12 FAQs to answer all your Coronavirus queries

Today no one of us are unaware of Coronavirus. The situation that we are in in the current phase is by maintaining social distancing. Once there was a time when we said unity is our strength. But now with the pandemic of Coronavirus staying isolated is in the best of our interest. Even though there is a lot said and done on Coronavirus, there are still many questions that are among people. Also, now that everyone is talking about Coronavirus and its condition, it has given rise to a number of myths and confusion among people. To stay safe from getting infected, along with social distancing having the right knowledge is very important. So, let us go through some FAQs that will help to answer all your question.

Answers to the commonly asked questions related to Coronavirus

Myths can affect the condition and make us more susceptible to getting infected. With the right knowledge it is possible to fight the issue. All the answers that are posted here are according to the information provided by the Center of Disease Control (CDC).

Am I at risk for COVID-19 in United States?

As of by 30^th march 2020, about 146,027 people are affected by Coronavirus in the United States. So, the chances of getting infected in USA are high. So, if you are in USA, it is best to practice social distancing. Make sure that you are cleaning your hands and avoid touching your face and eyes with unwashed hands.

Do the symptoms of COVID-19 different in children than in adults?

The symptoms that are seen in children are the same as that of adults. Some of the common symptoms that are seen in people (both children and adults) are as follows-

• Fever
• Runny-nose
• Cough
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Tiredness
• Difficulty in breathing
• Some people experience chest pain

However, children are more susceptible to getting infected than adults. This is mainly because the immune systems of children are weaker. According to CDC, there are still a lot more to learn on the affect of Coronavirus on children.

Can my pet transfer COVID-19?

Till date there is nothing to worry about getting COVID-19 from your pet. So, far there are no reports of received by CDC of pets or other animals being infected by Coronavirus. Pets get infected by different from of Coronavirus such as feline or canine Coronavirus. However, these Coronavirus do not infect humans and in no way is connected to the current COVID-19. However, it is always best to practice basic hygiene such as washing your hands after touching them is important.

Why are we seeing a rise in cases of COVID-19?

Over the time we are seeing a rise in cases of COVID-19. This is mainly because of not following the safety protocols in the initial days of the infection. This is a communicable disease and therefore spreads from one person to other. The basic mode of transfer of Coronavirus is through droplet that gets into a person through sneeze and cough. So, when people stay in close proximity with an infected person, they too get infected with the disease. Not mainly the recommended social distancing in the earlier phase and not using a mask by the infected people plays a major role for the current condition.

Should everyone wear a face mask?

It is not recommended for healthy people to wear a mask. People who are ill and are suspected infected Coronavirus patients should use face mask. As the mode of spread is through droplets, so the use of face masks helps in spreading of the droplets.

What is community spread?

Community spread means that people of a community are being infected with the virus. This therefore may have people who are not sure of how and where they go the infection from.

Will the warm weather stop or control the outbreak of COVID-19?

There are no evidences of how the weather affects the spread of Coronavirus. Some virus such as flu or common cold spread more in the winter time. How the warm summer weather will affect the spread of Coronavirus is not clearly known. However, researches and investigations are still going on to understand the infection better.

Can someone who is quarantined for COVID-19 spread the infection to others?

Quarantine means separating a person who can have an infection but do not have symptoms from other people. This is done to stop the spread of the possible disease. Quarantine is for the incubation period of a communicable disease. Incubation means thee time taken by a person to show symptoms of the disease. For Coronavirus, the incubation time is about 14 days. Someone who was under quarantine and is now set free does not have the potential to spread the disease. This is because they did not develop the disease in the quarantine time.

How can I prevent getting infected from COVID-19?

The right solution to fight and prevent the infection of COVID-19 is by maintaining basic hygiene. Follow the tips for better prevention from COVID-19 infection.

• It is important to keep your hands clean at all times.
• Make sure that you keep the surrounding clean.
• Clean your tables and all the surfaces in your home.
• When you cough or sneeze, either use a mask or cover it with your elbow.
• Clean and wash your clothes regularly
• Do not touch your face without cleaning your hands
• If you have elderly or children in your house, take extra precaution.
• Have food rich in Vitamin C as they are very effective in boosting the immunity of a person. You can have food such as lemon, orange etc to get better immune system.

Who are at high risk of serious illness from Coronavirus?

There is not many information about the case and the infection. Till date the information that is there on the subject, it is seen that people who are older are more susceptible to suffer from the infection. Also, people with underlying medical condition are at high risk. From the information that we have right now, the people who are at high risk of suffering from COVID-19 are-

• People who work in hospitals are at higher risk
• All the people who are over the age of 65 years
• People with chronic disorder in the lungs or have asthma
• Cancer patient
• Immunocompromised person
• Heart disorder patient
• Obese people
• People with diabetes

Can COVID-19 affect the fetus of a pregnant woman?

There is no extra guidelines for pregnant women. They can follow the same guideline as that of other people. You can prevent the spread of Coronavirus by following the steps given here-

• Cover your mouth when you cough. It is best to cover it with your elbow
• Stay away from people who are sick
• Like all other people make sure that you clean your hands well.

However, pregnant women go through a number of changes in the body of the person that increases the risk of infection in the person.

In a case study of 33 Chinese women with infection during the pregnancy, three of them pass the infection to the babies. This case study was on the Medical journal JAMA Paediatrics. Among them one was a premature baby as the mother was suffering from pneumonia. This was caused from COVID-19. The baby too was seen to have respiratory distress. Whereas, the other two baby has fever and constant vomiting.

Should I use soap or hand sanitizer to fight COVID-19?

Washing your hands is very important to protect yourself and your family from getting the infection. Make sure that you wash often and wash it for 20 seconds. Therefore, it is very important to wash your hands after sneezing, coughing, before eating or even preparing your food. It is best if you use soap and water to wash your hands. However, if soap and water is not available at that point of time, then you can go for using a hand sanitizer.

Emergency helpline numbers issued by the Government

If case of any emergency, the government of United States have issued helpline numbers for your assistance. State wise numbers are issued for better medical help. So, here is the list of the official numbers as issued by CDC for your assistance:

Has Chinese lab come up with a breakthrough for Coronavirus?

The entire world is now trying to fight the issue of the Coronavirus pandemic.  As of 19^th May 2020, going by the count of worldometer, about 4909136 Coronavirus positive cases are registered all across the world. So, far we have not come across any proven way to fight the pandemic. However, now a Chinese laboratory claims to have developed a drug that is very potent to bring the Coronavirus pandemic to a halt.

The drug is being tested by scientists at Peking University in China. The results obtained so far have shown to shorten the recovery time of the infected people. The drug also helps in providing a short-term immunity from the virus.

Sunney Xie, the director of the University’s Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for genomics says that the drug has shown effective and proven results at animal testing stages.

Results from Research reports

When the drug is being injected in mice, it is seen that within five days of time the viral load was reduced by a factor of 2,500. Thus, showing the potential of this therapeutic drug. The action of the drug is by using neutralizing antibodies that is being produced by the human immune system to prevent the viral infection. The team of scientist has isolated the antibodies from the blood of 60 Coronavirus recovered patients.

This study was published on Sunday in the scientific journal cell where they suggest the use of the drug provides a potential cure for the Coronavirus infection and also helps in shortening the recovery time.

According to Xie, the use of the drug should be ready for use later this year and will be very effective in bringing down any outbreak in the winter.

The drug has however not gone for clinical trials. The possible clinical trails will be carried out in Australia and other countries as the cases of Coronavirus pandemic dwindled in China. With positive and successful trail it has a promising outcome to bring the Pandemic to a halt.

China is already checking for 5 vaccines at human trail with a potential to combat Coronavirus pandemic. However, the World Health Organization says it would take about 12 to 18 months to develop a vaccine.