On 29th December 2019, the Coronavirus began to break out in Wuhan, China. Since that it has infected 71,400 people across the world and killed 1,700. There are may ways in which we can prevent catching the virus and many ways we can tell if someone has caught it.
Only 2% of reported cases have caused fatalities meaning that it can be effectively treated and prevented easily. If you believe you are vulnerable to the infection some methods you can use to ensure you are safe are as follows; wash your hands regularly, avoid touching your mouth and eyes with unwashed hands and avoid close contact with people who are sick. Those who are infected are trying to; cover all coughs and sneezes, disinfect surfaces that they have been in contact with, monitor their symptoms and stay at home so that they don’t infect others.
The symptoms are very similar to that of the flu- with patients feeling short of breath with headaches, sore throats, rapid heart beat and pneumonia. It mainly effects elderly people or those with health problems, so if you are young and healthy you a far less likely to be affected.
China has imposed quarantine measures on Wuhan city to make sure that as little people as possible are infected outside of the city. Very little cases have been recorded in the UK- a total of 11- meaning that we are not at a high risk of infection. All we can do is keep calm and hope that those who are effected will recover and that the virus will begin to weaken and die out.
To conclude, the Coronavirus should not massively affect us in the UK, and if it begins to break out all we can do is stay calm and try to prevent the spread of it by using the safety precautions listed above.
