I had hoped to write to reassure and diss social and other media, but I have to be honest and say I am not so sure what, where and how this virus will play out.
We all know that the media does crave big news and previous epidemic situations would have played out in a local town or city, but that was also before Emirate and the likes connected the world through massive airport hubs. Let’s be clear too, there is no magic bullet; colloidal silver, zinc, tincture of blue tit is not going to stop you from getting the virus if you are exposed; but rest assured for most of us, a viral illness with snot, fever and a mild cough is expected; and yes early, but it’s all we have got.
Data suggests it will be recoverable for 98% of people at least. Probably even more for fit young, healthy kids and adults without any risk factors of old age, asthma or immunosuppression. But remember that we live in a country with approximately 8 million HIV + people and a severe virus that may only really spread when we shut our windows and gather indoors for, hopefully, a wet and cold winter could devastate the population.
Data also seems to suggest that children, much like with chickenpox and rubella, have a milder “form” of Corona (COVID-19) virus infection and that, unlike H1N1, pregnancy does not seem to be a big risk factor.
So what should we do and expect?
- If you have a fever or a bad viral illness, isolate yourself.
- If you have travelled and become unwell, isolate yourself and consider any travel plans carefully.
- If you are worried about yourself or family members, call a helpline or your local doc for advice.
- If you are infected, wear a face mask to reduce spreading the virus. Do not wear in public to avoid infection.
- Wash hands as soaps dissolve the lipid outer layer of the virus and are better at preventing than sanitisers.
Corona needs to be taken seriously and we all need to be considerate, not just for ourselves but for the most at risk. So let’s be sensible and considerate and wary of the virus and the press.
Don’t hoard; don’t point fingers and do get the FLU VACCINE.