Coronavirus: Fact from Fiction
A new form of Coronavirus has shown up in China, infecting nearly 2,000 members of the population and killing nearly 60. The virus has now spread to 5 cases in the United States as well as at least 12 other countries.
All of the infections in the United States were people who had just traveled back from Wuhan, China. The US Center for Disease Control has sent teams to each state with an infected patient to work with the local quarantine. In Wuhan, China officials are constructing 2 more 1,000 bed hospitals expected to be in use within a week. In addition, President Xi has ordered the military to lock down the borders.
So far all of the fatalities have been patients over the age of 55 who had a history of respiratory illness or a very weak immune system. The CDC has continued to stress that this is a very treatable virus. Originating from some exotic animal source in Wuhan and now spreading person to person, as a very potent flu with very similar symptoms, this is a very containable situation.
The CDC has said there are also nearly 100 patients in 26 states that are under close watch. The CDC has warned the public to expect many more cases to appear in the next few days, as the disease can stay dormant for up to 14 days. But, so far the CDC has only confirmed 5 cases. The 100 patients being monitored have not tested positive for the Coronavirus. The CDC expects to have more patients under close monitoring in the coming days as symptoms are experienced.
The CDC has isolated and started growing the new version of the Coronavirus in their laboratories. By isolating the virus from the first and second patients and growing it in an isolated environment, the CDC will be able to work on stopping the virus and will share it with other research firms who are also working on approaches to solving the virus.
There does not seem to be any evidence that the Coronavirus can spread before there are visible symptoms. The CDC has stressed this point, as a number of press outlets have reported stories out of China of the virus spreading during its initial incubation period in the body before symptoms are shown. If the CDC is correct, this will make a quarantine a much easier endeavor for the Chinese government.
At borders, temperatures are being taken and screenings of all patients are severe. The flights that have been chartered by governments for consulate employees will have doctors and nurses aboard constantly monitoring all of the passengers for any detection of the virus. Chinese citizens in Wuhan will stay in their homes until the government feels this is under hand.
The CDC has said that the outbreak is contained and that the expectations of a major outbreak is still very low. All of the cases so far are from direct contact with Wuhan, so there has not been any actual spreading of the Coronavirus in the United States so far.
The lunar new year has been extended to keep Chinese citizens at home. The worry is that of the 11 million Wuhan residents, a huge amount have traveled in the last few days. So we will see how well China is able to contain this.
The CDC does not believe a flu vaccine will help you in any way from protecting yourself against the Coronavirus.
A variety of groups are working on vaccines and treatments for the Coronavirus specifically, but currently the CDC recommends Tylenol, hydration and rest as the best treatment for an infected patient.
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