🚨 Rising coronavirus deaths a cause of alarm for all, including Malaysia

by Theleaders-Online | January 28, 2020 8:16 am

PUCHONG: China said that the number of those affected by the coronavirus increased from 2,887 to 4,515, an increase of 56% in a single day! Deaths increased by 29% to 106.

This is just the beginning. The numbers are expected to rise in days to come.

A map produced by researchers at Johns Hopkins University[1] tracks and visualises reports about the outbreak using data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention[2], the World Health Organization[3], China’s CDC[4], and other sources with geographic-information-system mapping.

An epidemic is growing. Here’s what you need to know:

• Deaths climb above 100 as China records new cases.
• Stocks tumble as investors worry about its impact on global growth.
• Malaysia urged travellers to avoid non-essential trips to China.
• Health Ministry beefs up health screening at all entry points into Malaysia
• Singapore confirms fifth imported case
• Thailand and Hong Kong have each reported eight cases of infection; the United States, Taiwan, Australia, Singapore and Macau have five each; Japan, South Korea and Malaysia each have reported four; France has three; Canada and Vietnam have two; and Nepal, Cambodia and Germany each have one

Despite the enormous and admirable efforts taken by the Malaysian authorities and others around the world, we need to do more to control this outbreak.

If we do not step up our efforts, we may be heading towards a disaster.

At a press conference on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has called on Malaysians to remain calm in the face of the rapidly-spreading coronavirus, which originated from Wuhan, China.

She said that Malaysia has a strong and proven track record in handling such outbreaks, and these capabilities were commended by the World Health Organization in the past.

“We have successfully managed the Nipah virus in 1998, SARS in 2003, H1N1 in 2009 and MERS in 2014”, said Wan Azizah.

The Pandan MP said that Malaysian health personnel are always ready to handle diseases, as the latter handle dengue outbreaks and tuberculosis frequently.

Wan Azizah also took several irresponsible quarters to task for circulating fake news and misinformation on social media during this crucial time.

With the coronavirus hitting our shores, Malaysia should brace itself for an adverse economic impact as well. The tourism sector, for one, is going to get hit hard.

The government has already imposed a ban on Chinese tourists coming from Wuhan, China. We must take note that Chinese tourists are one of the biggest contributor to our economy.

On a global scale, stocks tumbled and oil prices fell on Monday as the outbreak sparked fear among investors.

The S&P 500 fell by 1.6%, with shares of airlines and companies dependent on Chinese tourists took a beating.

This is one of the sharpest decline since Oct 2, when the trade war was fanning fears of a slowdown.

The price of oil also dropped on fears that demand could slip. China’s currency also fell, while investors moved into safe havens like gold.

China’s economy is now in a bearish mode, after three decades of booming economy. And the coronavirus outbreak is not making things any better.

What lies ahead post the coronavirus outbreak is yet to be seen. What we do know is, this will not be the last time the world will be seeing a disease outbreak.

As for Malaysia, three more people have been quarantined as of today.

By: Hema Subramaniam

Source URL: https://theleaders-online.com/%f0%9f%9a%a8-rising-coronavirus-deaths-a-cause-of-alarm-for-all-including-malaysia/

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