NOTE: If you are experiencing
- Dry cough
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
Please call your primary care physician right away!
COVID-19. Coronavirus. Pandemic. These are the words that have been circulating all over the media and news outlets for weeks. Most importantly, these words are continuing to have a profound impact on our daily lives. But for those of us who may be a little bit confused about the situation and what to do, fear not! I’ll break it down for you and give some helpful tips on what you can do to stay safe throughout this strange time.
So, what is coronavirus? According to the World Health Organization, it is a “family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases,” and COVID-19 “is a new strain that was discovered in 2019 and has not been previously identified in humans.” With that in mind, understand that coronavirus is NOT the flu. Repeat after me. Coronavirus is NOT the flu, and should NOT be taken lightly. So, now that you know what coronavirus is, I’ll explain to you how it can be spread and why social distancing is so important.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coronavirus can spread “between people who are in close contact with one another [and] through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes,” while it can also be spread through touch (for instance, when someone touches their face after touching a dirty counter). Additionally, the CDC mentions that individuals are “most contagious when they are most symptomatic,” or the sickest.
So why do I have to stay inside if I’m not around sick people? Well, the answer is that staying home can prevent the spread of the illness. Basically, when you stay inside your home, you’re not meeting people who may have coronavirus. This prevents carriers, people who are asymptomatic, from transmitting coronavirus to at-risk populations such as the elderly or immunosuppressed individuals. So, think twice before heading out with friends or going on an unnecessary Target run for ice-cream!
With all that information, here are some helpful tips that you can do to stay safe (besides staying home, since we already covered that one)! The Red Cross recommends that you should “avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands,” and “disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily.” Thank goodness for hand sanitizer! Also, be sure to “cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing,” which is something all of us should have already been doing before!
Overall, these are uncertain times. We must all do our part in helping to minimize the spread of coronavirus. No, you’re not “quirky” or “brave” for going out to massive parties or getting brunch with your friends during a pandemic. You are endangering yourself and innocent people who may have weakened immune systems. So please, I urge everyone reading this article to follow the advice given by experts at the WHO, CDC, and Red Cross. The future is unclear and there’s a circled date of when this might end, but if we all do our part in preventing coronavirus from spreading, we can hope that the day where we return to normal comes sooner, rather than later.