Coronavirus or commonly known as the Wuhan coronavirus because of its place of origin broke out in January of 2020 and a sudden panic spread everywhere. Wuhan is a city in China and is considered to have given birth to the highly infectious virus which is slowly spreading to the whole world.
The Wuhan coronavirus causes some flu-like symptoms in patients but the actual point of concern is not the repercussions of the virus but the extent to which it is communicable.
Yes, it is true, the Wuhan coronavirus is no longer limited to the city itself but is reaching the different parts of the world through travelers who have been to Wuhan themselves or have been in contact with an infected resident of Wuhan.
Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus was so sudden and rapid, that many organizations such as the WHO and the CDC issued global health warnings. These health warnings worked like oil on fire and the idea that the Wuhan coronavirus was as deadly as the Black plague started circulating around the world which caused a wave of panic amongst the commoners and the authorities as well.
The question, however, has to be asked how deadly the Wuhan coronavirus actually is? Is it actually as deadly as the Plague and has the potential to wipe off one-third of the world’s population or is it not deadly at all, just highly contagious?
In this article, we are answering all of these questions by stating some facts related to the death toll associated with coronavirus and by examining the information given out by international authorities.
Table of Contents
Wuhan Coronavirus: A brief Timeline
Even though the cases had surfaced a while ago, the Chinese government confirmed that the health authorities in Wuhan were treating some cases of pneumonia which were presenting unknown symptoms. The Chinese were however clueless at that time about the contagious nature of the virus. On January 11th, 2020, the first Wuhan coronavirus related death was reported by the authorities in Wuhan, China.
Soon after the first death in China, cases from the other countries such as Japan, the United States, Thailand, and South Korea also started to emerge. On January 20th, the WHO had already published its initial situational report regarding the outbreak of coronavirus.
On January 23rd, the Chinese government sealed off Wuhan and by the 30th of the same month, the WHO had declared a health emergency.
What is the present situation?
The WHO has been publishing situational reports for coronavirus every twenty-four hours. According to the latest report, a total of 51,857 cases of coronavirus patients have been reported globally until now.
Out of these 51,187 are based in China while only 683 cases have been reported collectively from 25 other countries. When it comes to the death toll, 1666 people in China have lost their lives to the coronavirus in China since its outbreak while the death toll outside of China is only 3.
Based on these numbers, the WHO has declared the risk of acquiring coronavirus to be very high if you are in China while in the rest of the world it is predicted to be high.
How deadly the Coronavirus actually is?
In order to answer this question, it is important to go over some statistics and analyze them through the lens of probability and chance. According to a report by worldometers, 71,442 total cases of coronavirus have been reported yet. Out of these, 1776 have unfortunately died. A death toll of about 2000 might seem like a very big number but it is not as significant when compared to the total number of cases.
The good news does not stop there, a very heartening stat is that out of the total 71,442 cases, 13,060 have already been closed with a recovery rate of 86%. From the remaining 58,382 active cases, 81% are in mild condition and only 19% of the people are in a serious or critical situation.
These statistics go on to show that coronavirus is highly contagious and has spread quite rapidly since its outbreak but is not as deadly as the Black plague. It is a disease that is curable and once acquired does not guarantee a death order.
A Final Note
Even though the statistics show that the coronavirus is not as deadly as it has been made out to be, it is still very important that you do your best to avoid it. Wear masks if you are traveling abroad and avoid close contact with a person who has recently been to China.
The symptoms of coronavirus are very similar to the common cold and thus you should not ignore any symptoms that may arise during this time of the outbreak. The best strategy is to visit a general physician in your area and get yourself thoroughly tested.
You can find and book an appointment with the best general physician through oladoc. You can book an appointment via the website, mobile app or by calling our helpline at 042-3890-0939 for assistance to find the RIGHT professional for your concerns.
