New coronavirus map shows daily spread of virus but unduly targets small Washington town
You can monitor how fast and where the newly discovered Wuhan coronavirus is spreading around the world on a map and statistical chart.
The map, however, might panic some residents of a small Washington community.
Computer engineers at John Hopkins University created the map using data from the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other health organizations. It’s updated daily.
The Wuhan outbreak is less than a month old. On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak to be an international health emergency.
Cases and deaths of the coronavirus are still a small fraction compared to the annual flu season. In Washington, 38 people have died from the flu this season, according to the state Department of Health. The actual number is probably much higher.
Little is known about the new coronavirus, and that has lead to stepped-up health screening at some U.S. airports and concerns about an outbreak in the United States. It’s even led pet owners to purchase face masks for their dogs.
The outbreak is also leading to an uptick of racist incidents directed at people of Asian descent in North America. In Issaquah this week, a family was turned away from a food sample station inside a Costco store because the worker feared they might infect her with the virus.
Centroid, Washington
The John Hopkins map has a red dot in Washington labeled “WA Centroid.” Centroid is a mathematical term that refers to the center of a mass — in this case, Washington.
The dot shows up near the unincorporated community of Winton, just a few feet from Highway 2 and south of Lake Wenatchee.
Washington’s only person with a confirmed case of coronavirus is actually in Everett, as of mid-day Thursday.
A similar centroid confusion occurs in the California section of the map. That led to concern in the Fresno area that someone there had the virus, according to the Sacramento Bee.
As of Thursday, the map showed 8,235 cases of the disease with 8,124 of those cases in mainland China. Statistics associated with the map put the total number of deaths at 171.
There are only five known cases shown on the map in the U.S. but a sixth — and the first known case of human-to-human transmission in the U.S. — was reported Thursday in Chicago.
Washington state has activated the highest level possible in its emergency response to the Wuhan coronavirus.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 12:52 PM.
