By Haya Ansari and Leandro Montoya
Written on February 6th, 2020. Content and Statistics are subject to change.
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus has already taken 362 lives and infected 17,488 individuals all around the world. With 27 countries already having cases of the mysterious virus, transmission is quickly spreading from person to person. There are already six confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in California with a few of those cases in Orange and L.A county. With how quickly the virus can spread, it is important to stay healthy if it reaches the Antelope Valley. If you or someone you know is infected with the Coronavirus, distance yourself/them from people and get you/them to medical care immediately.
The Novel CoronaVirus began in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Based on CDC research, the outbreak is a respiratory illness. Many of the patients in the outbreak have reported that the sickness is linked to a large seafood and animal market, leading to the thesis that it was caused by animal-to-person spread. Though this virus was caused by animal-to-person contact, it can be easily transmitted through person-to-person contact. It is likely, but not proven, that the CoronaVirus is transmitted through basic transmissions such as breathing the air or coming in contact with anything that the infected patient has touched.
The Coronavirus has been reported to spread rapidly around the world to places like the United States and Europe in less than a month. As a matter of fact, California has officially identified six cases, and without vaccines or treatments, it is likely to spread. Due to transportations which allows people to travel from city to city, state to state, country to country, and even continent to continent, Coronavirus has an easier chance to make its way to people around the world, including you. Government officials are attempting to contain this virus by blocking cities that are majorly infected, especially in China. They are also performing security checks at airports coming from China but unfortunately, we do not have the right tools to detect the virus fully. The different stages of the virus may come off differently to these government officials allowing the Coronavirus to get past security and possibly infect us locally.
With government and health officials all over the world scrambling for a solution to this major issue, there are different approaches to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. The Chinese government has quarantined the whole province of Hubei to prevent the spread of the virus anywhere else. The initial quarantine has not succeeded and the virus has spread to multiple countries. Russia and Hong Kong closed its borders to mainland China in their attempts to prevent the virus from entering.
The Coronavirus has proven to be extremely contagious. It has already reached The United States, specifically Southern California. If the virus outbreaks in our own backyard, it is unlikely that a vaccine will be expedient. So, remember to stay safe and avoid contact with sick people and to be courteous of others.
Comments