The death toll from the coronavirus topped 1,000 on Monday, as more than 42,000 cases were confirmed across the globe. More people have now died from the flu-like virus than were killed during the SARS virus outbreak in 2003.
In the U.S., an official from the CDC told CBS News that a person in San Diego had been diagnosed with the coronavirus, bringing the number of cases in the country to 13. The official said that the patient had been evacuated from Wuhan, China, on a State Department-chartered flight last week.
Global health officials have warned that the current cases could be just “the tip of the iceberg” as they learn more about how easily the disease spreads.
Meanwhile, dozens of new cases were confirmed Monday on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan, including more Americans. The number of passengers already removed or soon to be removed from the Diamond Princess for treatment in Japanese hospitals stood at 135 Monday.
That includes at least 23 American passengers, 11 of whom were among the 65 new cases confirmed Monday. Most of the 3,711 passengers and crew remained under isolation orders on the ship.
The Chinese government’s efforts to silence people who tried to raise the alarm about the outbreak early on — and allegedly ongoing efforts to stop people reporting on it — have created a mounting backlash on the country’s heavily-censored social media.
