The 2019 novel coronavirus has recently become a well known disease all across the world. It has scared people so much that some are forgetting how much more peril other sickness, such as influenza, has caused.
According to CDC, the 2019 novel coronavirus started in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China and are usually common in animals, especially in camels and bats. The seven types of coronavirus that people are getting recently evolved from only infecting animals to also infecting humans.
CDC states that “this virus probably originally emerged from an animal source but now seems to be spreading from person-to-person.” The website also states that “it is unclear how easily or sustainably this virus is spreading between people.”
Symptoms of the coronavirus are a fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
Tonya Aerts, PLTW biomedical science teacher, said that we should not be worried about the coronavirus here in the United States.
“Anytime there’s an outbreak in the world, you should use precautions that it doesn’t spread to your own country, but right now it is not a health risk for Americans at all unless you’re traveling to China,” she said.
Aerts said some people could have the coronavirus and do not even know it unless they get formally tested.
“I read somewhere that everyone will have a form of coronavirus at some point in their life, and many people may even have it twice but you do not know that you have it unless you’re tested for it because it can be masked as a respiratory infection,” she said.
Katherine Zielke, New Prairie’s nurse, said that the coronavirus is worse than the flu because there’s no vaccine for it yet.
“We are more worried about the flu than the coronavirus, yes, but I do think people should start getting the flu vaccination and start covering their cough and sneeze and washing their hands,” she said.
According to Worldometer, in the severe flu season of 2017-2018, 95,000 people died from the sickness. Currently there are 30,852 cases of the coronavirus and only 635 deaths, 633 of them being in China, one in Hong Kong, and one in the Philippines.
There are 12 cases of the coronavirus and 15 million cases of the flu in the United States according to Yale NewHaven Health.
Ways to avoid getting any respiratory virus, according to the CDC, is washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, using alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, avoiding contact with people who are sick, staying home when you’re sick, covering your cough and sneezes, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces using cleaning spray or wipes.
Some things not to do according to the CDC, are traveling to China, using facemasks, or showing prejudice to people of Asian descent because of the fear of the virus.
In conclusion, even though the 2019 novel coronavirus has been deadly to some in China and other places, it isn’t dangerous for anyone in the United States yet, and Americans should be more worried about influenza, especially during flu season.
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