Chinese health official says, 'coronavirus is preventable and treatable'

A Chinese health official on February 17 reportedly said, that the new coronavirus is preventable and treatable. The official from the National Health Commission made the remarks at a daily press conference where she also said that the percentage of infected patients in Wuhan city had dropped to 18 per cent from 38 per cent when the disease first broke out in December last year. The comments from Guo Yanhong, a hospital administration supervisor at the commission came on the day when China reported 105 new deaths due to the virus. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

As per reports, the coronavirus or COVID-19 has claimed more than 1,700 lives in China alone and over 71,000 new cases have been confirmed in the country as of February 17. US Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said that the virus has already spread to 27 countries, including Japan, which reported its first fatality. US CDC had earlier said that the development of the vaccine for the virus is under progress and it may take three months to be ready for human trials. 

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Media reports had earlier suggested that the virus originated from a seafood market in China's Hubei province, where animals were being traded illegally. So far, the most number of deaths have been reported from Wuhan city, the believed epicentre of the disease. As per reports, illegal animal trading was responsible for a similar outbreak in 2003 that claimed nearly 800 lives. Animal trade was banned in the country during the outbreak in the early 2000s but it quickly found pace again after some time.

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The coronavirus has claimed more lives than its predecessor Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). According to reports, SARS, which broke out in China in 2002-2003 had claimed more than 774 lives, which is way below the current death toll from COVID-19. According to reports, China on February 13 reported the highest number of deaths caused by the virus in a single day as 254 people died in Hubei province. 

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