COVID-19 Essays

Introduction

Coronavirus is a family of viruses that cause respiratory illness in human beings, corona virus is a zoonotic virus. Covid19 is a disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is a deadly communicable disease that was initially discovered in china, but later was a world pandemic (Khan S, 2020). Symptoms of Covid-19 are like those of the common flu we are used to. So far, the is no cure or vaccine for covid-19. This is a preventative method that can be used to avoid the virus (Liu J, 2020).

Background

Coronaviruses are an of family viruses that cause respiratory illness in human beings, they are zoonotic viruses, which means they are transferred from animals to human beings (Contini, et al., 2020). Coronaviruses can cause the common flu people are used to and sometimes they can be deadly like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (Chih-ChengLai, et al., 2020). Coronavirus Disease 2029(Covid-19) was named on the 11th of February 2020 by (WHO) World Health Organization which was previously called the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). , its causative agent was also named by WHO which is by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Kukla M, 2020) (Law S, 2020). It is given the name Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 because of the genetic similarities with the Coronavirus that is responsible for the 2003 out called Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (Xie C, 2020).

An ongoing pneumonia outbreak associated with a novel coronavirus, called severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 syndromes (SARS-CoV-2), was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. In the weeks that followed, infections spread all over China and other countries around the world (Manji H, 2020). Public health, clinical and scientific communities in China responded promptly to enable timely recognition of the new virus and shared the sequence of viral genes with the world (Awadasseid A, 2020). The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 30 January 2020 (Paudel S, 2020).

Signs and symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) will occur two to fourteen days after exposure. This time it is called the period of incubation after exposure and before having symptoms (Corona G, 2020). Common symptoms and signs could include Fever, cough, fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle aches, chills, throat loss, headache, and chest pain (Hasöksüz M, 2020).

The first covid-19 case in South Africa was confirmed on the 5th of March 2020, the patient was from Italy with his wife. Later that month on the 26th national lockdown was introduced in South Africa at 23h59, the confirmed cases at the time were 927 and no deaths were confirmed. The first covid-19 death was confirmed on the 27th of March 2020.

The risk associated with covid-19

The virus spreads through respiratory droplets that are released when someone coughs, sneezes, or talks about the virus (Huang Q, 2020). Those droplets can be inhaled or land in a nearby person’s mouth or nose. It can also spread if a person touches a surface with the virus on it, and then touches his or her mouth, nose, or eyes, though this is not considered to be the main way it spreads (Jiang X, 2020).

People with poor socioeconomic backgrounds have found themselves at a higher risk of death, which could not be explained by other risk factors either (Zhu N, 2020). Results confirmed that men, as well as older people and those with uncontrolled diabetes, are at increased risk of COVID-19 deaths (Yang Y, 2020). People with more serious asthma have also found themselves at elevated risk of COVID-19 death (Peng X, 2020).

Prevention levels

Scientists across the globe are working to create a vaccine but have cautioned that before 2021 it is unlikely that one will be available for mass distribution. Meanwhile, a growing number of countries have introduced a series of sweeping measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, including nationwide lockdowns, gathering bans, school closures, restaurants, bars, and sports clubs, and the issuance of mandatory work-from-home decrees. International airlines canceled flights all over the world (Khan S, 2020). Some countries have banned the entry of non-citizens into their countries (Yan Y, 2020).

Social distancing, regular, thorough hand washing, and other recommendations such as wearing a face covering cloth if social distancing is not feasible are sufficient to help lower the risk to everyone, particularly the most vulnerable (Han W, 2020). Avoid overcrowded places or areas, and touching your eyes, nose, and mouth, when sneezing cover your mouth with your elbow or with a cloth (S. Perlman, 2020).

Implication for environmental health services

Environmental health practitioners ensure that the virus does not spread at a higher rate, and they come up with measures to decrease the incline of the virus. Environmental health practitioner makes sure that people follow the preventative measure implemented by the country. They do Covid-19 sample collection to test if people are infected or not, they collect data on people infected, and discover those are tested but are negative. They analyze the results of covid-19. They try to trace the cause of the virus and they insure proper disinfection of some areas (Yang Y, 2020).

Conclusion

Covid-19 is a deadly disease, that can infect anyone who does not take a preventative measure that was implemented by WHO and other countries. The disease can be prevented and some of the people who were infected by the disease recovered, this patient can recover if they follow instructions that are given to them by the doctor. To eradicate the disease all countries and the people in them must follow instructions to prevent the disease.

References

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