Of the new coronavirus, Covid-19, the mode of transmission is not fully known, but it is very rapid and, like the flu, could occur through contact of saliva droplets released when coughing or sneezing and making contact with he mucous membranes of another person. The incubation period is estimated to be between two days and two weeks, but the virus can even be transmitted when those infected do not show any symptoms.
In the United States, 60 people are infected so far.
The first case in South America came through Brazil.
To date, 82,104 cases have been diagnosed in 48 countries. 78,497 of them are in China.
The World Health Organization announced on Feb. 25 that the world must prepare for “a potential pandemic.”
The virus arrived in Spain at the beginning of this week, through people coming from Italy. It began on the islands (Mallorca, the Canary Islands), but soon reached the mainland via Catalonia, Madrid and Castellón. By Wednesday night one person in Sevilla who haven’t travelled was diagnosed. So far there are 13 people infected, although two were discharged during the first days.
Alarm. Eager shopping went off. Masks are sold out in pharmacies: people have bought dozens, although they are not suitable to prevent infection. A consultation in several pharmacies in Madrid and Barcelona confirmed that the masks have no date of arrival. According to El Mundo, paranoia in digital commerce sites encourages speculation: there are masks with prices that exceed 1,000 euros.
Masks are also in short supply in paint shops. They are used to protect the airways from strong odors; it is not proven that they serve to protect against Covid-19.
Antibacterial gels are out of stock in several pharmacies; new ones will arrive in a few days.
After reviewing various media outlet and published expert opinions, IQ Latino shows here data and recommendations to use common sense, and keep calm while taking precautions, and thus avoid fear and paranoia.
El País, on prevention and hygiene:
- Masks are useful so that sick people do not transmit the virus when they cough or sneeze; they are not necessary for the general population.
- Washing your hands with soap and water several times a day, rubbing them for at least 20 seconds, is the basic hygiene to prevent the virus, as well as avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Covering your mouth with your elbow when sneezing or coughing is more effective than doing it with the hand. You should keep a distance of at least one meter from people who are suspicious to have it.
The newspaper consulted Antonio Cano Vindel, professor of psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid and president of the Spanish Society for the Study of Anxiety and Stress. Cano recommends alleviating fears by seeking “scientific information, logical reasoning or by contrasting reality with other experiences [he speaks of deaths from the common flu].” Thus, people would come “to the conclusion that at this time there is no justification for intense irrational fear.”
El País, on the similarity with the flu:
Ángel Gil de Miguel, professor of Public Medicine and Preventive Health at the University Rey Juan Carlos, spoke about the deaths from the flu in Spain. He said that last year there were 6,300 deaths from flu in the country, while worldwide around 3,000 have died from the Covid-19 so far. Most of those who have died in Spain, he stresses, are older people “with associated chronic diseases.”
“That’s why I say it’s the same behavior. Who do we vaccinate for the flu? The most vulnerable: the elderly and those with chronic diseases. Where the disease is serious and where pneumonia sets in, which is where it leads to admission, it is like the flu. In Spain last year there were almost half a million cases and just over 30,000 hospitalizations, but 90% of the elderly with chronic diseases. This behaves more or less the same,” says the professor.
He adds: “We will see more and more [CV-19 cases] and we have to be very careful with extreme hygienic sanitary measures, which in Spain are very good. These coronaviruses have been there, maybe what we have to think is that it can happen again and that the search for vaccines does not have to be in front of crises like this one, it should never be stopped. Because when it arrives, this outbreak will have passed us by. We’re going to need it for the next one. We have to keep investigating so that we can cut off an outbreak if it comes up again.
David De Steno, professor of psychology at the University of the Northeast in the United States, wrote an Op-ed for this newspaper. “Certain quarantine and monitoring policies can be quite sensible when the threat is real and the policies are based on accurate information, but hard facts, contrary to the fear that pervades the country, do not justify such actions,” he writes. “For most of us, seasonal influenza, which has killed up to 25,000 people in the United States in a few months, represents a far greater threat than the coronavirus,” he adds, in the same vein as Gil de Miguel.
“One might think that the best way to solve the problem is to make people more reflective, to make them think more carefully. Unfortunately, when it comes to this kind of emotion-induced bias, that strategy can make things worse. When people spend more time thinking about a problem, but don’t have the relevant facts at hand to make an informed decision, there’s more chance that their feelings will fill in the blanks. (…) Again, the solution is not to think more carefully about the situation. Most people do not have the medical knowledge to know how and when to best deal with viral epidemics and, as a result, emotions have too much influence. Rather, the solution is to trust the experts, whose opinions and statements are based on data.”