Ethan Maglione
Staff Writer
The coronavirus has surpassed a total of 90,000 infected individuals, bringing the total official number of those infected to 90,225, according to WorldOmeter.info. The global death toll has also surpassed 3,000 and is currently at 3,080.
“I’ve been following [the coronavirus] pretty closely, but I’m not too worried. I think we’re pretty safe out here in Laramie. I’m just worried about my family over on the east coast,” said Brett Nied, a UW freshman.
Whilst the grand majority of infected are currently located in China, the United States has a total of 96 cases, 21 of which were recently discovered yesterday.
“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] today confirmed a possible first case of person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 in California in the general public,” stated a statement released by the CDC, “The individual had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual.”
Of the 96 cases found in the U.S., 21 have been found in Washington, 35 in California, 11 in Texas, 13 in Nebraska and 2 in Oregon, 1 in Arizona, and 1 in Utah; all of which are in somewhat close proximity to Wyoming.
“While the number of reported cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to grow around the world, the current risk of an outbreak is still low in Wyoming, according to the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH),” stated Wyo.gov.
There have yet to be any reported cases in Wyoming and due to the spread out population, the possibility for community transmission is relatively low which, according to the CDC, is its main form of transmission.
“The virus is a very serious threat due to how fast it spread[s], but the majority of the fatal infections are in the older population and I think it poses a very little threat to us,” said Jacob Hendrickson, a UW freshman.
The community transmission and subsequent boom of cases has led the general public to fear and prepare for the pandemic, leading to a shortage of medication vital to the treatment of coronavirus victims.
“As I have previously communicated, the FDA has been closely monitoring the supply chain with the expectation that the COVID-19 outbreak would likely impact the medical product supply chain, including potential disruptions to supply or shortages of critical medical products in the [United States]. A manufacturer has alerted us to a shortage of a human drug that was recently added to the drug shortages list,” said Stephen M. Hahn, the Commissioner of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
The rampant spread of the coronavirus has also led to a major drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by almost 1,200 points, due to investors bracing themselves from projected financial loss. This is because of factories in China being unable to keep up with production, or being able to operate at all.
“This is the sharpest drop we’ve seen in a very long time, and I don’t know how much longer this could go. It’s almost impossible to position your portfolio for this for the next several weeks. You’d be taking ridiculous chances,” said Charles Lemonides, a portfolio manager, in a USA Today interview.
While the pandemic is threatening surrounding states, the threat to Wyoming is still low.
