From China and Asia onto the Pacific to the Middle East, Europe and the United States, South America and Africa, the coronavirus is fast spreading from the epicenters (China, South Korea, Italy, Iran) to many countries of the globe (80 countries already) and infecting populations across the world with many cities and towns being lockout in quarantine to prevent its propagation. Disruption of the day to day normal way of life in urban areas is leaving millions of people in distress and fear of being infected by the disease continues to impact on the social and economic conditions of living. The virus has spread to South Korea and as far as Iran and Italy, which is being severely hit as international air travelling, social and religious gatherings have been identified as providing hotspots for contamination. Only one case (the zero patient) can cause infection, contamination and transmission to the community and has to be located at the very outset.

Countries are taking drastic measures to contain the disease as it springs up by strict medical surveillance of incoming passengers at airports and ports and are making all medical infrastructures, supplies, and staff available to treat patients at its early stages. Many countries have even closed their frontiers to contain the epidemic spreading and imported to their territory and prevent clusters for the proliferation of disease in the community. Depending on its health infrastructures, medical capabilities and level of public health, each country has to prepare its own response plan to the epidemic to keep it under control, locate the zero patient and stop its extension further afield with the assistance of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The number of deaths for the past 2 months has reached over 3000 and cases of infection over 88000 and has continually increased since its inception in China in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan (population 11 million) in the province of Hubei and the disease has been declared an epidemic and a Health Emergency at the highest level by the World Health Organization and has taken pandemic proportions. The city of Huwan and other cities are lockout and about 50 million people are not allowed to move, except for vital food provisions, over the country from town to town with enterprises, vegetable markets and supermarkets, mass transport systems, schools and universities being closed down.

Travelling from place to place, country to country and movement of persons carrying the virus despite negative tests and assembly of groups of people and social meetings are premises for the propagation of the virus in clusters. There are symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, mild, severe and recovered cases and the mortality rate is estimated so far at about 2 percent of the number of confirmed cases.

The worst case has been the immobilization in February of the cruise ship ‘’Diamond Princess’’ in the port of Yokohama in Japan with over 3000 tourists and 1000 crew members kept in quarantine for testing, isolation, and treatment which was available on board resulting in hundreds of infection in the lockout and prison ship and putting the residents under precarious living conditions in their cabins for 14 days and creating a hotbed for the virus to thrive and cause the death of 4 persons.  What medical facilities did the ship, a cruise liner, had; how many doctors and nurses were looking daily at so many patients living in small cabins is open to serious questions. Finally, residents tested negative were allowed to disembark and flown back to their home countries on board special airplanes and again kept on quarantine on their arrival.

The magnitude of the problem left the Japanese authorities without an alternative option than keeping the ship in quarantine for 14 days to protect the population from infection. However several ships of the cruise company or Red Cross/military hospital ships could have been requested to assist the ‘’Diamond Princess’’ with medical staff, supplies, masks, separation of infected passengers from the ship docked in the port and prevent infection of the staff that was exposed to it. The task was immense for the cruise staff to look after hundreds of tourists living on board in unexpected conditions.

This case points out to the vulnerable conditions for both staff and residents on board a cruise vessel accommodating thousands of passengers and which would prevail likewise if a tourist inland hotel is faced with a similar corona virus outbreak despite tests of temperature carried out on passengers on arrival at the airport/port. The case of the hotel in Tenerife/Canaries Island, where tourists had to be kept in isolation for some days before being cleared following a suspected case, too will discourage people to travel and reservations cancelled or postponed at whatever costs to avoid quarantine in hotel rooms following the detection of any case. Tourist hotels should be ready to overcome any outbreak at any time by keeping emergency anti corona virus equipment, test kits and makeshift accommodation to contain its spreading and provide urgent medical treatment on the spot.

In the absence of scientific research on the roots of the virus in different countries and its zootonic origins and transmissions through live animals to human beings as a respiratory syndrome attacking the lungs and specially old age persons, the constant mutation of the virus is delaying the production of a vaccine. Medical laboratories the world over are working relentlessly to carry on tests and trials on mice at level 1 until a vaccine is tested on humans at level 2 and validation at level 3 by the end of the year or earlier and until then medical supportive care and antibiotics are available for secondary bacterial infection. The WHO is issuing recommendations to all countries and is everyday reviewing the situation worldwide.

Countries have to be prepared in advance to counter the propagation of the virus amidst their populations whatever the costs by providing:

• Adequate emergency prefabricated building infrastructures in selected regions to accommodate hundreds of special beds, rows of toilet, baths, and appropriate ventilation;
• Medical supplies ,equipment and medicine, surgical and oxygen masks, tissues and protective clothing for all staff who are exposed to the virus and thermometers to patients to control their temperatures;

Medical staff has been at risks too and has contracted the disease as they are in constant contact with the patients despite protective clothing from head to feet. They should be given maximum protection to carry on their duties at all times;

• Stock of foodstuffs ,fresh fruits, bottled water with 2 liters per patient daily for periods of 14 days;
• Separation of cases for normal quarantine observation in several places from north to south, and town centers for diagnosis and testing to isolation treatment wards with x-ray and Ct-Scan facilities to detect severe pneumonia and bronchitis;
•  Green spaces for quarantine patients to walk and breath fresh air;
• Sensitization campaigns to adopt precautions to prevent contamination by hourly washing of hands, protection of nose and mouth by masks against sneezing and coughing, self-confinement in case of respiratory illness and avoidance of social meetings, crowds, and public gatherings.

No country should spare any effort in terms of funding to provide for the protection of its population in times of impending dangers and respond to threats to life. Imagine for a second that vegetable markets and fairs, supermarkets and commercial centers, factories, bus and public transport, schools and universities, temples and churches are closed for 2 weeks until the virus is contained and poses no threat to human life following an outbreak of the corona virus with no vaccine to inoculate the population? This is the worst scenario of the epidemic and should be avoided at ALL COSTS with FIREWALLS against the deadly viral attack.