The global death toll from the Coronavirus from Wuhan, China, is at least 805 people.
There are 37,251 cases reported.
That is a 2% death rate.
Two out of 100 people are dying from the virus according to official numbers. This may not be accurate as several hundred more may have come down with the virus and were not aware of it.
2,656 new cases of #coronavirus reported in China as of Feb. 8. The total numbers are:
– 37,251 confirmed, including 26 in HK, 10 in Macao and 17 in Taiwan – 812 deaths, including one in HK – 2,651 discharged, including one in Macao and one in Taiwan – 28,942 suspected cases pic.twitter.com/TbkTwlqbxX
That’s an extremely high death rate.
The disease is also reportedly highly contagious.
(My twin brother and his family are in Hong Kong and the schools are shut down, people are working from home and the streets are mostly empty.)
Despite the dangers of this very deadly disease Vox.com blamed fear of the Coronavirus on “racism” and “xenophobia.”
While othering often centers the white experience as “superior” and “pure,” fears of “dirtiness” also extend to conflicts outside of Western colonization. In the Dominican Republic, where there is a long and incredibly bloody history of hatred toward Haitians, Bracho-Sanchez says that “many spent more energy asking that Haitians be banned and borders be closed than they spent ensuring their vaccines were up to date” when there was a diphtheria outbreak from 2014-2017.
We see that dynamic here in the US, with the difference in how people react to the coronavirus compared to how they react to the flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the US alone the flu has had a devastating impact — leading to at least 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 10,000 deaths this season. Cases of measles are also being reported more and more. But there seems to be greater urgency and panic to buy masks and emergency supplies to avoid the coronavirus than there is with getting a flu shot.
In trying to explain part of this dynamic, Chowkwanyun says, “In general, when there is a zeitgeist of racial backlash and xenophobia, it drips down into medical discourse. Given the tensions between the [US] and China now, it’s not surprising to see that happening with coronavirus.”
