corona virus... there’s no need to panic!

corona virus

Coronavirus is all anyone can think about, and for good reason. It’s been declared a pandemic, multiple U.S. cities are enforcing shut-ins and curfews, and the disease is forcing lives to a stand-still.

So, what does this mean, for us?

Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch told The Atlantic last week. “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable.” Yikes. But he also said this: even though he predicts some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, “it’s likely that many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic.”

The California Department of Public Health agrees. In a statement yesterday it said, “While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate. The international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80 percent do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization.”

In other words, there’s no need to panic. It helps to look at coronavirus in the context of other illnesses to get some perspective. The coronavirus currently has a death rate of 2 percent worldwide, far below the 9 percent to 12 percent death rate of the 2002 SARS; though higher than the common flu in the U.S.

It’s still unclear exactly how contagious the virus is, but the CDC estimates symptoms occur 2-14 days after exposure. It’s mainly spread through the respiratory system (think: breathing or coughing on someone). Signs of the virus are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Like with many other illnesses, older adults and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk as are smokers.