The year 2020 didn’t start off on the positive note that many might have hoped for. Only two months into this new year beloved basketball player Kobe Bryant passed away, the continent of Australia was devastated by huge fires and a new deadly virus sweeps the world bringing fear and destruction to entire countries.

It all started in the city of Wuhan, China, December 2019 when reportedly 41 people were presented with pneumonia, an inflammatory condition in the lungs for no clear reason. The cause was later identified as one of many corona viruses and is officially being called COVID-19. The virus has been getting a lot of attention worldwide due to its quick spread and high death count. As of writing this article over 181,750 confirmed cases have been reported world wide with over 7,131 people being victims of the deadly virus. And as of March 2020 there is no cure for the virus which makes COVID-2019 feared all over the world. So far 25 countries have reported confirmed cases of the virus and in an effort to stop the spread many countries are closing transport between them and China. 

But what are the actual symptoms of the Coronavirus?

One of the problems with the COVID-19 is that the virus is very hard to identify due to the symptoms that come with it. Symptoms include: sore throat, fever, runny nose, chills, cough, dizziness, symptoms that are commonly seen during flu season and when humans get common colds. This means that many people may have the Wuhan coronavirus without knowing about it. 

Those with a healthy immune system should be able to fight off and rid the body from COVID-2019 within a couple of weeks. However for those with compromised immune systems, often elderly or very young people fighting the virus off is not as easy. In fact the statistics show that a big majority of the people that have died of the Wuhan coronavirus were 60 years or older. This is caused by the natural decline of the immune system with age.

Lastly it is important to know the state of this virus in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the COVID-19 outbreak as a world health emergency. However it’s also important to keep in mind that the death count of the virus right now stands at approximately 2% – 3% which is a very low number compared to diseases like SARS or Ebola which could reach up to a death rate of 50% in some regions. This virus has become a global epidemic. While the death count is low now, the virus is spreading. We should all be aware and conscious of the possibilities.