What is Corona Virus –
Corona viruses (CoV) are a large family of infectious viruses that cause illnesses ranging from mild to severe.
The outbreak was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China in December 2019 and recognised as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. While animals are the original source of the virus, it is now spreading like fire from person to person across the globe. This is the first pandemic known to be caused by the emergence of a novel coronavirus. In the past there have been four pandemics caused by the emergence of novel influenza viruses.
The disease caused has been named “Corona Virus Disease 2019” i.e. “COVID 19”.
Symptoms of the disease and illnesses caused –
Common cold, cough, fever, exhaustion, shortness of breath, throat pain, muscle pain, breathing difficulties, pneumonia, bronchitis, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
Severity –
The illness may be mild or severe, including illness resulting in death with no reported symptoms initially. Kids, older people and people of all ages with severe chronic medical conditions are more prone to developing COVID 19 illness.
Cure –
There is no specific medicine or vaccine to prevent or treat COVID-19. Patients may need palliative care to help them recover.
Pandemic, Epidemic and Endemic –
An Epidemic is the regional outbreak of an illness that spreads unexpectedly. It refers to an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease beyond what is normally expected in the population of an area. Eg. Chikangunya, Dengue etc. Pandemic refers to an epidemic that has spread across countries and continents — the global spread of a new disease. Eg. HIV, H1N1 etc. An Endemic is the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area. Eg. Chickenpox, Malaria etc.
1. Avoid meeting people who are sick or meeting people in large groups.
2. Wash your fruits and vegetables properly.
3. Drink boiled water.
4. Stay home if you are unwell.
5. Cover your mouth while coughing with a tissue or cough into your upper sleeve or elbow and not in your palms.
6. Wash hands with soap and water whenever you enter your house.
7. Sanitize your hands often with alcohol based sanitizer.
8. Have turmeric warm water before breakfast and before bed to fight the germs.
9. Hydrate yourself often.
10. Rub lavender or rose oil in your foot to increase immunity.
11. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
12. Put two three drops of eucalyptus oil in your pillow while sleeping.
13. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
14. Avoid travelling.
15. Avoid eating outside food.
16. Practice breathing and physical exercises.
17. Take a shower atleast twice a day.
18. Wear a mask if you are taking care of someone detected with COVID 19 and dispose it off properly and regularly.
19. Avoid consuming non vegetarian.
20. Avoid consuming cold stuff.
21. Avoid consuming dairy and dairy products.
22. Avoid direct contact with animals except pets.
23. Consume a tablespoon of mixture of ginger and garlic paste with honey in the morning.
24. Consume citrus fruits and black coffee.
25. Be positive and pray for your and everyone’s well-being.
26. If you have fever, cough and difficulty in breathing, seek medical attention at the earliest.
Effect of Corona virus on the world economy –
Most of the malls, movie theaters, schools, temples etc are shut down or people are avoiding to visit them. The impact of COVID 19 is causing a damage to the livelihood and the world economy is shaken. Even the e-commerce industry is hit hard due to COVID 19 since people feel it’s risky to order things which shall be touched by others who might have the disease already. COVID 19 is fuelling fear of a global recession.
Effect of Corona virus on travel –
The outbreak of COVID 19 is inevitably having an enormous impact on the travel industry, ranging from hotel, cruise ship quarantines, airlines halting and cancelling flights in some regions. There are huge queues at the airport for checking/screening the symptoms of the virus as well as the immigration (incase of international travel). The entry of the passengers who are already travelling is being restricted subject to the countries they have travelled or they are asked to be quarantined for 14 days atleast. Many countries across the world are imposing travel restrictions. The visas have been kept on hold and travelling has been affected extensively.
