COVID-19 Facts

COVID-19 Facts

Facts Page for the Coronavirus
compiled by the Ribbon for COVID-19 Team

• About the Coronavirus: COVID-19 is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). Older adults and people who have underlying medical conditions are at a higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19.

• How the COVID-19 Virus Spreads: Our current understanding is that the virus is spread most predominantly from person to person, such as when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can be inhaled into the lungs or through contacting your face via your hands. COVID-19 has been spreading very easily and appears to be spreading more quickly than influenza. Respiratory droplets are the primary method of transmission. Contact of the virus on surfaces can also be spread to others. Studies are underway to determine surface types and duration of virus life. See a list below of common surfaces and current study results.

• Preventive Measures: Key measures to prevent contracting the virus include frequent hand washing, not touching your face, wearing a mask, and staying at least 6 feet away from other people. In addition, people that have any symptoms of the virus should remain isolated for 14 days to prevent spread. One misconception includes rinsing the nose and gargling with mouthwash – this procedure is not effective.

Other Key Facts:
• The earliest known person with symptoms had fallen ill on December 1, 2019, and that person did not have any known connections with the wet market cluster of sick people
• On March 13, 2020, an unverified report from the South China Morning Post suggested a case traced back as far as November 17, 2019, who may have been the first person infected
• People may not show signs of the coronavirus for up to two days before symptoms appear
• Urban areas account for 90% of the COVID-19 cases
• 1.6 billion students have been disrupted, which is 9 of 10 students globally
• We have more deaths per day currently as of June 7 than the amount we had on March 30 or earlier
• Sweden, which did not go into a formal lock down, has had 461 deaths per million; it’s neighbor Norway only has had 46 deaths per million, a 10 times higher rate
• Sweden has had more deaths per million citizens (461) than the US (331)
• Australia and New Zealand have the highest number of tests per confirmed case (>2000) globally for COVID-19
• Only 4.2% of the current COVID-19 tests in the US are positive
• A study of virus transmission in a restaurant observed that strong airflow from the air conditioner could have propagated droplets
• Virus-laden small (<5 μm) droplets can remain in the air and travel over 3.3 feet easily, and have reached 13 feet in some studies
• The virus can remain viable for up to 3 hours airborne 
• The virus can spread by touching an object with virus present from an infected person, and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes. Common surfaces that have confirmed virus:
     o Computer mouse
     o Trash cans
     o Doorknobs
     o Exercise equipment
     o Medical equipment
     o PC and iPads
     o Reading glasses
     o Cell phones
     o Remote controls for TV
     o Toilets
     o Room surfaces
     o Cars - door handles, shifter, buttons, rear view mirror
• Due to gravity, droplets containing the virus will certainly be on floors that had foot traffic of infected people. It is highly recommend that people disinfect their shoe soles if they have been in areas with significant numbers of people.

Who says masks don’t matter? In a 2012 National Institutes of Health scientific study of bedridden patients, coughing resulted in airborne particles projected an average of 27 inches away in the forward direction. Wearing a surgical mask reduced that distance to 12 inches. Wearing an N95 mask reduced that distance to 6 inches. Therefore the N95 mask reduces the coughed particle distance by 78%. In addition, both masks resulted in dispersed particles in the lateral direction (through side openings) versus forward facing. Without a mask, coughed particles can travel over 8 feet. Surgical masks are more widely used due to their comfort and fit and are still effective to reduce virus spread. Got Mask!? 

Companies are taking extreme measures to be able to go back to work safely. Cleaning, shielding, distancing, restructuring offices, and protocols for workers. One way to reinforce these practices is to have employees wear awareness ribbons. It shows the support of the company and reminds employees to support the new culture. As the virus continues to rage, are we really expecting our children to be in close quarters together? Schools will not have the space to separate everyone effectively.

The CDC says these are the risk levels right now:

🎗Lowest Risk = Students and teachers engage in virtual-only classes, activities, and events.

🎗More Risk = Small, in-person classes, activities, and events. Groups of students stay together and with the same teacher throughout/across school days and groups do not mix. Students remain at least 6 feet apart and do not share objects (e.g., hybrid virtual and in-person class structures, or staggered/rotated scheduling to accommodate smaller class sizes).

🎗Highest Risk = Full sized, in-person classes, activities, and events. Students are not spaced apart, share classroom materials or supplies, and mix between classes and activities.

Let’s make sure to take the lowest risk path for our children and teachers.

Learn from the past...per the Smithsonian Magazine and History Channel:

Almost 90 years after the Spanish flu, in 2008, researchers announced they’d discovered what made the 1918 flu so deadly: A group of three genes enabled the virus to weaken a victim’s bronchial tubes and lungs and clear the way for bacterial pneumonia.

Ordinary seasonal influenza viruses normally bind only to cells in the upper respiratory tract—the nose and throat—which is why they transmit easily. The 1918 pandemic virus infected cells in the upper respiratory tract, transmitting easily, but also deep in the lungs, damaging tissue and often leading to viral as well as bacterial pneumonias.

Scientists and other experts are still asking questions about the virus and the devastation it caused, including why the second wave was so much more lethal than the first. For reasons that remain unclear, the virulent form of the virus became more common in the fall.

The age of the victims was also striking. Normally, elderly people account for the overwhelming number of influenza deaths; in 1918, that was reversed, with young adults killed in the highest numbers. (Not like the current COVID-19 waves yet)

In 2014, a new theory about the origins of the virus suggested that it first emerged in China, National Geographic reported. Similarities are striking to the current coronavirus.

And mask wearing was a key step to prevent spread. Also not getting together in groups in close quarters. Learn and take action now. It’s not going to get better in the fall.


Sources:


Wikipedia, COVID-19 Pandemic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic, June 7, 2020.


National Institutes of Health,Exhaled Air Dispersion during Coughing with and without Wearing a Surgical or N95 Mask,  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3516468/, December 5, 2012.

Smithsonian, How the Horrific 1918 Flu Spread Across America, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/, November 2017.

History Channel, Spanish Flu, https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic, October 12, 2010.
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