New Delhi, February 9: India is among the countries which is most likely to import the cases of the deadly novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which has killed 811 people in China so far. As per details shared by the health authorities in virus-hit China, the number of confirmed cases has crossed 37,198 till February 9. According to a study by researchers of the Humboldt University and Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, India ranks 17th among the list of 30 countries which are most likely to be affected by virus. Coronavirus Scare: Foreigners Who Visited China After January 15 Not Allowed to Enter India.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, the researchers said that they have developed a model that analyses air transportation pattern. This pattern calculates the relative risk for the 30 most vulnerable countries (excluding China) of importing cases of the virus to other countries. The model shows that outside China, Thailand, Japan and South Korea are the most likely to import the infections. China Issues Order for Disposal of Coronavirus Fatalities, Says Dead Bodies Should Be Cremated and Not Buried to Prevent Risk of Transmission.
The HT report further adds that one of the scientists on the team that the system cannot be used to make quantitative predictions. Humboldt physicist Dirk Brockmann, who is leading the modelling team was quoted in the report saying the model is not so much a tool for making quantitative predictions and that public health officials and policymakers have to develop an intuition because this virus is something unknown.
According to the study, in India, the Delhi airport is the most likely to get infected people, followed by Mumbai and Kolkata. Three Indians have tested positive so far for 2019-nCoV have recovered. They will continue to be in isolation for 28 days.
The other countries where coronavirus cases have been reported are Japan (86), Singapore (33), Thailand (32), Hong Kong (26), South Korea (24), Taiwan (17), Australia (15), Malaysia (15), Germany (14), the US (12 plus one in China), Vietnam (12), France (11), Macao (10), Canada (seven), UAE (seven), India (3), Philippines (three), the UK (three), Italy (three), Russia (two), Cambodia (one), Finland (one), Nepal (1), Sri Lanka (1), Spain (1), Belgium (1) and Sweden (1).
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 09, 2020 11:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).