US reports 8th case of coronavirus, Pentagon to provide quarantine facilities

The world is battling the outbreak of the deadly contagious coronavirus that has taken at least 304 lives so far in China alone. United States health officials have confirmed the eighth case in the country after the virus first broke out in December last year. According to media reports, the latest US patient is from Massachusetts and recently returned from the central Chinese province of Hubei, the epicentre of the outbreak. Media reports suggest that the Pentagon in the United States would provide quarantined housing for those affected by the disease. 

Read: Coronavirus Infected More Than 75,000 People In Wuhan: Study Estimates

Coronavirus outbreak 

The disease is believed to have originated in a market in Hubei's Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats and bat." As per the US CDC, confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 27 other countries that include, Australia, Canada, France, Spain, India, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, and Italy. 

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According to the US health department, nearly 200 Americans were evacuated from Wuhan earlier this week and are placed under a 14-day quarantine after they arrived at a California military base. The evacuees underwent health screenings for 72 hours before they were placed under the mandatory quarantine. US health officials asked the defense department to provide facilities to house 250 people in individual rooms and as per reports, four military installations have been selected for the purpose. 

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A recent study published in The Lancet suggested that more than 75,000 people have been affected by the disease in Wuhan city, the epicentre of the virus. The confirmed reported cases have reached up to 11,000 as of February 1. Chinese authorities have imposed a strict quarantine in 12 cities across the country, 11 of which is in Hubei province. 

Read: 'Cancel Weddings, Scale Down Funerals': Chinese Officials Try To Curb Coronavirus Outbreak