For a few months, daily reports have covered the spread of the new coronavirus, and for a while, it was easy to ignore this disease as a foreign problem, and not really a danger to America. However, the virus is spreading as fast as ever. Many countries now have several travel bans in place to prevent the spread of the virus. There have been more than 80,000 cases in every continent except Antarctica, and over 3,000 deaths. Most of the deaths are in China.

There have been 18 new cases in the United States. These are the breakdown of cases in each state, as of Monday, March 2, 2020 (CNN):

• 1 in Arizona
• 16 in California
• 2 in Florida
• 3 in Illinois
• 1 in Massachusetts
• 1 in New York
• 2 in Oregon
• 2 in Rhode Island
• 13 in Washington state (2 deaths)
• 1 in Wisconsin

The map below is a live update of the areas where confirmed cases of the virus are present:

Quick Updates:

• The health official of Iran’s Coronavirus Task Force and MP have tested positive for the virus.
• Italy and Brazil had their first cases, which has increased dramatically over the last two weeks.
• Over 71 nations have banned travel entry from South Korea now that there have been over 4,000 reported cases
• The virus has spread to 12 states in the U.S. The first of two reported deaths in the US came on February 29 and March 1.
• There have been a total of 92 patients in the U.S. (NY confirmed 1st official case in the U.S.)
• An estimate of 87,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus, and resulted in around 3,037 deaths

According to CNN, “Chinese regions deemed low risk from the coronavirus outbreak should resume normal activities and end transport bans,” an official at the state planning agency said on Tuesday. This means that now that reports on the virus have slowly decreased in China, there will be precautions in returning to the regular life before the outbreak.

Late last week, President Trump held a press conference to try to ease growing fears over the spread of the virus in the United States.  According to CNN, “US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said coronavirus poses a low risk to the American public.” He also stated, “The immediate risk to the American public is and continues to be low,” Azar said at a White House briefing. There is a low risk for Americans to be infected. However, there is still a risk and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention continues to warn everyone to be cautious.

Currently, South Korea is experiencing the worst outbreak besides China. On Sunday, the city of Seoul filed a homicide report against a religious group named the Shincheonji Church. The founder, Lee Man-hee, and 11 others were suspected of spreading the disease while knowing they were contaminated. They are accused of hiding the names of members who were infected while officials were tracking names before the virus spread.

BBC stated, “All 230,000 members of the church have been interviewed. Nearly 9,000 said they were showing symptoms of coronavirus.” One of the first people infected refused to go to the hospital to get tested, which resulted in intentionally spreading the illness. Lee Man-hee will not be charged with murder yet, as prosecutors have to investigate the case before any charges are set.

The following pictures explain how the virus spreads and how to prevent from getting contaminated. Take precautions because this is a serious illness that is spreading quickly. The symptoms are flu-like, which can be easy to look over. Despite that, consult a doctor or immediately go to the emergency room if there are any concerns.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Along with keeping safe, many have spread the belief that face masks help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. This is false. They do not help prevent it in public and are only effective with diagnosed patients.

A new update states that 4 Americans have been released from the national quarantine unit in Omaha, Nebraska. Two had tested for positive, but negative in other tests. The other two, tested negative as well throughout the process. They were released after passing all qualifications.

The case in New Hampshire has connection to Italy’s outbreak. The person who was diagnosed, recently travelled to Italy. According to Benjamin Chan, who is the state’s epidemiologist, “This individual is an adult from Grafton County. They are not hospitalized, they are currently on home isolation and are not sick enough to be hospitalized.” This would conclude to be the 92nd case in the United States.

Overall, there is a possibility that the virus will slow down around spring. However, it is not guaranteed now that it’s spreading even more. Officials suggest to wash your hands frequently, as shown in the picture, and take the same actions as you would during flu season.