In a digital age of mass social media, this article deals with only the truth about COVID-19 and cuts through the hysteria surrounding it.
The stats
There are currently 95,500 confirmed Coronavirus cases.
There have been 3,286 deaths worldwide.
Now crucially, 53,698 people have recovered from the virus.
That leaves 38,525 infected patients;
From those infected, 32,105 have a mild condition, not life threatening with 6,420 in a serious or critical condition.
As of today, the UK has only 87 confirmed cases with China having 80,430 confirmed cases; mostly in the quarantined city of Wuhan.
The seasonal flu kills between 291,000 and 646,000 people per year, many of which are elderly or have underlying health problems.
No one in the UK has died from the virus.
Hysteria
Media outlets have only concentrated on the negative news surrounding the virus.
The number of those who have recovered from the virus is rarely broadcast.
This has led to panic buying hand sanitiser and masks.
In recent weeks, social media conspiracies have been rampant, with some going viral.
Seeing China quarantine Wuhan, businesses threatening to close, airlines ceasing flights to certain areas fuels false speculation of the virus being more severe than what is reported.
China has seen a dramatic reduction in the amount of confirmed cases in recent weeks.
Myths
Several myths have surfaced over the past few months; the following are the most common.
‘Receiving packages from China puts you at risk’. The World Health Organisation has studied how long viruses survive on packages; there is no risk.
‘Pets spread Coronavirus at home’. This is highly unlikely unless you keep bats; the animal the virus is thought to have jumped from.
‘COVID-19 is more dangerous than the flu’. The strain appears to be slightly more aggressive than the flu according to the WHO, although there are far less people exposed to Coronavirus.
‘Everyone is at a high risk of being impacted by COVID-19’. Only those with compromised immune systems are at higher risk.
‘You shouldn’t travel outside of the country’. There are only a few countries where the risk of infection is higher.
