Summary of article from the New York Post

Don’t buy China’s story: The coronavirus may have leaked from a lab

By Steven W. Mosher

February 22, 2020 

A national system to control biosecurity risks must be put in place “to protect the people’s health,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said.

Xi didn’t actually admit that the coronavirus now devastating large swaths of China had escaped from one of the country’s bioresearch labs. But the very next day, evidence emerged suggesting that this is exactly what happened, as the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology released a new directive titled: “Instructions on strengthening biosecurity management in microbiology labs that handle advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus.”

Read that again. It sure sounds like China has a problem keeping dangerous pathogens in test tubes where they belong, doesn’t it? And just how many “microbiology labs” are there in China that handle “advanced viruses like the novel coronavirus”?

It turns out that in all of China, there is only one. And this one is located in the Chinese city of Wuhan that just happens to be … the epicenter of the epidemic.

The 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak is an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in Wuhan, China.  It is spread during coughing or sneezing. Symptoms may include fever, cough, and breathing difficulties, loss of appetite (84%) digestive issues (50%) such as diarrhea (29%). Hand washing, maintaining distance from people who are coughing, and avoiding touching one's face are recommended to prevent the disease. 

Hospitalizations in US

March 18, 2020 source

•   1% age 0-19
• 20% age 20-44
• 18% age 45-54
• 17% age 55-64
• 26% age 65-84
•   9% age 85+

How do I prevent it?

The CDC has some simple recommendations, most of which are the same for preventing other respiratory illnesses or the flu:

The U.S. National Park Service announced in December that there will be 10 entrance fee-free days during 2017. 

Utah is blessed with five national parks: Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon and Zion. Utah also has eight national monuments: Cedar Breaks, Dinosaur, Hovenweep, Natural Bridges, Rainbow Bridge, Timpanogos Cave, Grand Staircase-Escalante and the newly designated Bears Ears National Monument.