Authorities across the world are scrambling today to figure out what in the hell the coronavirus actually is and how it may infect humans. For those that aren’t fully aware of what it is; how many are believed to have died as of this writing, and more we’ve got your medical minute wrap-up for Wednesday.
For starters, the virus originated in Wuhan China. The virus mysteriously appeared in the midst of Chinese New Year (which means the Chinese are among some of the busiest travellers right now as we speak.) It is still sort of unknown where the virus came from but it is emerging that it may have come from animal meat in Wuhan.
Chinese officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed that all of the deaths so far have occurred in the Hubei province home to Wuhan City. The officials confirmed the suspicions of Chinese police that the virus originated in illegal food market that may have been trading/selling animal meat that was/is in violation of international standards and local laws.
Airports in Atlanta; New York, Seattle, Chicago, Australia, South Korea, and at least 5 more cities have all launched passenger health checks. Some are even using infrared systems to spot signs/symptoms of the illness.
WHAT IS IT?
According to the World Health Organization, the virus is believed to be respiratory-related. That in itself though is largely unconfirmed and remains unknown given the fact that this virus has particularly never been encountered before in humans. However, it does appear that it can be spread by simply being near someone who may be infected with it.
As we’ve advised people before — it would be a smart idea to take an extra measure of precaution just to be safe while in public. Sanitize your hands; don’t touch the train poles in New York (for the love of god, don’t do it), and generally take the usual safety measure you would any other time of the year. As of this writing, the virus has not become a serious matter in America (yet).
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