Welcome to Africanews

Please select your experience

Watch Live

News

news

Quick facts about COVID-19 that you should know

China

The novel Covid-19 was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei province of China. It was not until March 11th that the World Health Organization classified the virus as a world pandemic especially after it was capable of spreading rapidly to a large group of people.

Covid-19 is a new virus that replicates and causes high levels of infections in the lungs. Covid-9 symptoms may range from mile to severe with respiratory complications such as fever, shortness of breath, and cough. The virus is transmitted through person-to-person contact and that is why social distancing is encouraged as a precaution method to curb the spread. The virus becomes airborne through respiratory droplets when a person coughs, sneezes, speaks or spits anyhow.

Since, its first confirmed case on Dec. 31, 2019, there has been a lot of questions and speculations regarding the same. The numbers for the novel coronavirus are updating frequently. So far, the virus has claimed more than 351,000 lives across the world. The total number of confirmed cases stands at 5.6M with Untied States registering the highest curve of 1.6 million confirmed infections with nearly 100,000 deaths.

In other words, these times calls for support and encouragement along all family members so that as many people as possible can survive the pandemic. Other than self-isolation, qualified ndis registered providers can help your senior loved ones lead a comfortable and promising life during this pandemic without posing the threat of unnecessary infection. Moreover, NDIS also offers mobility equipment to counter the challenges that are associated with old age.
Here are some quick facts that you must know about Covid-19:

· Covid-19 is real and poses a threat to humanity

You must not feed from propaganda which is opinion-based instead of fact-oriented news and communication that will actually keep you alive to see another day. Whether it originated from an animal or was manufactured in a laboratory the Covid-19 is real and is threatening to reverse decades of progress in the fights against
poverty and income inequalities. That is why as many people as possible should stay safe so that we can rebuild the world economy together after normalcy resumes.

· There is no treatment for the Coronavirus

Currently, there is no confirmed treatment or vaccine against the coronavirus. Similarly, there is no treatment for the respiratory infections and symptoms that the virus causes. In most cases, doctors help patients to maintain a strong immune system that can fight the severity of the infection on its own. That is why being 100% healthy elevates you to a better position of staying out of danger. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be become reckless and ignore the policies of social distancing.

· Social distancing helps slow spread and infection

Countries that were badly hit by the novel coronavirus have since started recovering from the nightmare after social distancing rule was implemented. Moreover, the virus being a pandemic means that it is capable of reaching a wider geographical area within a short period of time, meaning that the spread can still be managed or slowed down. The “stay at home” policy is also evidently working because keeping a distance of at least 6 feet from other people keeps you safer than when going about your normal business.

· Symptoms range from mild, severe, to fatal

The coronavirus symptom and signs will vary from one person to another depending on the level of immunity ad prevailing circumstances such as treatments administered to reverse the symptoms. While some patients mimic the symptoms of common cold when infected with Covid-19, most patients and especially the elderly experience severe respiratory infection which may include sore throat and sputum production. If isolated cases, the symptoms can overwhelm the body such that patients are forced to be isolated in emergency wards with supplemental oxygen and fluids. In fact, even a breathing support with a ventilator may be necessary.

· How can you protect yourself?

Covid-19 spreads fast through person to person contact and the first way of curbing the spread or staying safe is maintaining and living up to the social distancing rule. You should also put on a clean face mask when you visit public places such as shopping centers. Health officials from all over the world also agree that high levels of hygiene can help keep the virus at bay. For instance, you should either wash your hands regularly with soap and clean running water or use an alcohol-based sanitizer. You must however note that the hand sanitizer may not be 100% effective if your hands are visibly dirty.

· What do you do if you recently travelled to an infected area?

If you recently travelled into an infected area, you should isolate yourself for a period of not less than 14 days and observe if you will develop any signs and symptoms associated with the virus. Self-isolation is not necessarily all about you but also about the people you love whom you don’t want to run the risk of infecting them unknowingly. If you feel some difficulty in breathing, signs of dry cough, or fever within 14 days, you should seek medical attention immediately. You should immediately avoid contact with others and avoid any further travels. In fact, it would help if you also called the hospital that you intend to visit, prior, so that they make necessary arrangements of handling you without risking infection. You should also start taking other precautions such as covering your entire mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing with clean tissue and disposing off the same immediately.

· Hope for a better world

Lastly, like most pandemics that the human race has ever witnessed, Covid-19 too shall come to pass. All you need to is maintain healthy practices such as proper hygiene and social distancing so that you can live to witness the brighter days ahead. Scientists and advanced research institutions are working tirelessly day and night to secure treatment and a possible vaccine towards the virus. Patients who follow the instructions to the letter and put themselves under quarantine as directed by health officials also have higher chances of surviving. However, you must also note that most patients survive on their own as there is no treatment for the symptoms associated to the virus. Therefore, it pays to be safer than sorry!

View more