As of today, there are now over 8200 cases of those with the Wuhan Coronavirus officially reported worldwide, and 170 deaths attributed to the pathogen. Finland is now reporting its first case, which brings the total of nations that have Wuhan Coronavirus cases to 18.
In the United States, the first case of the coronavirus spreading from one person to another has happened in Chicago. The spouse of a woman who caught the disease while tending to a sick relative in China now has the disease.
The woman, who is in her 60s, traveled to Wuhan, China, in late December and returned to Chicago on Jan. 13. Her spouse, who had not traveled to China, is the second Illinois case and first instance of person-to-person spread in the U.S., the Illinois Department of Public Health said.He is also in his 60s and has underlying medical conditions, health officials said. He’s in the hospital and is in stable condition. He was placed into isolation two days ago. His wife also remains hospitalized but is “doing quite well,” said Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer and state epidemiologist at the Illinois Department of Public Health.She said the woman remains hospitalized “primarily for isolation.” It’s believed that he was exposed to the virus while his wife wHealth officials said the man has not attended any mass gatherings or taken the “L” train recently.
Cases of human-to-human transmission have been reported from China, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
In light of the continuing outbreak in China, and the spread of the virus to 17 other nations already, the World Health Organization now deems the situation an international public health emergency.
The World Health Organization declared coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern at a news conference Thursday in Geneva.This is only the sixth time such an emergency has been declared, with past examples including the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Zika virus.The WHO reserves the designation for “extraordinary events” that poses a public health risk by threatening to spread internationally.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has established a Task Force to address the continuing outbreak.
Led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and coordinated through the National Security Council, the task force is made up of subject matter experts from across the federal government and has been meeting daily since Monday. Members of the 12-member group include National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield, and the National Institutes of Health’s Dr. Anthony Fauci.”The task force will lead the administration’s efforts to monitor, contain and mitigate the spread of the virus, while ensuring that the American people have the most accurate and up-to-date health and travel information,” the White House said.
Of course, CNN has found something to complain about Trump’s team: It is not diverse enough.
It’s a statement that’s as predictable as it is infuriating: President Donald Trump’s administration lacks diversity.On Tuesday, Trump tweeted photos of a briefing he’d received on the new coronavirus spreading out of China.”We will continue to monitor the ongoing developments,” the President said in his post. “We have the best experts anywhere in the world, and they are on top of it 24/7!”Who are these experts? They’re largely the same sort of white men (and a couple women on the sidelines) who’ve dominated the Trump administration from the very beginning.
I had a chance to review the Wuhan Virus outbreak and its impact on this country with Silvio Canto, Jr., today on his show, Canto Talk. We also talked about the impeachment hearings, and the despicable CNN panel mocking Trump supporters as uneducated rubes.
On the podcast, I remind everyone of the Legal Insurrection Reader Reception at 7 pm, Sunday, February 9, at The Milky Way (which, given my love of Star Trek, is a perfect spot). I hope to see you there!
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