CORONAVIRUS ☣ - 9 main things you need to know about the virus from China in 2020

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

To begin with, Chinese officials have withheld some information about the coronavirus. The authorities in Hubei province withheld the real information about the epidemic for several weeks.

The new coronavirus appeared in Wuhan city of this province in early December 2019. At first, it was confused with the virus that caused the SARS epidemic in 2003 and completely disappeared from the human population a year later. 17 years ago, the Chinese authorities were guilty of the whole world by hiding information about SARS caused by another coronavirus from other countries and their citizens for four months.

This led to the fact that the epidemic first spread throughout mainland China, and then spread to other territories and countries. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Canada were particularly affected. It was the emergence of the virus in Hong Kong that forced the authorities in Beijing to acknowledge the problem and ask for international help. After that, officials said they learned a lesson: openness is the main tool in the fight against the epidemic. So, on December 31, the Chinese authorities informed the WHO that cases of pneumonia of unknown origin were registered in the province.

And already on January 7, Chinese biologists were able to isolate a new pathogen related but not identical to the SARS virus. By January 10, they had also decoded the genome of the virus and published it for the general use of biologists of all countries; a test appeared that allowed to identify a new virus. The source of the infection was also discovered - a market in Wuhan, where live wild animals were sold, which local residents eat. It was closed back on January 1st. But for ten days, from January 11 to January 20, local authorities continued to prepare for the lunar New Year on January 25.

In one of the districts of the city on January 19, a banquet was held for 40 thousand local residents, that is, the local authorities clearly did not think about how to reduce the gathering of people. And only on January 20, messages were sent out that the festive events were "postponed" without explanation. And two days later, the city of Wuhan - and then the neighboring cities - was closed for entry and exit. Millions of residents remained outside the province, who managed to go on holidays to their relatives in other regions. The Wuhan Tourism Bureau, which had previously invited tourists to the city, is now trying to organize the life of the provincial residents behind the checkpoints: it promises them hotels in other cities and sends letters urging them to endure hardships and personally "fight the spread of infection", that is, at the first symptoms report them to doctors.

After the announcement of emergency measures to combat the epidemic, the number of officially sick and dead in Wuhan suddenly began to rise sharply. The number of infected grew by hundreds a day. Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xiangwan admitted that the information was withheld, but did not specify which one.

At the moment, WHO has declared the spread of coronavirus an international emergency of international importance. This is reported on Twitter by WHO. At the same time, there is no reason to restrict international travel and trade, believes the head of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus.

He praised the measures China is taking to contain the epidemic. Is it possible to get infected, for example, by picking up a parcel from China at the post office? But in fact, the probability is very small. Coronaviruses are unstable, very sensitive to environmental changes. Plus the coronavirus is very similar to the flu virus, so it only lives in the open air for 48 hours. So there are bananas or any other food from China, ordering things from China in online stores is quite safe. Considering which goods make their way.

Theoretically, if a sick worker in a factory in China sneezed at seafood and they immediately went to freeze, and then to your table, you can get infected. But if you chew them raw. After all, coronaviruses are completely destroyed at a temperature of 56 degrees, plus large companies that trade from Russia have mostly automated production facilities. But memes from this all those do not become less. Although no one is going to refuse the long-awaited packages. The creators of the Simpsons predicted everything again back in 1993.

In the story, one of the workers at the factory coughs a box, and then it is sent from China to the protagonist and an outbreak of the Asian virus is already attacking the entire city. The creators of the Simpsons predicted everything again back in 1993. In the story, one of the workers at the factory coughs a box, and then it is sent from China to the protagonist and an outbreak of the Asian virus is already attacking the entire city. According to one of the versions, the Virus has been developed by a US laboratory since 2003 and was patented in 2015 by the State Center for Disease Control - CDC (si di si), patent number US 722 08 52 B1.