Novel Coronavirus

(2019-nCoV)
Background
December 31, 2019
WHO was alerted to several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan City, Hubei
Province of China
The virus isolated did not match any other known virus

January 7, 2020
Chinese authorities confirmed that they had identified a new virus.
The new virus is a coronavirus
Coronavirus is a family of viruses that include the common cold, and viruses such as SARS and MERS
The new virus was temporarily named “2019-nCoV”
Source:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/
diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Background
January 22, 2020 (Geneva Time)
WHO Director-General called convened the Emergency Committee
regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the people’s
republic of China.
At that time, the advice was that the event did not constitute a
PHEIC, but the Committee members agreed on the urgency of the
situation and suggested that the Committee should be reconvened
in a matter of days to examine the situation further

Source:
https://www.who.int/emergencies/
diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
CORONAVIRUS
Human coronaviruses are common throughout the world.
Seven different coronaviruses, that scientists know of, can infect
people and make them sick. Ex. MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV
common in many different species of animals, including camels and
bats.
Most coronaviruses infect animals, but not people. In the future,
one or more of these other coronaviruses could potentially evolve
and spread to humans, as has happened in the past. We still don’t
understand why only certain coronaviruses are able to infect people.
Source:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/i
ndex.html
Global Situation Update
1,320 confirmed cases have been reported for 2019-nCoV
globally
1,297 confirmed cases from China including Hong Kong (5 confirmed
cases), Macau (2 confirmed cases), and Taipei
21 confirmed cases had history of travel to Wuhan City, China
1 confirmed case in Australia had direct contact with a confirmed case
while in Wuhan City
1 confirmed case in Vietnam had no travel history to any part of China
but this constitutes an instance of human to human transmission
within a family.
Source: WHO Novel Coronavirus
(2019-nCoV) Situation Report – 5,
January 25, 2020
Precautionary measures for the
public
Always practice hand hygiene
Observe proper cough etiquette
Avoid close contact with people manifesting flu-like symptoms
Avoid contact with farm and wild animals
Cook food properly
Adopt healthy lifestyles to mount immunity against infections