- Chinese president Xi Jinping warns officials to follow orders and help quell the infection.
- Are things about to get worse?
- Cases of the novel coronavirus now exceed , .
Cases of the deadly coronavirus have increased exponentially, Tuesday, as the official infection toll reaches , , with total death count escalating to 659. This marks a doubling of verified infections from a reported 9, confirmed cases just four days ago on the January. Meanwhile, the contagion continues to spread worldwide as the coronavirus claims another 427 outside of the People’s Republic.
Well, that escalated quickly | Source: Johns Hopkins data Wuhan’s novel coronavirus has now doubled in the space of a week, bringing with it an ever-increasing death toll. At the epicenter, nestled in the Hubei province, confirmed cases exceed 31, , with a reported deaths. Outside of the virus’s ground zero, multiple provinces have reported accelerating rates of infection. Removed from mainland China, the virus shows no signs of slackening. Today, Hong Kong confirmed its first fatality. Monday saw Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, convene a second special meeting in which the leader called for a more robust response to the epidemic, describing the outbreak as a “major test of China’s system and capacity for governance. ” Xi extended a stern warning to those that would elude responsibilities, urging officials to follow orders. “Those who disobey the unified command or shirk off responsibilities will be punished,” Xi noted, adding that “bureaucratism and the practice of formalities for formalities” sake ”are contributing to the expanse of the novel coronavirus. According to a report by the state-run media outlet, Xinhua, adaptions in national policy are currently under review. The Politburo Standing Committee — a committee comprising of the top leadership of China’s Communist Party — have already How is the rest of the world fairing? Outside of Southeast Asia, the virus remains widespread but contained. Sporadic cases of coronavirus infection have been confirmed in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago — with no fatalities reported. In Europe, Germany and France have been hit the worst with a respective 15 and 6 confirmed coronavirus infectees. Is a Cure Close at Hand? Despite today’s dreary news, it seems a cure may be closer than ever. Yesterday, it was reported that Thailand Managed to clear and discharge six confirmed cases of the infection [Bangkok Post]. Conflicting reports either downplay the gravity of the virus or refer to it as a full-blown plague. According to Svenn -Erik Mamelund — epidemic expert at the Oslo Metropolitan University — the novel coronavirus is no worse than the flu “It’s very, very transmissible, and it almost certainly is going to be a pandemic… But will it be catastrophic? I don’t know. ” Regardless, if the current rate of infection continues, there will be no doubts as to the severity of the coronavirus. This article was edited by Samburaj Das . 
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