In the latest update concerning the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced there were more than 3,100 new documented coronavirus infections in China yesterday. According to the health organization, this new influx of reported cases set a record, marking the single worst day since the outbreak began on Dec. 31.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases up to 24,631. Over 24,400 of them are based in mainland China, with only 11 being confirmed in the U.S. Since the outbreak began, there have been 494 deaths due to the virus.
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"There are no known effective therapeutics against this 2019-nCoV and WHO recommends enrollment into a randomized controlled trial to test efficacy and safety. A master global clinical trial protocol for research and prioritization of therapeutics is ongoing at the WHO," said the organization.
A potential treatment in sight
Although there's no cure for the coronavirus at the moment, healthcare companies are working around the clock to develop a treatment, with many making significant progress. Gilead Science's (GILD 2.14%) Ebola drug, remdesivir, has shown to be fairly effective in improving patient symptoms. In response, a state-run Chinese research group, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, filed for a patent to use Gilead's drug as a potential coronavirus treatment.
Human trials using remdesivir are expected to begin as early as next week, and Gilead already shipped enough doses of the drug to China to treat 500 patients. The results from the trials aren't expected for at least a couple of months.
