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The newly identified coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that has infected hundreds in China, killed six, and has begun to spill out of China’s borders has had Twitter busy. There’s been a surprising amount of seriousness and very little snark up to this point. And that’s pretty amazing. Maybe there’s still hope for the Twitterverse.
Here’s a taste of what people have been saying:
The World Health Organization announced that it has called an Emergency Committee to help address the many scientific, policy, and logistical issues
The 2019-nCoV was put into context as the situation continues to develop. The following graph illustrates the dramatic spike in confirmed cases in China. It does call into question whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has deliberately downplayed the threat for weeks. (More on that later.)
The spike in confirmed cases came on the heels of the official announcement from Chinese public health officials that, indeed, the coronavirus is transmissible from person-to-person. The revelation considerably increases the seriousness of the situation.
Countries have begun screening travelers from China at airports. The coming Chinese New Year has governments on alert. Millions of people will be travelling back to and within China during the celebration. Returning travelers can potentially spread the disease around the world.
There is some reticence regarding how the Chinese authorities have handled the situation and whether they have been completely forthcoming about the threat. There’s some history there. Business Insider vocalized what many were thinking.
Then there’s this…
Meanwhile, citizens of the Twitterverse have spoken eloquently in the way only Twitter’s character count does…
@DoBazac does not mince words nor waste characters.
And then there’s @kfreakoutzxc who succinctly captures what the world is beginning to feel…
Always the voice of reason…
IMAGE SOURCE: Creative Commons