As of 2 p.m., Feb. 6, there are 28,353 confirmed coronavirus cases and 565 related deaths. Worldwide, 1,382 people have recovered from the illness.
Eight updates:
1. A coronavirus case was confirmed in Madison, Wis., Feb. 5, the 12th case in the U.S., CBS News reports. The patient had recently traveled to Beijing and presented virus symptoms, UW Health said in a statement. Cases have been reported in Arizona, California (6), Illinois (2), Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin.
2. Asymptomatic transmission? Officials are attempting to determine if asymptomatic individuals can spread the coronavirus, though coronaviruses SARS and MERS only spread from people with symptoms, NPR reports. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested asymptomatic patients could be infectious was recently discredited, though Anthony Fauci, MD, director of HHS' National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said colleagues in China told him "without a doubt there is some degree of asymptomatic transmission."
3. Four more planes will evacuate Americans from China this week, CNBC reports. Americans will leave Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and return to military bases across the U.S. Last week, the first government-chartered flight from Wuhan landed in California, and all 195 passengers are still under quarantine.
4. The FDA authorized emergency use of coronavirus test kits Feb. 5. Qualified public health labs will now be able to use real-time diagnostic panels, previously only available at CDC labs. Each kit can test 700-800 samples, with 200 kits being shipped to U.S. labs and another 200 to international labs.
5. A 30-hour-old newborn has been infected with coronavirus, USA Today reports. Two infants tested positive for the virus in China. Hospital officials believe the newborn may have been infected in the womb, according to China's CCTV.
6. A cruise is quarantining 3,700 for two weeks after 10 passengers tested positive for coronavirus, according to CNBC. Carnival's Princess Cruises quarantined passengers and crew in Yokohama, Japan, after 10 cases were confirmed. A previous guest, who didn't show symptoms while aboard, tested positive for the virus Feb. 1.
7. Hubei has experienced 97 percent of all coronavirus deaths as the local health system is overwhelmed by the contagious pathogen, according to Bloomberg. In the world's largest-known quarantine, China shut down the region Jan. 23 to contain the virus' spread, and now Hubei and its capital Wuhan are paying the price, with a 3.1 percent mortality rate compared to 0.16 percent for the rest of China.
8. The backlash against coronavirus panic, explained by Vox. With so few people infected in the U.S., the panic seems more harmful than helpful, fueling misinformation and conspiracy theories. However, Vox writer Kelsey Piper argues that we shouldn't discredit the panic entirely, because if the disease were deadlier, we simply don't have the capability to stop a fast-spreading pandemic.