Morning brief: COVID-19 update for Feb 20, 2020

As of 8am, Feb 18, 2020: WORLD COUNT: There are 75,676 confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the world. A total of 29 countries and territories have been affected so far. The number of deaths has risen to 2,123. Across the world, a total of 12,064 are in critical condition, while 16,342 previously infected persons have recovered. CHINA: There are 74,552 confirmed cases of infection in China. The country’s death count now stands at 2,115 people. Researchers in China published a letter in The New England Journal of Medicine, noting that those infected with COVID-19 may have the same viral load, or amount of virus in the body, regardless of whether they are showing symptoms. The researchers monitored viral loads in samples from 18 patients in China’s Guangdong province. The largest and most comprehensive study done so far on the coronavirus has found it to be highly contagious but not as fatal as compared to similar diseases in the past, specifically severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has calculated a case fatality rate of 2.3 per cent for COVID-19. International experts warn that it is still too early to make decisive proclamations about the virus. The Chinese government announced it is revoking the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters and expelling them over an opinion piece entitled "China is the real sick man of Asia", which criticised China's initial response to the coronavirus outbreak and went on to assess what effect the epidemic might have on the economy and government. Hong Kong confirmed three more cases of the virus, and one new fatality. This brings the total case count to 65 and the death count to two. The person who died was a 70-year-old male who suffered from chronic diseases prior to catching the virus. Macao's case count stands at 10 cases.