COVID-19: Global Pandemic With 166 Countries Affected - Essay Sample

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the new coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic. The virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China. The virus had killed at least 8, 648 people, and more than 200,000 had tested positive worldwide. Additionally, the deaths have been confirmed in more than 166 countries. According to the WHO, the coronavirus family can cause a range of illnesses such as the common cold or other severe diseases like the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Therefore, the new coronavirus has been named COVID-19, and it is the seventh one known ever to affect human beings. COVID-19 symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing, sneezing, fever, and headache. Also, the infection may cause breathing difficulties or pneumonia, and in rare cases, it may be fatal. The symptoms share a lot of similarities with common cold or flu, which is more prevalent than COVID-19, hence the need for testing to ensure that a person is infected.

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Currently, there is no medicine nor vaccine for COVID-19 (Aljazeera News par. 1-5). However, most of the symptoms can be treated, and visiting a healthcare provider early enough can help in making the symptoms less dangerous. Individuals can be infected by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching their face, especially the eyes, nose, and mouth. Additionally, the virus can survive for several hours on surfaces but can be killed by simple disinfectants. Therefore, the main focus is on preventive measures which aim at slowing down the rate of infection among people. The main preventive measures here are self-isolation and maintaining a "social distance."

Self-isolation involves staying at home and not leaving. The people do not go to school, work, or any public areas during this time. The people may, however, leave to exercise for a short while. It is even advised that people should not even go outside to buy food or any essentials. Instead, they should make arrangements for them to be delivered at their houses. However, if they are unable to do so, they should ensure that there is minimal interaction with others and stay outside for the shortest time possible. Every person who has symptoms of COVID-19 is supposed to self isolate. If the person is living alone, he or she must stay at home for at least seven days beginning from the day the symptoms started. Additionally, if there are two or more people in the house, and one develops the symptoms, the entire household needs to self-isolate for at least 14 days and monitor if any family member also develops them. However, if a person becomes ill during the period, his or her isolation will start on that day. The person who shows symptoms for the virus should be placed in a room that is well-ventilated and should be away from other people at the house. Therefore, self-isolation ensures that in case a person is infected with the virus, he or she will be unable to spread it to others unknowingly, thus making it an essential preventive measure.

Maintaining a social distance, on the other hand, involves staying at least 6 feet from others, especially when a person goes outside. Additionally, the closing of bars, restaurants, pubs, and gyms is part of social distancing, which aims at reducing non-essential human contact. Social distancing also aims at "flattening the curve" which means that the spread of the virus is delayed hence more people are infected at a slower rate. As a result, it will take more time to get people infected with the virus, hence, lower number of people needing urgent care and resources, which will, in turn, make the virus to be managed easily.

The two methods mentioned above were used in China, and they proved to be effective because the country recorded a reduced reproduction rate in the city, as the number fell from 2.35 to almost 0. When a reproduction number equals one, it means that one infected person is spreading the virus to only one person. Additionally, putting an earlier lockdown in the epicenter of an outbreak, the outbreak will be easily contained (Beall par 9-12).

COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization as the virus spreads quickly through contact with contaminated surfaces and there is no vaccine. However, it can be managed if a person visits a health facility early enough. Since there is no vaccine, it is better to avoid contracting the virus since it can have serious health implications. The two main methods that help to curb its spread, for instance, self-isolation and maintaining a social distance. These methods have been proved to be effective in combating the spread of COVID-19 in China's Wuhan and wider Huabei region.

Works Cited

Aljazeera News. "Coronavirus: All You Need to Know in 500 Words." Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera, 27 Jan. 2020, www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/china-coronavirus-500-words-200127065154334.html.

Beall, Abigail. "Why Social Distancing Might Last for Some Time." BBC - Homepage, 25 Mar. 2020, www.bbc.com/future/article/20200324-covid-19-how-social-distancing-can-beat-coronavirus.