Capri Howard
Staff Writer
The novel coronavirus originating in the Chinese City of Wuhan has claimed 1,100 lives and infected 45,000 others worldwide according to a CNN news report.
Once present in just one state, it has now appeared in multiple larger cities. The first report of the virus was on December 31 to the World Health Organization.
Scientists are still rapidly working to understand the deadly and rapidly spreading virus.
The Chinese doctor who tried to warn others of the coronavirus in December 2019 died after contracting the virus. Doctor Li Wenliang was silenced after warning authorities about his discovery of the virus that was taking hold of the city.
He allegedly contracted the illness from treating other patients and was soon hospitalized in mid-January for fever symptoms. Wenliang passed away while in the hospital on Feb. 7, according to the Wuhan Central Hospital.
Some call him a hero for bringing awareness and speaking out about the virus although authorities constantly silenced him.
“I think it’s very sad that authorities tried to silence him when he found out about such a deadly virus. He could have saved many lives if he was able to speak up earlier and give solutions and cures for the virus. Who knows what else they have silenced and are hiding from their citizens,” said Kaia Gray, a freshman biology from Chicago, Ill.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the virus has been confirmed for transmission from animal to human, as the first case is believed to have derived from animals.
“It’s very sad because I have a Pomeranian Chihuahua, and animals can be a man’s best friend. She’s been my friend since I was young and to know she can potentially catch such a virus is harsh. I’ll be sure to take her to the vet and get her usual checkups,” said Natalie Cura, a sophomore graphic design major from Aurora, Ill.
Although it has now been found to be very prone to babies, with several cases in US infirmaries.
Two babies have been infected in China, as young as 30 hours old. The cases in the U.S. have risen to 12 with Wisconsin reporting its first case. There are also cases in California, Washington, Massachusetts, and a new one in Illinois.
It has been suggested that travelers “maintain good personal hygiene (wear surgical masks in crowded areas and wash hands regularly) and avoid eating game meat. Also avoid wet markets selling game and live poultry,” stated David Hui, chairman of the department of medicine and therapeutics and director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“I really don’t think we can do much besides protect ourselves, besides taking care of ourselves and taking care of our bodies. It’s pretty scary to hear, it’s almost like the plague all over again. I just really hope we can find a treatment to keep this from spreading,” said Maria Jose Jaramillo, a freshman criminal justice major from Rio Rico, Ariz.
There are only seven strands of coronaviruses that can infect the human body currently known. The virus has been experiencing a recent rapid spread in Wuhan city since its first report.
Travel bans have been extended in Central China, restricting 10 million people of the city of Wuhan from traveling, as well as a quarantine of 48 million citizens.
According to the Center for Disease Control, human-to-human transmission happens amongst droplets to the skin or inhaled to the lungs. It is still unsure if the virus can spread from surfaces or objects. There are still many questions that scientists are looking to answer but the virus has been proven to be fatal. We will continue to update our readers on this deadly virus with the next installment of this series dealing with university preparedness.
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