Top Scientist Declares Ground-Zero China a Coronavirus ‘Green Zone’
Statues with face masks on are seen amid snow in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in China. Newly-reported figures show that the country has largely restricted a further outbreak of the infection in March.| Source: China Daily via REUTERS
- China is now a safe zone from coronavirus as cases significantly drop, a prominent scientist says.
- South Korea is also confirming containment, after testing hundreds of thousands of individuals.
- Risk of a global pandemic remains as concerns towards Italy, Iran, and U.S. intensify.
China is now considered as a safe from new coronavirus infections as a result of the rapid decline in new cases, leading scientist Yaneer Bar-Yam says.
Bar-Yam, president of New England Complex Systems Institute—an American research institution and think tank—said the decline of coronavirus in China is secure, and South Korea is also confirming signs of strong control of the outbreak.
Positive development for coronavirus epidemic, for now
The coronavirus epidemic in China appears to be slowing down , as the number of new cases are consistently dropping.
Wuhan has said that it will soon clear out temporary hospitals the city had set up in February, as more local coronavirus patients get discharged.
With various studies confirming that the second peak of coronavirus has been achieved in China , scientists and virologists are anticipating the severity of the outbreak in the country to gradually cool down.
Bar-Yam said:
We declare China a Safe = Green Zone as the number of cases are less than 50, the decline is secure, and policies are adequate to protect the population. Outside Hubei only imported cases in isolation. The rest of the world needs to show it can.
South Korea, the country with the second-highest coronavirus infections after China, has confirmed more than 8,100 cases to date.
But, with large-scale testing and quarantine, the country has been able to prevent more individuals from being infected by the outbreak in a short period of time.
With drive-thru clinics and efficient testing kits, South Korea has tested more than 140,000 individuals as of early March.
As reported by local mainstream publications including Chosun, South Korea has been able to develop and implement a system that enables scientists to diagnose coronavirus within a 15-minute span .
Bar-yam added :
South Korea confirms control with strong decline. Italy exploding: over 1000 new cases, hospitals have 650 in serious condition, resulting in travel ban of Lombardy. Better late than never. Iran unclear dynamic. Europe growing rapidly. US numbers limited by testing.
While the confirmation of China and South Korea’s containment of the coronavirus outbreak is a positive development, in a grander scheme of things, the risk of a widespread pandemic still remains.
Italy, Iran, and now U.S. still have to deal with COVID-19
Italy and Iran have confirmed 7,375 and 6,566 coronavirus cases respectively, all within the past month.
France, Germany, Spain, and the U.S. have each reported 1,126, 1,040, 673, and 561 cases, according to COVID2019.app , which imports official data directly from governments worldwide.
The danger and the contagious nature of coronavirus spike in areas that are not ready to handle a coronavirus outbreak.
In places with weak precautionary measures and a lack of centers to diagnose and to treat coronavirus patients , the basic reproduction number (R0) or coronavirus can rise to high as 12, and the fatality rate of the virus can reach 4%.
As previously reported by CCN.com, several cities in China in the likes of Tianjin, Hainan, and Xinjiang saw the fatality rate of coronavirus rise to as high as 3.9%, with the Hubei region recording a 4% death rate.
