What you need to know about the Coronavirus

The new COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the world. Spain is now one of the countries most affected by this disease. Today, on the 12th of March 2020, there are about 3000 infected. Whereas on the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared that the coronavirus outbreak is a pandemic. 
This pathogen can cause severe bilateral pneumonia, and while flu saturates emergency departments, coronavirus saturates ICUs where patients require intubation to breathe. The general population does not have natural immunity against this virus, as is the case with the flu, because we have never had contact with it before.
The coronavirus is extremely contagious. This is why we find ourselves in the state of maximum alarm. Too many people suffer from this disease at the same time, and, as a consequence, the hospitals are saturated with patients.
If strict precautions are not followed, we might soon end up in a situation where there is not enough medical staff nor means in the hospitals to attend all the patients. For example, the North of Italy has now been put under quarantine precisely to stop the spread of the disease as the hospitals are full. 
 

What are the preventive measures that the WHO recommends?

1. Wash your hands as frequently as possible (either with soap or with alcohol). 

2. Social distancing. The coronavirus is deemed to spread via droplets that come out from our mouths and noses when we sneeze, cough, or TALK. Therefore, it is a good idea to maintain your distance from everyone, to wear glasses if posible, or even a surgical mask if you are in contact with someone who might be infected. 

3. Do not touch your nose, your mouth, nor rub your eyes. Although it is very difficult to achieve as the experience shows. 

4. When you sneeze or cough, cover your mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue.

5. And finally, if you do not feel well, seek medical attention. Try to wear a surgical mask if possible to protect others around you.

 

The 4 guiding symptoms:

1) Fever over 38°C
2) Sore throat
3) Dry cough
4) Difficulty breathing

 

 In this case, your plan of actions should be:

Stay at home, cover your face with a surgical mask. Call +34 900 300 555 (for the Valencian Community), and you will be asked to answer some questions about your state. According to the test score, you might be asked to do the virus detection test. In case it yields a positive result, you will be told what to do next (which can vary from home confinement to hospital admission).

 

Clínica La Siesta, in turn, also recommends to leave your house as little as possible in order to avoid spreading the disease. This might be a good time to finish all of your pending home tasks that you might have been postponing, to read some books, to learn a language, or to watch a TV series or some films.