Coronavirus Death Toll Reaches 427 & Over 20,000 Cases Confirmed Worldwide

#Roommates, things are continuing to get even more serious concerning the deadly and high contagious coronavirus. According to new reports, the death toll has currently climbed to 427—and the worldwide cases are in the thousands.

The seriousness of the coronavirus can no longer be ignored, as the fatalities of those who have contracted the virus continues to reach alarming levels. @TIME reports, A 39-year-old Hong Kong resident, who was diagnosed with the coronavirus on January 31^st,  died earlier this week after visiting Wuhan, China, his death makes the second coronavirus death outside mainland China.

His death also officially raises the coronavirus death toll to 427. Currently, over 20,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide. Additionally, the coronavirus has spread to at least 24 countries outside China, with Japan and Thailand confirmed to have the highest number of cases with 20 and 19, respectively. Meanwhile, here in the U.S. the number of confirmed cases is currently at 11.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently confirmed the second case of person-to-person coronavirus earlier this week. The first American to be diagnosed with the coronavirus has since been discharged from the hospital.

As it has been determined that the outbreak originated in China, even those who have not travelled there recently are at risk. A patient in California tested positive for the virus despite not recently travelling there. However, that patient is married to someone who did recently travel to China and their spouse had previously tested positive for respiratory illness related to the virus.

Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?