By Meghna Anand, Y11
On the twelfth of December, the first case of the (now famous) 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was observed in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Since then, almost 2,000 people have been infected with the potentially fatal disease, and more than 50 have died. Although the vast majority of confirmed cases are in mainland China, there have also been a few reported cases in Nepal, Hong Kong, Macao, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and other countries and territories around the world.
A coronavirus is a common infection that infects the nose, sinuses, or throat, and is not normally dangerous; in fact, most people will catch one at least once in their life. There is no vaccine for coronaviruses, so doctors recommend preventing infection by doing simple things like washing your hands, minimising the amount of times you touch your face (without washing your hands), and avoiding contact with infectious people. The symptoms of these viruses are fairly mundane in most cases: a runny nose, coughing, and sore throat. However, some coronaviruses have been known to be dangerous, such as MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), to which 2019-nCoV is a cousin.
The first ever outbreak of MERS took place in Saudi Arabia in 2012, and, according to the WHO, it had a 37% fatality rate, killing 449 people. The virus resurfaced in 2015 in South Korea, but has not been reported since 2015.
The first outbreak of SARS took place in 2003, near Hong Kong. The outbreak had a 10% fatality rate, infected nearly 8,000 people in 26 countries, and killed 774 people.
Both MERS and SARS are suspected to have started in animals, MERS originating from camels, and SARS — from civet cats.
The government response to the disease outbreak has been labelled by many as “extreme”. Various local Chinese governments have made decisions to restrict travel between and within certain cities battling the disease. Fifteen Chinese cities, with a collective population of almost 60 million, are in partial or total lockdown. For example, planes, and trains leaving Wuhan, as well as buses, subways, and ferries within the city were all cancelled starting on the 23rd of January. Residents of the nearby city of Huanggang are not allowed to leave the city without special permission, and in Ezhou, all railway stations are closed.
In Beijing, the spring school semester is being postponed and a few major cities cancelled the Lunar New Year celebrations this year as part of the efforts to prevent the disease from spreading. The Chinese central government has sent 1,200 health workers and 135 People’s Liberation Army medical personnel to Wuhan to help cope with the epidemic. But, despite these efforts, the seven hospitals designated to deal with the virus are overcrowded and doctors are both overworked and running out of medical supplies. A new hospital with 1,000 beds is being constructed in Wuhan, with the aim of being operational by February 3rd. We can only hope that these efforts will be enough to stop the disease from spreading further and keep as many people as possible safe.
