COVID-19: The Facts & What to Do (Alberta Edition)
On March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization announced that the novel virus COVID-19 (aka Coronavirus) has become a world pandemic. It is extremely important to recognize that at THIS time there is no need to panic, but instead get educated, be proactive and be cautious.
First and foremost, one of the best resources for Albertans and Edmontonians is this website:
www.alberta.ca/COVID-19
This resource has a plethora of information and is consistently being updated with how many individuals in the province have been tested, how many have tested positive, special considerations for travel, elderly, children, etc. how the virus is spread, symptoms and when/how to self-quarantine.
Another great resource on a global scale is:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/
This website provides a world look at COVID-19, how many cases vs death, how many countries have been impacted (currently 116) and the virus trend of recovering patients.
The difference with this world pandemic than previous (such as the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic) is how much more prevalent social media is and how much more connected the world is through the internet and media. Currently COVID-19 has had 1.9 billion hits on social media world wide which blows any other virus or outbreak out of the water. You have probably seen it already take over your social media newsfeed. While talking about it and keeping COVID-19 in the forefronts of our mind is important, it is also important to recognize the different information you may get from unreliable and inaccurate sources. Please check out our resource list at the end of the blog post, as well as the above mentioned website.
A quick and dirty FAQ regarding COVID-19:
What are some of the common symptoms?
- One of the first symptoms is a dry cough and fever - think of the common cold
- Extreme Fatigue
- In some cases but not all, a sore throat
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Pneumonia
What do I do if I think I have been exposed or have COVID-19?
- Immediately call 811 **NOT 911**
- 811 Healthline is run by Registered Nurses and health care professionals who have specific screening questions, risk assessment and will give you direction of if you may go to a local assessment centre or if you will swabbed in your home
- DO NOT GO TO A MEDI-CENTRE, DOCTORS OFFICE OR EMERGENCY CENTRE
How does the virus spread?
- The virus is thought to spread from person to person, meaning between people who are in close contact with one another (within 6 feet) or through respiratory droplets on surfaces from when a person infected with the virus coughs or sneezes
- Frequent and good hand hygiene
- Wash with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. A simple trick is to sing the ABCs or Happy Birthday twice to ensure you are washing to an adequate amount of time
- Now is the time to educate your kids on the importance of hand washing and practicing hand hygiene
- If you are using hand sanitizer, PLEASE use one with 60% or more alcohol
- Keep social greetings from a distance during this time (high fives, hand shakes, etc)
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily (i.e., cellphones, tablets used to take to work/school, etc)
- If you are sick, wear a face mask. If you are not sick, you do not need to wear a face mask as it does not help in preventing you being infected with the virus. HOWEVER, if you ARE sick, it does help prevent the spread of respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes.
- Avoid close contact with other people including family members in your home
- Do not attend work, school, social events or other public gatherings
- The current recommended length of self-isolation/quarantine is 14 days as COVID-19 has shown to improve around 6-10 days. However, the virus may be able to still be transmitted even if you are no longer symptomatic so it is crucial to stay isolated for the full 14 days
- Currently the recommendation as of March 12 is that anyone who has travelled outside of Canada and is returning to the country should self-isolate for 14 days even if they are not symptomatic
- Travel outside of Canada is not currently recommended however you can check this website for travel warnings and risks:
- A pandemic has nothing to do with changes to the characteristics of the disease but instead is associated with concerns over its geographic spread. According to the World Health Organization, a pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity for spreads around the world beyond expectations
- There needs to be a second wave of infection from person to person throughout the community instead of travel related instances
We will get through this you guys, now more than ever it is important to pull together as a community. Many people are saying "I would survive the coronavirus, I'm taking my chances" and yes, you're right. As a healthy person you will most likely be okay. But you may carry it to someone who is not healthy and who may suffer the extremes of this virus and THAT'S the problem. Now is the time to pull together as a community and get through this together.
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