At least 20.438 people have now been infected in China and 425 people have died from the consequences of the Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). At least 132 infections have been detected outside China, of which two people have died, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong. Because the Coronavirus has already claimed more than 400 deaths, the number of victims of the SARS outbreak has passed. In 2003, SARS killed 349 people in China and Hong Kong.
China admits that the country has fallen seriously short in the fight against the corona virus. The Chinese government says lessons should be learned from the events of recent weeks and better action should be taken in the future when a national emergency arises. In addition, the trade in prohibited animal species must be tackled better. The coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started in December at a fish market in the city of Wuhan. Chances are that the virus came from bats.
Update news about the Coronavirus in Thailand
- The death toll in China has now risen to 425, which is just over 2 percent of the number of sick. Yesterday, 3235 infections were added, bringing the total number to 20.438. Never before have so many people died in one day from the consequences of the corona virus. On Monday, the outbreak was fatal for 64 people.
- Thais repatriated from China on Tuesday will be quarantined in navy buildings in Sattahip. They have to stay there for 14 days, equal to the incubation period. A command center is being set up in the Abhakornkiatiwong Hospital on the base.
- The Thai Ministry of Health is today launching a campaign to educate the public about the virus and protective and preventive measures, especially when using public transport.
- President Nitinai of Airports of Thailand, the manager of six major international airports in Thailand, said the number of passengers arriving from January 23 to 28 was 4 percent lower than in the same period last year. If the situation does not stabilize before the end of the month, AoT will have to adjust its growth forecast.
- A Belgian evacuated from Wuhan has tested positive for the new corona virus, the Belgian authorities reported on Tuesday. The woman is in "good health and is currently not showing any symptoms of illness". She has been transferred to a hospital in Brussels. The eight other Belgians from Wuhan are not infected. Earlier infections were also detected in France, Great Britain and Germany, among others. No infections have been detected in the Netherlands so far.
- Thailand is no longer the country with the most infections outside of China. That is now Japan with 20 infections. Thailand has 19 recorded infections and Singapore has 18.
Source: Bangkok Post and Dutch media
At the time of SARS, we lived in China (in the SARS hotbed province of Guangdong). As far as I can remember, we ended up with almost 800 deaths (attributable to SARS virus). So the current virus is not (yet) more deadly than SARS. However, according to the recorded statistics, the number of infections is now higher than during SARS and this also implies that the current virus is certainly not more deadly than SARS virus. The title of this story is incorrect on both sides.
Indeed more deaths from SARS (so far), according to WHO: “During the period of infection, there were 8,098 reported cases of SARS and 774 deaths. This means the virus killed about 1 in 10 people who were infected. People over the age of 65 were particularly at risk, with over half of those who died from the infection being in this age group.” And the percentage of deaths among those infected was above 9%, also much higher than now. The headline above the article is 100% killer. For credibility.