Virus outbreak update

As of press time, the number of cases of Covid-19, the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, in January, had reached nearly 90,000 and the number of dead, 3,056. The majority of cases of infection and the majority of fatalities were in China, but infections had been reported in more than 60 other countries.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control & Prevention, of the 44,000 cases they studied, 80% were mild, with the elderly and those already sick with other illnesses being most at risk for the disease becoming critical.

In order to protect their citizens, many nations have banned airlines from arriving from countries where an infection has been reported. Multiple events, including Venice’s Carnival celebration, had been canceled over concerns of the virus spreading. Saudi Arabia stopped foreigners on pilgrimages from entering the country starting Feb. 26.

On Feb. 23, the World Health Organization said that, though it was too early to call the disease a pandemic, countries should prepare for future cases as though it were. This was still their position as of press time.

The number of confirmed cases of the disease peaked in mid-February before dropping. In that month, for the first time since the virus was discovered, more new cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed outside of China than within China, with Italy, Iran and South Korea reporting the most new cases.