By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The new strain of coronavirus which continues to spark fear in people across the world has infected more than 24,000 people globally.
Based on data on the World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergency Dashboard on the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as of Feb. 5, there are 24,554 confirmed cases of the virus in 25 countries.
China, where the virus originated, has 24,363 confirmed cases, according to the WHO Dashboard.
Other countries with confirmed cases of the new virus include Australia -13;
Cambodia - 1;
Canada - 5;
Finland - 1 ;
France- 6;
Germany - 12;
India - 3;
Italy - 2;
Japan - 33;
Malaysia - 10;
Nepal - 1;
Philippines - 3;
Republic of Korea - 18;
Russian Federation - 2;
Singapore - 24;
Sri Lanka - 1;
Spain - 1;
Sweden - 1;
Thailand - 25;
United Arab Emirates - 5;
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: 2;
United States of America - 11;
Vietnam - 10;
and Belgium - 1.
The Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering has also created an online dashboard for tracking the worldwide spread of the deadly virus.
The latest available data on the tracked confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV worldwide has reached 24,597 with 494 reported deaths and 956 cases of those recovered.
Meanwhile, based on the daily briefing on novel coronavirus cases in China, the National Health Commission (NHC) of the People’s Republic of China noted that as of Feb. 4, it has received 24,324 reports of confirmed cases and 490 deaths in 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland.
“There still remain 23,260 suspected cases and 3,219 patients in serious condition,” the NHC said.
China’s NHC also reported that as of Feb. 4, a total of 31 provincial-level regions on the Chinese mainland as well as the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 3,887 new cases of confirmed infections which include 3,156 in Hubei province; 3,971 new cases of suspected infections which include 1,957 in Hubei province; 431 new serious cases which include 377 in Hubei province, and 65 deaths also in Hubei province.
The NHC noted that “262 patients were released from hospitals after being cured, including 125 in Hubei province.”
The NHC of China also said “so far, 252,154 people have been identified as having had close contact with infected patients” wherein “185,555 are now under medical observation.”
As of Feb. 4, the NHC said 18,457 people were released from observation. It added that 39 confirmed infections had been reported in the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions and Taiwan province, with 18 cases in Hong Kong with 1 death, 10 in Macao, and 11 in Taiwan.
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) reported that the country has three confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV involving Chinese nationals from Wuhan, China: a 38-year-old Chinese woman who is reportedly recovering, a 44-year old Chinese man who died due to the virus, and a 60-year old Chinese female.
DOH also noted that there are 133 persons under investigation (PUI) in the country for possible 2019-nCoV.
The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo also confirmed that a Filipino crew member onboard a cruise ship was among those who tested positive for the 2019-nCoV along with other nine guests of varying nationalities.