The infamous novel Coronavirus has skyrocketed within the past few weeks and the number is not seeing a decline. With the virus originating from a province in China, there were hearsay about it spreading and affecting other Asian countries; as well as countries in the West! How do you protect yourself from Coronavirus? We’ll get to that deeper; first, let’s talk about the exact condition.
Many people are growing more and more alarmed by its status and it really is something we should be worried about. Based on sources, the Coronavirus is a virus that can be transmitted via human-to-human interaction. Originally, Scientists and experts thought that only animals can transmit it.
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Over time, the virus learned, adapted, and evolved, making the human-to-human transmission possible.
What is the Coronavirus?
Before we get into it deeper, let’s first try to understand what the Coronavirus is. The Coronavirus is just one of the many types of viruses under the kind which affected the Respiratory System.
The term Novel Coronavirus is a more accurate term because it is a member of the Coronavirus family that we’ve never encountered before. Akin to other viruses in its kind, the novel Coronavirus also comes from animals.
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It originated in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei which is a province in China; and it was said that Wuhan is home to a market with large and numerous kills of exotic animals like bats, snakes, dogs, and even monkeys.
As per some experts, the Coronavirus we are stressing about now came from this.
How does human-to-human transmission occur?
Originally, the entire family of the Coronavirus is zoonotic, which basically means that people get it from animals. After it had evolved, it now became true that the virus can be spread and passed on to people human-to-human.
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The human Coronavirus spread usually happens in any of the following ways, according to health experts:
- Close personal contact (shaking of hands, touching);
- Air by sneezing and coughing
- Touching or feeling an object with the virus on its surface
- Touching your nose, eyes, and mouth before you wash your hands
- Fecal contamination
Symptoms of the Coronavirus
The perplexing thing about this new member of the Coronavirus family is that the symptoms are similar to that as of a flu. It’s quite impossible to physically distinguish the virus from a regular cold or flu; the checking needs to be done deeper via blood tests, etc.
However, the symptoms of the Coronavirus may include:
- Coughing and Colds
- Headache
- Runny Nose
- Mild to Severe Fever
- Dizziness and Feeling of Being Unwell
- Sore Throat
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Basically, the symptoms point towards the regular symptoms of people who are infected by a flu; nothing else. So, if we know people who currently has fallen ill, it’s always better to advice them to have themselves checked.
For your part, you need to protect yourself from Coronavirs.
Should you be worried about the Coronavirus?
As simple as it may seem, protecting yourself from it might be a rather challenging task than how you expected it. Most people have the misconception that when you encounter a person who has it, they’ll immediately get it.
The Guardian, a British Daily Newspaper, has reported that people from around the Globe should not be entirely worried about them being affected. As per their exact words:
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The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. It increases the likelihood that the World Health Organization (WHO) will declare the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. The key issues are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital. Often viruses that spread easily tend to have a milder impact.”
Basically, you need to ensure that your immune system is intact and it’s at its best condition. Similar to getting a cold or a cough, if your immune system is unscathed, you might not even be infected even if you encounter an infected patient.
Of course, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. You, of course, need to protect yourself from Coronavirus and as per experts, here are the best ways you can do so.
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How do you protect yourself from Coronavirus?
Prevention is always a better solution than cure, and in this case, preventing it is everything. Since it’s a new breed of Coronavirus, no solution or cure has been concocted yet.
For now, based on the advice of the World Health Organization (WHO); as well as the top infectious diseases expert in the University of Hong Kong, Dr. Yuen Kwok Yung, here’s how you can protect yourself from Coronavirus:
Wash your hands regularly
Probably the basic and the simplest tip on how you can protect yourself from Coronavirus. Even before Coronavirus was a thing, it’s a general recommendation to wash your hands frequently, especially when you’re outside.
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Use soap and water for it; or as an alternative, you can use alcohol-based hand rubs and sanitizers.
Avoid people with colds, cough, or fevers
Since the symptoms generally relay or they’re close to that of someone who has a fever or a cough, it’s best to avoid them for now. Even if it isn’t confirmed yet, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
For now, let’s not take the risk and just ultimately avoid people who are ill. We never know when it’s the Coronavirus but we do know that it’s something we want last to have.
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Cover your mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing
Especially if you’re always on-the-go, make it a habit to cover your mouths and nose when sneezing or coughing with tissue. After doing so, clean and/or sanitize your hands and throw the tissue away.
Wear face masks
Face masks are a great way to avoid the mundane Coronavirus. An N95 face mask is what’s recommended by most experts and it is, in fact, part of the most effective face masks.
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Wear it whenever you’re traveling to some place where you know that there’ll be a lot of people. Wear it to school, to work, and to other places.
Avoid eating undercooked and raw meat
No specifications of how the virus came to be yet but many suspect it from being a result of the consumption of undercooked or raw meat of exotic animals in the country of China.
Make sure that you properly and thoroughly cook meat for now.
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Keep throats moist
Dr. Yung said that the Coronavirus can easily enter the body or the system is the throat is dry; so, keep it moist. The best thing to do to be able to do this is to drink water regularly.
50 to 80 cc of warm water for adults while 30 to 50 cc for children.
Don’t panic
When you have a fever or a cough, do not immediately assume that you have the Coronavirus. It could just be a simple cough or fever. However, if you experience chest pain, breathing difficulty, or the general feeling of being unwell, consult the nearest healthcare practitioner from your location urgently.
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Never travel in crowded and rowdy places
Dr. Yung also mentioned that before the end of March, we must avoid traveling to crowded places like the public transport, the MTR, and even trains and buses here in the Philippines.
If we really need to be somewhere, wearing a mask is the best and the most effective thing to do to protect yourself from Coronavirus.
By looking at those tips and recommendations, it’s quite clear to mention that protecting yourself from infamous Coronavirus is rather a simple task. Keep all of your immunity boosters in check and make sure that you’re healthy; the virus might be able to detect weaker immune systems so it’s better if we cancel it out.
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What’s the status of the Coronavirus now?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) only a total of 581 confirmed cases have been reported from all around the globe; this was back on January 23rd, 2020.
571 of which were from China. Other countries that have reported to have an infected person include Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States of America (U.S.A.).
For now, the best thing we could really do is to prevent the virus from spreading; and we can do this if one by one, you protect yourself from Coronavirus.
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Essentially, the origins of this Coronavirus is yet to be known. As per the data gathered from the WHO, all people from around the world who has been confirmed to have the Coronavirus had the history of traveling to and from Wuhan, Hubei.
Even if it’s unsure, it’s still better to keep ourselves safe from this infectious disease. At any given point, we might be close to it already. We could not be careless this time.
Here are some of the best and the most effective ways to protect yourself from Coronavirus, as per serious and top health experts from China and from the World Health Organization.
Don’t waste time – act now and help protect yourself from Coronavirus!
Source/s: The Guardian | ABS-CBN News
