Source: MSN

The coronavirus outbreak is inching closer to becoming a pandemic.  Italy has seen cases surge and now reports one death as global infections continue to rise. Authoritative containment efforts have not been effective to this point.

Authorities are struggling to contain and understand the outbreak in countries that have had a surge in infections, such as South Korea, Italy, and Iran.  Infected cases have skyrocketed and have increased over 2,000 percent in the past couple of weeks, according to a report by Fox News.  Italy is considered the site of Europe’s first major outbreak and the largest outside of Asia. The number of infected cases jumped to 152, compared to just three 10 days ago.

Italy’s outbreak is of concern to many health officials.  The country has seen 110 cases in Milan, which is its financial district and Venice, known as a famous hub for tourists throughout the world. The possibility of spreading the virus from a tourist destination like Venice to the entire globe is now possible. Events and soccer matches were canceled in the country, while some of its movie theatres were reportedly shuttered, including Milan’s legendary La Scala.

“We are worried about the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran and in Italy,” World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Stockholm via a video link.

Food and water provisions should be made before this virus has a chance to become a pandemic, if at all possible. Face masks may help, however, avoiding the general public is the best chance at the prevention right now.  Make sure your first aid kit is up to par and that you are able to care for yourself or a sick family member if need be.  Quarantining on your own may be the best advice yet. It’s times like this that I like to say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  If you can prevent the contraction of the virus (and transmission to your family members), that will be your best chance. However, if you do get sick, you will want to be prepared for the long haul, especially in hospitals fill up in the event that this virus becomes a pandemic.

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