Coronavirus Special Coverage

A collection of news posted throughout the week for those that want signal, not noise.

  • Previous coverage - all of our posts in this ongoing series.
  • Coronavirus status page - learn how to prepare for possible spread to your area. Scenarios, shopping lists, background info and everything else you need, all in one place.

COVID-19: key developments for Tuesday, February 11, 2020

A collection of key developments in the fight against the Wuhan coronavirus (nCoV-2019, now known as COVID-19), posted throughout the week for those who just want the signal and not the noise. If there’s something you think we should include, sound off in the comments thread attached to the post.

Visit our Wuhan coronavirus status page and learn how to prepare for possible spread to your area. Scenarios, shopping lists, background info, and everything else you need, all in one place.

Previously: The previous day’s key developments post is here.


[6:05 pm] At least 500 Wuhan medical staff infected with coronavirus “Medical sources in the city confirm rate of infection, but say they have been told not to release the full picture to the public.”

[5:58 pm] The WSJ warns that markets are too sanguine about what’s going on, here, and are in for a rude awakening.

[5:42 pm] The numbers from this morning:

[5:39 pm] Aussie couple ordered wine via drone on quarantined coronavirus cruise ship.

[5:38 pm] There could be a cluster of 13,000 more patients in Hubei, given that this is how many people with fever the Chinese government’s big door-to-door temperature check turned up.

[5:36 pm] Military preparing quarantine centers for coronavirus patients in US, Pentagon says. “Eleven military bases near major airports in the United States are setting up quarantine centers for possible coronavirus patients, the Department of Defense said.”

[5:32 pm] The new virus appears to be letting kids off the hook, for some reason. Either they’re not getting infected at the same rate as adults, or their symptoms are much milder and aren’t showing up in the case counts.

[12:44 pm] US State Department tells non-emergency personell that they can evacuate Hong Kong if they wish.

[12:25 pm] Officials fear COVID-19 can spread through sewage pipes in buildings.

[11:40 am] What it means to have “close contact” with an infected person: “For the new coronavirus, guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define ‘close contact’ as anyone who has been within 6 feet of a person infected with the virus for a ‘prolonged period of time,’ as well as those who have had direct contact with the infected person’s secretions.”

[11:12 am] Hong Kong’s leading epidemiologist says that if coronavirus spreads unchecked, it could infect 60% of the world’s population. In which case we’d better pray for the CFR to land on the smaller end of the spectrum of current estimates.

[10:53 am] The novel coronavirus gets a new name: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease that the virus gives rise to is now called COVID-19. Update your hashtags accordingly.

[10:51 am] Oops: First US evacuee infected with coronavirus was mistakenly released from hospital and returned to quarantine. The initial test was a false negative.


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