You have taken care of the basics – you are washing your hands thoroughly with soap frequently and exercising social distancing. However, you may still have queries. Are you ensuring that the actions are executed appropriately? What is the importance of keeping distance from friends and family, as well as wearing masks? How correctly does doing this better the already dented economy? You are probably not sure about how the COVID-19 virus spreads. COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly from individual to individual. Drops released when one cough and sneezes may carry the virus if the person is infected may land in your mouth or nose if you are nearby or probably inhale them in your lungs. An individual infected with COVID-19, even with no symptoms, may release droplets when they talk or breath. Droplets are infectious disease-causing particles that can remain afloat or drift around in the air for up to three hours. Another individual can inhale these aerosols and get infected with COVID-19. That is why masks are essential when going outside – they will cover your nose and mouth. Moreover, the virus can quickly spread through contact with infected surfaces or items. A person can get infected by touching a surface or piece with the coronavirus on it and then touching any part of their face.
You can still get infected and to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread further you ought to ensure there is contact tracing. Coming into close contact with a person who has coronavirus leaves you at a greater risk of getting infected and of possibly infecting others. Contact tracing is necessary as it seeks to prevent more spread of COViD-19 by quickly isolating and notifying people who may have contracted the virus and are contagious, so that they can prevent further infection of people. Contact tracing begins with finding persons that an individual newly identified with COVID-19 has made contact with since they become infectious. In the case of COVID-19, one may be infectious 48 to 72 hours before they started to identify the signs. These contacts are told about their contact, alerted on what signs to keep an eye on, instructed to isolate themselves for a certain period, and to contact medical support as needed if symptoms start manifesting.
Even with the virus still not contained, people in different states like Texas have seen it fit to reopen business as a way to reduce the economic impacts from coronavirus. However, Dennis Bonnen, the Republican House Speaker in Texas, says that those at the forefront pushing for this move don’t protect themselves in public which puts both the public’s health and the state’s delicate economy in danger. If Texas and the larger world is to beat this pandemic, people should be serious about their safety.