With the deadly coronavirus spreading so rapidly global health agencies are taking steps to fight back. The WHO declared the coronavirus an international public health emergency. At least 361 people have been died because of the infected virus, while around 17000 are infected. And the increasing number of death tolls has raised global concerns on how to prevent this.

What is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus originated in Wuhan, is a deadly family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold, fever to more severe diseases such as respiratory illness, SARS and MERS. These viruses were originally transmitted between animals and people. For instance, SARS was believed to have been transmitted from a type of cats to humans while MERS transmitted from a type of camels to humans. Though various known coronavirus are transmitting in animals that have not yet infected humans.

A novel coronavirus, identified by Chinese authorities on January 7 and named 2019-nCoV, is a new strain that had not been previously identified in humans.

It is no wonder how likely you or your loved one will become ill. You might start taking precautions how to prevent this. Also, you must take care about where you read the latest information on a rapidly changing situation.

Why you should care about rapidly spreading new virus?

The International concern regarding this new virus is well-deserved. As of February 2, there have been

• Approximately 10,000 positive cases and 304 confirmed deaths tolls due to the impacted virus, according to the World Health Organization. 99% of the cases attributed to China majorly in the epicenter of the outbreak, Wuhan.

• 26 countries have reported positive cases, according to the Centers fdor Disease Control and Prevention. Though most of the confirmed cases either live in China or had travel history from China to other countries.

• US is also affected by the deadly virus. Arizona, California, Illinois, and Washington have confirmed coronavirus positive cases. Another 160 people in 36 states are being evacuated for suspected infection.

Is this a global public health emergency?

• The WHO has considered coronavirus as global health emergency.

• The decision came after the first cases of human-to-human transmission outside China were found.

• The WHO has asked all the governments to be prepared in case of any case or medical emergency. Moreover, they should coordinate their response under the guidance of the United Nations health agency.

• There have been five global health emergencies since 2005 when the declaration was formalized: swine flu in 2009; polio in 2014; Ebola in 2014; Zika in 2016 and Ebola again in 2019.

The numbers are likely to increase in the meantime, because each infected person could potentially spread the infection to their near and dear ones. It’s also possible that an infected person can spread the infection before they become aware of it: though this has not been proven for the time being.