By Emma Diamond
In December 2019, a novel respiratory virus originated in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. The coronavirus was first reported in China on December 31st, 2019, and has since been officially named COVID-19. The virus spread rapidly around China and has now infected people in almost 30 countries all over the world, including the United States.
As of February 18th, 2020, there have been approximately 75,000 cases of COVID-19 worldwide. The death toll has just passed 2000, with 99% of the deaths being in China. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak a global health emergency because the disease poses a threat to people in many countries. Their goal is to provide a coordinated international response to the virus.
When the COVID-19 first occurred, it was believed that the incubation period (how long it takes before one shows symptoms) was 2-14 days, but new research shows that it might take as long as 24 days for one to start showing symptoms after exposure to the virus. It was first thought that the virus only spread from person to person through close contact, but it is now believed that the virus may linger on contaminated surfaces. Scientists are unsure of how long it can survive on surfaces, in addition to which contaminated surfaces can carry the disease. Because of this discovery, China is now disinfecting and destroying paper cash in order to prevent further spread of the virus.
On February 4th, 2020, Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess Cruise Ship was quarantined off the coast of Japan. The ship has been docked for two weeks in the Japanese port city of Yokohama. 3711 people were on board the ship when it was quarantined, including approximately 400 Americans. As of February 18th, there were 542 cases and no deaths of COVID-19 on the ship, making it the sight of the most infections outside of China. On February 17th, 2020, more than 300 Americans quarantined on the Diamond Princess Cruise were evacuated. The Americans boarded two converted 747 cargo planes to military bases in the United States. Officials warned the Americans being evacuated about the conditions of the planes. They explained that the planes had less insolation than usual and would, therefore, be cold. They also said that there would not be overhead space on the planes so carry-ons had to fit under the seat in front of them, that shipped luggage had to be less than 70 pounds, and that they had to take their own food onboard. All passengers were given N95 respirators, which are heavy-duty masks that filter out 95% of small air particles. The planes were split up into different sections. People who tested positive, but were not experiencing symptoms sat in a tented area of the plane.
A second cruise ship, Holland American Lines Westerdam, was finally approved to enter Cambodia after being denied multiple ports because of a reported case of COVID-19 on board. After 20 lab tests came back negative for the virus, people on board were able to disembark from the ship. After disembarking, people boarded more than 100 flights to places all around the world. On Sunday, it was confirmed that someone on the ship was tested positive for COVID-19. Hopefully, this discovery does not result in further spread of the virus.
Overall, COVID-19 is still continuing to spread around the world, but hopefully, the virus will be under control in the near future.
Sources:
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2001191
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-coronavirus.html#link-69121f0b
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/world/asia/coronavirus-japan-cruise-americans.html
https://www.genengnews.com/news/coronaviruss-new-name-and-surging-case-numbers-cause-confusion/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/