So we came back to Texas because of the coronavirus ( covid-19). I know, I know it seems like an act of panic and false clarity but actually me and my dad thought this though. if we had stayed, We could have passed on the cold we already had and that could weaken their (mind you) already weak immune system, Possibly heightening their chance of getting Covid-19. We did go to new york to my grandparents to get them groceries and staying with them, but we tried to KEEP OUR DISTANCE.
I need to be serious here. this thing is spreading like wildfire, So, Wash your hands and practice basic hygiene, if you are feeling symptomatic then please call in sick or talk to your parents, employer or whoever. please, Distance yourself from the elderly and new younglings, take some medicine and rest.
Covid-19 got the attention of the states and now if not soon, We were sure that they would start to quarantine the states and flights coming from said states(Washington, New York, Colorado, California) and prevent us from coming back home. we really just wanted to get out of dodge before the storm hit And start to get ready for when things started to get heavily affected by the virus.
Here are some facts about it and how to prevent/Stay safe from it:
“COVID-19 is a respiratory disease. It was first reported in China in December 2019. Because this is a new disease, doctors are still learning about it. You can expect them, along with other health experts, to provide new information about it frequently.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include a fever, cough, and shortness of breath. These symptoms may occur 2 to 14 days after being exposed to the virus. Most people who come down with COVID-19 have mild symptoms. These symptoms can make you feel like you have the flu. However, some people have more severe symptoms. In these cases, the virus may lead to pneumonia.” source= https://familydoctor.org/know-the-facts-about-covid-19/
“The most common way to get COVID-19 is by inhaling respiratory droplets in the air. When a person with COVID-19 coughs and sneezes, tiny droplets leave their mouth and nose and go into the air. You can’t see these droplets. If you’re within 6 feet of that person, you may breathe in those droplets. You won’t even know you’ve done it. But by doing that, you may get the germs that cause COVID-19 in your body.
COVID-19 also can be shared if you touch a surface an infected person has touched. Some examples include door handles, elevator buttons, and shopping carts. The germs can get into your body if you then touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.” source= https://familydoctor.org/know-the-facts-about-covid-19/
“Who is likely to get COVID-19?
While there are many cases of COVID-19 in the United States, the overall risk of getting sick with it in the United States is still low for now. However, some people have a greater risk of becoming sick. Those include:
- Travelers returning from international areas where there is a high concentration of COVID-19 cases.
- People in contact with travelers returning from international areas where there is a high concentration of COVID-19 cases.
- People in close contact with someone who has COVID-19.
Most of the people who are getting sick with COVID-19 are adults. While some children have become infected with it, too, most of them have had milder symptoms than adults.
If people 65 years old and older get COVID-19, they’re more likely to have a severe case. Likewise, people who have health issues, such as heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes are also at risk of getting a severe case.”
“COVID-19 compared to influenza
Around the world, more than 100,000 people (as of the date of this article) so far have had COVID-19. In comparison, at least 22 million people in the United States have had influenza this season.”
Source(s)= https://familydoctor.org/know-the-facts-about-covid-19/
On 31 December 2019, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission in Wuhan City, Hubei province, China, reported a cluster of 27 pneumonia cases (including seven severe cases) of unknown aetiology, with a commonly reported link to Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, a wholesale fish and live animal market [1].
The market was closed down on 1 January 2020. According to the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, samples from the market tested positive for novel coronavirus. Cases showed symptoms such as fever, dry cough, dyspnoea; radiological findings showed bilateral lung infiltrates [2].
On 9 January 2020, the China CDC reported that a novel coronavirus (later named SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19) had been detected as the causative agent for 15 of the 59 cases of pneumonia [3]. On 10 January 2020, the first novel coronavirus genome sequence was made publicly available [4]. The sequence was deposited in the GenBank database (accession number MN908947) and uploaded to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). A preliminary analysis showed that the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) clusters with the SARS-related CoV clade and differs from the core genome of known bat CoVs.
By 20 January 2020, there were reports of confirmed cases from three countries outside China: Thailand, Japan, and South Korea [5]. These cases had all been exported from China.
On 23 January 2020, Wuhan City was locked down – with all travel in and out of Wuhan prohibited – and movement inside the city was restricted [6].
China changed the case definition several times during the course of the outbreak, which caused uncertainty regarding the exact number of cases and the extent of the spread of the virus, and several EU/EEA countries have modified their testing strategies during the course of the outbreak to test only symptomatic or severe cases.
The first European case was reported from France on 24 January 2020. This case had a travel history to China [7]. In Germany, cases were reported on 28 January, related to a person visiting from China [8].
On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared this first outbreak of novel coronavirus a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ [9]. During the following weeks, several countries implemented entry screening measures for arriving passengers from China [10]. Soon, several major airlines suspended their flights from and to China [11]. Several countries repatriated citizens living in Wuhan.
A large number of cases have been diagnosed on board the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in the port of Yokohama, Japan. The first cases were reported on 4 February 2020; the ship was put in quarantine. As of 3 March 2020, 705 cases have been identified among the ship’s passengers. Of these cases, six died. [12]
On 22 February, the Italian authorities reported clusters of cases in Lombardy and additional cases from two other regions, Piedmont and Veneto. Over the following days, cases were reported from several other regions. Transmission appears to have occurred locally, in contrast to the first-generation transmission from people returning from affected areas. Transmission events were also reported from hospitals, with COVID-19 cases identified among healthcare workers and patients [13]. During the following week, several European countries reported cases of COVID-19 in travelers from the affected areas in Italy, as well as cases without epidemiological links to Italy, China or other countries with ongoing transmission [13]
Since ECDC’s fifth update on novel coronavirus published on 2 March 2020, the number of cases and deaths reported in the EU/EEA has been rising, mirroring the trends seen in China in January-early February and in northern Italy in late February. If this trend continues, based on the quick pace of growth of the epidemic observed in China and northern Italy, it is likely that similar situations may be seen in other EU/EEA Member States.
The main developments since the 2 March 2020 risk assessment can be summarised as follows:
- “The 14-day cumulative notification rate of COVID-19, a measure of the prevalence of active cases in the population, is 3.28 per 100 000 population in the EU/EEA as of 11 March, ranging from low rates of <0.1 to 16.3 per 100 000 in Italy and 19.8 per 100 000 in Iceland. The 14-days notification rate increased 10-fold over the last 10 days and, assuming no effect of mitigation measures, the EU/EEA and UK is predicted to reach 100 per 100 000 population (the Hubei scenario) by the end of March.
- While early in the outbreak most cases were reported in China, currently the majority of cases reported are from outside China; and since 2 March, 51% of the cases reported were from EU/EEA countries and the UK.
- There are increasing reports both globally and in the EU/EEA that local transmission has occurred extensively in multiple locations, without reported travel history to areas reporting community transmission and without epidemiological links to known cases [5-8].
- As of 11 March 2020, among the 1 597 cases reported in TESSy where the place of infection was reported, 797 (50%) were reported to be infected in the reporting country, 698 (44%) were reported to have acquired infection in another European country and 102 (6%) had acquired infection outside the EU/EEA.
- In the EU/EEA and the UK, events and locations that involve social interaction or institutional contact have been related to the development of COVID-19 clusters, including workplace interactions, religious events, festivities, health and social care settings, and travel.
- Transmission events have been reported in hospitals, with COVID-19 cases identified among healthcare workers and patients [9,10] as well as in long-term care facilities. As of 9 March, an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 at a long-term care facility (LTCF) with 120 residents in Washington State (United States) has had 54 residents transferred to local hospitals and 26 deaths, of which 11 were within the facility. Of the 15 that died in hospital, 13 had tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, 70 of 180 LTCF employees reported symptoms compatible with COVID-19 [11]. In a LTCF in Île-de-France region, France, as of 10 March, authorities report an outbreak of five cases among residents, including two deaths [12].
- Reports from some healthcare facilities in northern Italy indicate that intensive care capacity has been exceeded due to the high volume of patients requiring ventilation [13].
- The Director-General of the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020″
source= https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus/event-background-2019
Let’s be serious here though. we could talk about facts and factors all day here but the only way to stay safe or stay informed is by reading what the CDC has to say and practice simple hygiene.