Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States government this week declared the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus a health emergency. This virus causes a respiratory illness that has led to 213 deaths, all in China, though its overall mortality rate is relatively low.
The US has limited to the number of airports that in which direct flights from China can land, and the State Department has issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ advisory for the country and encouraged travelers to rethink their plans. The Chinese government has continued its lockdown in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province and the city in which the outbreak began, to prevent the virus from spreading further.
While the symptoms from this strain of coronavirus are not as severe as other previous viral outbreaks, such as SARS and MERS, the threat of continued spread, as well as a more severe mutation emerging in the near future, have put pressure on public health officials. The virus has already infected over 10,000 people worldwide.
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