“Things You Need To Know About The Coronavirus”
As China put millions of people on lockdown amid an outbreak that has killed 300+ people in the country and infected around 8,000 globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was “a bit too early” to declare a new coronavirus a global health emergency. Health officials fear the transmission rate could accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during week-long holidays for the Lunar New Year. In China, this is indeed an emergency situation and has resulted in a lockdown of 11 million people. The previously unknown virus strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an animal market in Wuhan. The name coronavirus refers to spikes seen (under a microscope) on the surface of the virus (corona is the Latin word for crown). Non-fatal cases have also been detected in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States. There is no vaccine for the virus, which can spread through respiratory transmission. It’s moving quickly around the world. Relatively little is known about the 2019 novel coronavirus at this point, and there is no standard diagnosis, medication, or other treatments beyond making sure a patient gets enough hydration and oxygen. The bottom line is that there is a new flu-like bug, now known as the 2019 novel coronavirus.
