The number of people infected with the new 2019-nCoV has been increasing in Asia since December. The WHO convenes an emergency committee in China.
We are currently receiving many inquiries about the newly discovered virus from the Corona virus family. Many people are wondering where the virus comes from and how you can protect yourself from it:

So what does the current situation look like?
The fact check
Colleague Alexander reported on this unknown subtype of the corona virus family at the beginning of January 2020. ( look here )
According to Zeit Online, researchers are now calling it 2019-nCoV . The WHO believes that the novel virus may be transmitted to humans via animals and first appeared in a market hall in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
At first it was not clear whether the virus could be transmitted from person to person, but now it is known: 2019-nCoV jumps from person to person. The virus was detected in around 15 hospital employees.
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the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the number of infections jumped to more than 220 at the beginning of the week, and the first illnesses caused by 2019-nCoV were also detected in Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
According to Berlin virus researcher Christian Drosten, the pathogen is a Sars variant. However, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) points out that the virus is less contagious than Sars or MERS and assumes that the probability of global spread is currently very low.
The WHO is expected to convene an emergency committee in China on January 22, 2020. A decision should be made as to whether a health emergency should be declared. Such an emergency still exists, for example, for the Ebola outbreak and the polio pathogen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
Neighboring Asian countries and several airports in other countries around the world have now introduced temperature checks when entering from Wuhan. Temperature scanners were also set up at the main entrance to Wuhan Airport.
The Federal Foreign Office currently assesses the risk for travelers to Wuhan as “moderate”, but, together with the WHO, recommends adhering to basic principles of hygiene and avoiding close contact with people who already have respiratory infections. You should also stay away from wild animals. Particularly important: wash your hands often .
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Unwashed hands should not come into contact with the mucous membranes of the nose and throat. This also includes the eyes. A face mask can reduce the risk of infection and makes it harder to touch mucous membranes, but is particularly useful for those who are sick to protect others.
An illness caused by 2019-nCoV initially manifests itself with fever and other flu-like symptoms such as coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath. Patients are treated symptomatically and supportively. Older people and people with weakened immune systems in particular should pay particular attention to themselves.
Conclusion:
The disease most likely originated in Wuhan (China) and presents with flu-like symptoms – similar to Sars.
Although airports are already using temperature scanners, no state of emergency or special entry conditions have yet been imposed for Wuhan. The WHO is still discussing this week whether a health emergency should be declared.
The best protection is hygiene and staying away from people with respiratory infections and wild animals.
Additional sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , World
Article image: Shutterstock / By Kateryna Kon
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Notes:
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