I have watched with a mix of horror and anxiety as the numbers of infected and deceased have grown and grown and grown. A doctor who was in the right place at the right time to help stunt the spread of the virus instead was silenced by the Chinese government and became another casualty of the deadly bug. A citizen reporter has disappeared. Silenced?
Predictions on where this epidemic will end are all over the place. Reporting criteria has changed. Scientists are still trying to figure out the various ways the virus can spread and how contagious it is. One new report is suggesting that it can travel through the pipes in apartments and infect people on other floors. Japan has just reported its first death from the virus, joining the Philippine Islands and Hong Kong as areas outside of mainland China as areas where people have died from the virus. One of the new worries is what will happen if/when the virus spreads to the African continent and other areas that haven't been affected yet.
For those who look for updated news, the following is a link to Johns Hopkins University's data wall about deaths, recovered, and infected. One set of data points not tracked by this dashboard are the deaths caused by resources being tied up with keeping this epidemic in check. For example, in areas of heavy infection, people may start dying from measles and other illnesses that could have been treated if the hospital staff weren't busy.
I am glad to be in Louisiana, away from the East and West coasts. I get sick enough from all the bugs my students bring in on a daily basis!
May you be well.
Superb post based on facts rather than rhetoric born from fear. Thank you!
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