Coronavirus cases have TRIPLED to almost 6,200 within three days and the outbreak is now worse than SARS – but China insists spread ‘will peak in the next 10 days’
- Just 2,014 patients had been struck down with the infection by January 26
- This has now risen dramatically to 6,168, with cases in the US and Australia
- Figures also show there were just 445 cases by Wednesday last week
- China’s National Health Commission says the spread is only going to get worse
- And health officials in the capital Beijing today warned cases are on the rise
Cases of the deadly coronavirus sweeping the world have tripled within three days, MailOnline can reveal after China warned the killer outbreak will peak in the next 10 days.
World Health Organization figures show just 2,014 patients had been struck down with the SARS-like infection by Sunday, January 26. This has now risen dramatically to 6,168, with cases in the US, Australia and Canada.
Figures also show there were just 445 cases by Wednesday last week – meaning the outbreak that is continuing to escalate has increased in size by almost 14-fold in the space of seven days.
It means the outbreak in mainland China is now bigger than the 2003 SARS epidemic, when 5,327 cases of the killer virus were confirmed. However, it is still behind the total toll of the outbreak, which infected 8,000 people.
It comes after a renowned scientist at China’s National Health Commission warned the spread of the infection is only going to get worse. Dr Zhong Nanshan admitted he fears the crisis will peak ‘in the next 10 days’.
Health officials in the capital Beijing today warned cases are on the rise. Some 132 people have now died, most of whom lived in Wuhan – the deserted city at the heart of the outbreak.
World Health Organization figures show just 2,014 patients had been struck down with the SARS-like infection by Sunday, January 26. This has now risen dramatically to 6,168, with cases in the US, Australia and Canada
As well as a dramatic increase in cases of the never-before-seen virus, figures also show the number of deaths have spiralled
The number of people confirmed to have been infected with the Wuhan coronavirus has now exceeded 6,000 since the outbreak began almost a month ago
In other developments to the killer outbreak, sources claim hundreds of British nationals stuck in coronavirus-hit Wuhan are gearing up to be flown back to London tomorrow.
And the United Arab Emirates has become the latest country to confirm cases of the mutating virus, announcing four patients from the same family had caught the infection.
As well as a dramatic increase in cases of the never-before-seen virus, figures also show the number of deaths have spiralled.
Chinese tourists wearing protective masks queue at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, as they wait to board flights back to China
Wuhan residents wear facemasks as they wait for medical attention at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital to prevent the spread of the deadly virus which began in the city
Experts say the difficulty of containing the coronavirus is that so many patients have mild, cold-like symptoms and don’t realise they have the infection – but it can quickly turn deadly
The Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre is the first dedicated coronavirus hospital to have opened in China. Workers and volunteers spent two days revamping an empty building
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS CORONAVIRUS?
What is this virus?
The virus has been identified as a new type of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, most of which cause mild lung infections such as the common cold. But coronaviruses can also be deadly. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is caused by a coronavirus and killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s.
Can the Wuhan coronavirus kill?
Yes – 132 people have so far died after testing positive for the virus.
What are the symptoms?
Some people who catch the Wuhan coronavirus may not have any symptoms at all, or only very mild ones like a sore throat or a headache.
Others may suffer from a fever, cough or trouble breathing.
And a small proportion of patients will go on to develop severe infection which can damage the lungs or cause pneumonia, a life-threatening condition which causes swelling and fluid build-up in the lungs.
How did it start and spread?
The first cases identified were among people connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.
Cases have since been identified around China and are known to have spread from person to person.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MAILONLINE’S FULL Q&A ON THE CORONAVIRUS
Just nine deaths were recorded by Chinese officials at the end of Wednesday last week. This jumped to 17 overnight.
Fifty-six deaths were recorded by the end of Sunday, meaning deaths have more than doubled in the same time that cases have tripled.
Cases and deaths have also risen overnight, with a WHO situation report revealing there was 4,593 cases and 106 deaths by the end of yesterday.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Beijing and the risk of infection there are on the rise, a health official in the capital city said today.
Pang Xinghuo, vice director of Beijing city’s Center for Disease Control and Preventon, made the comments during a press briefing. Beijing has confirmed 1 death and 102 confirmed cases of the virus so far.
Leading scientists have made stark warnings that there could be tens of thousands of patients already infected – far more than the official toll.
Despite growing fears, China has been maintaining a positive front in its ‘battle of Wuhan’. President Xi Jinping said the country would defeat the ‘devil virus’.
Chinese state television quoted President Xi as saying the country would bolster its international cooperation to help contain the killer infection.
Discussing the outbreak, Dr Zhong said: ‘I believe it should reach a peak in a week or around ten days.’
He added: ‘The battle of Wuhan is taking place under a situation where there is no clear boundary between us and the enemy.’
Other experts added that warmer weather may make it harder for the infection to spread – cold and flu-like illnesses tend to spread faster in winter weather.
SARS infected 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 in an outbreak in Asia in 2003, in that it is a type of coronavirus which infects humans’ lungs.
British Airways today announced it would be stopping all flights to and from mainland China. It runs daily flights to Beijing and Shanghai from London Heathrow.
The airline said in a statement: ‘We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel.
A pilot wearing a protective suit parks a cargo plane at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei Province
Jeff Siddle, his wife Sindy and their nine-year-old daughter Jasmine will be torn apart because Beijing won’t allow his Chinese wife on tomorrow’s British evacuation flight
Medics in protective gear treat a patient with coronavirus at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, in Wuhan – the outbreak’s epicentre – on Tuesday
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