The ground reality of coronavirus in China: What the WHO has found?

The report noted that the younger you are, the less likely you are to be infected and the less likely you are to fall seriously ill if you do get infected

The highly infectious Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is spreading very fast and has caused 3,164 deaths across the world so far, and there have been over 92,000 confirmed cases. In India, the total number of confirmed cases rose to 21 on Tuesday. Recently, the World Health Organization sent a team of international experts to China to investigate the ground realities in the country where the outbreak first began before spreading globally. Here are some important facts that the team found out:

Spread of the virus: Contrary to the popular opinion, transmission of virus through the air over long distances is not one of the main causes of spread. Most of the infected were either infected at home or in the early phase of the outbreak in Wuhan when most hospitals are unaware about the disease. Around 78-85 per cent cases were caused by an infection within the family by droplets and other carriers of infection in close contact with an infected person. Symptoms: The most common symptoms found among the infected are fever, and dry cough, exhaustion, expectoration of mucus when coughing, shortness of breath, and several others. Coronavirus deaths are strongly influenced by age, pre-existing conditions, gender, and especially the response of the health care system.

Healthcare facilities: The findings by the WHO team revealed some disturbing facts about the healthcare system in China and other countries. 20 per cent of infected people in China needed hospital treatment for weeks. China has hospital beds to treat only 0.4 per cent of the population at the same time – other developed countries have between 0.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent and most of these beds are already occupied with people who have other diseases…

Hong Kong reports first Coronavirus death; second fatality outside China

Hong Kong has had 15 confirmed cases including one that was transmitted locally

Hong Kong reported its first coronavirus death on Tuesday, a 39-year-old male who had been suffering from an underlying illness and had visited China’s Wuhan city in January, hospital staff said, marking the second death outside mainland China.The first death outside of China was reported on Sunday – a 44-year-old Chinese man who died in the Philippines after travelling there from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus.

The death toll in China rose on Tuesday by a new daily record to more than 420 and total infections in China rose by 3,235 to 20,438. There were at least 151 cases in 23 other countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Britain. The Hong Kong coronavirus death comes as hundreds of medical workers in the Asian financial hub began a second day of strikes on Tuesday to force the government to completely close the city’s borders with mainland China, a day after embattled leader Carrie Lam left three remaining checkpoints open.

The former British colony so far has had 15 confirmed cases including one that was transmitted locally. Holding red and white placards reading “Save HK now. I am a Hospital Authority staff on strike”…

Coronavirus: China says ‘urgently needs’ medical masks as toll worsens

What China urgently needs at present are medical masks, protective suits, and safety goggles, foreign ministry spokeswoman said

China on Monday said it “urgently needs” protective medical equipment as the death toll in the country from a highly contagious coronavirus passed that of the 2002 SARS crisis, with more than 17,000 infected.

Fears of the virus have spurred people in the densely-populated country of 1.4 billion to stock up on single-use surgical masks, while frontline medical personnel at the centre of the outbreak have reported equipment shortages.”What China urgently needs at present are medical masks, protective suits, and safety goggles,” the foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a press briefing.

At full capacity, China’s factories are only able to produce around 20 million masks a day, according to the ministry of industry. The foreign ministry said countries including South Korea, Japan, Kazakhstan and Hungary have donated medical supplies. Tian Yulong of the industry ministry said earlier Monday that authorities were taking steps to bring in masks from Europe, Japan and the US, adding that supply and demand in China remained in “tight equilibrium” as factories returned to production after the Lunar New Year lull…