The coronavirus strikes around the world, so know the effects and how to prepare for it
The symptoms of the Coronavirus.
The new coronavirus, which causes respiratory problems, has become an epidemic. Coronaviruses are a type of virus that can cause minor illnesses like colds or much more serious illnesses. This new coronavirus is spreading all over the world and affects the lungs.
The recent coronavirus disease initially started during the year 2019, which is why the scientific name for it is COVID-19. This epidemic originated in Wuhan, China and has spread to other countries ever since. The coronavirus is a disease that can spread through respiratory droplets (when a person coughs or sneezes and someone else breathes in that contagious air).
A person who has the coronavirus can spread their disease to another person within six feet. The coronavirus disease, just like many other diseases, tries to find an organism to feed on. It looks for a host and then tries to travel to the lungs and that’s where it causes critical damage to the health of its host.
The coronavirus can not only spread through respiratory droplets. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.”
This evidence indicates that touching certain surfaces can cause a person to get the coronavirus, but the chances of getting it by physical contact instead of respiratory contact is very low.
“For example, when they [people with the coronavirus disease] cough, the virus is in their spit and it comes out from the respiratory area and then the virus spreads out. Once that person sneezes [too], the person will transmit that disease,” said science teacher Judy Lee said about how the Coronavirus disease spreads.
Lee explained how a disease like this is made. “They come from existing pieces of cells or existing DNA strands that maybe got messed up or became something different. They start from proteins or living cells,” she said.
Lee then explained where diseases like viruses can’t grow. She said, “Where there’s nothing living or where it’s super hard to live maybe like Antarctica or in the middle of the ice somewhere, that’s probably a place where diseases find it really hard to exist.”
Viruses can’t live without an organism to feed on. So in places where there is little life, viruses can’t grow and instead will die.
Lee finally gave ways to prevent getting this disease. “Wash your hands with soap for like 20 seconds very well. Get between your fingers, get underneath the fingernails, don’t touch your face especially with infected or dirty hands….avoid people who are coughing.”
There are many effects of the coronavirus on humans. For example, Lee explained how the world’s economy can change because of the virus.
She stated, “So in these days something like the coronavirus which is new and never before seen, there has been stock drops, there’s been like governments stopping trade, like blocking trade from happening between countries.”
Such evidence shows that the world’s economy can drastically change negatively since most trade between countries has stopped, making it more difficult for the human population to survive.
Aisha Nash, a Science teacher, was able to explain possible human effects of the coronavirus.
She gave different points of views of how the coronavirus, or having any disease, can affect a person’s mindset. She stated, “If a person has a growth mindset about the disease, they may begin to research the disease and find out more about it….If a person has a fixed mindset about the disease, they may give up and become depressed.”
Science teacher Ilse Gonzalez explained how people’s behavior can get affected by the disease when she said, “They’re going to feel like very tired, and they are coughing a lot.” Another symptom of this disease is shortness of breathe.
“When you’re sick, you’re very likely to be distracted and maybe not be as sharp mentally, like awake, and you’re also running very low on energy because your body is fighting something.”
Overall, the coronavirus is a new disease and can have many challenging outcomes and effects on the world, so understanding the coronavirus and preparing for it is important.
