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Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

Northern Italy shutting down as coronavirus cases surge; three dead

ERIC REGULY EUROPEAN BUREAU CHIEF
SPOLETO, ITALY
PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 23, 2020

The alarmingly fast spread of the coronavirus in Italy, the biggest outbreak beyond Asia, is shutting down the wealthy northern parts of the country, where more than 50,000 people in a dozen towns are in lockdown.

By Sunday evening, the Italian infection count had reached 155, the majority of them in Lombardy, whose main city is Milan, the commercial capital. The infection had killed three elderly Italians – two women and a man – since Friday, two of them in Lombardy, the third in the nearby Veneto region.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Northern Italy shutting down as coronavirus cases surge; three dead

More than 50,000 people in a dozen towns are in lockdown in the biggest outbreak beyond Asia
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com
 
So, a co-worker has been away for a while and I asked what was going on. It turns out she had been to China recently, but not near Wuhan. She had no trace of the disease, but still did the home quarantine thing to be safe. On Friday, she was back in the office.
 
Iran lawmaker says 50 dead from new virus in city of Qom

Aya Batrawy The Associated PressPublished Monday, February 24, 2020 5:10AM EST

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a lawmaker was quoted as saying on Monday, even as the Health Ministry insisted only 12 deaths have been recorded to date in the country.

The new death toll reported by the Qom representative, Ahmad Amiriabadi Farahani, is significantly higher than the latest number of nationwide confirmed cases of infections that Iranian officials had reported just a few hours earlier, which stood at 12 deaths out of 47 cases, according to state TV.

www.ctvnews.ca

Iran rejects reported Qom death toll of 50 from new virus

A staggering 50 people have died in the Iranian city of Qom from the new coronavirus this month, a lawmaker was quoted as saying, even as the Health Ministry insisted only 12 deaths have been recorded nationwide.
www.ctvnews.ca
 
How South Korea’s Coronavirus Outbreak Got so Quickly out of Control

STEVEN BOROWIEC / SEOUL
February 24, 2020

The country’s public health authorities have for the past several days reported drastic increases in the number of cases here, with 231 new cases on Monday, bringing the total number to 833, with more than 11,600 people undergoing diagnostic testing. Seven South Koreans infected with the virus, called COVID-19, have died. The country of 51 million people now has the highest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China.

time.com

How South Korea’s Coronavirus Outbreak Got so Quickly out of Control

South Korea now has the highest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China
time.com time.com
 
'Recipe for a Massive Viral Outbreak’: Iran Emerges as a Worldwide Threat

By David D. Kirkpatrick, Farnaz Fassihi and Mujib Mashal

Feb. 24, 2020 Updated 8:25 p.m. ET

Long a regional crossroads, Iran is spreading the new coronavirus to a host of neighboring countries. Many are ill-equipped to cope.

www.nytimes.com

‘Recipe for a Massive Viral Outbreak’: Iran Emerges as a Worldwide Threat (Published 2020)

Long a regional crossroads, Iran is spreading the new coronavirus to a host of neighboring countries. Many are ill equipped to cope.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
Coronavirus: South Korea to test 200,000 sect members as pandemic fears hit markets

Nation brings in ‘maximum measures’ to contain outbreak at secretive church
Martin Farrer, Lorenzo Tondo and agencies
Tue 25 Feb 2020 05.08 GMT

www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus: South Korea to test 200,000 sect members as pandemic fears hit markets

Nation brings in ‘maximum measures’ to contain outbreak at secretive church
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com


Coronavirus: Tenerife hotel with hundreds of guests locked down

A hotel in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands has been locked down after a visiting Italian doctor tested positive for coronavirus.

Hundreds of guests at the H10 Costa Adeje Palace Hotel were initially told to stay in their rooms as medical tests were carried out, Spanish media report.

The doctor is reportedly from the Lombardy region, where Italian authorities are battling an outbreak.

www.bbc.com

Coronavirus: Tenerife hotel with hundreds of guests locked down

An Italian doctor staying at the hotel, which has hundreds of guests, tested positive on Monday.
www.bbc.com
 
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has admitted that a hospital in the country's north had contributed to the spread of the deadly coronavirus, raising questions about whether the European nation is capable of containing the outbreak.

Italy now has the highest number of coronavirus infections outside Asia, as 54 new cases were detected in the country's north overnight, bringing the total to 283, the Italian civil protection agency said Tuesday. The cases are heavily concentrated in the region of Lombardy where 212 infections have been confirmed. Seven people have so far died from the virus in the country.

"Obviously we cannot predict the progress of the virus. It is clear that there has been an outbreak and it has spread from there," Conte told reporters Monday evening, referring to the hospital where the first case was confirmed.

He added that it was clear "there has been a management of the hospital not entirely proper according to prudent protocols, which are recommended in these cases, and this has certainly contributed to the spread."

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/europe/italy-coronavirus-backfoot-intl/index.html
 
Coronavirus: Europe on alert as four more deaths reported in Italy – updates

Switzerland, Austria and Croatia report first cases as outbreak worsens across Europe

www.theguardian.com

Europe on alert as four more Covid-19 deaths reported in Italy – as it happened

Switzerland, Austria and Croatia report first cases as outbreak worsens across Europe
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister tests positive as outbreak worsens

Iran's deputy health minister and an MP have both tested positive for the new coronavirus, as it struggles to contain an outbreak that has killed 15.

www.bbc.com

Coronavirus: Iran's deputy health minister tests positive as outbreak worsens

Iraj Harirchi, who has strongly denied any cover-up of a growing outbreak, has self-quarantined.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
 
Austria, Croatia and Switzerland said the cases involved people who had been to Italy, as did Algeria in Africa.

The first positive virus test has been recorded in Latin America - a Brazilian resident just returned from Italy.

Italy has in recent days become Europe's worst-affected country, with more than 300 cases and 11 deaths.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51638095
 
I am going to, again, advise people to take a deep breath.

I realize, people are reporting news pieces in good faith.

But I have serious questions about the media's competence in how it is reporting this.

I may be completely wrong, we never get to know these things til after..........

But I still see no epidemiological evidence that this virus is a profound threat.

Lets take this recent issue w/Italy...............


Covid-19 - cases 300, deaths 11

Influenza - cases 2,760,000, deaths 240

This is THIS season.

Which one seems more pressing to you? Which one have you heard more about?

While the death rate for Covid, in Italy is certainly higher than the flu; you are far more likely to die from the latter than the former. The former is also spreading much more quickly.

Worth adding is that a well prepared jurisdiction should expect a lower death rate from Covid.

To my understanding.......we've had 11 cases thus far in Canada, with zero deaths.

I don't want to downplay something is a genuine public health concern.

But this feeling of panic is out of all proportion to routine risks we all face every day.

Just sayin.
 
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