Articles: pandemics.
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It was on 31st December 2019, that a cluster of pneumonia cases was reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by China. The initial investigations revealed the cases to be due to a previously unknown "never before seen strain of coronavirus". Coronaviruses are a group of viruses, which are normally present among animals such as cows, bats, camels and cats. ⋯ Pakistan so far has not reported any confirmed case of COVID-19. Government is showing its commitment towards the threat of importation. This novel coronavirus, called as a "devil" by Chinese Prime Minister, Xi Ping is really an enigma.
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The outbreak the SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2) virus has resulted in over 6.5 million cases of COVID19, greatly stressing global healthcare infrastructure. Lacking medical prophylactic measures to combat disease spread, many nations have adopted social distancing policies in order to mitigate transmission of CoV-2. While mathematical models have suggested the efficacy of social distancing to curb the spread of CoV-2, there is a lack of systematic studies to quantify the real-world efficacy of these approaches. ⋯ We validate this observation on a worldwide scale by analyzing COVID19 spread rate in 134 nations with varying social distancing policies. Globally, we find that social distancing policies significantly reduced the COVID19 spread rate, with resulting in an estimated 65% reduction (95% CI = 39-80%) in new COVID19 cases over a two week time period. These data suggest that social distancing policies may be a powerful tool to prevent spread of COVID19 in real-world scenarios.
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In March 2020, the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases overburdened the Italian health system, with the country becoming the pandemic's epicenter. ⋯ In the early stages of an epidemic, effective decision-making is essential to contain the number of cases. Medical support for patients and social isolation measures are the most appropriate strategies currently available to reduce the spread and lethality of COVID-19.