UK Expert Warns 100,000 May Already be Infected with Coronavirus

China’s National Health Commission has reported 15 more deaths from the coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 56 as of Saturday. The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus also increased by 688 on Saturday.

Resulting in a total number of 1,975 cases reportedly in the China as of Saturday midnight. Another 2,684 suspected cases have also been reported, Ma Xiaowei from the commission said.

A person with the Wuhan coronavirus could be infectious to others before they know they have the coronavirus.

He said someone with the virus could show no symptoms they have the coronavirus anytime between a day and 14 days. During that time, an asymptomatic person is also infectious and could spread the coronavirus to others. This also makes it difficult to stop the virus from spread, Ma said.

Coronavirus symptoms include nasal congestion, headache, cough, sore throat, and a fever.

Cases spreading exponentially in China

“At present, the rate of development of the epidemic is accelerating,” Ma said at the press conference. “I am afraid that it will continue for some time, and the number of cases may increase.”

Although officials have quarantined Wuhan and some other neighboring cities, the virus has spread to at least 12 other countries: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Nepal, France, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, and the US.

Currently, there are no tests designed to detect this exact coronavirus strain. The ‘coronavirus’ refers to a family of viruses that cause common colds. Even more current coronavirus tests that doctors use can’t detect the Wuhan coronavirus strain.

Someone who gets a coronavirus could have minor symptoms and develop a flu or into life-threatening condition like pneumonia.

UK Expert predicts mass infections worldwide of coronavirus

Meanwhile, The Guardian has reported that about 100,000 people worldwide could be infected with the new coronavirus. Prof Neil Ferguson, a public health expert at Imperial College, said his “best guess” was that there were 100,000 affected by the virus even though there are only 2,000 confirmed cases so far.

The cases are mostly in the city of Wuhan in China where the new coronavirus first appeared.

“Sooner or later we will get a case in the UK,” he said. “There are very large numbers of Chinese tourists across Europe right now. Unless the Chinese manage to control this, and I’m skeptical about whether that is possible, we will get cases here.”

Priti Patel, the home secretary, insisted on Sunday that the government was taking “all precautions.”

There was also no clarity on Sunday over whether the government would evacuate the estimated 200 Brits trapped in Wuhan. With the Foreign Office advising against all travel to Hubei province. Even more providing scant information on how to leave the affected areas.

France, the US and Japan, who are putting in place logistics to get their citizens out.

Patel said the government was “looking at all the options”, which could include airlifting UK citizens out.

So far there are around 40 cases outside China. Including three each in the United States and France. All 56 deaths have occurred in China. Consequently in people who were older and had underlying health problems.

Health problems that made it hard to fight off the virus.