The coronavirus has spread around the world, but is this new virus less or more dangerous than other infectious diseases? The National Geographic created a chart on its website to explain how they compare.
Health officials and regular citizens set their priorities based on the general risk to the public. This week, the World Health Organization announced plans to spend $675 million on the month-old outbreak of coronavirus.
By contrast, the agency has raised a third of this amount from international partners to combat Ebola in central Africa, which has been spreading since August 2018.
Comparing these outbreaks involves factors like how contagious a disease is versus fatalities and severe outcomes, versus the socioeconomic ramifications of locking down a region, according to the article.