Coronavirus outbreak: US confirms 64th case, over 83,000 affected globally

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, the United States on February 28 reportedly confirmed its 64th case, who was a Diamond Princess cruise ship passenger. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the individual was a Travis Air Force Base evacuee as well and the new case was reported in Solano County, California. 

Furthermore, another Solano County resident was also tested positive by Japanese testing. However, the case, which would have been 65th in US, is still pending confirmation from the CDC. The US health officials have also confirmed a third case of unknown origin. According to reports, the patient is a resident of Oregon and had no known history of travel to countries severely affected by the outbreak. The patient did not even have any known contact with infected individuals. The recent cases in the US indicate that the deadly virus has been spreading fast with no sign of abating. 

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The director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci reportedly said that the fatality rate in US could reach the same level as in China because there is no vaccine or cure available as of yet. Furthermore, Dr Nancy Messonnier of the United States CDC said in a call with reporters on February 25 that a wider spread of coronavirus in the country is certain. 

Messonnier said, “it's not so much a question of if this will happen anymore, but rather more a question of exactly when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have a severe illness.” 

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Death toll surpasses 2,800

First detected in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei Province of China, the virus outbreak has now spread across more than 40 countries since December 2019. More than 1,700 people have recovered from the disease, whereas, nearly 12,000 coronavirus patients have by now been discharged from hospitals. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has dubbed the virus as COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, the death toll in China has surpassed 2,800 and the National Health Commission reportedly confirmed 427 new cases. The total number of confirmed cases within China also hit nearly 79,000 and more than 83,000 worldwide.

(With AP inputs)

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