The spread of China’s coronavirus, which closed a city of 11 million, leaped across continents and raised pandemicfears, may have started with something simple — a person buying food for dinner at an outdoor market. The potency and movement of the virus has rallied the cooperation of various agencies, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization, which declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern". 01 What is the novel coronavirus? The infection numbers are startling: Since Jan. 20, cases worldwide have surged from less than 300 to more than 60,000. The death toll stands at 1600, according to Chinese officials. The current coronavirus doesn’t have an official name yet. The current designation is “2019-nCoV”, with “2019” for year of discovery, “n” for novel (meaning new) and “CoV” for coronavirus. 02 How does coronavirus compare to SARS, MERS and the common flu? Outbreaks like this have happened before, most notably with SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2015. SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, is commonly used as a reference in coronavirus coverage, since both originated in China and share characteristics. In all, 8,098 SARS cases were recorded, with a death toll of 774. That’s a fatality rate of 9.6%. MERS, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, originated in Saudi Arabia and resulted in 2,499 cases and 861 deaths, giving it a higher fatality rate of 34.5%. With current numbers, the fatality rate for 2019-nCoV is 2.4%. The WHO said most coronavirus cases reported to date “have been milder, with about 20% of those infected experiencing severe illness.” 03 Is the virus just a problem for China? Are people quarantined? The WHO classified 2019-nCoV as an emergency for China but hasn't yet designated it a world-wide emergency. As infection numbers rise, China has ordered residents in nearly a dozen cities to stay where they are. An estimated 56 million people in the country are affected by lockdowns. Wuhan has been hardest hit. Airports and railway stations are closed and public transportation halted. Private vehicles are banned. Residents wear face masks to protect against infection. While a new, 1,000-bed hospital is under construction, there are shortages of medicine, protective masks and other supplies.