Although there are many things we do not know about this
virus, there are also many things we do know. The complete DNA has been discovered
and published for example. Some other thing things we know at this point:
1.
A new virus hit the human race starting at the
end of 2019. This is not surprising, as many viruses have jumped and recombine
across species.
2.
As far as how deadly it is, this virus appears
to be somewhere between influenza and SARS. The death rate of those infected appears
much lower than SARS’ 10%, but higher than the typical yearly influenza which kills
about 0.1% of those infected.[i] The
1918 outbreak likely killed around 20% of its victims.
3.
Starting with China, the countries of the world
have taken very aggressive public health measures to try to slow and stop the
spread of the virus. This hard work and sacrifice especially on the part of the
Chinese (government, people, healthcare workers) has paid off as the rate of spread
has been decreasing since the end of January.
4.
Despite these efforts, and their results, the virus
has spread to some degree to several countries. These are still small numbers.
It is too early to tell if they will be able to contain the virus, especially
in some countries with less capable medical and public health systems.
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