Frightening scourge of Coronavirus: Death tolls rises to 910, 40,000 infected globally

There is no doubt that the scourge of the novel Coronavirus with its devastating effect has reached a feverish peach as it has continued to spread, maiming and killing people in large numbers indiscriminately.

The World Health Organisation had described the new dreaded virus as of global concern and has requested and emergency approach to reduce its spread.

While the originating place in Wahum, China is suffering a great blow, its spread across the world has continued unabated with every strategy being put in place to curb the spread. This has brought about travel ban to China and ensuring that those coming from the Republic are quarintined.

As at today, globally, a total of 910 people have been confirmed to have died since the outbreak of the dreaded novel coronavirus. Only yesterday, 97 people died from the virus in China.

The fatality toll from the coronavirus has officially surpassed the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, which claimed 774 lives in 2003

Also, around the globe, more than 40,500 infection cases of the virus have been confirmed, with the majority of the cases from China.

On Monday, China’s Health Ministry said another 3,062 cases had been reported over the previous 24 hours, raising the Chinese mainland’s total to 40,171.

Also, new cases were reported in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, the U.K. and Spain. More than 360 cases have been confirmed outside mainland China.

European authorities are assiduously working to contain the spread of the virus by tracking down people who came into contact with those infected. The U.K. cases of infection has doubled from four to eight, as the government announced new powers to detain people suspected of having the virus.

Spain has also reported its second case of infection. The first case was a German tourist diagnosed a week ago in the Canary Islands off northwest Africa.

Spain’s National Microbiology Center has said that authorities are working to identify everyone who came into contact with a British man whose case was detected in Mallorca, a popular vacation island in the Mediterranean Sea.

Japan reported six more cases among 3,700 passengers and crew aboard the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess, bringing the number of infections on the vessel to 69. The figure takes the tally on board to 135, showing a rapid rise in the outbreak on the ship docked in the port of Yokohama.

The new cases are an American passenger in her 70s and five crew members – four Filipinos and a Ukrainian.

South Korea reported a new case in a 73-year-old woman whose, raising its total to 27. Vietnam reported its 14th case, and Malaysia its 17th case.

Assessing Nigeria has a high risk country to the importation of the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO), over the weekend has said it will be supporting the country with diagnostic tools, equipment, and stock piles like the PPE masks, protective clothing, some equipment and sample collection materials, etc., that we will need to monitor response.

Recall that the Federal Government said that it will spend N620m special intervention fund to monitor, detect and contain the coronavirus. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, stated this when he appeared before the Senate Committee on health, on the level of his ministry’s preparedness to manage the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Also, on the 31st of January, the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, set up an interministerial and multisectoral preparedness and response committee to develop strategies for the prevention of the importation of the novel coronavirus to the country, to ensure that our ports of entry have sufficient capacity to monitor incoming travelers.

The Minister also revealed that additional funds of N71 million was approved by the government for the port health services, and resources were being provided to scale up surveillance and screening activities that will be done.

Apart from the spread through droplets (coughs) and close personal unprotected contact with an infected person (touching, shaking hands), a lot still remain unknown about its spread.

– The Nation/NewsTrack