Coronavirus cases became 1 lakh in 67 days, 2 lakh in 11 days and 3 lakh in just 4 days
The acceleration is like a T 20 cricket match. WHO has warned that the coronavirus disease pandemic is “accelerating”, with more than 300,000 cases now confirmed.
March 24, 2020 18:36
— By Dr KK Aggarwal
Pandemic is going with the normal pace
No. The acceleration is like a T 20 cricket match.
WHO has warned that the coronavirus disease pandemic is “accelerating”, with more than 300,000 cases now confirmed.
It took 67 days from the first reported of Covid-19 to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000, and just four days for the third 100,000.
Lock down alone will take care
No. You need also rigorous testing and contact-tracing strategies.
You can’t win a football or a cricket game only by defending. You have to attack as well.
To win, we need to attack the virus with aggressive and targeted tactics – testing every suspected case, isolating and caring for every confirmed case, and chasing and quarantining every close contact.
COVID-19 does not affect the heart itself?
No. Early information suggests that the heart may be affected by COVID-19. Inflammation of the heart (myocarditis), the sack around the heart (pericarditis), heart failure, heart attack, and heart rhythm problems have all been reported.
However, it is not always clear whether heart-related signs or symptoms are directly related to a primary issue with the heart, or related to the heart reacting to other problems in the body such as low blood pressure or low oxygen levels. Until we know more, the answer is that the heart may be affected in some people with COVID-19, but there is much more to learn.
I have high blood pressure, I am at the same risk
No. Those with high blood pressure may have a higher risk from COVID-19.
And, also like those with heart disease, we don’t know at this point if having heart disease and high blood pressure causes worse outcomes, or if these conditions are just associated with worse outcomes.
I have heart disease, I am at the same risk?
No. The American College of Cardiology notes that those with heart disease may have the highest mortality rate at over 10%. The point is not to cause more anxiety, but to emphasize the importance of infection avoidance if you have heart disease.
Chloroquine and hydroxy chloroquine are inter-changeable
No, A Chinese study involving the use of both chloroquine and its molecular cousin, hydroxychloroquine, determined that hydroxychloroquine is the more potent of these two drugs in its inhibition of this novel coronavirus.
COVID 2 ands flu affects the same site in respiratory tract
No. COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, starts in your respiratory tract. That’s the airway between your mouth, nose, throat, and lungs. It’s the same place that the common cold attacks. But COVID-19 can become more serious than the common cold because it is more likely to get deeper into your respiratory tract, including into your lungs. That’s because your lower airways have more ACE2 receptors.
Good quarantine will take three months
No, effective quarantine period is 14 days By this time you can flatten the curve.
Masks means masks
No. Hospitals and clinics are running out of masks. Healthcare workers are going online to beg for more, the hashtags #GetMePPE and #WeNeedPPE are trending on Twitter. Health providers are working scared. Some people are making their own.
Using a simple template, they cut green surgical sheeting into half-moons, which they pin and sew before attaching elastic straps.
Deaconess Health System in Evansville, Indiana, has posted instructions for fabric masks on their website and asked the public to step up and sew.
Elsewhere, healthcare workers have turned to diapers, maxi pads and other products to create masks.
Some thing is better than nothing but they are not PPE.
Any mask would do for doctors
No. One 2020 review by Chinese researchers, for example, analyzed six randomly controlled trials that included more than 9000 participants and found no added benefits of N95 masks over ordinary surgical masks for healthcare providers treating patients with the flu.
But COVID-19 is not influenza, and evidence suggests it may require more intensive protection [JAMA]
The virus can linger in the air for hours, suggesting that N95 respirators are healthcare providers’ best option when treating infected patients.
((The writer is President, CMAAO, HCFI and Past national President IMA))
