The current coronavirus outbreak is the most recent in a series of coronavirus outbreaks observed in the 21st century, following the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003 and the MERS outbreak since 2012. The 2019-nCoV (“2019 new coronavirus”) outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province in Eastern China. It is believed the outbreak originated through animal-to-human transmission but further mutation enabled the virus to transmit from human-to-human.
As of February 11, there are around 42,000 confirmed cases worldwide. The majority of those infected are in China’s Hubei Province, with around 31,000 cases; additionally, there are 10,000 cases in other parts of China. The virus has also infected around 350 people in 27 countries and territories outside of China. The current death toll is more than 1,000 people, including two confirmed deaths outside of mainland China. The mortality rate of the virus is around 2.3%.
The treatment involves managing the symptoms as there is no specific antiviral therapy available. Exposure risk to the 2019-nCoV is low provided that close contact with an ill person is avoided. The risk remains low even if contact includes spending time in the same indoor environment like a school or a hospital waiting room.
Currently, a number of affected locations within China are subjected to internal travel bans or have their public transport suspended. Travelers should avoid nonessential travel to China. However, the WHO has not recommended travel restrictions yet. Nevertheless, a number of international airlines have suspended their flights to China for a specific period of time or until further notice. China has been internationally isolated to stop the spread of the virus. Moreover, the availability of food and medical equipment supplies have been limited in many Chinese cities. Some cities have applied procedures for grocery shopping, for instance one person from each household is allowed to go out to shop. Some global companies have been evacuating their assignees from China as well as temporarily closing their facilities.
For additional information regarding the outbreak, please refer to the following: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
Mercer is continuing to monitor the coronavirus outbreak and will alert clients in case of future changes.