Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): The need to maintain regular physical activity while taking precautions

The on-going Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in China has become the world's leading health headline and is causing major panic and public concerns.On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the new coronavirus outbreak is a public health emergency of international concern. 1 The virus has already had a direct impact on more than 10 million people in the city of Wuhan and has reached other parts of China as well, posing a health threat of unknown magnitude globally.As of February 8, 2020, WHO reported 34,886 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, with 34,589 of them occurring in China (including 6101 severe cases and 723 deaths).A total of 288 other confirmed cases (with 1 death) have been reported in 24 countries, including Japan, Australia, Germany, and United States. 2 However, these daily estimates are expected to rise even higher as reports from health authorities in China 3 are gathered and near real-time updates of the Johns Hopkins virus dashboard are made. 4he outbreak has caused governments in various countries to take swift and protective measures.In China, these included putting cities on lockdown, 5 implementing travel warnings/bans and cancellations, 6 extending national holidays, and closing schools and postponing classes. 7urrently, there is no vaccine for the prevention or treatment of the illness caused by the virus; its origins and the ultimate extent of this epidemic remain unknown.There have been more than 50 research papers published within the last 20 days 8 that have allowed for the rapid sharing of scientific information about the virus, but serious questions regarding the causes or mechanisms of transmission, incubation period, risk assessments, and options for effective treatment or intervention of the virus remain largely unanswered. 9There have been reports of significant shortages