MS Journalism: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About COVID-19
Posted: 08/07/2020
By: Patrick Yang and Henrik You
Are you wondering what COVID-19 is? Why and how this epidemic started? How the virus spread? If we have any treatment for this virus? If so, this article is for you!
The Novel Coronavirus known as COVID-19 began to spread as early as 2019 in Wuhan, China, and is now spreading around the world. It is a very dangerous virus which can cause death by suffocation. More than ten million people have been infected as of July 2, 2020, and more than half a million have died. The whole world has been affected by this deadly virus.
So, what exactly is a coronavirus? Nurse Lucy said, “They are all from the coronavirus family, and coronaviruses are from a large family of RNA viruses.” According to NBC News, coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat, and fever. Some are mild, such as the common cold, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia. They’re usually spread through direct contact with an infected person.
According to the World Health Organization’s China office, they began receiving reports of a mysterious virus behind a number of pneumonia cases in Wuhan in December 2019. It was later identified as COVID-19.
The coronavirus cannot walk or run, so who or what spread the virus? According to the American CDC, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus originally came from an animal source, maybe bats. Later, it spread mainly through person-to-person contact. Specifically, the virus is carried in respiratory droplets spread when people cough, sneeze, talk, or breathe. Research even shows that some people without symptoms may be able to spread the virus.
According to livescience.com, the death rate from the Novel Coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease varies by location, age of person infected, and presence of underlying health conditions. While most people who catch the virus recover at home, some may need hospitalization to treat the virus. In some cases, COVID-19 is deadly. Nurse Lucy said at the beginning of symptoms “you would cough and have a fever. Later, you may die because you cannot breathe anymore.” Teacher Lashanda Wildgoose, the ET Middle School science teacher, said it starts with “pneumonia-like fluid in lungs limiting our ability to breathe; although I have heard of others dying from different complications such as strokes.” She then went on to say that it is much worse for “individuals that are elderly and have immuno-compromised bodies, i.e. people already sick with something else like cancer.”
Now, the virus is scary and harmful, and many people have lost their lives due to this epidemic. So, are there treatments to help those affected and get healthy again? Nurse Lucy said, “Not yet, only by resting and your own immune system.” Teacher Lashanda said that there are reports of some medicinal cocktails being helpful, but “there are no confirmed medications to kill the virus.”
So, how can we prevent ourselves from getting this virus? Chloe Lee from E7 correctly identified official guidelines by saying, “Wear a mask, stay home, and wash your hands.” Teacher Lashanda suggested, “wearing protective gear like masks, washing hands, and social distancing.” Nurse Lucy said, “Wash your hands, wear a mask when outside, and keep your house clean.”
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Many people have expressed hope that as summer comes, the virus will eventually go away due to the heat, but does temperature affect the virus? Teacher Lashanda said, “Not sure, that’s an idea based on the SARS outbreak from a few years ago.” However, Nurse Lucy gave a more specific response. “Under 56 degree Celsius in 30 mins you can kill the virus, but unfortunately a human cannot survive under 56 degree Celsius,” she said.
In this period, the virus is global and many people around the world are losing their lives and facing severe financial issues. So how has the virus affected the world? Students and teachers have many different ideas. Jason Liu from E7 said, “It affects the businesses and the economy; many people lost jobs.” Teacher Lashanda added, “The world has come to a standstill, with countries closing borders and not allowing travel. Additionally, most economies are suffering and people are losing family and friends daily.” Chloe from E7 mentioned that it affected the world by limiting the ability to go outside. Nurse Lucy said, “It affected the economy and people’s health. It also could be a huge challenge for science.”
The Novel Coronavirus is a scary and tricky virus that is hard to cure and difficult to detect. But if the world can work together to fight the virus, it will be defeated.
