As of Tuesday, the world has over 45,171 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus reported from 28 countries and territories, with 1,115 deaths.

Reports say 8,216 of those afflicted patients are in critical condition, and 4,794 are confirmed recoveries.

***We will update this post with new information.

In the United States, there are 398 People Under Investigation (PUI) for possible Wuhan coronavirus, distributed in 37 states. Of those, 13 have tested positive (located in six states), 318 have tested negative, and 67 cases have pending diagnosis status.

US military approves 11 coronavirus quarantine camps next to major airports

The Pentagon is setting up 11 quarantine camps on military bases near major airports across the country in anticipation of an influx of American citizens returning from China in need of monitoring for the deadly coronavirus.

The 13th US coronavirus case was confirmed in California on Tuesday. The deadly strain, which is now being called COVID-19, has killed 1,107 people and sickened more than 42,000 worldwide since the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in late December. The Department of Defense approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services early this month for the possible use of military facilities to accommodate 1,000 people who may have to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas through the end of the month.

Mislabeled sample resulted in release of San Diego coronavirus patient

An evacuee who tested positive for the coronavirus in San Diego was mistakenly released back into quarantine at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station because someone mislabeled their test sample.

Four evacuees were brought from MCAS Miramar to UC San Diego Medical Center and provided samples for testing within the last week. Three of those four samples were not labeled in compliance with the same regulations between UC San Diego Health and the CDC, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesperson. Because of this, when the samples were brought to the CDC in Atlanta, three of them were not immediately processed.

Coronavirus illness given official name Covid-19, as hope rises that the number of cases will peak soon

The World Health Organisation (WHO) gave an official name – Covid-19 – to the disease caused by the coronavirus, as statistics now suggest that infections could level off in the coming weeks.

China’s National Health Commission said on Tuesday that the country had reported 108 new deaths from the virus – the first time that 100 or more fatalities were recorded in a single day. The outbreak, which was generally believed to have originated from Wuhan in central China, has killed 1,018 people worldwide – including one death in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines. But Zhong Nanshan, one of China’s top respiratory disease experts, predicted that the outbreak could peak this month, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

One point to note: Sunshine is a powerful disinfecting agent, as I noted yesterday. As spring begins, and there are more hours of sunshine, the season change can only help end the current outbreak.

At least 500 Wuhan medical staff are infected with coronavirus

At least 500 hospital staff in Wuhan had been infected with the deadly new strain of coronavirus by mid-January, leaving the city’s hospitals short-staffed and troubling health care workers.

While the government has reported individual cases of health care workers becoming infected, it has not provided the full picture, and the sources said doctors and nurses had been told not to make the total public. The reason for this edict was not explained, but the authorities have been trying to boost morale among frontline medical staff, especially following the death of Li Wenliang, who was killed by the disease weeks after being reprimanded by police for warning colleagues about the new virus.

China Wants to Patent Gilead’s Experimental Coronavirus Drug

China’s clearly not aiming to win any international popularity contests.

Chinese researchers have applied for a national patent on an experimental Gilead Sciences Inc. drug that they believe might fight the novel coronavirus. The Wuhan Institute of Virology — based in the Chinese city at the center of the epidemic — has applied for a patent in China for the use of the antiviral drug, known as remdesivir, in treating the ailment. The application was made on Jan. 21 together with a military academy, according to a Feb. 4 statement on the institute’s website.

Talk about poor optics. I predict that when this outbreak is over, the plans for other countries to decouple from China will spread even faster than this horrible contagion.



