Containing COVID-19
COVID-19 has led to massive global crisis since it was first reported in Wuhan China. The World Health Organization is blamed for the initial response steps towards fighting the spread of the disease. The WHO underestimated the magnitude of the virus hence putting dwarf preventive measures which were overrun easily. The WHO however, directs its blame to the Chinese government arguing that it did not provide adequate information about the disease. The United States of America believes that China and WHO should be blamed for the spread of COVID-19. Trump’s administration believes that China did not provide legit statistics, and it lied on issues such as the number of deaths and infections. After several cases were reported outside China, the World Health Organization, Disease Controls and Prevention, and the National Institute of Health put in place several measures to prevent further spread. Some of such measures included social distancing and educating the public on how the virus behaves in various surfaces. It is therefore essential to understand the science behind social distancing and the ability of the virus to persist in different surfaces.
Social distancing is classified under the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). These interventions have proved to be effective in pandemics. Social distancing tactic is used to flatten the curve of Coronavirus infections, build a herd immunity and buy time for health facilities to be equipped, and coming up with drugs and vaccines (WHO, 2020). State and local officials have consistently insisted on the need of people to observe social distancing and even stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus. Schools and other organizations have been closed to ensure that there is no mass gathering. Learning institutions have been advised to explore digital learning through platforms such as zoom. Employees have been advised to work from home where possible to curb the spread of the virus further. The time that initial steps such as mass testing and contact tracing could have been taken has passed, and the only remaining weapon is social distancing.
It is, therefore, crucial to understand the scientific reasoning behind social distancing. The primary scientific concept behind social distancing is that the virus can spread through inhalation or touching the hands of the infected person. Therefore, keeping a distance away from each other will reduce the chances of contracting the disease. Apart from observing the one-meter rule, social distance also entail several different aspects. At the individual level, social distancing involves washing hands after and before coming into contacting with other people (NIH, 2020). Coughing is one of the ways through which the disease can be spread, and therefore it is crucial to observe the social distancing rules. The public are advised their hands using soap, not just rising using alcohol-based sanitizers, especially, the one with 60 % alcohol content. Washing removes the virus from the hands while sanitizing kills it.
People are advised to cough on their napkins, discard them and then wash their hands. Coughing on the crook of the elbow is also recommended to prevent contaminating the hands. It is advisable to avoid acts such as handshaking, hugging, and social kisses, and keep a distance of about 6 feet in public places. Door handles, tabletops, and shopping cart handles are some of the potential transmission surfaces, and they should be cleaned before use. These recommendations may not be perfect; however, there some scientific principles that guide them. COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through tiny water droplets known as aerosols (CDC, 2020). Aerosols are small droplets projected through the act of coughing. Aerosols can travel up to 6 feet, and this explains why people are encouraged to observe social distancing. The virus can survive in aerosols for up to 3 hours, and people with symptoms tend to excrete more of the virus than those who don’t. It is, therefore, essential to observe social distancing to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
The virus can persist in several types of surfaces for a given period. Scientific research has proved that the novel coronavirus HCoV-19 (SARS-2) causing the COVID-19 can stay on stainless and plastic surfaces for days. It can even survive in cardboard surfaces for even a full day. After coughing, the virus can survive in aerosols for 3 hours and up to 4 hours in copper surfaces (WHO, 2020). It can last for about 16 hours on polypropylene surfaces, a popular type of plastic. The act of touching surfaces seems to be simple, but it is one of the easiest ways of spreading the surface. After coughing, the aerosol of the affected person may settle on such surfaces. Upon touching such surfaces, the hands become contaminated with the virus hence the risk of spreading further increases. This explains why people are encouraged to avoid acts such as shaking hands. Further, people are encouraged to avoid touching their hands, eyes, faces and also wash their hands regularly. People should disinfectant vulnerable surfaces to reduce the spread of the disease. Such surfaces are therefore, perfect places for this virus to spread easily.
Wearing of masks is one of the methods which was adopted to prevent the spread of the virus. Wearing of masks is effective depending on the scenarios where it is being used. People taking care of COVID-19 patients are advised to wear masks to avoid contracting the virus. Healthy people are only advised to wear masks when in highly vulnerable areas such as in crowded places (Wang, 2020). It advisable that people wear masks when they are sneezing or coughing. Masks are effective when combined with other preventive measures such as washing of hands and observing social distancing. If you wear a mask, you must use it and dispose it properly to prevent the spread of the disease. However, there other ways that the virus can be spread easily. The basic method of spread is from one person to another through the aerosolized transmission. Community spread is another method of spread where the patient can hardly trace how he contracted the virus. An infected person can pass the disease to several others, and this explains why the initial steps involved tracking of the contacts.
The sources used contained adequate information needed to write this easy and they are easily verifiable. The Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention website contains information on issues such as the methods of spread and the drugs being currently used. The World Health Organization’s website also contains information on the possible ways of spread. The National Institute of Health as educated the public on how to prevent the spread of the virus through is website. The article written by Wang et al, provides enough of information on the role of masks and how they should be disposed.
References
Wang, M. W., Zhou, M. Y., Ji, G. H., Ye, L., Cheng, Y. R., Feng, Z. H., & Chen, J. (2020). Mask crisis during the COVID-19 outbreak. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, 24(6), 3397-9.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020). Retrieved from: www.who.int
Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC). Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov
National Institutes of Health (NIH). (2020). Retrieved from: www.nih.gov