Vatican sends medical masks to China

The joint initiative of the Office of Papal charities and the Missionary Centre of the Chinese Church in Italy has seen hundreds of thousands of masks sent to China. According to a Press Statement by the Holy See Press Office, the masks have been sent to Hubei, Zhejiand and Fujian provinces, which appear to be the areas most affected by this virus.

Health officials believe the virus was initially transmitted from animals to humans, but that human-to-human transmission of the flu-like illness is now occurring.

The illness has now officially been spread to over 20 countries around the world.

China’s Health Commission reported on Sunday that there were 475 recoveries and 361 deaths nationwide, around 2% of those reported to have been infected with the virus.

The number of people who have recovered nationwide has also risen in recent days, suggesting that the new virus’s fatality rate is relatively low.