quarta-feira, 26 de fevereiro de 2020

O,M,S CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus: World must

 prepare for pandemic,

 says WHO








Media captionDrone captures massive queue for masks in South Korea's Daegu city

The World Health Organization has said the world should do
 more to prepare for a possible coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO said it was too early to call the outbreak a pandemic
 but countries should be "in a phase of preparedness".
A pandemic is when an infectious disease spreads easily
 from person to person in many parts of the world.
More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease 
Covid-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South 
Korea, Italy and Iran causing concern.
However, most infections are in China, the original source 
of the virus, where more than 77,000 people have the 
disease and over 2,600 have died.
More than 1,200 cases have been confirmed in about 30 
other countries and there have been more than 20 deaths.
 Italy reported four more deaths on Monday, raising the 
total there to seven.
concerns about the economic impact of the virus.
China said it would postpone the annual meeting of the
 National People's Congress next month, to "continue the
 efforts" against the coronavirus.
The body, which approves decisions made by the Communist 
Party, has met every year since 1978.

The proportion of infected people who die from Covid-19 appears
 to be between 1% and 2%, although the WHO cautions that
 the mortality rate is not known yet.
On Monday Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain
 reported their first cases, all involving people who had come
 from Iran. Officials in Bahrain said the patient infected there
 was a school bus driver, and several schools had been closed 
as a result.
Among other developments:

What does the WHO say?

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on
 Monday that the number of new cases in recent days in Iran, 
Italy and South Korea was "deeply concerning".
However he added: "For the moment we are not witnessing 
the uncontained global spread of this virus and we are not
 witnessing large scale severe disease or deaths.
"Does this virus have pandemic potential? Absolutely, it has.
 Are we there yet? From our assessment, not yet."




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"The key message that should give all countries hope, courage
 and confidence is that this virus can be contained, indeed
 there are many countries that have done exactly that," Mr Tedros said.
"Using the word 'pandemic' now does not fit the facts but may
 certainly cause fear."
But Mike Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme,
 said now was the time to make "do everything you would 
do to prepare for a pandemic".



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'Pandemic' is just a word




Analysis box by James Gallagher, health and science correspondent

Is the coronavirus a pandemic? For now the WHO says no. It argues
 the number of countries with outbreaks, the severity of the disease
 and the impact on society has not reached pandemic-level.
But some scientists - assessing the same picture - think we are 
already there and others say we're on the cusp. The surge in cases 
in South Korea and the deaths in Iran and Italy have dialled up
 concern over the past few days.
The deaths suggest there are far more cases in those two countries
 than have been reported and that the virus has been there for some time.
But ultimately the word pandemic is just that - a word - it will not
 unlock more money or give the WHO new powers. It has already 
issued the highest warning it can, by declaring the virus a global emergency.



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Media captionWhat are viruses? And how do they spread?

What are the symptoms?

The main signs of infection are fever (high temperature) and a cough 
as well as shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

What should I do?

Frequent hand washing with soap or gel, avoiding close contact
 with people who are ill and not touching your eyes, nose and mouth
 with unwashed hands can help cut the risk of infection.
Catching coughs and sneezes in a tissue, binning it and washing
 your hands can minimise the risk of spreading disease.

What does 'pandemic' mean?

  • A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease
  • The H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak, which killed hundreds of
  •  thousands of people, was declared a pandemic by the WHO 
  • in 2009
  • The WHO no longer formally labels an outbreak of disease 
  • a "pandemic" but says the term may be used "colloquially"
  • Its advice to countries - to limit the infections while preparing 
  • for wider spread - remains the same

Which are the worst-affected countries?

South Korea - which has the largest number of confirmed cases
 outside China - reported another 231 infections on Monday
 taking the total there to more than 830. Eight people have died.
Around 7,700 troops have been quarantined after 11 military 
members were infected.
But the biggest virus clusters have been linked to a hospital and a 
religious group near the south-eastern city of Daegu.







Media captionPeople in Daegu have voiced concern over the spread of the virus

Italy has the largest number of cases in Europe, 229, and announced 
a series of drastic measures over the weekend to try to contain the 
outbreak.
In the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, a lock-down is in place in
 several small towns. For the next two weeks, 50,000 residents will
 not be able to leave without special permission.







Media captionMark Lowen was on the ground at the edge of Italy's coronavirus lockdown area

Even outside the zone, many businesses and schools have suspended activities, and sporting events have been cancelled.
Three deaths announced on Monday were all in Lombardy, Italian media reported.
It is not yet clear how the virus entered the country, officials said.
In China, the government announced a ban on the consumption of wild animals and a crackdown on the hunting, transportation and trade of prohibited species, state media say.
It is thought that the outbreak originated at a market in the city of Wuhan selling wild animals.
China reported 508 new infections on Monday, compared with 409 on Sunday. The bulk of the new cases were in Wuhan. Outside the worst-hit province of Hubei, the number of new infections continues to decline, according to official figures.
The death toll in China rose by 71 to 2,663.
Iran said on Sunday it had 61 confirmed cases of the virus, most of them in the holy city of Qom. Twelve of those infected have died, the highest number of deaths outside China.
On Monday an MP in Qom accused the government of covering up the extent of the outbreak, saying there were 50 deaths in the city alone. However, the country's deputy health minister quickly denied the claim.

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