Wuhan Virus Death Toll Now At 361, More Than The Death Toll for SARS in China in 2003

Boon Hun

2020-02-03 , 8:00 am

The Wuhan virus has been all people can be talking about these few weeks.

Celebrities have pledged their personal fortunes to help in the fight against the virus.

Singapore has been discovering new cases until yesterday.

The fight for face masks in Singapore is even worse than the McDonald’s Hello Kitty days.

And for good reason, because the virus brought us back to the SARS days back in 2003.

Literally.

Death Toll From Wuhan Virus Exceeds SARS During 2002-2003

Back in the year 2002 to 2003, the SARS virus killed 349 people in mainland China, making it one of the scariest pandemics in recent history.

But on 3 Feb 2020, it was found that the Wuhan virus has exceeded the SARS situation.

The total number of infections in China has reached 17,200 across the entire nation.

This was after 2,829 new cases were reported in a daily update. 57 new deaths from the coronavirus were also reported.

This brings the number of deaths due to the virus up to 361.

S’pore More Prepared For Wuhan Virus

Now, in case you’re panicking and wondering why the government only gave 4 face masks for a family of 6, don’t.

Because while the situation in China is bad, Singapore’s isn’t (not yet, at least).

Other than celebrating 02/02/20 as a zero-new Wuhan patient day, PM Lee previously assured Singaporeans that the country has been preparing for a situation like these since SARS.

He claims that Singapore has been thoroughly reviewing its preparations against viruses.

And it’s not just PM Lee who said this.

A doctor who was practising in Singapore even back during the SARS days agreed that the republic is applying lessons learnt from SARS to the situation today.

Stringent Checks At Entry Points Into Singapore

The Wuhan virus originally came from a market in Wuhan, Hubei and is confirmed to be able to transmit from human-to-human.

It was reported that most infections detected overseas came from people who travelled from Wuhan.

And Singapore has been stringent in ensuring, as best as they could, that people coming into the country are free from the virus.

While not entirely fool-proof, it nonetheless helps us to sleep better at night, right?

Healthy People Don’t Need Face Masks

My colleague, Bufflord95, has been very active in assuring people about the need for face masks.

After all, he’d rather you give your fifty dollars to him than to buy a box of face mask at the market for $50. True story, that really happened at Jurong. #unethicalbusinessalert

Surgical masks are usually worn by surgeons when operating on people. And it’s because the surgical mask prevents the surgeons from passing their germs to the patient.

That’s right, it doesn’t protect you from airborne viruses.

Which is why only ill people should be using them, as they’re the ones that need to keep the germs to themselves.

And if you don’t believe a local medical expert, infectious disease expert Dr Charles Chiu, also said the same thing.

Both experts also said that wearing a face mask might backfire, giving you a false sense of security and making you grow complacent in taking precautions.

Kind of like Coke-Zero.

Which explains why the government is only giving out four masks, even if you have thirteen people in your household.

So How To Stay Safe?

Well, because we’re Goody Feed, we don’t bombard you with lots of MOH advisory, although please remember to check their website out daily for updates.

Remember the SARS rap during 2003? While some people don’t like the song, you can’t deny its memorability.

And now, someone in Singapore has created an edgier rap for the Wuhan Virus.

Some of the things to note:

Take care of your personal hygiene, always wash your hands with soap
Be responsible, don’t go to school or work if you feel unwell
Look out for fake news because there are people who love doing that out there

Just one discrepancy in the video, they tell you to get a face mask to stay safe, but we all know you should get a face mask only if you’re ill.

Other than that, you can enjoy the melodic advisory below: