are numbers mounting? OR nothing to see here

Johns Hopkins live tracking of virus cases: systems.jhu.edu/

It remains to be seen if this administration's policy of dismantling our departments, and attacking science in particular, will not harm our ability to handle this crisis. To me, this is not worth the risk (mind you, this occurred over a year and a half ago):
Top White House official in charge of pandemic response exits abruptly

The top White House official responsible for leading the U.S. response in the event of a deadly pandemic has left the administration, and the global health security team he oversaw has been disbanded under a reorganization by national security adviser John Bolton.

The abrupt departure of Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer from the National Security Council means no senior administration official is now focused solely on global health security. Ziemer’s departure, along with the breakup of his team, comes at a time when many experts say the country is already underprepared for the increasing risks of a pandemic or bioterrorism attack.

And this is from 2019: the Trump administration has gutted programs aimed at detecting weapons of mass destruction
Trump administration has gutted programs aimed at detecting weapons of mass destruction

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has quietly dismantled or cut back multiple programs that were created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to help detect and prevent terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction, a Times investigation has found.

The retreat has taken place over the last two years at the Department of Homeland Security, which has primary domestic responsibility for helping authorities identify and block potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.

China counts 170 virus deaths, new countries find infections
By KEN MORITSUGU, AP News | January 30, 2020

Coronaviruses: An Overview of Their Replication and Pathogenesis
Anthony R. Fehr and Stanley Perlman
Methods Mol. Biol. 2015; 1282: 1-23

As far as mutation rate goes, they've only just sequenced the genome from the first patients and couldn't possibly extrapolate what it's going to do next until they sequence later cases. The last corona virus, SARS, had a moderate mutation rate, estimated at 2-6 base pairs per month. That's not likely to affect the production of a vaccine; however, a vaccine is several months to a year from being available (creation, testing for efficacy and safety, mass production).
Moderate mutation rate in the SARS coronavirus genome and its implications

Experts: nCoV spread in China's cities could trigger global epidemic
Lisa Schnirring | News Editor, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy | CIDRAP News | Jan 27, 2020

Experts offered new predictions about the current disease burden in Wuhan, which are dramatically higher than what case numbers reflect, adding that some of China's largest cities are seeing sustained transmission and are poised to become the next hot spots.

Projection of 44,000 Wuhan cases
At a media briefing in Hong Kong today, experts from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) estimated that the number of cases in Wuhan as of Jan 25 was dramatically higher than the country's official totals and may be as high as 44,000. They also estimated that the city's cases will double over the next 6 days.

UN agency declares global emergency over virus from China
By MARIA CHENG and JAMEY KEATEN, AP News | 20 minutes ago

But, what you should truly be more concerned about is the flu. If you haven't gotten this year's vaccination yet, it's never too late.
Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report
CDC, Key Updates for Week 3, ending January 18, 2020

Over 50% of influenza positive test results from public health laboratories this season are in children and young adults (<25 years), while only 12% are in adults aged 65 and older. This has resulted in high levels of outpatient illness, but lower levels of hospitalization and death due to influenza. However, influenza can still cause severe disease in children.

15 additional pediatric deaths were reported this week, bringing the total for the season to 54. Influenza B viruses account for 37 of the 54 reported flu-related pediatric deaths this season.

CDC estimates that so far this season there have been at least 15 million flu illnesses, 140,000 hospitalizations and 8,200 deaths from flu.