What is COVID-19 and what are the symptoms?
COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus has taken the world by storm as it was recently classified as a pandemic. It is a positively-stranded, enveloped RNA virus. Additionally, it is believed that the initial outbreak began in Wuhan, China several months ago. Coronaviruses are quite diverse, with the greatest diversity seen in bats, which suggests that bats are the reservoirs for a majority of these viruses. It is believed that through mutations and recombination this virus gained the ability to infect humans. Symptoms include but are not exclusive to fever, cough, shortness of breathe, pain and pressure in the chest, headache and fatigue. The mortality rate lies at around 2%, which to some may imply that there is little reason to be worried. However, this is rather concerning, given the length of the incubation period. The incubation period is between 2-14 days, meaning that individuals who are infected may show symptoms 2 days following infection or 14 days following infection. This means that people may unknowingly spread the virus to people in their surroundings, allowing for a large chain of transmission through different populations.
Controlling the spread in China
The initial COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan, China around the time of the Chinese Lunar New Year. This is one of the largest annual mass travel events in the world. This served as a great danger with the possibility of amplifying transmission. To avoid this, China quickly imposed tight travel restrictions across the Hubei Province in 16 cities that are home to over 50 million people. These restrictions included cancellations of Lunar New Year gatherings, air, train and buses and vehicles, as well as all flights. Hong Kong also closed schools and Universities following the initial outbreak in order to avoid further transmission. I believe China’s quick action to impose these restrictions were a smart and strategic way to avoid further transmission and avoid the number of growing cases.
Controlling transmission in the US
China was able to quickly impose tight restrictions in an attempt to reduce the growing number of cases. The US has also began to take measures to reduce transmission throughout the population. Several days ago President Trump imposed a travel ban that restricts any non-US citizen from Europe from traveling into the US, and imposed screening requirements for any American returning from Europe into the US. Trump also extended this ban to the UK and Ireland. I believe this travel ban is important in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. Universities and schools across the US have been shut down and are turning to online classes. Additionally, large gatherings of more than 50 people are being canceled and many have been instructed to work from home. Personally, I am anxious to see how this movement to online classes for children of all ages will affect their ability to learn and advance. However, I am hopeful that with time and social distancing the number of people getting infected with COVID-19 will go down.
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