Selena Zhong
3/13/20
Period 2
Blog #2 - Blogger 33
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) REPORT
Starting around November 2019, the first case of what we now know and identify as the COVID-19 disease sprung up in the Hubei province of China. Since then, the number of cases for this infectious coronavirus has reached almost 150,000, including some closed and ongoing cases with about 5,000 dead (according to Worldometer.info). It is now March and the impact this new coronavirus has on the world is starting to reverberate across borders, affecting countries halfway around the world from its point of origin.
Media Coverage & Facts on the Coronavirus:
- According to an article from The Guardian, doctors in charge of the first cases of the virus in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province back in 2019 had actually tried to warn people about the appearance of this new SARS-like disease. They were, however, stopped by the Chinese government, thus allowing infections to spread as authorities finally released news of the virus’s emergence to the public weeks later. Even worse, Chinese authorities had also not admitted the virus’s ability to be transmitted through human-to-human interaction until late January 2020. Criticism for the Chinese government’s late response had risen but in all fairness, it was hard to figure out if the symptoms similar to the common cold or flu were really signs of a new virus and they likely did not want to generate mass panic.
- Various sources, including the CDC, say that the coronavirus originated in bats, likely from the many seafood and live-animal markets all over China. Through the market or human interaction with the bats, the virus was able to be spread from the animals to humans and then it grew in magnitude as people transmitted it to one another.
- The severity of the disease differs among populations, but in general, a small percentage of cases would be in critical condition while the majority (about 80%) would be mild. People of older age and with significant underlying health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes, are even more susceptible to the coronavirus, with the majority of the 5,000 or so global deaths from the virus being from such a demographic.
https://www.who.int/news-room/
- COVID-19, as far as we know, can only be spread through contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person. What usually happens is an infected person sneezes or coughs on surfaces or objects around the person, which can then be touched by an uninfected person. That second person would then get the virus through touching their nose, mouth, eyes, etc. that would allow the virus to enter their body and grow. They could also be transmitted the virus by breathing in the same gas droplets the infected person exhaled.
- Overall, advice to protect oneself from the virus is to limit contact with people who are sick or show symptoms, constantly stay hygienic by washing hands with alcohol-based rub, avoid toughing own face, isolate oneself if feeling unwell, and staying up to date with recommended policies/procedures to stay safe.
- The incubation period for the COVID-19 coronavirus is anywhere from 1 to 14 days, with most showing signs by day 5. And, compared to the SARS virus back in 2003, the COVID-19 virus is much more infectious but not as deadly.
- As of now, there has not yet been a vaccine or medical therapy meant for curing those afflicted with the coronavirus but several companies and organizations are hard at work trying to find one. There will likely not be any promising results until months later.
- The World Health Organization has also announced that the COVID-19 is officially considered to be a pandemic on Wednesday, March 11th.
- Because there is much more to learn about the coronavirus, some media outlets have actually increased hype and added the aura of mystery and danger to the disease. For example, a newspaper in France had actually published an article on the virus in late January titled “The Yellow Peril”, clearly having racist undertones. Fortunately, the newspaper quickly apologized after facing a backlash on social media. Thankfully though, media coverage on the virus in the United States has been more moderate.
- Social media has played an especially important role in spreading information on the coronavirus, both in good and bad ways. For example, after China had placed Wuhan and many other cities under a tight lockdown, Chinese citizens turned to social media to express their feelings on the situation. Many users had also posted videos showing the fun things they can do at home despite the uncertainty of the future awaiting them, thus proving that positivity and hope can still prevail in times of need.
- A conspiracy has arisen from the chaos the COVID-19 has brought along. Firstly, tensions between the United States and China had not been good even before the outbreak (recent/ongoing trade war remember?) but the virus became a recent addition to the list of things the two powers disagree on. China somewhat suspects the U.S. of having created the virus and spread it to China to serve as a kind of biological attack. They also accuse the U.S. of not adequately helping the nation combat the disease, and instead of spreading more fear about the virus. The United States, on the other hand, has accused China of not informing or withholding important details on the virus’s full extent or capabilities to other entities who need it.
Community Response & My Response:
Besides the growing uneasiness and distrust between people, official community responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus have been focused on containing the spread. Already, as the number of confirmed cases go up, all sorts of authorities are sending out notifications and orders to close shop. Just having found out yesterday, many major sports leagues like the NBA and MBL are either canceling their games or suspending activities until further notice. President Donald Trump has issued a travel ban against European and Asian countries until further notice. In New York state, Governor Cuomo has also ordered for a statewide ban on the holding of any gatherings with a capacity over 500. Thus, programs and shows like Broadway, Carnegie Hall, museums, etc. are shutting down.
The rest of the community response factors are some that I can relate to as well. Firstly, while NYC seems to remain adamant about not closing down schools, fewer and fewer students are voluntarily coming in anyways, especially as absences will not be excused on account of understanding for the coronavirus scares. Most private Catholic schools have already closed down and began online classes or “distance-learning” (a term I hadn’t really heard of until it started to be thrown around during this time). I know that some high schools like Tech also use technology a lot in their curriculum so online learning or learning from home should be okay for us, but not so much for everyone else. Recently, I have also read about the reasoning behind Mayor De Blasio’s and the DOE chancellor’s refusal to shut down schools: there are kids and families who rely heavily on what schools offer them in terms of a safe haven that have medical services and provide substantial meals. Still, though, I feel like as the fears for the virus creeps closer and closer to myself and the people around me, I would REALLY like it if schools would be officially closed without me having to “miss” it.
The rest of the community response factors are some that I can relate to as well. Firstly, while NYC seems to remain adamant about not closing down schools, fewer and fewer students are voluntarily coming in anyways, especially as absences will not be excused on account of understanding for the coronavirus scares. Most private Catholic schools have already closed down and began online classes or “distance-learning” (a term I hadn’t really heard of until it started to be thrown around during this time). I know that some high schools like Tech also use technology a lot in their curriculum so online learning or learning from home should be okay for us, but not so much for everyone else. Recently, I have also read about the reasoning behind Mayor De Blasio’s and the DOE chancellor’s refusal to shut down schools: there are kids and families who rely heavily on what schools offer them in terms of a safe haven that have medical services and provide substantial meals. Still, though, I feel like as the fears for the virus creeps closer and closer to myself and the people around me, I would REALLY like it if schools would be officially closed without me having to “miss” it.
Next, just last Friday before the number of cases in NYC and NY state skyrocketed from about a dozen to over 400 (as of 3/13/20), my Government/Economics teacher had opened up the Market Watch Stock Exchange Game with my class. The point of the game is to try out some fake investing and selling/handling of stocks and to hopefully learn how to make a profit of your financial decisions and to understand the market a little better. At the start, everyone agreed that buying shares in pharmaceutical companies would be key as fears of the coronavirus increased (and since some pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson have been authorized to work on developing a vaccine). And so, we followed their advice and invested quite a bit in such companies that we expected to remain strong. In the beginning, the stocks were doing well as their price/values rose but then starting Monday, the stock market plummetted and many companies were negatively affected, including Johnson & Johnson. (I suspect both the Russian-Saudi oil conflict and the coronavirus crisis to be the main causes of this investor panic) It is only around today that stocks are starting to improve again to make up for recent deep losses. As such, I have been somewhat paying attention to the stock market’s condition during the coronavirus pandemic.
More in terms of the economy, grocery stores have been getting mobbed by desperate customers who wish to stock up on food and supplies in case of a possible complete societal suspension. (My family has been hoarding bags of white rice for days already and we made a last-minute run by Costco, which was packed when we went, by the way, last weekend!) Organizations like colleges and certain jobs have also been moved online so that activities can still be conducted from home behind a screen so as to decrease the chances of spreading the disease.
Finally, on a more personal note, I myself am Chinese-American, making this dangerous coronavirus a few degrees more important to me and my family. Because the coronavirus had originated in China and Chinese cities were most impacted over the span of these last several months, I expect to maybe see some racial discrimination against myself and other Asians, in general, to blame or resent a group for the pandemic. Not to mention, I worry about the family members who live in the locked-down cities of China and still can not yet return to normalcy including returning to their jobs and schooling for months (literally had to stay home and get food delivered to them, etc.).
What I believe I can do in response to the coronavirus basically at my and our doorsteps right now, is to keep myself as healthy and as calm as possible. I need to continue paying close attention to reliable news and media sources to find out in real-time about the virus. Knowing the new policies political leaders are putting out there to combat the coronavirus and how they can affect me is key for preparing myself for anything. I also have to follow the precautions established by the CDC and the city/state to wash my hands often, to avoid crowded places, stay home if feel sick, etc. What I can do to protect myself and others is what everyone can do, so that is what we should do at this time.
SIDE NOTE:
Interestingly, in my AP Biology class, I had actually predicted a pandemic like the COVID-19 to soon occur from China back in Fall 2019 for a project we were assigned to do. A classmate had actually more accurately predicted the next pandemic to be a version of a coronavirus (she was right!), while I had predicted another coming of a SARS-like virus. We were both correct in that it would be an easily spread infectious respiratory illness, so that’s something to be proud of? Just a side note.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.