Each passing day, the reports and cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) make it to the headlines. With over 600 deaths reported so far, the virus continues to send the shockwaves around the world with researchers scrambling for a cure. However, whilst other researchers are on a lookout for treating this Virus, Indian scientists are divided on whether the new virus would die out in summer as the temperature soars or is it yet to spread its peak.
Before venturing into whether it is an aggressive form of coronavirus or just another SARS and MERS virus, let’s have a look at the nature and occurrence of this virus.
The History
Coronaviruses — like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, noticed in Hong Kong in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, first seen in Saudi Arabia in 2012 — are known to die out during summer season.
The Consensus
According to the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), this pace of outbreak will slow down in the next one or two months as the weather turns warm. It happened with SARS and MERS. These viruses cannot handle warmer host body temperature. Definitely, Novel coronavirus is serious but there were other fatal outbreaks also in the past.
However, there is another section of scientists who feel that the 2019 novel coronavirus is more aggressive and that it’s the worst thing to have happened in 2020.
Will the Heat in 2020 Eradicate the Virus?
Terming the theory of virus dying out in summer as mere ‘Hope’, these sets of scientists believe that viruses are susceptible to heat no doubt but there are viruses that survive. And coronavirus is not an ordinary virus, it is far more aggressive. Furthermore, the scientists also claimed that around 50 percent confirmed coronavirus cases were asymptomatic, which meant they did not have systems and could not be diagnosed until tested and if the problem of Coronavirus is faced in India, it would be far more than an atom bomb being dropped on the country.
The novel coronavirus, which was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on December 13 last year, has till now killed more than 636 people in the country and the numbers increased as of Thursday; making a total number of infections to 31,161.
At least, 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the virus till now.
Coronavirus and Indore
With the increasing threat of Coronavirus infection, precautionary measures are being taken by airport authorities. Security personnel, on-ground staff, and other employees who were posted at the medical inspection room and customs and immigration counters were distributed masks and other safety gear by the authorities. In addition to this, they have also put up messages with regards to the do’s and don’ts to eschew getting infected by the virus.
Constant and round the clock checking is being done of the passengers with symptoms like cough and cold.
As far as the condition of two people who were admitted to the isolation ward on suspicion of having coronavirus is reported to be stable. Other than them, in Dewas, the district health department had already begun daily monitoring of six youngsters who had returned from China two months back.
As the Coronavirus creates a threat around the world, read how IMC is working on making Indore the most Liveable city, here
