During the minutes that it takes me to compose this sentence, someone somewhere is being diagnosed with a disease, that’s the reality of the world we live in. At first, it might sound abstract until it hits your screen ever so often and then your neighbourhood- which is the case the Coronavirus, COVID-19.
Even though the virus is becoming a global pandemic, countries around the world are making serious efforts to tackle the virus. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, some of us really don’t know what the Coronavirus is and how to stay safe this period hence, a lot are scared stiff and paranoid.
What exactly is Coronavirus?
According to World Health Organisation; “Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel Coronavirus (nCoV) like COVID-19 is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.”
COVID-19 in humans was first reported in mainland China, Wuhan precisely last year and has since become of global concern. It is pertinent now more than ever to know what to do and how to stay safe in the face of coronavirus.
Symptoms
The symptoms are similar to that of the flu, so do well to treat your flu to avoid suspicious stares and even confrontation.
The symptoms are:
- Running nose
- Fever
- Headache
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Shortness of breath
As the virus progresses without medical attention, it could worsen to:
- Pneumonia
- Kidney failure
- Acute respiratory syndrome
- Death
Mode of transmission
Coronavirus was originally a zoonotic infection but human-human transmission has recently been confirmed. There are over 85,000 confirmed infected by the virus globally with more than 2,900 death cases according to the World Health Organization. The older a person is the higher the chances of severity from Coronavirus but we must all know how to stay safe.
Irrespective of the high mortality rate in older people and a large number of infected people, there’s also a large number of people who have recovered.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the following cases have been reported in these continents as at the time of writing:
Africa: Algeria (3), Egypt (2), Nigeria (1) and Senegal (2).
Asia: China (80,026), Hong Kong (98), Macau (10), South Korea (4,212), Iran (978), Japan (254), Singapore (106), Bahrain (47), Kuwait (46), Thailand (43), Taiwan (40), Malaysia (29), United Arab Emirates (21), Iraq (19), Vietnam (16), Israel (10), Lebanon (10), Oman (6), Pakistan (4), India (3), Philippines (3), Qatar (3), Indonesia (2), Afghanistan (1), Cambodia (1), Nepal (1) and Sri Lanka (1).
America: United States of America (89), Canada (24), Ecuador (6), Mexico (5), Brazil (2) and Dominican Republic (1).
Europe: Italy (1,689), France (130), Germany (129), Spain (83), United Kingdom (36), Switzerland (24), Norway (19), Austria (14), Sweden (14), Netherlands (13), San Marino (8), Croatia (7), Greece (7), Finland (6), Denmark (4), Azerbaijan (3), Czech Republic (3), Georgia (3), Iceland (3), Romania (3), Belgium (2), Russia (2), Armenia (1), Belarus (1), Estonia (1), Ireland (1), Lithuania (1), Luxembourg (1), Monaco (1) and North Macedonia (1).
Oceania: Australia (29) and New Zealand (1).
Other: Cases on an international conveyance (Japan) (705).
Coronavirus confirmed in Nigeria
On the 28th Of February, an Italian man who flew in from Milan to Lagos was confirmed to be infected by the virus. The minister of health has assured citizens that everything is under control.
How to prevent contracting the Coronavirus and how to stay safe
In the meantime, we need to stay safe because there’s still no vaccine to cure the Coronavirus yet. We know that Lagos can get rowdy during rush hour and the mode of transmission of Coronavirus has not been fully exhausted. Do well to avoid anyone showing the above-stated symptoms. It is advised to take precautionary measures especially now that there’s presently no cure. how to prevent coronavirus
#1. Fly solo
Avoid crowded places as much as possible. Leave your office early (if you can) or wait out the rush and traffic, although this would mean you getting home a lot later but this will drastically reduce body contact with strangers. Also, wear a face mask in case someone beside you chooses to sneeze inside the bus, the bus stop or even the mall.
#2. Water is your friend
It’s been advised that the best way to prevent this virus is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water for at least 20 seconds. Be conscious enough to wash under your nails for germs lurking underneath.
#3. Clean your environment
Also, this virus has been said to survive on non-organic surfaces for as long as 9 days except it’s cleaned and disinfected with products like bleach, izal, Dettol and its likes (especially alcohol-based). More research is being carried out on this topic, so keep a clean house to remain safe.
#4. Save the handshakes
In a situation where water and soap (which is the best) is unavailable, an ethanol-based hand sanitizer can hold up but wash your hands once possible.
#5. Cook it
Save the half-cooked beef and egg for another season, right now cook your meat and eggs properly to kill any unwanted intruder. All we want is that delicious dinner.
#6. Animals? Maybe not
Our dear animal lovers, we know how tempting it is to want to cuddle that random cat in sight but suck up the urge for now. Research is still going on to find out other modes of transmission of this virus. Until then keep a blind eye, this too shall pass.
There is a lot we don’t know yet about the virus but what we do know is that if you adhere strictly to the above tips, you have a higher chance of not contracting the virus. Due to a global panic, the effect of this virus has been exaggerated, over 80% of the confirmed cases are not severe. Government officials and medical experts have also sounded a note of reassurance: although the virus can be deadly, a great number of those infected so far have only mild symptoms and make full recoveries. Stay safe.
Featured image: Fusion Medical Animation | Unsplash
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