The coronavirus is spreading rapidly with over 7,700 cases and 170 deaths, according to Chinese officials. The virus has spread to 19 other countries, including the United States.

Most cases are reported to be in central Hubei Province in China. However, as Russia closes its land border with China, other countries are getting increasingly concerned about the virus. This is following similar moves taken by Korea and Mongolia. 

Additionally, a cruise ship docked in Rome, Italy, houses a passenger who is showing symptoms of the coronavirus. The 54-year-old woman is currently put on isolation in the onboard hospital. There are more than 6,000 passengers on the Costa Smeralda cruise ship and of those, more than 100 are Americans.

5 cases have been confirmed in the US, as shown by the following map from NBC News.

https://dataviz.nbcnews.com/projects/20200128-coronavirus-us-count/assets/ai2html-output-739-wide.png

There are also 5 cases in France, 14 in Thailand, 7 in Australia, 4 in Germany and many more. 

The World Health Organization will decide on January 30th whether to declare the coronavirus an international public health emergency.

The disease originated in Wuhan, China in an exotic food market. If contracted,  the coronavirus can cause a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness with symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore through, headache, and fever.

“I think it’s really dumb and people are overreacting about it. I was doing some research and the kill rate is only 2%,” agreed Junior Jake Dillon.

Chief executives of one of the largest pharmaceutical companies say it could take a year for a vaccine to be developed. However, research has been done in Australia where scientists were able to grow a version of the virus in a lab. This was the first time it was recreated outside of China. The sample is being shared with the World Health Organization and other various labs around the world in order to contain the spread of the virus.