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Beijing reported its first death from coronavirus on Monday, bringing the global death toll to 82. The number of worldwide infected is expected to cross the 3,000 mark by the end of the day, despite China’s best efforts to contain its rapid spread.
That could spell trouble for some of the Chinese fighters expected to compete on upcoming UFC cards, including strawweight champion, Weili Zhang. “Magnum” is booked to defend her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 248 this March in Las Vegas.
“Weili and her camp have not been affected at all and have always kept a pretty tight circle,” Zhang’s manager, Brian Butler, told MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin. “She is having the best camp of her career so far.”
Track the spread of the disease in real-time right here.
Even if Zhang remains unaffected, along with Jingliang Li (UFC 248) and Xiaonan Yan (UFC Auckland), travel restrictions both to and from their respective regions could be put in place. As of this writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has yet to declare coronavirus a global health emergency.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC), however, recently expanded its travel advisories.
Because the incubation period can last up to 14 days and is thought to become infectious before symptoms begin to show, the coronavirus has managed to hitch a ride into other countries, including Japan, South Korea, France, Australia, the U.S. and Canada, among others.
You have my permission to punch anyone who doesn’t cover their mouth when they sneeze.