Coronavirus cases rise sharply with global death toll now almost 1,400 and 15 confirmed cases in US
THE number of people infected with the coronavirus in China rose sharply again today with 5,090 new cases reported. At least 121 more people have died from the virus, pushing the death toll in the country to 1,380. There are now a total of 63,851 confirmed cases in mainland China, according to the National Health […]
THE number of people infected with the coronavirus in China rose sharply again today with 5,090 new cases reported.
At least 121 more people have died from the virus, pushing the death toll in the country to 1,380.
There are now a total of 63,851 confirmed cases in mainland China, according to the National Health Commission.
A 15th case was reported in the US yesterday in Texas, according to the Center for Disease Control.
The “solo traveler” has been under quarantine since arriving from China on a chartered flight on Feb. 7, according to CNN.
“We are right in the middle of that potential incubation period so it is not surprising that maybe someone would have developed symptoms in this time frame,” Captain Jennifer McQuiston of the CDC told reporters.
“And we’re going to continue to be watching people during the whole 14-day quarantine period.”
The patient is being treated at a hospital in San Antonio, according to CNN. The patient is “stable with mild symptoms,” according to Dr. Paul Hancock.
It is the third case of the coronavirus among evacuees from China.
The other two cases are in California.
The number of reported cases is rising more quickly after the hard-hit Hubei province changed its method of counting them.
That region is including cases based on a doctor’s diagnosis before being confirmed by lab tests.
Experts believe the spike in China cases is also a reflection of a chaotic crush of people seeking treatment.
Health officials are also struggling to keep up with a backlog of untested samples.
The disease first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in the Hubei province, in December.
“Clearly in Wuhan, the health system is under extreme pressure and so the first priority has to be the patient,” said Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh.
Japan now has 252 confirmed cases, including 218 from a cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama. One person in Japan has died.
More than 560 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China, according to officials.
The hardest-hit cities in China have been placed under lockdown, an unprecedented move.
People are not allowed to enter or leave the cities.
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An expert told CNN yesterday that the virus will probably remain “beyond this year.”
“You can start to think of it in the sense like seasonal flu,” CDC director Robert Redfield said.
“What we don’t know, though, is how much of the asymptomatic cases are driving transmission.”
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