1st American dies of coronavirus as death toll surpasses SARS

Gabrielle Masson -

As of 3:30 p.m., Feb. 10, there are 40,652 confirmed coronavirus cases and 910 related deaths. Worldwide, 3,578 people have recovered from the illness.

1. The virus has been officially named "novel coronavirus pneumonia" or "NCP," NBC News reports.

2. The first U.S. citizen death related to NCP occured Feb. 6 at a hospital in Wuhan, China, according to NBC News.  

3. The death toll in China has surpassed that of SARS, according to NPR. Globally, 774 SARS deaths were recorded between 2002 and 2003.

4. China has been ignoring the WHO and CDC's offers to help, The New York Times reports. The CDC has been offering to send a team of experts to China to observe the outbreak for over a month. The World Health Organization made a similar offer two weeks ago, which has also been ignored, though a WHO spokesperson said it is just "sorting out arrangements." Health officials and diplomats told the NYT that they believe China's leaders do not want the world to think they need outside help.

5. The HHS expects to spend $66 million on initial response efforts, The Hill reports. The estimate encompasses more than half of the funds in the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund and doesn't include other money already spent in response to the outbreak. The estimate includes $30 million for the CDC to evacuate more than 800 U.S. citizens from Wuhan and to screen, isolate and quarantine those individuals.

6. A new report on 138 Wuhan patients helps explain the illness, according to The New York Times. The study, published Feb. 7 in JAMA Network, analyzed data from patients admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from Jan. 1 to Jan. 28. The patients' median age was 56 years old, and 41 percent are thought to have caught the virus in the hospital, including 17 patients and 40 healthcare workers. About 10 percent  did not initially have cough and fever symptoms, but instead had diarrhea and nausea first. 

A second JAMA Network report studied 13 patients in three Beijing hospitals, with a median age of 34 and no underlying diseases. They did not become as ill as the Wuhan patients, and no fatalities were reported. 

7. Coronaviruses can remain infectious on surfaces for up to nine days, according to a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

6The virus has been officially named "novel coronavirus pneumonia" or "NCP," NBC News reports.

The first U.S. citizen death related to NCP occured Feb. 6 at a hospital in Wuhan, China, according to NBC News.

The death toll in China has surpassed that of SARS, according to NPR. Globally, 774 SARS deaths were recorded between 2002 and 2003.

China has been ignoring the WHO and CDC's offers to help, The New York Times reports. The CDC has been offering to send a team of experts to China to observe the outbreak for over a month. The World Health Organization made a similar offer two weeks ago, which has also been ignored, though a WHO spokesperson said it is just "sorting out arrangements." Health officials and diplomats told the NYT that they believe China's leaders do not want the world to think they need outside help.

The HHS expects to spend $66 million on initial response efforts, The Hill reports. The estimate encompasses more than half of the funds in the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund and doesn't include other money already spent in response to the outbreak. The estimate includes $30 million for the CDC to evacuate more than 800 U.S. citizens from Wuhan and to screen, isolate and quarantine those individuals.

A new report on 138 Wuhan patients helps explain the illness, according to The New York Times. The study, published Feb. 7 in JAMA Network, analyzed data from patients admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from Jan. 1 to Jan. 28. The patients' median age was 56 years old, and 41 percent are thought to have caught the virus in the hospital, including 17 patients and 40 healthcare workers. About 10 percent did not initially have cough and fever symptoms, but instead had diarrhea and nausea first.

A second JAMA Network report studied 13 patients in three Beijing hospitals, with a median age of 34 and no underlying diseases. They did not become as ill as the Wuhan patients, and no fatalities were reported.

Coronaviruses can remain infectious on surfaces for up to nine days, according to a study in the Journal of Hospital Infection.

 

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