The COVID-19 is a disease caused by the spread of 2019-nCoV (2019 novel Corona Virus).
Originating in China, it has spread to other parts of the world which is a cause for concern.
What is a Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a class of viruses so named because their electron microscope image resembles the corona of the sun.
They are usually found in animals, but sometimes get transmitted to human beings possibly through the food chain.
The symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath.
This happened during the 2003 outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus that claimed close to 800 lives.
The current 2019 strain that had originated in China has been named as 2019 ‘novel’ coronavirus (2019-nCoV) or SARS-CoV-2.
What is the current situation?
The number of laboratory confirmed 2019-nCoV cases in Wuhan and other parts of mainland China has come down now.
But, the number of countries/regions that have so far reported at least one confirmed case has also gone up recently.
The cases were reported in Vietnam, Germany, South Korea, Iran, etc.
Deaths were observed in 3 countries in the East Mediterranean region.
In contrast, cases have been increasing only slowly in Hong Kong; Singapore has almost cut the transmission cycle.
What is the South Korean situation?
South Korea has the most number of infections outside China.
Beyond the high number of cases reported from South Korea, what is indeed alarming is the rate of viral spread.
Many of the cases in the country are linked to a religious cult group.
There is a difficulty in tracing the contacts of cult members, as they prefer not to disclose their link to the church.
This has made it difficult for South Korea in containing the spread.
The spread has been equally alarming in Iran as in South Korea.
The number of those infected in Italy is more than double that of Iran.
What is the cause for concern?
Generally, the cases were reported in cruise ships, jails and large clusters seen in churches in South Korea and Singapore.
From cases observed, it becomes apparent that mass gatherings in enclosed spaces are an ideal ground for the virus to spread.
This raises the question whether shutting down many Chinese cities, thus locking both healthy and infected people together, had provided a fertile ground for the virus to spread.
