Firstly, I’m based in the UK, this is just some general knowledge from England.
So, working part time in a news agency and talking to people who’ve interviewed some scientists working on a cure, this is what I can tell y’all.
There’s currently two strands to the coronavirus, “L” and “S”. L is the more aggressive strand, it’s a mutated version of S which is the original strand and not as violent as L but it’s possible to have both at the same time. Though, L is more infectious and currently accounts for 70% of all cases.
Because there’s two different lineages of Covid-19, the race for a cure is going to take time. That being said, it should also be taken into account that the world has never been more ready with the medical advancements we currently have.
- The virus can last up to 72 hours on hard surfaces
- You can catch the virus from up to 3-6 feet apart
- Masks will not help protect you from Covid-19 (Coronavirus)
- They don’t fully cover your features, it’s the equivalent of putting your hand in front of your face
- Masks are more effective when people with the virus wear them to stop germs spreading when they cough/sneeze
- Washing your hands is the safest way to avoid getting the virus! You should wash your hands for at least 20 seconds
- The virus is not air-born
There’s currently vaccine testing ongoing using pigs. With the prototypes in the making, soon these vaccines will be tested on humans next month, If all goes well, there will be a vaccine going around by early 2021.
I wouldn’t encourage panic. If, like me, you’re in the UK, you’ll probably notice how pretty much all necessities such as toilet paper, pasta and long-life milk has been taken from most stores. This just creates more panic. We’re not at a point where we have to isolate and an isolation period would be no longer than a week or two. Working in retail when I’m not at the news agency, it’s ridiculous how soon we will have to deny selling more than one of each of these items to people soon if this carries on.
But saying this, I also wouldn’t encourage taking the coronavirus lightheartedly. Having a healthy immune system may mean you’ll get over the virus, but there’s plenty of people out there whose immune system won’t do them justice and they’ll be the ones who die because of the spread.
Do you think it’s irrational for schools and public events to be closed/cancelled?
IMO: I’m only 19 but I have epilepsy and due to my medication my immune system is trash, meaning I wouldn’t survive the virus. I don’t believe closing schools or events is irrational at all. I’d rather be safe than sorry. There’s a lot of people out there who you don’t even realise would not be able to survive if they get it, whether they’re young or not.
EDIT: I’d also like to add I’m not an expert, I’m just sharing what I know to shed some light for y’all. Feel free to correct me on anything, though I’ve done some fact checking, I may still have gotten a few things wrong (Or some things may change over time).