So far, the closest match to the human coronavirus has been found in a bat in China’s Yunnan province. A study published on 3 February found that the bat coronavirus shared 96% of its genetic material with the virus that causes COVID-19. Bats could have passed the virus to humans, but there are key differences between the RBD sites in the two viruses. This suggests that this specific bat coronavirus did not directly infect people, but could have been transmitted it to people through an intermediate host, say researchers.
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SOUTH AFRICA
Seventeen people have been diagnosed with coronavirus in South Africa.
Seventeen cases of the novel coronavirus, or the SARS-CoV-2 virus, have now been diagnosed in South Africa, including in eight cases in KwaZulu-Natal, and six cases in Gauteng.
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The World Health Organization has declared the worldwide outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic, with more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries and 4,291 deaths. “We have called every day for countries to take urgent and aggressive action. We have rung the alarm bell loud and clear,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.
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https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00548-w#ref-CR5
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12 March 2020 – The Origin Of The Coronavirus –
Richard Engel reports from a Singapore lab also believes bats are the source of the illness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNB8zN5CQGc
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Coronaviruses (CoVs) of bat origin have caused two pandemics in this century. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV both originated from bats, and it is highly likely that bat coronaviruses will cause future outbreaks.
Active surveillance is both urgent and essential to predict and mitigate the emergence of these viruses in humans.
Using this technology, we effectively reduced sequencing costs by increasing the sensitivity of detection. We discovered nine full genomes of bat CoVs in this study and revealed great genetic diversity for eight of them.
Active surveillance is both urgent and essential to predict and mitigate the emergence of bat-origin CoV in humans and livestock. .
Coronaviruses (CoVs) have the largest nonsegmented genomes among all RNA viruses, reaching up to 30 kb in length. The large genomes enhance plasticity, thereby allowing modification by mutations and recombination, which in turn leads to greater genetic diversity and high chances of cross-species transmission.
Over the past 20 years, two pandemics, SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), have been attributed to CoVs. The outbreak in 2018 of swine acute diarrhea syndrome (SADS), another bat CoV, is a timely reminder that CoVs will continue to emerge and cause new outbreaks in the future.
https://msphere.asm.org/content/5/1/e00807-19
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Hand hygiene
As anxiety intensifies around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Dr. Robert Glatter, emergency physician at Lenox Hill Hospital, recommends ditching the mad dash for a facemask in favor of washing your hands regularly and staying home if you’re sick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLUYacUZChw
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TURKEY
In Turkey, the health minister has confirmed the country’s first coronavirus case. A Turkish citizen apparently contracted the virus while visiting Europe and is being quarantined in hospital. Health officials say they’ve taken all necessary measures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rnnXEGNOSQ
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AMERICA
Dr. Amesh Adalja, an expert in emergency medicine and infectious diseases, explains the rate of infection the American population is likely to see from coronavirus. Aired on 3/11/2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ajACc7ul4k
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ITALY
During February 2020 it was reported that the Coronavirus has killed two people in Italy, prompting the government to introduce an emergency plan in an attempt to contain the virus. One victim was a 78-year-old man from Veneto and another was a 77-year-old woman from Lombardy. The government has responded by quarantining dozens of towns in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, asking around 50,000 people from affected towns to stay at home. The coronavirus, which was first detected in Rome at the end of January has now infected over 100 people. So, where are the Lombardy and Vento regions in Italy?
Lombardy and Veneto are both regions in Northern Italy and encompass a cumulative population of around 15 million people. They border one another, with Vento sitting to the east of Lombardy. Lombardy has a border with Switzerland and Austria while Veneto has a short land border with Slovenia. Lombardy is the fourth-largest region of Italy and has an area of 23.8k square kilometers and around 10 million people live there – around a sixth of Italy’s population. Veneto is smaller, with an area of around 18.3k square kilometers and a population of just under five million.
Where are Lombardy and Veneto in Italy as coronavirus outbreak prompts lockdown?
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Coronavirus survivor reveals what it’s like to have Covid-19
Connor Reed, a British man who works at a school in Wuhan, explains how it felt to have the Covid-19 coronavirus, discusses what life is like after 40 days in lockdown and how he thinks people in the UK would cope in similar circumstances…
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More than 1300 people have now died after contracting Covid-19 coronavirus. But what is it actually like to have the flu-like virus?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idTWP5FiPS4
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Italy
Coronavirus ‘worse than a bomb’ on Italy, says doctor coordinating response
Mostly Older than 65 but also youth/children
Giacomo Grasselli – a senior Italian government health official who is coordinating the network of intensive care units in Lombardy – explains the “critical” situation in Italy, brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak
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8 March 2020 – Lombardy region lockdown
ONAFHANKLIK 