The Novel Coronavirus reported for the first time in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, China has globally caused 1,669 deaths globally, including China.
According to the most recent report of the World Health Organization on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the figures show approximately 51,857 cases worldwide, confirmed by laboratory testing. Among these, 1,278 are the new cases.
The report states a total of 52,174 cases of Coronavirus disease in China currently, confirmed by laboratory testing. This includes 1,121 new cases in China.
Apart from China, 683 cases have been confirmed by laboratory testing globally, in 25 different countries. This includes 157 new cases in countries other than China.
The death rate has also increased over a short period of time. In China, 1666 patients have died of coronavirus infection. Out of these, 142 deaths are recently reported. In other countries, a total of 3 deaths has been reported by WHO.
Cases and deaths within China
China is the habitat of a large population of more than 1.4 billion individuals living in 23 provinces. The disease has spread all across the country, with its center at Hubei.
Most cases have been reported in Hubei, China. In Hubei, almost 38,839 cases are confirmed by laboratory testing while 17,410 cases are diagnosed clinically, making a total of 56,249 cases in Hubei only. In the very same province, 1,596 people have died of Coronavirus disease.
Among other provinces and regions in China, Guangdong, Henan, Zhejiang, Hunan, and others are significant.
In Guangdong, a total of 1,316 cases and 2 deaths are reported. In Henan, 1,231 total cases while 13 deaths are reported. In Zhejiang, a total of 1,167 cases are reported with no death record from Coronavirus disease. While in Hunan, 1,004 total cases and 3 deaths are reported.
In China, deaths from Coronavirus disease are reported in Heilongjiang (11 deaths), Anhui (6), Chongquing (5), Hainan (4), Sichuan (3), Hebei (3), Tianjin (3), Shandong (2), Guangxi (2), Gansu (2), Jiangxi (1), Shanghai (1), Guizhou (1), Liaoning (1), Jilin (1), Xinjiang (1) and Hong Kong Sar (1).
In Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China, total of 380 cases and 4 deaths are reported.
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Case and death report from different WHO regions
In a recent situation report by WHO, various statistics have been defined regarding the number of cases and deaths all across the world.
In western Pacific Region, the laboratory-confirmed cases of Coronavirus diseases are reported in Singapore (72 cases), Japan (53 cases and 1 death), Korea (29 cases), Malaysia (22 cases), Viet Nam (16 cases), Australia (15 cases) and Philippines (3 cases and 1 death).
In the European Region, cases are reported in Sweden (1), Finland (1), Spain (2), Belgium (1) and Russian Federation (2) with no death evidenced.
In the South-East Asia Region of WHO, 34 cases are confirmed in Thailand, 3 cases in India, 1 case in Nepal and 1 case in Sri Lanka with no death reported.
In the United States of America, 15 cases of Coronavirus infection are reported with no death rate. While in Canada, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, 7, 16, 12 and 9 cases are reported respectively. No death occurred in these countries due to Coronavirus yet.
In the United Arab Emirates, 8 cases of Coronavirus have been identified and confirmed by laboratory testing.
Significantly, 355 cases are reported on a cruise ship which is present in Japanese territorial waters now.
Undoubtedly, the Novel Coronavirus of 2019 has become a major public health concern of today. WHO report indicates a high risk of Coronavirus infection on regional as well as global level.
WHO objectives and strategic responses
In these high alert circumstances, WHO has developed strategies to cope up with the situation and minimize the risk of disease spread.
These strategic objectives include limiting the transmission of disease from one human to another through close contact of the patient with his/her family, health-care professionals, and other close contacts.
It also aims in preventing any further spread of disease from China to other countries for which WHO is associated with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to work and monitor closely.
They together developed a document of guidance for flight attendants and airport staff and workers.
To investigate the early and initial cases, WHO has also developed a specific protocol that helps in understanding different and basic clinical and virological as well as epidemiological characteristics of the early cases of Coronavirus disease identified in any country of the world.
This protocol also provides guidance on public health concerns of COVID-19 to manage the identified cases and prevent further spread of the disease.
WHO has developed direct and regular contact with all states to report cases on a daily basis. WHO also provides information regarding the situation and assistance to all those countries which request it.
WHO has also provided guidance regarding case diagnosis through laboratory testing, regular use of masks in hospitalized setup and home care of patients to reduce potential outbreak, clinically well-management of cases, prevention of the potential infection in healthcare facilities as well as during home care and community management and engagement.
The “Global Surveillance for human infection with Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)” is also published to closely monitor disease trends in all states and earl detection of cases in regions where the virus is not actively circulating.
Some other active responses by WHO include the development of “Disease Commodity Package – nCoV)” which comprises a complete list of essential equipment, medications and biomedical supplies for the active patient care against the Novel Coronavirus.
To understand the problem from the very basic, WHO has developed an online video course that helps in providing general information regarding the introduction of the Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, potential risk factors and management of the disease.
The other strategies of WHO for the prevention and management of COVID-19 include early detection, isolation, and care of the infected individuals. It also aims at identification and reduction in transmission of disease zoonotically, that is, from animals to humans.
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WHO is also communicating actively about the critical risk and disease occurrence to all states, regions, and communities. It is working to reduce the socio-economical impact of disease by means of multisectoral associations and approaches.
WHO is also associated with international experts and partnerships for infection diagnosis, prevention and control of the disease, clinical and community management, modeling, and statistical analysis.
General recommendations for public
WHO has provided recommendations for the general public as well which include preventing any close contact of people with the infected individuals (from any acute respiratory disease).
People should avoid unnecessary and unsafe frequent contact with wild or farm animals. Adopt frequent and sufficient handwashing practices particularly after meeting or caring for infected patients or living in their environment.
Use safety masks while working outside, in healthcare facilities and working with or caring for the ill person, both inside or outside the home.
The potential risk reduction also seeks cooperation from the already infected individuals. People having symptoms of any acute respiratory infection need to practice cough and sneeze etiquette by keeping distance to healthy people.
They should use disposable handkerchieves or paper towels to cover while coughing or sneezing and do regular handwashing.
For all travelers, WHO encourages them to go for medical care if they find any suggestive symptoms of respiratory disease and voluntarily share their travel history with the healthcare professional.