Rabat – The contagious and potentially fatal coronavirus has spread to 18 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, and Australia with 5,974 cases.
The new type of coronavirus had its first case in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.
China has reported 5,908 cases of the virus, with the number of deaths reaching 132.
In North America, the US has reported five cases and Canada has reported three.
Thailand has reported 14 cases; Hong Kong 8; Japan 7; Taiwan and Macau each have 5; South Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore each have 4; Vietnam has 2; and Nepal, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates each have 1.
France has reported four cases in Paris, and Germany has one.
Australia has reported five cases.
While most people with the virus had connections to Wuhan or at least to China, patients diagnosed with coronavirus in Vietnam, Japan, Germany and Taiwan had not even been to China.
After Europe confirmed its first coronavirus case, the Moroccan Ministry of Health issued a statement regarding their security measures to prevent the virus from spreading to Morocco.
Moroccan international airports have implemented a health control plan to prevent the spread of coronavirus with safety equipment, medical care, border control, and quarantine measures in the event of any cases being reported.
A Chinese couple left a regional hospital in Midelt, central Morocco, with cold and flu symptoms under suspicious circumstances, casting doubts among hospital staff.
China is attempting to stop the spread of the virus by rapidly building two hospitals in the virus’s epicenter Wuhan, both due to open in early February, as well as Wuhan’s airport shutting down, and airlines suspending flights to and from China.
British Airways has stopped operating all flights to and from mainland China, as of January 29.
In the absence of a cure, countries and international companies are taking steps to contain the virus. Both China and Russia are also working on a vaccine to combat the virus.
A coronavirus is a respiratory virus that is transmitted between animals and humans, causing fever-like symptoms, shortness of breath, pneumonia, and in extreme cases, death.
