Toner’s team ran a simulation of the impact of a hypothetical coronavirus that was resistant to vaccine and easily transmittable
Scientist and scholar Eric Toner, quoted above in an excerpt from a Friday interview with the business-news channel CNBC, explained that China’s efforts to contain the current outbreak of a fast-moving upper-respiratory illness are “unlikely to be effective.”
The comments come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a second case of coronavirus in the U.S. Late Saturday, a third case of the virus was reported in Southern California, according to the Associated Press, citing a report from the Orange County Health Care Agency.
Cases of the illness, which is related to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and MERS, Middle East respirator syndrome, have now turned up in a number of countries beyond China, where the illness originated in Wuhan City.
The number of infections of coronavirus, or CoV, has risen to about 2,000, according to the Wall Street Journal. On top of that, the official death toll has climbed to at least 56, including a doctor treating flu-stricken patients in Wuhan, from 40-plus as of Saturday. The Journal reported that the outbreak was overwhelming Wuhan-area resources and hospitals.
Beijing has shut down parts of the Great Wall, as well as more than a dozen cities, restricting the movement of some 50 million people, and canceling events related to the Lunar New Year, one of the busiest periods of travel and consumerism in the country.
The Journal on Saturday, citing people described as familiar with the situation, reported that a charter flight was being arranged by the U.S. government to evacuate U.S. citizens and diplomats from Wuhan.
CNBC reported that Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has declared a virus emergency in the city of 7.3 million, extending school cancellations until Feb. 17 and barring visits to mainland China.
David Adams