New Name COVID-19... Deaths and Cases Increase but Hope Emerges

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially named the novel coronavirus infection that started in China and is spreading worldwide as 'COVID-19.' Although it has been rampant enough to cause 1,113 deaths in China alone so far, there is also growing hope that it will soon reach its peak and the spread will slow down.

On the 11th (local time), WHO announced the official name of the novel coronavirus as 'COVID-19.' 'CO' stands for corona, 'VI' for virus, 'D' for disease, and '19' refers to the year 2019 when the novel coronavirus outbreak was first reported. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, explained the background of the official name decision by saying, "We had to find a name that does not refer to a geographic location, animal, individual, or group of people, is pronounceable, and is related to the disease." WHO also stated that the first vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be ready within 18 months. To focus on health response, WHO has started operating a crisis management team within the United Nations.

The number of confirmed cases and deaths from the novel coronavirus in China continues to rise. On the 12th, the National Health Commission of China (NHC) announced that as of midnight, 2,015 new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus were added nationwide. Ninety-seven people died in one day. Of these, 94 deaths occurred in Hubei Province, and additional deaths were reported in Henan Province (1), Hunan Province (1), and Chongqing City (1).

So far, a total of 44,653 people have been confirmed with the novel coronavirus across China. Among them, 4,740 have recovered and been discharged, and 1,113 have died. Currently, 38,800 confirmed patients are receiving treatment in hospitals, but with more than 8,000 severe cases, the death toll is expected to continue rising. Outside mainland China, in the Greater China region, a total of 77 confirmed cases have been reported: Hong Kong 49 (including 1 death), Macau 10 (including 1 discharged), and Taiwan 18 (including 1 discharged).

However, the fact that new confirmed cases are showing a clear downward trend is being read as a hopeful message. New confirmed cases peaked at 3,887 on the 4th and have since decreased to 2,015.

The decline in new confirmed cases outside Hubei Province is also clear, making the control of spread and patient treatment within Hubei Province the key to resolving this crisis. Excluding Hubei Province, only 377 new confirmed cases were added on the 11th. Although it reached 890 just three days ago, the downward trend has continued for eight consecutive days, dropping to the 300s for two days in a row.

According to China Central Television (CCTV), Zhong Nanshan, a top authority on respiratory diseases and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, predicted that the spread of the novel coronavirus will reach its peak within this month and could disappear before April. In an interview, Zhong said, "We can now confirm that the number of new confirmed cases is gradually decreasing," and added, "Based on mathematical intelligence analysis models, we can expect the number of new confirmed cases to peak around mid to late this month and then decline." He expressed optimism that if the current trend continues, the novel coronavirus crisis could be resolved before April.

There are also opinions that it is too early to judge the peak. John Edmunds, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), UK, advised, "China's statistics are too rough, making it difficult to accurately assess how the situation is progressing based on them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.