The new coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, and has now spread all over the world. The coronavirus is known by different names. First, it was called the Wuhan flu, then the Wuhan pneumonia, then the 2019-novel coronavirus that is shortened to 2019-nCoV. Finally, the World Health Organization named it the Covid-19 to represent coronavirus disease in 2019.
The Coronavirus Study Group (CSG) of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses calls the same virus SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV for Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus. SARS-CoV-2 will be the name you will see in the scientific literature.
The spread of the virus has been breathtaking, to say the least. Draconian efforts to contain Covid-19 are slow compared to the virus. The virus can hop on any airline or bullet train and be in another country in hours. It does not need a passport to enter any country. Even to North Korea or Iran.
It can be transmitted by landing on an inanimate object ans stay there for several hours and wait for its next carrier to touch it. Shaking hands, coughing, and sneezing are ways to spread the disease.
The asymptomatic carrier can unwittingly spread it to an elderly person with many medical problems, and they can die from the disease.
Headlines tell the past, but they offer a glimpse into the future. Learn from history.
Covid-19 Headlines
Immunologist: We are clearly at the brink of a pandemic – CNN
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, explains what a pandemic is and says we’re nearly at the brink of one with the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Italy races to contain COVID-19 outbreak as cases rise to 132 – CNA
MILAN: Italy scrambled on Sunday (Feb 23) to contain the biggest outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, sealing off the worst affected towns and banning public gatherings in much of the north as the number of those infected jumped to 132.
Authorities in the wealthy regions of Lombardy and Veneto, which are the focal point of the flare-up, ordered schools and universities to close for at least a week, shut museums and cinemas and called off the last two days of the Venice Carnival.
Trump and his coronavirus task force were told last Saturday that Americans quarantined for weeks aboard the luxury cruise ship would be brought home on two chartered planes, but that infected patients or those with symptoms would remain in Japan. That decision was overruled without Trump’s knowledge, according to the report.
From WSJ – Trump was briefed on the decision and agreed that healthy passengers should not be on the plane with sick ones, three senior administration officials said. But the State Department and a top U.S. health official ultimately decided to bring back the 14 Americans who tested positive for the virus on the planes and place them in isolation — without informing the president first.
In related news from Feb 21, 2020
The CDC didn’t want to fly the 14 cruise ship passengers who had tested positive for coronavirus home on the same flight as the other (300) Americans. But the State Department won the argument.
“It was like the worst nightmare,” said a senior U.S. official involved in the decision. “Quite frankly, the alternative could have been pulling grandma out in the pouring rain.”
Maybe the CDC was following orders from President Trump.
The change in the decision to bring the infected back to the U.S. disrupted the timetable of the rescuers. Suddenly they are short on time and equipment. That is why the story happened below.
Evacuation of Diamond Princess Set Off Race for U.S. Hospital Beds – WSJ
The evacuation of Americans from the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan turned into a sprint to find hospital beds after 14 evacuees tested positive for the new coronavirus, in a test of U.S. public-health readiness to handle an influx of cases.
“We had a plan,” said Scott Lee, an official with the federal health agency that coordinated the response with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department. The plan changed at the last minute “based on reality,” he said.
The doctors evaluated passengers’ possible symptoms and ability to endure a 10-hour flight to the U.S. on chartered cargo jets, he said.
The pair of physicians lacked time and equipment to seek coronavirus tests for all disembarking Americans, said Dr. Lawler, an infectious disease physician, who works with Nebraska Medicine, a network of hospitals and clinics affiliated with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he is co-director of the Global Center for Health Security. “It wasn’t an option,” he said.
They finished evaluations shortly before buses left for the airport, he said, leaving them to decontaminate their gear before jumping in a cab that defied one-way roads to deliver the doctors in time to fly.
Could it be because the plan is to bring home the uninfected only and when they included the Covid-19 patients, that is when they ran out of time and equipment?
Medical personnel to need approval for travel abroad – Taipeh Times
The government plans to ban medical personnel from traveling abroad without prior approval amid the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world, to pre-empt the need for them to be quarantined upon their return to Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday.
COVID-19: Africa is ill-equipped – WHO -Africanews
Africa is ill-equipped to respond to the deadly corona virus outbreak, the World Health Organization said Saturday.
The global health body is concerned about the spread of the virus in countries with weak health systems on the continent.
If a tree falls and no one is there, does it make a sound?
If many people are diseased, but they are not tested, is there an epidemic?
Global Times is the official propaganda newspaper of the Chinese government.
The study published on ChinaXiv, a Chinese open repository for scientific researchers, reveals the new coronavirus was introduced to the seafood market from another location, and then spread rapidly from market to market. The findings were the result of analyses of genome-wide data, sources of infection and the route of spread of 93 samples of the novel coronavirus collected from 12 countries across four continents.
The study believes that patient zero transmitted the virus to workers or sellers at the Huanan seafood market. The crowded market facilitated the further transmission of the virus to buyers, which caused a wider spread in early December 2019.
The ChinaXiv paper below is the new Chinese study referred to by the headline above with direct quotes from the article.
Interpretation Genomic variations of SARS-CoV-2 are still low in comparisons with published genomes of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV.
Phyloepidemiologic analyses suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 source at the Hua Nan market was imported from elsewhere.
The crowded market then boosted SARS-CoV-2 circulation and spread it to the whole city in early December 2019. Furthermore, phyloepidemiologic approaches have recovered specific directions of human-to-human transmissions and the sources for international infected cases.
“I was surprised by this explosion of cases,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told state broadcaster RAI, warning that the numbers would likely rise in the coming days. “We will do everything we can to contain the contagion,” he said.
The latest death was an elderly woman from the town of Crema, some 45 km (28 miles) east of Italy’s financial capital Milan. Like at least one of the other people who have died, she had been suffering from serious underlying health issues, officials said.
Global growth was poised for a modest rebound to 3.3 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent last year, International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said after a two-day meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh.
But the projected recovery was “fragile”, she warned, amid global alarm over the spread of the new virus across multiple countries even as Chinese authorities lock down millions of people to prevent its spread, with major knock-on effects for the world economy.
Yeah, that’s nice, but the Venice Carnival 2020 has been running since Feb 8.
The last two days of events at the Venice Carnival were canceled on Sunday due to the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, the President of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia announced.
Authorities are shutting down the popular carnival celebrations after the total number of infected persons in Italy soared to 133. In addition, there have been two deaths related to the virus as several northern Italian towns went into lockdown over the weekend.
Doctors in Wuhan who are dying are young.
A female doctor at a Wuhan hospital that receives patients infected with the novel coronavirus died from the virus on Sunday, according to the hospital.
Xia Sisi, 29, a gastroenterology physician, became infected while working at the Union Jiangbei Hospital of Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province. She was hospitalized on Jan. 19 and later transferred to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University on Feb. 7 after her condition worsened.
Several countries shut Iran border, halt flights due to COVID-19 – CNA
ISTANBUL: Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have extended entry bans or closed their borders with Iran in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
All highways and railways were closed as of 5pm local time and flights from Iran suspended, while flights from Turkey to Iran are still allowed.
The novel coronavirus that has claimed the lives of more than 2,400 people did not originate at a seafood market in the central China city of Wuhan as was first thought, according to a new study by a team of Chinese scientists.The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was instead imported from elsewhere, said researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Institute for Brain Research.
The team, led by Dr Yu Wenbin, sequenced the genomic data of 93 SARS-CoV-2 samples provided by 12 countries in a bid to track down the source of the infection and understand how it spreads.
According to the study, which was published on the institute’s website on Thursday, analysis suggested that the coronavirus was introduced from outside the market.
“The crowded market then boosted SARS-CoV-2 circulation and spread it to the whole city in early December 2019,” it said.
We need to see the actual report if this is true. A look at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden website did not show the article referred to.
The Wuhan resident’s death came as Hong Kong’s two largest mainland-friendly political parties said they had received hundreds of requests for help from pregnant women, families with infants, and chronically ill patients trapped in Hubei province, and in desperate need of assistance.
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) said they had received 683 requests in total, including from nine women at various stages of pregnancy, and said there was growing frustration at the government’s lack of help.
Related article: Study: Pregnant Moms Do Not Transmit Covid-19 to their Babies
Mothers can still transmit to their babies after delivery.
Indonesia refuses entry to 118 foreigners amid COVID-19 outbreak – CNA.
JAKARTA: Indonesia has refused entry to 118 foreigners, including from Singapore, as part of a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Arvin Gumilang said the foreigners included those from China as well as visitors from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, as well as some European and African countries, who had travelled to China within 14 days before their arrival in Indonesia.
Jordan bars travelers from China, Iran, South Korea over COVID-19 – CNA
AMMAN: Jordan said on Sunday (Feb 23) it will bar entry to citizens of China, Iran and South Korea and other foreigners travelling from those countries in response to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
“Jordanians who come from those countries will be placed in quarantine for two weeks to ensure they have not contracted the coronavirus,” he said.
Jordan has so far not reported any cases of coronavirus.
New corona infected woman in their 50s are serving meals for elementary school meals Ebetsu, Hokkaido – NHK
Original translation said women, but the report showed only one woman involved. I corrected the translation.
On May 22, a woman in her 50s living in Ebetsu, Hokkaido, who was confirmed to be infected with the new coronavirus, said she was a caterer at an elementary school in the city. The school will disinfect the school under the guidance of the public health center, and will conduct classes as usual from the 25th.
Hokkaido announced on February 22 that a female employee in her 50s who lives in Ebetsu has been infected with the new coronavirus.
According to the city, the caterer was responsible for receiving meals cooked outside the school, pre-divided into containers, and transported to the entrance to the classroom. She was not in charge of cooking, and she wore a lab coat, mask and gloves when carrying lunch.
Italy races to contain COVID-19 outbreak as cases rise to 132 – CNA
Italy’s cases continue to increase by the hour.
MILAN: Italy scrambled on Sunday (Feb 23) to contain the biggest outbreak of COVID-19 in Europe, shutting off the worst affected towns and cancelling a string of public events as the number of those infected jumped to 132.
The government passed stringent emergency measures late on Saturday after the first two deaths from the disease were recorded in the wealthy northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto.
The number of cases in Lombardy rose to 89 from 54 a day earlier, while in Veneto some 24 people had come down with the virus, including two people in Venice, which is packed with tourists for the annual Carnival.
838 people infected with the new corona in Japan (including cruise ships) 23:09:20 pm– NHK
According to local governments in each region, a total of 9 people have been infected in Hokkaido, and another 12 cases have been confirmed on the 23rd.
At 9:20 pm on March? (February) 23, 133 people were infected in Japan and 133 were travelers from China, and passengers and crew members of cruise ships were passengers and crew members.
On the 23rd, 57 people increased by 691 people and 14 people returned on charter aircraft, bringing the total to 838 people.
Google translate did the translation
Over 50,000 residents in eleven towns — 10 in Lombardy and one in the neighbouring region of Veneto — now face what Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday could be weeks of lockdown.
Locals wearing face masks were already lined up outside a supermarket in the town of Casalpusterlengo, a 10 minute drive from Codogno, on Sunday morning.
Shoppers were made to wait, then allowed to enter in groups of 40 inside the store to stock up on provisions.
ROME (AFP) – An Italian man became the first European to die after being infected with the coronavirus on Friday (Feb 21), just hours after 10 towns in the country were locked down following a flurry of new cases.
The 78-year-old from the Veneto region who had tested positive for the virus died in hospital, where he had been admitted 10 days earlier for an unrelated health issue, Italy’s health minister said.
Read: Are Asians More Prone to Get the Covid-19?
Earlier news showed 79 patients.
MILAN (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG) – The number of coronavirus cases continued to jump in the north of Italy on Sunday (Feb 23), even after the government imposed a lockdown and banned travel to and from an area near Milan of about 50,000 people.
The governor of Italy’s northern Lombardy region, Mr Attilio Fontana, said certified cases of the illness in his area had risen to 89 from 54 a day earlier, bringing the total number in the country to more than 100.
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Nearly 200 Israeli pupils were ordered to begin a two-week quarantine from Sunday (Feb 23) after having come into contact with South Korean tourists who contracted the coronavirus, the education ministry said.
South Korean members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus toured Israeli sites between Feb 8 and 15 and upon their return home, 18 of them were discovered to be infected with the virus.
Moscow targets Chinese with raids amid virus fears – AP
Moscow officials ordered police raids of hotels, dormitories, apartment buildings and businesses to track down the shrinking number of Chinese people remaining in the city.
They also authorized the use of facial recognition technology to find those suspected of evading a 14-day self-quarantine period upon their arrival in Russia.
Metro workers were instructed to stop riders from China and ask them to fill out questionnaires asking why they were in Russia and whether they observed the two-week quarantine, the reports said. The forms also ask respondents for their health condition and the address of where they are were staying.
According to a study published in the Lancet on Friday, patients who are especially vulnerable to severe COVID-19 infections – a group that includes the very old, very young and those with co-occurring conditions – die at a higher rate from COVID-19 than they did from SARS and MERS.
A study of 52 critically ill adults at Wuhan Jin Yin-tan hospital found that 61.5% of patients requiring hospitalization and intense monitoring ended up becoming “non-survivors”, to borrow some of the researchers’ terminology.
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Mainland China has reported 648 new confirmed coronavirus cases, taking its total to 76,936, and 97 new deaths, bringing its death toll to 2,442 as of Saturday.All but one of the deaths were in Hubei province, the outbreak’s epicentre, which reported 630 of the new infections as its provincial capital Wuhan marked a month under a lockdown imposed to contain the contagion.
The other death was in Guangdong province.
(Reuters) – U.S. health officials on Friday said they are preparing for the possibility of the spread of the new coronavirus through U.S. communities that would force closures of schools and businesses.
In coming weeks, if the virus begins to spread through U.S. communities, health authorities want to be ready to adopt school and business closures like those undertaken in Asian countries to contain the disease, Messonnier said.
Italy PM announces halt to entry and exit from COVID-19 hotspots – CNA
MILAN: Italy’s prime minister announced a ban on people entering or leaving new coronavirus hotspots as the number of confirmed infections rose sharply to 79 on Saturday (Feb 22), in an outbreak that has claimed two lives in the country.
The Italian outbreak is concentrated in the northern region of Lombardy. Officials raised the total confirmed cases to 79, from an earlier figure on Saturday of 39 in Lombardy, 12 in Veneto and 3 in Rome.
France prepares in case of COVID-19 epidemic: Health minister – CNA
PARIS: French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday (Feb 23) new cases of COVID-19 were “very likely” in France and health authorities were ready in case of an epidemic, adding he was “particularly watchful” of the situation in Italy.
The two patients, father in his 80s and son in his 50s, both have not left Taiwan recently, the agency said in a press release, adding that their infections were likely to be a familial cluster of infection.
The authorities are trying to identify the actual infection source. The younger son of the family, who also lived with his parents, had returned from south China’s Guangzhou city on Dec. 2 and dined with people having traveled to the mainland during the Spring Festival, the agency said.
DUBAI: Iran confirmed 15 new cases of the new coronavirus, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said on state TV on Sunday (Feb 23), adding that the death toll has reached eight in the country.
The World Health Organisation welcomed the reported decline in new Chinese cases but said it was concerned about the number of new infections elsewhere with no clear link to China such as travel history or contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, as the disease caused by the virus is known.
Comment: The spread may be related to the long incubation period by asymptomatic carriers. Incubation periods in some spreaders have been 24 to 27 days. That means a carrier of Covid-19 has almost 4 weeks to travel around even internationally and spread the virus. Someone else may get the virus, and then they have another 14 to 27 days to disseminate it.
China’s only Level 4 microbiology lab that is equipped to handle deadly coronaviruses, called the National Biosafety Laboratory, is part of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
And then there is this little-known fact: Some Chinese researchers are in the habit of selling their laboratory animals to street vendors after they have finished experimenting on them.
I wrote about the Wuhan Institute of Virology on one of my earliest posts about the coronavirus. To Know What’s in Wuhan is to Know Why Coronavirus is a Concern
The authorities in Wuhan on Saturday introduced 14 days’ mandatory quarantine for recovered coronavirus patients, after some discharged patients again tested positive.
Patients can still have the virus in their bodies and spread it after getting well. I wrote about that in this article, The 2019-nCoV Can Still Spread from A Patient After the Sickness
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in says the government will raise the country’s disease alert by one notch to the highest level in a bid to contain a surge in new cornavirus cases.
New coronavirus cases in the country jumped by 123 to 556 on Sunday and the death toll rose to five, according to the Korea Centres for Disease and Control and Prevention (KCDC).
Iran has taken drastic measures to contain the new coronavirus outbreak, ordering the closure of schools, universities and cultural centres across 14 provinces from Sunday following six deaths in the Islamic Republic – the most outside East Asia and the first in the Middle East.
Iran’s outbreak surfaced on Wednesday and has quickly worsened with 28 cases confirmed.
“The concern is … that we have seen … a very rapid increase (in Iran) in a matter of a few days,” said Sylvie Briand, director of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global infectious hazard preparedness department.
Hong Kong’s low-income families struggling to afford masks and disinfectant, a new study claims – SCMP
Nearly 70 per cent of low-income families in Hong Kong cannot afford to buy masks or disinfectant, and are experiencing increased levels of stress over the coronavirus epidemic, a human rights advocacy group has claimed.
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