China Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) Outbreak Updates

According to a New England Journal of Medicine article contributed by Chinese researchers, the first case of 2019-nCoV was reported on December 1, 2019. However, the provincial and national intervention against this epidemic did not official begin until January 23, 2020. The delay in responding to the initial outbreak has significantly contributed to the virus spreading to all Chinese provinces as well as 26 other countries. Cases in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Vietnam highlight the possibility of the virus spreading further to countries with weaker health care systems in South and Southeast Asia, while there is a significant chance for the virus to spread to some African countries due to the significant China-Africa ties*

As of February 7, 2020, there are 31,264 confirmed cases in China, with 637 fatalities. Click here to see the live Chinese language updates of the coronavirus situation in China and click here to see the live English language updates of only confirmed cases in each of China’s provinces.

*Note: a BBC article “Coronavirus: Are African countries ready?” came out just a few hours ago