Major Coronavirus Breakthrough Sees 6 Infected Cleared – From an Unlikely Asian Nation

• The first form of a cure of coronavirus has been discovered in Thailand.
• It could be a breakthrough in containing coronavirus, as six patients were discharged.
• Thailand, Japan and South Korea are the most affected countries outside of China.

Thailand has just discharged the sixth patient affected by coronavirus [Bangkok Post] making it the most successful country to cure the virus to date. Australia, Hong Kong, and China are making significant progress in producing vaccines, but Thailand has been able to cure coronavirus with unorthodox methods.

Rajavithi Hospital in Bangkok created a new mixture of medicine by combining the anti-flu medication oseltamivir and HIV medicines lopinavir and ritonavir.

The mixture was used to treat six patients so far in Thailand, the second most affected country from the coronavirus outside of China, just behind Japan.

Japan reported 20 confirmed cases of coronavirus [The Japan Times] and official data showed Japan is one of the most popular tourist destinations for residents in areas heavily affected by coronavirus such as Wuhan.

Efforts from Thailand is key in preventing bigger coronavirus outbreak

Researchers at Hong Kong University (HKU) have reportedly found a vaccine for coronavirus [SCMP]. However, it may take a year to be shipped out following rigorous testing.

Various tests have to be carried out on animals and eventually to real cases of coronavirus before it can be applied at a wider capacity.

According to a study released by the team of professor Gabriel Leung at HKU, the coronavirus outbreak is set to double in 6.4 days [[The Lancet Journal].

If the outbreak reaches its peak at April or May as anticipated by Leung’s team, it could potentially result in more than 100,000 confirmed cases based on the current rate of expansion.

If the unorthodox methods of Thailand’s Rajavithi Hospital are working and the unique mixture of medicine is proving to efficient, it could be a breakthrough in better containing coronavirus.

Thailand is an unlikely place for such a cure to emerge from because over the past two weeks, the three countries that were able to replicate coronavirus for lab testing were Australia, China, and Hong Kong.

The success of Thailand indicates that with extreme cases of pandemic and medical emergencies, unconventional methods can become efficient.

The real trouble is South Korea

South Korea just announced that it is banning the entry of both Chinese and foreign nationals that visited regions impacted by coronavirus on February 2 [Chosun].

Prior to that, at least 6,400 people from Wuhan are said to have entered South Korea from late December to mid-January.

With 28 potential cases being carefully observed [DongA.com], it remains to be seen whether countries with a high number of both confirmed and unconfirmed coronavirus cases will experiment with Thailand’s HIV and fever medicine mixture.

A positive takeaway from the recovery of patients in Thailand is that coronavirus is typically fatal for individuals with weaker immune systems, like patients suffering from existing disease or old individuals.

Balaji Srinivasan says coronavirus is being taken very seriously in China | Source: Balaji Srinivasan/Twitter

Balaji Srinivasan, a general partner at major venture capital firm A16Z, shared a video that seems to show how the newly built hospital in Wuhan is being run.

It demonstrates strict control with patients being treated individually, indicating that China is also putting all of the resources it has to contain it, after severe criticism towards the government.

This article was edited by Samburaj Das.

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