What is the 2019 novel coronavirus?

The 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has become a cause for concern worldwide since its outbreak in China last year.

The virus belongs to the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which claimed hundreds of lives in 2003 and 2012, respectively, according to a 24 Oras report on Tuesday.

The Department of Health (DOH) said there were six strains or kinds of coronaviruses that could affect humans.

The newest strain, 2019-nCoV, broke out in China's Wuhan City on December 31, 2019.

Since then, the number of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases has risen to 222 across China, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea.

The death toll due to the virus climbed to six on Tuesday. 

The DOH is currently monitoring a five-year-old Chinese child from Wuhan who arrived in Cebu last January 12 with flu-like symptoms. 

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) assured Filipinos that the case had not yet been confirmed to be 2019-nCoV. 

A WHO Country Representative earlier said there was still much that experts did not know about the new strain of coronavirus.

“It’s too early now to say that it’s a very severe infection that causes death. We are in the early stages of trying to understand how severe this infection is and how many deaths it is likely to cause,” explained Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe.

While there was no vaccine for the 2019-nCoV,  a report by CNN International said one was currently being developed.

The Bureau of Quarantine is on heightened alert in light of the case recorded in Cebu and because of the anticipated influx of Chinese tourists during the Chinese New Year celebrations. — Julia Mari Ornedo/DVM, GMA News