Corona Daily 005: Flashback: Part Two

Humans are capable of absorbing catastrophic news from abroad with tranquility. We placidly read about wildfires in Greece or Turkey. The agitation usually begins when the disaster reaches our own city.

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News reports on 21 January identify the first case in the USA. A single unnamed male in his 30s, residing in Snohomish County was America’s first patient. He was travelling solo since November in Wuhan. He landed in Seattle on 15 Jan. with a fever and cough, and in hospital four days later.

On 22 January, CNBC interviewed Donald Trump. An extract:

Interviewer: The CDC has identified a case of coronavirus, in Washington State. The Wuhan strain. If you remember SARS, that affected GDP. Travel-related effects. Have you been briefed by the CDC? Are there worries about a pandemic at this point?

Trump: No. Not at all. We have it totally under control. It’s one person coming from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine. I trust China. I have a great relationship with President Xi. We just signed probably the biggest deal ever made.

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On 30 January, the Hindu reported India’s first positive case, a 20-year old girl from Kerala studying in Wuhan University. On 23 January, she flew back from Wuhan, and four days later had a sore throat and dry cough. She had not been to the Huanan Seafood wholesale market. On a train from Wuhan to Kunming, she had noticed several people with respiratory symptoms. She was discharged from the hospital on 20 Feb 2020. (She stayed in India until July 2021 due to travel restrictions. Ironically, in July, she gave a test before leaving for Wuhan, and tested positive. She was re-infected after 18 months).

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On 1 February, BBC and other media reported the first two patients in the UK. On 29 January, a 23-year Chinese national called the NHS 111 phone line from his hotel room in York. Known in medical journals as “B”, this University of York student had fever, dry cough and muscle pain. His 50 year old mother “A” who flew from Wuhan a week earlier had fever, cough and sore throat. The pair was discharged on 17 February.

By January end, coronavirus had spread to 25 countries, with 7,818 confirmed cases and over 400 dead.

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On 22 January, WHO postponed a decision on whether to declare the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern.” WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom said “this is an evolving and complex situation.”

Wuhan was closed off from the following day.

“At this time there is no evidence of human-to-human transmission outside China”. Said Adhanom. “That doesn’t mean it won’t happen.” He added.

On 28 January, it did happen. A German man was infected by a colleague who had returned from Wuhan. In Vietnam and Japan, the virus was transmitted from one person to another. On 30 January, a woman in Illinois back from Wuhan passed the virus to her husband.

 On 30 January, WHO declared the outbreak a global health emergency.

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WHO spent the first few weeks of February debating new virus names. On 11 February, the viral disease was baptized as Covid-19.

On 24 February, WHO confirmed at a press briefing that the coronavirus outbreak does not yet amount to a pandemic. “Using the word pandemic does not fit the facts, but may cause fear.” Said Tedros Adhanom. “For the moment, we are not witnessing uncontained global spread, and we are not witnessing large-scale severe disease or death.” He added.

By 2 March, the virus had spread to over 60 countries. Adhanom said most cases were linked and could be traced to known contacts, with no evidence of the virus spreading freely in communities. “As long as that is the case, we still have a chance of containing the virus.” He added.

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Before the end of January 2020, USA, India, UK and many other countries had had their first infections. On 24/25 February, Donald Trump, his family and entourage were visiting India. As part of the Namaste Trump tour, more than 100,000 Indians were cheering Trump in India’s largest stadium (now renamed Narendra Modi stadium).

On 11 March, WHO declared this was a pandemic. In the previous two weeks, cases in China had grown 13 times. “Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO’s assessment of the threat posed by this coronavirus.” Said Tedros Adhanom. “Pandemic is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.” He added.

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(Continued)

Ravi