FAQs about Coronavirus (English)
References:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/coronavirus-spread-protect-200130115539072.html
How is the coronavirus spreading?
The coronavirus – known as COVID-19 – spreads from person to person in close proximity, similar to other respiratory illnesses, such as the flu.
Droplets of bodily fluids – such as saliva or mucus – from an infected person are dispersed in the air or on surfaces by coughing or sneezing.
These droplets can come into direct contact with other people or can infect those who pick them up by touching infected surfaces and then their face.
According to scientists, coughs and sneezes can travel several feet and stay suspended in the air for up to 10 minutes. READ MORE
It is not yet known how long the virus can survive outside a host but, in other viruses, it ranges from a few hours to months.
Transmission is of particular concern on transport, where droplets containing the coronavirus could pass between passengers or via surfaces like aeroplane seats and armrests.
The incubation period of the coronavirus, the length of time before symptoms appear, is between one and 14 days.
Although not yet confirmed, Chinese health authorities believe the virus can be transmitted before symptoms appear.
This would have major implications for containment measures, according to Gerard Krause, head of the Department for Epidemiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection.
“It’s unusual for respiratory diseases transmissible even before the first symptoms have occurred,” he told Al Jazeera.
“But the consequences is that if it happens then they have no public health means to sort out or to identify people at risk of transmitting, because they don’t even know that they’re ill yet.”
Can people be immune to the new coronavirus?
Viruses that spread quickly usually come with lower mortality rates and vice versa.
As the virus is an entirely new strain, it is believed that there is no existing immunity in anyone it will encounter.
Some level of immunity will naturally develop over time, but this means that those with compromised immune systems, such as the elderly or sick, are most at risk of becoming severely ill or dying from the coronavirus.
Although the total number of deaths has now exceeded those recorded during the 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the current mortality rate is much lower than that of SARS.
The coronavirus mortality rate stands at 2.4 percent, while SARS killed 9.6 percent of those infected.
How can people protect themselves? Are face masks useful?
In terms of self-protection and containing the virus, experts agree that is important to wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap; cover your face with a tissue or your elbow when coughing or sneezing; visit a doctor if you have symptoms; and avoid direct contact with live animals in affected areas.
While face masks are popular, scientists doubt their effectiveness against airborne viruses.
Masks may provide some protection to you and others, but because they are loose and made of permeable material, droplets can still pass through.
Many countries have advised people travelling back from China to self-quarantine for at least two weeks.
What is being done to stop the spread, and when will a vaccine become available?
China has placed Wuhan and more than a dozen other cities under lockdown, affecting more than 60 million people, although this has not prevented the virus from spreading to all of China’s provinces.
As the number of confirmed cases continues to rise, businesses and countries are taking increasingly drastic action. READ MORE
Scores of airlines have halted flights to China, while a number of countries are evacuating their citizens from Wuhan and Hubei.
Several countries have closed their borders with China and others have banned entry to Chinese citizens.
Person-to-person transmission has been confirmed in several countries, which WHO emergency chief Michael Ryan has called a “great concern”.
Even with recent advances in medical technology, it is unlikely a vaccine could be available for mass distribution within a year.
This means that public health measures to contain the spread will be crucial to contain the outbreak.
Restrictions on movement will not stop the spread of the disease entirely but will slow its progress and buy time for areas that have avoided infection to prepare. It will also limit the strain on health infrastructure by reducing the number of infections at any one time, said Krause.
How serious is this outbreak?
On March 11, the WHO characterised the new coronavirus as a pandemic.
The infection is now more widespread than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, which also originated in China.
The WHO has designated the outbreak with its highest warning level, as it did for five others, including Ebola in 2014 and 2019, polio in 2014, the Zika virus in 2016 and swine flu in 2009.
On February 10, a WHO-led team of investigators arrived in China to evaluate the situation in more detail.
WHAT IS THE NEW CORONAVIRUS?
Coronaviruses are a wide family of viruses that normally affect only animals. Some have the ability to transmit from animals to people.
The new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a new type of coronavirus that can affect people and was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China.
There are still many unknown questions regarding the disease it produces: COVID-19.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19?
The most common symptoms include fever, cough, and feeling short of breath. In some cases there may also be digestive symptoms like diarrhea and abdominal pain. Most cases have mild symptoms.
In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe difficulty breathing, kidney failure, and even death. The most serious cases generally occur in people who are elderly or who have a chronic disease, such as heart, lung or immunodeficiency diseases.
WHAT ARE THE VULNERABLE GROUPS?
The main vulnerable groups are those over 60 years of age, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic lung diseases, cancer, immunodeficiencies, and pregnancy by the precautionary principle.
HOW IS THE NEW CORONAVIRUS SPREAD?
Transmission appears to be through close contact with respiratory secretions generated by a sick person’s cough or sneeze. Its contagiousness depends on the amount of the virus in the airways. These secretions would infect another person if they come in contact with their nose, eyes, or mouth. Transmission by air over distances greater than one or two meters seems unlikely. With current knowledge, people without symptoms do not transmit the disease.
WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION ZONES?
Currently there are community transmission areas in Spain and other countries. Depending on the evolution of the situation, these areas may vary.
IS THERE A TREATMENT FOR COVID-19?
There is no specific treatment, but some antivirals are being used that have shown some efficacy in recent studies. Yes, there are many treatments to control your symptoms, so healthcare improves the prognosis.
Being an infection caused by viruses, antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PROTECT MYSELF?
Generic individual protection measures against respiratory diseases include:
- Frequent hand hygiene (washing with soap and water or alcoholic solutions), especially after direct contact with sick people or their environment.
- When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with your elbow flexed.
- Use disposable tissues, and throw them away after use.
- If respiratory symptoms occur, avoid close contact (keeping a distance of approximately one meter) with other people.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, as the hands facilitate transmission.
- There are no special precautions to take with animals in Spain, or with food, to avoid this infection.
SHOULD I USE MASKS TO PROTECT MYSELF?
The healthy general population does not need to wear masks. Masks help prevent transmission of the virus if worn by people who are sick.
Health professionals will indicate the use of masks in those situations where it is considered necessary in each case.
An inadequate use of masks can contribute to a shortage of them in those situations for which they are indicated.
IS IT RECOMMENDED TO TRAVEL?
Travel is not currently recommended unless strictly necessary.
WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO IF I HAVE SYMPTOMS?
People who have any of the following respiratory symptoms (fever, cough and feeling of shortness of breath) and live or have been in the community for 14 days in a community transmission area, or have had close contact in the previous 14 days with a person who is a probable or confirmed case, they must stay at their home and contact the health services by phone by calling the enabled phone number of your Autonomous Community, they can be consulted at:
European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC):
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu / en / novel-coronavirus-china
World Health Organization (WHO): https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus 2
It has been a translation from https://actua.frenalacurva.net/t/preguntas-y-respuestas-sobre-el-nuevo-coronavirus-covid-19/97
Some data: https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020/03/13/actualidad/1584102347_992993.html