I am MadhuraSS. I had written this article during early days of Covid19 i.e, may be end of February 2020.
CoronaVirus infection started from China in late December 2019. It affected bats and snakes in the beginning and then spread to human beings in the Wuhan region of China because of close contact between humans and these animals. The human contact is because of Wet markets of China where such animals are sold for human consumption.
This Virus spreads very fast through touch. When the fluids (phlegm, mucous, saliva etc. ) from an infected person are touched by her or his hands and then, the same person touches another object, the virus get passed on to the surface of the object. When this object is touched by another person, and the person touches his nose, eyes or mouth, the virus gets inside the body and infects the new person. So, when people share their homes, vehicles, offices or even general objects with an infected person, the infection very fast.
COViD can also spread in airborne way in the sense that when an infected person sneezes, the water droplets get thrown into the air and when other healthy persons inhale this air, the water droplets are taken in by them and they may get affected. It may take about 14 to 15 days to get to know that you have the virus. By then, you may have interacted with many people and may have spread the infection to them without realizing it. This is major cause of worry for the health officials and the government. Symptoms caused by COVID-19 are fever, cough, running nose, breathing difficulty and sometime, diarrhoea.
There is also no known cure or medicine for the Virus yet. So, it has become very deadly and dangerous. But, there are a few methods to provide relief and support to the infected patients – anti-virals, oxygen support, anti-malarial drugs, ventilation and others. Depending on how badly a person is affected, it may take 10-31 days to recover completely.
The best possible way is to avoid infection. Government has announced multiple suggestions and rules in order to keep people safe and treat the infected patients.
Masks – its best when both infected and healthy people wear these protective masks when they are exposed to each other. So, government has made it compulsory for people to wear masks whenever they come out of their homes. Not all masks are helpful. An example of the mask which is helpful is - N95 masks from 3M.
Lockdown and Social distancing – Government has asked people not to come out in the open except for buying essential item such as grocery, vegetables and medicines.
Many hospital wards, ICUs, government offices, private hotels and even train compartments have been changed into COViD-19 treatment facilities.
But, there has been a lot of other problems due to the lockdowns. Many people have lost their jobs, Schools have been shut down. Some of these problems have solutions – work from home, online classes, etc. But, it is true that poor people who depend on everyday wages are very highly affected and are in misery. If possible, we should try to help them.
In the middle of all these, there are people whom we should all thank from the bottom of our hearts – Doctors, Police officers, Government officials and even the people managing Grocery shops.
The best help we can all give to the government is by staying at home, staying clean and staying healthy and safe.