I believe COVID-19 is currently the big hot topic in mainstream media right now. I am not a medical expert, neither am I qualified to talk about this, but I’ll try to give information and probably help some of you Filipinos in these hard times of misinformation and “fake news”. I’ll be taking information from the World Health Organization and write it in a way people can easily digest it more.

What about COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a virus recently discovered in 2019. It’s a virus that targets the respiratory system, and utilizes it to spread. It wasn’t present in humans before, which makes it harder for humans’ immune system to fight it, and for existing cures to be developed. Read more at the WHO website to know more about its origins.

How does it spread?

In order to efficiently learn how to avoid being infected, one must know how can one infect.

COVID-19 infects humans through respiratory discharges. Droplets from an infected person’s lungs expelled via coughing, sneezing, breathing, etc. can infect another if they happen to inhale the droplets containing the virus, or make contact with objects or areas where infected droplets landed.

You are NOT infected if…

The droplets land on your skin. COVID-19 does not infect immediately upon skin contact. It can, however, travel from your arm to your lungs if you happen to rub it after an infected droplet was caught by your arm.

Any cure?

Not yet as of writing this blog post. Check out WHO’s website to see if they have any updates after reading this.

Best way to prevent getting infected and also infecting others are:

• Washing hands regularly to kill viruses and other harmful bacteria.
• Stay 1 meter away from strangers.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth with your hands.
• If you feel like you are sick, please follow local authorities’ instructions. Call health providers instead of driving or coming personally to them to prevent infecting them and potentially others near you.
• Avoid traveling, or staying in places where COVID-19 can spread easily, like gatherings or tightly-packed transportation. Stay at home, play video games, wash hands, stay tuned to official sources.

I’m panicking!

Please don’t. I agree that this turn of events is inducing the fear within us, but please do not succumb to it, because it will make things much worse than it is right now.

Masks!

No, do not waste disposable masks. There is currently a shortage of disposable masks and wearing one while healthy is a waste.

If you have the symptoms present in COVID-19, then it is advisable for you to wear a mask. Please ignore the social distancing of those around you, because people are just trying to survive just like you.

People taking care of patients with COVID-19 symptoms should also wear a mask.

After usage of mask, please dispose properly to prevent accidental infections.

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Thank you for reading. Don’t forget to check out WHO’s website for a much more detailed rundown about the current outbreak.