Coronavirus Causes Public Health Concerns

The newest strain of the coronavirus has rapidly spread through China, which is leading to cases appearing internationally. 

According to Li Yuan from the New York Times, the doctor who warned the public of the new strain of the coronavirus, Li Wenliang, recently died from the virus that he contracted from a patient. 

The coronavirus has broken out primarily in mainland China, and there are measures being taken to quarantine the virus to prevent further spreading. 

Nurse Pam Freger, the director of the Health Center here on campus, urges student to pay close attention to their symptoms when they believe they are getting sick. 

“The coronavirus and the common flu that’s spreading around this time have similar symptoms, such as a fever and coughing,” she said. “But the coronavirus causes shortness of breath.” 

According to Nurse Freger, there have been more than 31,000 known cases of the coronavirus internationally, with around 600 confirmed deaths from the virus.

 

According to Yuliya Talmazan and Kurt Chirbas from Fox News, fourteen Americans among the hundreds who were quarantined on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan were tested positive for the coronavirus. 

The new outbreak of the coronavirus has links to the SARs, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), where most of the disease’s lethality comes from. 

“The threat of the coronavirus comes from the possibility of leading into respiratory distress which could lead into pneumonia which is very serious complications amongst immunosuppressed individuals,” Nurse Freger said. “You should wash your hands for at least twenty seconds at a time. You should also wash your hands soon after using hand sanitizer, because using hand sanitizer is only a band-aid fix.”  

Nurse Pam believes that it’s more important than ever to get a flu shot especially during this flu season with the new corona virus strain being spread around.   

“If you should show symptoms of the flu, you should stay home from class to prevent the further spreading of the virus,” she said.