As of this writing, there are 750 confirmed deaths in China alone from the Wuhan Coronavirus, with 8,000 infections all across the nation. That is of course only the deaths confirmed to be related to the virus, which can be tricky to identify versus the severe flu or other respiratory illnesses.
The total death count could very well be higher than the 750 claimed, but what is particularly terrifying is that the total infected count is almost certainly much greater than the 8,000 confirmed in China alone. That’s because the Coronavirus is contagious even before symptoms set in, unlike the famous SARS virus from the 2002 SARS outbreak.
That means that you could be infected yourself right now, and spreading the infection, without ever realizing it until finally, in about two weeks’ time, you start to come down with severe flu-like symptoms and difficulty breathing. If that’s not scary enough, every day on an average more then 15 people die from Coronavirus.
That means the virus is spreading at an exponential rate, and if this rate of increase continues on its present course, we could be seeing thousands dead in as little as a month. Likely though, this won’t be the case as Chinese health authorities are taking incredible steps to stop the spread of the virus.
Two new hospitals in the worst affected regions are already under construction, and the nation has mobilized both its civilian medical experts and the military to stop the halt of the virus. Unfortunately, all these incredible efforts may be too late, as the virus has not just spread throughout China, but has made the leap across the ocean.
The virus is present in a dozen nations, including France, Australia, Singapore, Japan, and the United States. In the US alone over the weekend of January 24th to the 26th, the cases of confirmed infection grew from 2 to 5, and many more are suspected to be infected and completely unaware until symptoms begin to set in. With the possibility of the Wuhan virus showing up in your town growing by the day.
What Can You Do To Protect Yourself?
Many authorities in China are recommending people wear face masks to prevent the spread of the virus, though if you’re looking to stop yourself from picking up an infection, this is not a very reliable method. Even before the Wuhan virus, the practice of wearing face masks in public has been very popular across Asia, but the reality is that these masks will often do little if anything to stop an airborne virus.
Simply put, this is because the masks are simply too porous to filter out viruses and other bacteria. Some studies have shown that the masks are effective in reducing the rate of infection, but these were all carried out in clinical settings and have little bearing on what a mask-user would encounter in the real world. The one way that masks are very effective in fighting against viral outbreaks though is in their use by those already infected, as the mask helps stop transmission.
If an infected person is around you and you’re wearing a mask though, odds are it isn’t going to do much to stop you from getting sick. The American CDC refuses to recommend surgical masks be used to help fight transmission for those individuals who are not already sick, citing a lack of evidence that they actually help stop the infection.
Instead, to combat the Wuhan virus and others like it, the CDC recommends that you simply wash your hands regularly and use tissues every time you cough or sneeze. Trapping airborne viral particles are far more important than trying to stop them from getting to you with a mask, as typically people have infected orally thanks to poor hand washing techniques anyways. If you do use a tissue, make sure that you get rid of it as quickly as possible to limit the chance viral particles will get on surfaces around you.
