19 Thinks About Coronavirus

What Is COVID-19?

A coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in your nose, sinuses, or upper throat. Most coronaviruses aren't dangerous.

COVID-19 is a disease that can cause what doctors call a respiratory tract infection. It can affect your upper respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, and throat) or lower respiratory tract (windpipe and lungs). It's caused by a coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2.

It spreads the same way other coronaviruses do, mainly through person-to-person contact. Infections range from mild to serious.

SARS-CoV-2 is one of seven types of coronavirus, including the ones that cause severe diseases like Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The other coronaviruses cause most of the colds that affect us during the year but aren’t a serious threat for otherwise healthy people.

In early 2020, after a December 2019 outbreak in China, the World Health Organization identified SARS-CoV-2 as a new type of coronavirus. The outbreak quickly spread around the world.

Is there more than one strain of SARS-CoV-2?

It’s normal for a virus to change, or mutate, as it infects people. A Chinese study of 103 COVID-19 cases suggests the virus that causes it has done just that. They found two strains, which they named L and S. The S type is older, but the L type was more common in early stages of the outbreak. They think one may cause more cases of the disease than the other, but they’re still working on what it all means.

How long will the coronavirus last?

It’s too soon to tell how long the pandemic will continue. It depends on many things, including researchers’ work to learn more about the virus, their search for a treatment, and the public’s efforts to slow the spread.

Symptoms of COVID-19

• Fever

• Coughing

• Shortness of breath

• Fatigue

• Chills, sometimes with shaking

• Body aches

• Headache

• Sore throat

• Loss of smell or taste

• Nausea

• Diarrhea

• Trouble breathing or shortness of breath

• Ongoing chest pain or pressure

• New confusion

• Can’t wake up fully

• Bluish lips or face

• Face. Is one side of the person’s face numb or drooping? Is their smile lopsided?

• Arms. Is one arm weak or numb? If they try to raise both arms, does one arm sag?

• Speech. Can they speak clearly? Ask them to repeat a sentence.

• Time. Every minute counts when someone shows signs of a stroke. Call 911 right away.

• Fever 99%

• Fatigue 70%

• Cough 59%

• Lack of appetite 40%

• Body aches 35%

• Shortness of breath 31%

• Mucus/phlegm 27%

• If you don’t feel well, stay home. Even if you have mild symptoms like a headache and runny nose, stay in until you’re better. This lets doctors focus on people who are more seriously ill and protects health care workers and people you might meet along the way. You might hear this called self-quarantine.

• Call the doctor if you have a fever, cough, and trouble breathing. You need to get medical help as soon as possible. Calling ahead (rather than showing up) will let the doctor direct you to the proper place, which may not be your doctor’s office. If you don’t have a regular doctor, call your local board of health. They can tell you where to go for testing and treatment.

• Follow your doctor’s advice and keep up with the news on COVID-19. Between your doctor and health care authorities, you’ll get the care you need and information on how to prevent the virus from spreading.

• You have a fever and a cough.

• You live in an area with the virus or have traveled to places where it has spread.

The main symptoms include:

The virus can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure, septic shock, and death. Many COVID-19 complications may be caused by a condition known as cytokine release syndrome or a cytokine storm. This is when an infection triggers your immune system to flood your bloodstream with inflammatory proteins called cytokines. They can kill tissue and damage your organs.

If you notice the following severe symptoms in yourself or a loved one, get medical help right away:

Strokes have also been reported in some people who have COVID-19. Remember FAST:

If you’re infected, symptoms can show up in as few as 2 days or as many as 14. It varies from person to person.

According to researchers in China, these were the most common symptoms among people who had COVID-19:

Some people who are hospitalized for COVID-19 have also have dangerous blood clots, including in their legs, lungs, and arteries.

What to do if you think you have it

If you live in or have traveled to an area where COVID-19 is spreading:

For more information about COVID-19.

How do I know if it’s COVID-19, a cold, or the flu?

Symptoms of COVID-19 can be similar to a bad cold or the flu. Your doctor will suspect COVID-19 if:

Cold vs. Flu vs. Allergies vs. COVID-19
Symptoms	Cold	Flu	Allergies	COVID-19 (can range from moderate to severe)
Fever	Rare	High (100-102 F), Can last 3-4 days	Never	Common
Headache	Rare	Intense	Uncommon	Can be present
General aches, pains	Slight	Usual, often severe	Never	Can be present
Fatigue, weakness	Mild	Intense, can last up to 2-3 weeks	Sometimes	Can be present
Extreme exhaustion	Never	Usual (starts early)	Never	Can be present
Stuffy/runny nose	Common	Sometimes	Common	Has been reported
Sneezing	Usual	Sometimes	Usual	Has been reported
Sore throat	Common	Common	Sometimes	Has been reported
Cough	Mild to moderate	Common, can become severe	Sometimes	Common
Shortness of breath	Rare	Rare	Rare, except for those with allergic asthma	In more serious infections

What treatments are available?

There’s currently no treatment specifically approved for COVID-19, and no cure for an infection, although treatments and vaccines are currently under study. Instead, treatment focuses on managing symptoms as the virus runs its course.

Seek medical help if you think you have COVID-19. Your doctor will recommend treatment for any symptoms or complications that develop, and let you know if you need to seek emergency treatment.

Other coronaviruses like SARS and MERS are also treated by managing symptoms. In some cases, experimental treatments are tested to see how effective they are.

Examples of therapies used for these illnesses include:

• antiviral or retroviral medications
• breathing support, such as mechanical ventilation
• steroids to reduce lung swelling
• blood plasma transfusions

Prevention tips

• Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds at a time with warm water and soap. How long is 20 seconds? About as long as it takes to sing your “ABCs.”
• Don’t touch your face, eyes, nose, or mouth when your hands are dirty.
• Don’t go out if you’re feeling sick or have any cold or flu symptoms.
• Stay at least 6 feetTrusted Source (2 meters) away from people.
• Cover your mouth with a tissue or the inside of your elbow whenever you sneeze or cough. Throw away any tissues you use right away.
• Clean any objects you touch a lot. Use disinfectants on objects like phones, computers, utensils, dishware, and doorknobs.

Causes of the New Coronavirus

Coronavirus Risk Factors

• High blood pressure

• Heart disease

• Lung disease

• Kidney disease that needs dialysis

• Severe obesity

• Diabetes

• Cancer

Coronavirus Transmission

How does the coronavirus spread?

• Copper: 4 hours

• Cardboard: up to 24 hours

• Plastic or stainless steel: 2 to 3 days

Researchers aren’t sure what caused it. There’s more than one coronavirus. They’re common in people and in animals including bats, camels, cats, and cattle. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is similar to MERS and SARS. They all came from bats. Many people who got the disease early on were linked to a large live seafood and animal market in China -- you might hear it called a “wet market.” The first cases may have come from animals sold in the market, then spread from person to person.

Anyone can get COVID-19, and most infections are usually mild, especially in children and young adults. But if you aren’t in an area where COVID-19 is spreading, haven’t traveled from an area where it’s spreading, and haven’t been in contact with someone who has it, your risk of infection is low.

People over 65 are most likely to get a serious illness, as are those who live in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, who have weakened immune systems, or who have medical conditions including:

How does the coronavirus spread?

SARS-CoV-2, the virus, mainly spreads from person to person.

Most of the time, it spreads when a sick person coughs or sneezes. They can spray droplets as far as 6 feet away. If you breathe them in or swallow them, the virus can get into your body. Some people who have the virus don't have symptoms, but they can still spread the virus.

You can also get the virus from touching a surface or object the virus is on, then touching your mouth, nose, or possibly your eyes. Most viruses can live for several hours on a surface that they land on. A study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can last for several hours on various types of surfaces:

That’s why it’s important to disinfect surfaces to get rid of the virus.

What is community spread?

Doctors and health officials use this term when they don’t know the source of the infection. With COVID-19, it usually refers to someone who gets the virus even though they haven’t been out of the country or haven’t been exposed to someone who’s traveled abroad or who has COVID-19.

In February 2020, the CDC confirmed a COVID-19 infection in California in a person who had not traveled to an affected area or been exposed to someone with the disease. This marked the first instance of community spread in the U.S. It’s likely that person was exposed to someone who was infected but didn’t know it.

How fast is it spreading?

The number of people infected by SARS-CoV-2 changes every day. See our news story for the latest updates on this developing story.