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The coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is now officially known, has struck fear into the hearts of millions around the world.

Spare a thought for the South Africans currently quarantined in China, many of whom spend close to 24 hours a day in their rooms, on lockdown in areas close to the epicentre of the virus.

There is widespread panic in the UK, with at least nine confirmed cases of the virus, but as of yet, South Africa has no confirmed cases.

You’ll find a handy live tracker of the virus’ spread here.

One man claims there is a cover-up underway, and his tweet from last week was widely shared:

The medical centre Mark refers to is Mediclinic Louis Leipoldt in Bellville, which says the claims are false. Read more about that here.

Mark does have #MAGA in his Twitter bio, so he’s clearly a sucker for fake news and misinformation.

Let’s see what a trustworthy source of information has to say about South Africa’s readiness to deal with the potential arrival of the virus.

From the Carte Blanche write-up:

The Coronavirus, which has been declared a Global Health emergency, has countries on high alert as international scientists scramble to find a cure. As the number of confirmed cases of the virus continues to rise worldwide and hundreds already dead, Carte Blanche analyses whether South Africa is really prepared for this potential epidemic.

Masks at the ready:

[source:carteblanche]