By Jordan Green
UNIVERSITY CENTER – A new strain of coronavirus is sweeping the U.S. and here’s what you need to know.
Like most viruses, COVID-19 has mutated through replication – undergoing a small change in the set of chromosomes in each cell – into a more aggressive strain. However, a mutated virus will have little effect on the outbreak as a whole. Mutations often negatively impact the strain of the virus and will often disappear through natural selection.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) comes from a large family of viruses that transmit from animals to humans. The virus first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and has spread to all continents except Antarctica.
Since emerging in December, the world has seen over 370,000 cases, along with over 16,000 deaths. Of those contrasting numbers, over 100,000 confirmed patients have recovered.
Symptoms for COVID-19 include a sore throat, fever, cough, runny nose and shortness of breath. Symptoms can take between two and 14 days to appear after exposure. The virus is highly contagious and spreads much like the flu: through close contact, respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contaminated surfaces or objects.
People are most contagious when they are at their most symptomatic. However, the virus can still spread if a person has zero symptoms of the virus.
Those at most risk to develop a severe case of coronavirus are older adults above the age of 60 and those who have underlying health issues: e.g. diabetes, lung disease, asthma and heart disease.
On Monday, Jan. 20, the first case of coronavirus hit U.S. soil in Washington from a man who had recently visited family in Wuhan. As of Monday, March 23, the number has jumped to over 43.000 and has resulted in over 550 deaths.
Tuesday, March 10 was when Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the first two COVID-19 cases in Michigan. In the passing of 13 days, that number skyrocketed to 1,328 confirmed cases; some with no contact from an infected person. So far, there have been 15 reported deaths in Michigan.
On Monday, March 23, Whitmer issued the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order, temporarily closing not-essential-to-life businesses and urging Michigan residents to stay home.
To prevent yourself from becoming infected: clean your hands often with soap and water for twenty seconds or use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol; avoid close contact by practicing social distancing of six feet or more; stay at home; cover coughs and sneezes; wear a facemask if you are sick; and clean and disinfect surfaces often.
While this virus has a death rate of less than 1.5% – according to statistics from China where the pandemic has ceased – remember to consider who you are coming into contact with. While you might be young, healthy and ready to fight the coronavirus, those around you might be susceptible to severe cases and even death.
