughs, high fever and difficulty in breathing. The disease can ultimately lead to organ failure and if immediate medical attention is not dispensed, death. Since the disease falls under the category of viral pneumonia, it cannot be treated using antibiotics. Recovery from the disease depends strictly on the strength of the affected person’s immune system. Notably, a majority of the people who died due to the covid-19 were already suffering from poor health. As of February 26, 2,715 deaths have been confirmed due to the outbreak in China with 80,997 people being tested positive for the disease. However, over 12,000 people who have been tested positive have fully recovered from the disease. From China, the disease has spread to 29 other countries including the United States of America, Japan, France, Iran and United Kingdom. Japan has 844 confirmed cases of the disease out of which, 542 affected people are quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Yokohama. The
decision to quarantine the ship was taken by the Government of Japan two days after it was confirmed that a passenger who disembarked from the cruise ship in Hong Kong had tested positive. Three confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported from Kerala, in India. However, according to government officials, all three were quarantined, treated and have now fully recovered from the disease. In the United Kingdom, there have been nine confirmed cases but no fatalities due to the disease. 4,501 people have been tested for the disease in UK and 4,492 have been confirmed negative. Deaths due to the disease have also been confirmed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, France, Iran and the Philippines. Mortality rate in Hubei province is nearly 2 per cent. This is the highest mortality rate of the disease anywhere in the world. If we make a comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate below one per cent while SARS had a death rate of more than 10 per cent. Since there is no vaccine for the coronavirus yet, doctors says that the severity of the disease is still unclear. Doctors around the world are urging people to regularly wash hands and avoid contact with people suffering from symptoms of the disease, particularly if they reside in an area which has confirmed cases of the disease. Coronavirus has also caused the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), both of which have killed more than 1,600 people, out of more than 10,000 people, who were tested positive. World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the disease is not spreading in countries other than China as the total number of affected people in these countries is either remaining stagnant or reduced due to the strict quarantine measures by the governments. So far, a majority of the people affected by the disease outside of China are travelers.
www.urbanupdate.in | March 2020
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