Virus outbreaks always breed panic — and with panic comes misinformation. Here are ten harmful myths and facts about coronavirus transmission you should know.
The coronavirus first appeared in the city of Wuhan, central China. It started as an unknown viral pneumonia that had insofar infected a few dozen people. In two months, it spread across the globe to infect over 92,000 people in 70 different countries and kill over 3,200 people.
Now that the coronavirus is a pandemic, there’s, unfortunately, a lot of misinformation floating around about where it came from and how coronavirus transmission works.
In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the myths and facts about the coronavirus transmission.
What Is the Coronavirus?
Before we can explore the various facts and myths surrounding the coronavirus, we must first explain what it is.
Coronaviruses are a common type of virus that most often afflicts animals. In rare cases, an infection can be zoonotic. A zoonotic disease means it is capable of transmitting, therefore, from an animal to a person.
The viral strain of the coronavirus that the world is dealing with at the present moment is known as SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2). The disease that the viral infection causes is now named Covid-19 and was officially named on February 11, 2020.
5 Facts About Coronavirus Transmission
In this section, we’ll go over five critical facts regarding the coronavirus. People must remain informed with legitimate information to stay aware of a fluid situation like a viral outbreak.
1. ”Covid-19 Spreads Through Close Person-To-Person Contact.”
The current 2019 strain of the coronavirus spreads by being near an infected person. It’s a respiratory infection, so it is most often spread through the air when someone infected coughs or sneezes.
Microscopic droplets can travel through the air up to six feet. When this tiny droplet lands on your mouth, nose, or eyes, you are infected. It’s also possible for droplets to land on objects and surfaces so that when you touch that object or surface and then touch your face, you become infected.
2. ”Symptoms Are Most Often Similar to a Common Cold.”
For many, they may never know they were infected with Covid-19. This strain of the coronavirus presents itself as a common cold in the average person with good health.
Symptoms include:
- low fever
- sneezing
- coughing
- stuffy or runny nose
- sore throat
- watery eyes
- mild body aches
- mild headache
- lethargic
For most, these symptoms will remain mild and pass after several days. It will feel and behave the same as a common cold. If you had to define lethargic concerning the common cold vs. Covid-19, then the coronavirus might feel more severe, as fatigue can last up to a month after recovering.
3. ”The Average Person Has Ways to Avoid Infection”
The best way to help ensure protection from Covid-19 is with frequent hand washing with soap and hot water. You should scrub your hands for a solid 20 seconds, and be sure to get soap under your fingernails and between fingers.
Other precautions you should follow are always avoiding touching your face. This means, therefore, not rubbing your eyes or nose and not eating finger foods (use utensils).
4. ”The Average Person Can Treat Covid-19 With Over-The-Counter Medicine.”
For an average person who is in good health, they can treat Covid-19 as they would a common cold. Taking over-the-counter cold medicine that helps relieve symptoms like fever, coughing, and runny nose will help.
5. ”The Fatality Rate Is Higher Than the Seasonal Flu.”
5 Harmful myths About Coronavirus Transmission
In this section, we’ll examine some of the most prevalent and harmful myths that are circulating about Covid-19. It’s essential to remain aware and keep fact and fiction separated. The spread of misinformation is damaging and can result in harmful consequences.
1. ”Face Masks Will Protect You From the Virus.”
Wrong. The standard paper surgical mask will not protect you from Covid-19. Most masks aren’t designed to be able to block out microscopic particles like a virus.
So, standard children face masks you may have bought for your family will not help prevent them from becoming infected.
2. ”You’re Less Likely to Catch Covid-19 Than the Flu ”
Wrong. There are a lot of sneezing myths saying that since Covid-19 spreads through close contact, you’re less likely to get infected. This isn’t true.
While Covid-19 will look and feel much like a regular cold for most people, it is far more infectious.
How long is a cold contagious? For a little over a week. Covid-19, however, is contagious for far longer. It can take a couple of weeks before symptoms will appear. However, during that time, that person is still infectious and able to spread the virus.
3. ”Pets Can Spread the Coronavirus.”
Wrong. There was a report from China that a dog tested as a “weak positive” for Covid-19. However, officials remain uncertain if the dog was actually infected, or was carrying the virus on the surface of its nose from being in the environment with the virus. There have been no other reports across the globe of a pet carrying the virus.
4. ”Eating at a Chinese Restaurant or Receiving a Package From China Can Infect You.”
Wrong. This is a particularly problematic myth circulating as it has racist undertones. Myths like this can end up causing social harm.
While Covid-19 did originate from China, however, that doesn’t mean that all Chinese people and products are infected.
5. ”Hand Dryers Can Kill the Virus.”
Wrong. Drying your hands under a hand dryer will not kill the virus if it is present on her skin.
If you’re interested in keeping your home environment clean and infection-free, there are other methods than trying to rely on a hand dryer. One tip for avoiding the coronavirus is to keep the air within your home as clean as possible by using an air purifier. While an air purifier isn’t a guarantee, it will help to pull microscopic droplets of the virus out of the air, thus reducing the chances of you breathing it in or it landing on a surface.
Remain Vigilant and Take Preventative Measures
We hope this article helped shed some light on the facts of how coronavirus transmission works and how to avoid the myths surrounding it. In a digital age where information travels at lightspeed across the globe, and social media platforms become soapboxes for people to spread lies and myths, you must remain discerning in what is the truth.
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