(USA Features) As the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) begins to ease around the world, a new report notes that more than 100,000 people, or greater than one-quarter, of all patients have recovered.
In addition, notes an in-depth from The Hill, in the vast majority of cases patients only experience mild symptoms.
“The World Health Organization says those who become infected generally experience mild illness and recover in about two weeks,” says a summary of the report, adding that the U.S. currently has the third-largest number of cases.
“In the U.S., more than 35,000 cases have been confirmed with more than 470 deaths and nearly 200 recoveries,” said the report, which was published March 23.
The U.S. figures have risen since then.
As with influenza, coronavirus can cause the most problems in adults 65 and older, who are also much more a risk of death, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Also, people of any age with serious underlying medical conditions like heart and lung disease or diabetes also are at higher risk.
“The most commonly reported symptoms included fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath, and most patients (80 percent) experienced mild illness,” WHO officials said earlier this month. “Approximately 14 percent experienced severe disease and 5 percent were critically ill.”
WHO officials also warned, however, that younger people were still at some risk from the disease.
“This coronavirus could put you in hospital for weeks, or even kill you,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus .
“Even if you don’t get sick, the choices you make about where you go could be the difference between life and death for someone else,” Tedros said.