Worldwide Coronavirus scare sparks debate on origin of name and other key facts

The recent outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China is spreading rapidly which has claimed 170 lives and has affected more than 7,700 people. The number of coronavirus cases has crossed the mark of the 2002-2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak.

The epicentre of coronavirus is the central Chinese city of Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei province in December and has now spread across the globe. Coronavirus is named from the word corona which means 'crown' in Latin and it has a series of crown-like spikes on its surface.

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170 dead, more than 7,700 affected

The exact source of coronavirus has not been identified but it is believed that the virus emerged from an animal source. Some of the signs and symptoms of coronavirus are fever, cough and shortness of breath and difficulty in breathing. Many people across the world confused coronavirus with corona beer but both of them have nothing in common.

The death toll in China’s deadly Coronavirus epidemic has surged to 170 with over 1700 recent cases of infections elevating the figures to 7,711 confirmed cases as the infection continues to accelerate, confirmed the government to the reporters on Thursday.

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Virus triggered global fear

Amidst the mounting global fear and substantial containment efforts to restrain the contagion of the disease, the 38 new death reports have emerged from the epicentre of the Wuhan Virus outbreak, the province of Hubei in China. There are 91 confirmed cases outside of China in at least 15 countries, five confirmed infection cases in the US, and first confirmed patient has reportedly been detected in Tibet.

Finland and UAE confirmed one case each of illness on Wednesday. According to the reports, the virus has spiralled to every 31 provinces of China sparking a global health concern as World Health Organization warned the countries to spring to immediate measures as hundreds of foreign nationals were evacuated from the City of Wuhan where the SARS-like virus originated.

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