China with this virus. Otherwise, the numbers wouldn’t be as high as they are,” said Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, director of global health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y.
In China, the case count kept climbing on Thursday, with cases of what is dubbed the 2019-nCoV coronavirus now reaching 8,149. The death total stands at 171, the Times reported. Those counts eclipse the 5,327 cases and 348 deaths reported in China during the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Meanwhile, countries around the world took steps to cut the risk of the virus spreading to its citizens.
In the United States, health officials explained on Wednesday what measures are being taken to make sure the Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan on Tuesday are not infected with the new virus.
While none of the 195 American evacuees have shown signs of sickness, they agreed to stay at the base voluntarily, said Dr. Chris Braden, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plan is to hold them for three days and check them for fever and other symptoms at least twice daily, CNN reported.
“They wanted to protect their family. They wanted to