Oak Ridge National Laboratory is involved in early research and using the Summit supercomputer to better understand components of the new coronavirus, which was first reported in China but is now being reported in a growing number of countries across the world, including the United States.
The early research at ORNL uses computational modeling and data analysis techniques on Summit, the world’s most powerful supercomputer. Results are not published yet, ORNL said Friday afternoon.
Oak Ridge Today has requested more information about the lab’s research, including who the work is for and what parts of the virus are being researched, but that information wasn’t immediately available.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is closely monitoring the outbreak of respiratory illnesses caused by the new coronavirus, and there are ongoing investigations to learn more.
The virus has been detected in 57 international locations, according to the CDC. It has been named “SARS-CoV-2,” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019,” abbreviated as “COVID-19.”
On January 30, the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. The next day, January 31, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency for the United States to help the nation’s health care community respond to COVID-19.
Imported cases of COVID-19 in travelers have been detected in the United States. Person-to-person spread of COVID-19 has also been reported among close contacts of travelers who have returned from Wuhan. The CDC said the virus is not currently spreading in the community in United States.
The CDC said more cases are likely to be identified in the coming days, including in the United States. It’s also likely that person-to-person spread will continue to occur, including in the United States. The reported illnesses have ranged from mild to severe, including illnesses resulting in death. There is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it.
Global efforts are focused on continuing the spread of the virus and reducing its impact, the CDC said.
Locally, Oak Ridge Schools, Anderson County Schools, and Anderson County Health Department have provided information about personal hygiene to help prevent the spread of viruses, the planning and cleaning work they are doing in the school systems, and their work with other organizations to prepare for any potential outbreak.
Learn more at this CDC page: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html.
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