CORONA VIRUS
By: Tanuja Batchali
Tags: Corona, Who, Virus, Coronaviruses, Death

What is Corona virus?

By now you have probably heard of COVID 19 or corona virus disease which is discovered in December 2019 which is responsible for global pandemic.

This far the main country affected has been China, but it spread to most of the countries around the world to a varying degree. The virus is officially named as “SARS COV-2 i.e Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome COV-2.

A corona virus is a type of virus. As a group, corona viruses are common across the world.

Generally, corona virus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.

Should I be concerned?

A corona virus is a type of virus. As a group, corona viruses are common across the world.

Generally, corona virus can cause more severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems, older people, and those with long term conditions like diabetes, cancer and chronic lung disease.

What are the signs and symptoms of this new virus?

The symptoms of this new corona virus (COVID-19) include:

Cough

Fever

Shortness of breath

Fatigue

Sore throat

How does this new corona virus spread?

Because it’s a new illness, we do not know exactly how it spreads from person to person, but similar viruses spread by cough droplets or sneeze droplets. These droplets fall on people in the vicinity and can be directly inhaled or picked up on the hands and transferred when someone touches their face.

How long any respiratory virus survives will depend on a number of factors; for example:

what surface the virus is on

whether it is exposed to sunlight

differences in temperature and humidity

exposure to cleaning products

Under most circumstances, the amount of infectious virus on any contaminated surfaces is likely to have decreased significantly by 24 hours, and even more so by 48 hours.

What can I do to reduce my risk of catching corona virus?

There are things you can do to help stop germs like corona virus spreading:

always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitizer gel

wash your hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds each time with soap and water or hand sanitizer, especially when you:

get home or into work

blow your nose, sneeze or cough

eat or handle food

avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands

avoid close contact with people who are unwell

Is hand sanitizer effective?

The best way to protect yourself from infections like corona virus is to regularly wash your hands with soap and water. If soap or water aren’t available and your hands are visibly clean, then sanitizer gel can be used. But proper hand washing is the most effective method and this should be your first choice.

Should people avoid shaking hands?

We may get to a point where if we see more widespread infection we ask people to limit the social contact they have with each other.

This could include limiting everyday interaction, although we’re not there yet. What’s most important at the moment is that people practice good hand and respiratory hygiene and wash their hands frequently and thoroughly.

Should people wear face masks to protect themselves from infection?

Face masks play a very important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals but there’s very little evidence of widespread benefit from their use outside of these clinical settings. Face masks must be worn correctly, changed frequently, removed properly and disposed of safely in order to be effective.

There is no cure, so treatments include self-care and over-the-counter(OTC) medication. People can take several steps including:

Resting and avoiding overexertion.

Drinking enough water

Avoiding smoking and smoky areas

A doctor can diagnose the virus responsible by taking a sample of respiratory fluids, such as mucus from nose or blood.