Coronavirus has now spread to all regions of China
There have also been reports of infections in at least 15 countries outside of China
The first case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Tibet, meaning that as of today, every province in China has seen the virus spread. As of yesterday (29 January), health officials in China said that there had been 7,711 cases confirmed in the country overall, with the death toll currently standing at 170. To put that into perspective, 170 is approximately two per cent of 7,711, and while every death is of course a tragedy, it is a comparatively low fatality rate.
And while the number of infections will shortly overtake the global total of those infected by the SARS outbreak in 2003, that disease had a significantly higher fatality rate.
The World Health Organization (WHO) will meet today for further discussions on whether or not to name the outbreak a global health emergency. Human-to-human transmission has been noted in Japan, Germany and Vietnam, but while the numbers remain low, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the potential is there for a significantly larger outbreak, and that the progress of the virus is worrying.
Reports come in that India has also now confirmed its first coronavirus case.
Foreign nationals are still being evacuated from Wuhan, and evacuees returning to Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the UK can expect to be quarantined for a fortnight while they are monitored for any symptoms. Additionally, tech majors including Google, Microsoft and Amazon are taking steps to protect their China-based staff, with Google announcing temporary closures of its offices in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Other companies such as Facebook, General Motors and Toyota are taking similar measures, and businesses within the tourism industry such as airlines and hotels, along with retail outlets, are bracing themselves for a financial hit from disruption caused by the virus. China itself could be in for a significant economic hit.
A notable difference between this current situation and previous headline-grabbing outbreaks such as Zika and Ebola is that scientists were hard at work on a vaccine in a matter of hours once the virus had first been identified. A combination of improved global co-operation and levels of funding, technological advances and China’s willingness to immediately release the virus’s genetic code has meant that research facilities around the world were able to very quickly get on with looking into a potential vaccine; human trials could begin as early as the summer.
WHO currently advises against the application of any restrictions of international traffic for this outbreak.