COVID-19 REFERENCE ARTICLE

Covid-19 and The (in)famous coronavirus.

Let's start by stating the most obvious,
This is definitely not the first article that you are reading about it.

From the start of the year covid-19 has grabbed all the headlines(rumour being that it has
created a lot of jealousy among top and famous stars).
The disease which originated in China's Wuhan has now spread almost all over the world,the
irony being that china is now almost disease free. At the time of writing it has only 2166 active
cases left.
The disease was declared a pandemic by WHO and has since strenghtned its roots in the world
more specifically in the west.
The epicentre of the disease has shifted to the US, New york being the worst affected.
The biggest problem in countering this disease is that it is caused by a virus and hence a vaccine
can't be easily made.
The other problem is its asymptomatic stage.
Even after a person is infected by it he/she may not show symptoms for as long as 14 days and
even in some extreme cases upto 28 days.
A person even in the asymptomatic stage can infect others as the virus is contagious in this
period also.
The virus particles can also survive on non living surfaces for several hours and can remain
suspended in air for 2 hours.
Though it is not spread by air to air transmission,its ability to live on non living surfaces and
remaining suspended in air give it the distinction of being one of the most contagious disease in
recent times.
When it first originated in China it was taken lightly and humanity is now paying the price for it.
Most experts said that the mortality rate was low and that people with old age and underlying
infections would die mostly.
The latter statement though being true Covid-19 has now spread so much that the estimated
mortality rates have fallen of charts.
US followed by Italy has the most number of cases, with Italy having most deaths in the world
due to the disease.
Covid-19 has proved that even the most efficient healthcare systems can't function when there is
an overwhelming influx of patients.
People almost all over the world have gone into lockdown to keep the spread of the disease in
check.
India meanwhile had an event called the janta curfew on 22nd of March,which was followed by
an announcement on 24 march by PM Modi,that the country was going into lockdown for 21
days upto April 15 starting from 25 March.
The relatively low number of cases in India are not due to the fact that the healthcare system is
good or that the government has taken adequate measures.
It is due to the lack of testing. India has done a very small amount of testing. This means that
many cases have not been reported and as such India could become the next epicentre of the
disease due to community transmission.
The symptoms of the disease are fever
dry cough, headache, running nose and in severe cases shortness of breath.
Protection:
Covid-19 can not be fought at present. No vaccines are available and treatment is done by
experimental drug combinations.
The best way to protect ourselves is what has been reiterated constantly over the past few
months. Wash your hands regularly, avoid social places, always wear a mask outdoors and if
possible always stay in you home.
It was predicted that the summer months would cause the disease to subside but so far that
has not been the case.
Nobody knows when this will end and what will happen but the thing that I do know is:

STAY HOME, STAY SAFE.





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