COVID-19 first appeared Dec. 12 about 700 miles south of Beijing in Wuhan, a city with more people than New York and Chicago combined. The outbreak originated at the Huanan Seafood Market.
Huanan Seafood was a wet market, one of a series of outdoor stalls selling fish and meat. They are called wet markets because sellers slaughter and cut up product while customers wait.
A 61-year-old man, a regular of the Huanan market, was the first to die from the virus. Bats are being blamed specifically.
Coronaviruses are named after their appearance, round with a series of spikes made of proteins. They're one of many viruses that cause colds and flu. There's no available vaccine nor specific treatment.
A study of 160 victims was released. One patient, admitted to a hospital in Wuhan, China, infected at least 10 health care workers and four other patients. Patients ranged in age from 22 to 92, with a median of 56 years, and were admitted to Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University from Jan. 1 to Jan 28. Many of them — 41 percent — were presumed to have caught the virus in the hospital, including 17 people who had been admitted for other illnesses, and 40 health care workers. About 10 percent of the patients did not initially have the usual symptoms, cough and fever, but instead had diarrhea and nausea first. Other uncommon symptoms included headache, dizziness and abdominal pain.
Some patients who at first appeared mildly or moderately ill then took a turn for the worse several days or even a week into their illness. The median time from their first symptoms to when they became short of breath was five days; to hospitalization, seven days; and to severe breathing trouble, eight days. 26 percent of the 138 patients needed intensive care. The death rate was 4.3 percent.
The illness caused pneumonia and a systemic viral infection that set off a powerful inflammatory response. The inflammatory response is a hallmark of a serious viral disease.
Rumors suggested that patient zero had contracted the virus at the Wuhan seafood market. 20 miles away lies the Wuhan Virology Institute. The institute is China’s first Biosafety Level 4 Lab and it researches “the most dangerous pathogens.”
It's now thought the coronavirus can incubate for 24 days, ten more than previously thought. A “perfect” bioweapon is one that is a super spreader and has an asymptomatic host. Given how infectious and deceptive the coronavirus is, some believe it’s too perfect to not be made by humans.
The Chinese government is clamping down on coronavirus-information leaving the country. The CPC harassed the coronavirus whistleblower doctor Li Wenliang.
Li was among a number of supposed "rumormongers" detained in December for spreading news about the virus. He had warned about a potential "SARS-like" virus spreading in Wuhan. Nothing Li said was incorrect. Two citizen journalists have gone missing.
COVID-19 goes global - Conspiracy Theory redux
Stock markets across the globe are sewering as both Italy and South Korea scramble to contain outbreaks. The number of infections has grown globally, with hotspots in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Germany.
People are standing in line for hours for masks that may not be effective. The plot goes that Covid-19 began in Canada's level 4 lab in Winnipeg, where Chinese scientists working at the facility stole a sample. It was allegedly smuggled out of Canada and taken to the lab in Wuhan. The virus escaped, sparking a global pandemic and worldwide panic.
The conspiracy theories continue to find traction. Two Chinese scientists were escorted out of the Winnipeg lab last summer. Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who serves on the US Armed Services Committee, recently said Covid-19 “might have come” from a lab in Wuhan. China has strongly denied the claims and is aggressively attacking them. Zerohedge.com dared to carry a story linking Chinese scientists to the outbreak and was immediately banned from Twitter. Beijing’s censorship didn't contain the outbreak and we now have asymptomatic carriers spreading the illness around the globe. The Chinese are difficult to trust.
Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary, was an Irish cook. She was the first person in the US identified as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. She infected 51 people, three of whom died. She was twice forcibly isolated by public health authorities and died after a total of nearly 30 years in isolation. Mallon died of pneumonia, in isolation, at age 69 on November 11, 1938.
Covid-19 - Iran's deputy health minister tests positive
Deputy minister Iraj Harirchi on Monday denied covering up the scale of the outbreak. He appeared to be in discomfort as he spoke. 15 have died in Iran from the virus, more than anywhere else outside China.
Iran is home to holy sites that attract millions every year and in a region where health systems are weak. There is great concern about a mass outbreak in the Middle East. Iranian officials are refusing to impose quarantines in areas affected by the outbreak. They say quarantines are 'old-fashioned'.
Iraj Harirchi
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WHO raises Covid-19 alert to highest level
The World Health Organization has increased its Covid-19 risk assessment to “very high at a global level,” as 49 countries report cases within their borders. “This is a reality check for every government on the planet: Wake up, get ready, this virus may be on its way and you need to be ready."
The news comes as Nigeria confirmed a Covid-19 case in Lagos. Mexico announced that it has two confirmed cases. Yesterday the number of new cases reported in the rest of the world exceeded the number reported from China. The world is at the precipice of a pandemic, if we’re not already in one.
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Coronavirus face masks for Dummies - N95
A US health official said the US needs at least 300m face masks to fight the coronavirus. The US has a stockpile of 30m N95 masks but it needs at least 270m more for healthcare workers. N95 respirators are designed to prevent 95% of small particles from entering the nose and mouth area. They work only if they fit properly.
China has seized 31m counterfeit masks in the face of huge demand. The fakes are useless. COVID-19 has created a black market in fake medical supplies.
Fraudsters are rushing to satisfy runaway demand for masks and disinfectant.
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Trump gives COVID-19 'update'
A 58 year-old woman in Washington State is the first to die on US soil of COVID-19.
Calling the outbreak a 'new hoax' from the Democrats, Trump responded after the first US fatality yesterday.
Trump accused Democrats of "politicizing" the coronavirus threat and is boasting about his preventive steps. The outbreak is widely expected to become a serious public health issue in the United States. Trump has fired many of the people who know how to coordinate government responses to epidemics. Trump shut down the National Security Council’s global health security unit and cut $15b in national health spending.
"She was a wonderful woman," Trump said of the fatality, (a man) "a medically high-risk person." "Additional cases in the US are likely," Trump said, "but healthy individuals should be able to fully recover." There are now 67 confirmed cases in the US.
British Columbia has tested more than twice as many people for COVID-19 than the entire United States said Premier John Horgan. The B.C. Center for Disease Control has tested 1,012 people for the virus as of Feb. 27, 2020. Eight cases have been confirmed. The CDC in the U.S. had tested 459 people.
Worldwide, the virus has killed at least 2,922 with 86,000 confirmed cases.
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The Diamond Princess - I’m a fish inside a fishbowl
66-year-old California radio station owner Carl Goldman is among 88 Americans from the Diamond Princess who caught the COVID-19 virus. At least 705 of the 3,700 passengers were infected; six have died.
The cruise ship was put under quarantine by Japan for two weeks in February after a coronavirus outbreak was detected on board. Hundreds contracted the virus during the quarantine. For a time, the ship had the largest concentration of cases outside of mainland China.
Carl Goldman thinks about cruise ships differently now. “It was a giant floating Petri dish” he said of the ship. Life has changed. He resides behind double sealed glass in isolation. He hasn't had direct contact with anyone but medical staff since Feb 16th. He has a persistent cough but appears to be recovering.
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Life Care Center in Kirkland
Four ambulances went to the Life Care Center in Kirkland. As people were wheeled out, nurses held up sheets to block the view of cameras. Seven deaths are tied to Life Care Center. Long-term care facilities provide two things for viruses to thrive on: close contact and elderly with preexisting health conditions.
When influenza strikes the general population, roughly 0.1 percent of patients will die. In a long-term care facility that number can be anywhere from 5% to 55%.
The death rate for COVID-19 is thought to be 3.4%, many times higher than influenza. 157 people in 16 states are infected. COVID-19 is different. The 14-day+ incubation period is longer than influenza, and the body experiences more severe symptoms.
Schools, colleges, prisons and homeless shelters are all hotbeds for spread of the virus. Italy has ordered all schools, universities and daycare facilities nationwide to close for 10 days, starting tomorrow. The death toll there has reached 107 with 3,090 cases.
As of yesterday 33 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Canada.
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'Patient 31' - Super Spreader
In the space of two weeks, South Korea has gone from dealing with a few cases of coronavirus to thousands and is the largest outbreak outside China. A single 'super-spreader' known as 'patient 31' - a member of a fringe church called Shincheonji - is thought to have been part of the cause.
29 people have died and more than 4,800 are sick.
The super spreader was a 61 year old woman who infected at least 37 at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in Daegu.
Patient 31 developed a fever on Feb. 10 and attended four church services before being diagnosed with COVID-19.
Lee Man-hee, the founder of the church, blamed evil. Most only saw the gold watch he wears. All 74 sites operated by the Shincheonji Church have been closed.
A British man spread the virus to 11 people at a French ski resort in another 'super spreader' event.
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Grand Princess stranded on US coast - 21 positives so far
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said at a White House news conference that 46 were tested for COVID-19. Two passengers and 19 crew members are positive. Three of Canada's 55 confirmed COVID-19 cases were passengers on the Grand Princess.
The Grand Princess had been returning from Hawaii to San Francisco with about 3,500 passengers and crew on board, including 235 Canadians. It has been stopped from docking until all passengers are tested. Concerns about spread of COVID-19 on the ship were raised after a California man, who had taken a voyage on the Grand Princess in February, died from the virus. At least one other passenger from the previous trip has become infected. Passengers will be held onboard the ship until everyone can be tested for the virus. California declared a COVID-19 emergency yesterday.
The California Air National Guard dropped off test kits by helicopter to the Grand Princess. Passengers should learn more about their fate tomorrow, when officials get results. The ship must remain at sea as it awaits results. Most passengers have been confined to their cabins with meals delivered.
The Diamond Princess, also owned by Princess Cruises, was held in Yokohama. Of the 3,711 passengers and crew onboard, 705 were infected as the ship remained in quarantine. Six died. (now 7)
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COVID-19 by the numbers
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Coronavirus: COVID-19 officially a pandemic
COVID-19 has swept into at least 114 countries and killed more than 4,500. It is now officially a pandemic, the World Health Organization announced. A pandemic is the “worldwide spread of a new disease,” according to the WHO. Eight countries — including the U.S. — are now reporting more than 1,000 cases. The ratcheting up of a health emergency to its highest level reflects a growing crisis.
The WHO is "deeply concerned, both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction" by the world's leaders in response to the outbreak.
A 61-year-old man, a regular of the Huanan market, was the first to die from the virus. Bats are being blamed specifically. 
A 58 year-old woman in Washington State is the first to die on US soil of COVID-19.
When influenza strikes the general population, roughly 0.1 percent of patients will die. In a long-term care facility that number can be anywhere from 5% to 55%.
29 people have died and more than 4,800 are sick. 
Lee Man-hee, the founder of the church, blamed evil. Most only saw the gold watch he wears. All 74 sites operated by the Shincheonji Church have been closed.
