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Showing Original Post only (View all)China Cases Top 20,000; U.S. Braces for Pandemic: Virus Update [View all]
Source: Bloomberg
The U.S. said its preparing for a possible pandemic and Hong Kong closed more checkpoints with mainland China, as the number of cases passed 20,000.
Chinas death toll from the virus rose to 425 as of Feb. 3, according to the National Health Commission, while there are now 20,438 confirmed infections in the country. The commission said 2,788 of the cases are severe.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing as if the outbreak in China will eventually spread to the U.S. Scientists are increasingly focusing on bats in their search for an origin of the SARS-like pathogen. Scientists increasingly believe the coronavirus originated in bats, which can harbor hundreds of diseases. As people and wild animals come into increasing contact because of human expansion, future outbreaks are likely.
A heavy proportion of the cases are in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak. It earlier reported an additional 64 deaths over the past 24 hours. Hubeis health commission said confirmed cases increased by 2,345, bringing the total in the province to 13,522.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-03/death-toll-tops-400-u-s-braces-for-pandemic-virus-update?srnd=premium
By Robert Langreth and Michelle Cortez
February 3, 2020, 3:19 PM MST Updated on February 3, 2020, 5:00 PM MST