What is coronavirus?
In line with the WHO, coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases corresponding to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Center East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

These viruses have been originally transmitted between animals and people. SARS, for instance, was transmitted from civet cats to humans while MERS moved to humans from a type of camel.

Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that haven’t yet contaminated humans.

The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, which means crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the image of the virus seems to be like a solar corona.

The novel coronavirus, recognized by Chinese authorities on January 7 and since named COVID-19, is a new strain that had not been previously recognized in humans. Little is known about it, though human-to-human transmission has been confirmed.

What are the signs?
In response to the WHO, signs of an infection embrace fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

In more severe cases, it will probably lead to pneumonia, multiple organ failure and even death.

Current estimates of the incubation period – the amount of time between infection and the onset of signs – range from one to 14 days. Most infected individuals show signs within five to six days.

Nonetheless, infected patients will also be asymptomatic, meaning they do not display any signs regardless of having the virus in their systems.

Read more on what the coronavirus does to your body if you happen to catch it here.

How deadly is it?
With more than 2,004 recorded deaths, the number of fatalities from this new coronavirus has surpassed the toll of the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, which also originated in China.

SARS killed about 9 percent of these it contaminated – nearly 800 folks worldwide and more than 300 in China alone. MERS, which didn’t spread as widely, was more deadly, killing one-third of those it infected.

While the new coronavirus is more widespread in China than SARS in terms of case numbers, the mortality rate remains considerably lower at approximately 2 percent, according to WHO.

What’s being completed to cease it from spreading?
Scientists across the globe are racing to develop a vaccine but have warned that one is unlikely to be available for mass distribution earlier than 2021.

Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have effectively sealed off Wuhan and placed restrictions on journey to and from a number of other cities, affecting some 60 million people.

Many worldwide airlines have cancelled flights to China. Some countries have banned Chinese nationals from coming into their territories and several other more have evacuated their citizens from Wuhan.

The place did the virus originate?
Chinese health authorities are nonetheless trying to determine the origin of the virus, which they say possible got here from a seafood market in Wuhan where wildlife was also traded illegally.

On February 7, Chinese researchers said the virus might have spread from an contaminated animal species to humans by way of illegally-trafficked pangolins, which are prized in Asia for meals and medicine.

Is this a global emergency?
The outbreak now constitutes a world health emergency, the WHO said on January 30.

The decision to sound the top-level alarm was made after the primary cases of human-to-human transmission outside China were confirmed.

The international health alert is a call to countries around the world to coordinate their response under the steerage of the United Nations health agency.

There have been 5 international health emergencies since 2005 when the declaration was formalised: swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014, Ebola in 2014, Zika in 2016 and Ebola again in 2019.

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