Here’s what medical experts currently know about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19:
- It “[u]sually spreads from close person-to-person contact through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing.”[1)
- Wear your masks and gloves when shopping. There are many good online videos about how to make a mask.
- It “[m]ay also spread through airborne transmission, when tiny droplets remain in the air even after the person with the virus leaves the area.”[2] Viable coronavirus has been detected in the air up to three hours later.[3]
- “[P]eople may acquire the virus…after touching contaminated objects.”[4] The novel coronavirus can live up to 72 hours on stainless steel and plastic, and up to 24 hours on cardboard.[5]
Note: I just read on Medscape (medical news for physicians) they have detected the virus on surfaces in cruise ships up to 17 days later before they were disinfected.
- COVID-19 “can spread before symptoms of the disease emerge, and symptoms can vary widely even in a close family cluster.”[6]
- For every positive person there are 5-10 carriers (from Infectious disease expert at UCSF)
- “The explosion of COVID-19 cases in China was largely driven by individuals with mild, limited, or no symptoms who went undetected,” Jeffrey Shaman, PhD, professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.[7]
- There is no FDA-approved treatment for COVID-19. Doctors and other medical professionals treat COVID-19 patients by providing supportive care such as “supplementary oxygen and mechanical ventilatory support when indicated.”[8]
It is not difficult to protect yourself and your family if you follow the guidelines.
Stay healthy!
Barbara Nitsch MD FRCPC, ABR
