Articles

Facts About Covid-19

By Akshay Kulkarni, Anusha Tembe, Anushka Bhate, Sanket Gavankar and Dr. Rashmi Kulkarni

Introduction

With the World Pandemic of COVID-19, the team of a few young members of GTF, along with a physician, decided to take upon themselves to research and write a short summary that may be of some use to the citizens of India, and readers of the Indian Periodical.

A novel coronavirus outbreak was first documented in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019, which has now been confirmed on six continents and in more than 100 countries. Coronaviruses are a large family of zoonotic viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to severe respiratory diseases.

There are several coronaviruses known to be circulating in different animal populations that have not yet infected humans. COVID-19 is the most recent to make the jump to human infection.

The COVID-19 infection is spread from one person to others via droplets produced from the respiratory system of infected people, often during coughing or sneezing. The time from exposure to onset of symptoms is usually between two and 14 days, with an average of five days.

Two other recent coronavirus outbreaks have been experienced. In 2002, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV) was found to transmit from civet cats to humans. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) of 2012 was found to transmit from dromedary camels to humans.

How does the virus spread?

The virus is spread through a variety of ways:

1. Respiratory droplets (stay for 6 hours after sneezing or coughing)

2. Fomites (touching surfaces)

3. Asymptomatic carriers

Common Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19 infection

These are similar to the common cold and include respiratory symptoms such as dry cough, fever, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and death.

Commentary from Dr. Rashmi Kulkarni, MD, a practicing physician

This is a challenging time for practicing primary care physicians as there has been widespread concern and panic amongst patients. We are constantly being bombarded by information from both traditional media as well as various social media platforms. The situation remains fluid and is constantly evolving. While the practice of physical distancing has been encouraged, the need for physician care remains unchanged. Primary care physicians are now turning to alternative means for patient contact including telemedicine and virtual visits. Currently, there are no specific treatments available but the potential use of the antimalarial agent hydroxychloroquine is being examined. Physical distancing and frequent hand washing are highly recommended to minimize the further spread of this highly contagious virus.

A sample of the procedure in a family practitioner’s clinic

Front Desk: Upon receiving the call, the front desk is already prepared for the patient’s arrival in terms of having protection for themselves and the patient. The patient is checked in through the back door for the protection of other patients and then immediately given a protective mask. After the patient is checked in, the Medical Assistant (MA) is notified.

Medical Assistant: The Medical Assistant, equipped in PPE,  directs the patient immediately to an assigned room and prepares them for the doctor’s by checking the patient’s vitals (the patient’s temperature is very important). The doctor then will examine the patient.

Specialists and surgeons have all canceled their elective procedures so that they can focus their efforts on the treatment of cases.

General Guidelines to follow precautions:

  1. Wash your hands and make sure to scrub around all parts of your hands with soap for 20 seconds or more.
  2. Wear a mask (if available) if you have symptoms such as a fever or cough to avoid potentially spreading the virus if you had it.
  3. Wearing a mask is not recommended if you are not sick or symptomatic.
  4. Use an alcohol-based- greater than 60 percent ethanol- hand sanitizer regularly.
  5. Avoid social interaction and if it is necessary make sure to maintain a 6 foot distance from others.
  6. Keep in mind that although you might not be affected by the virus, you could be a carrier and spread it to other people.
  7. Listen to your Government: Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Indians to stay at home but go out on their balconies at 5 p.m. with pots and pans to cheer front-line health care workers, on Sunday March 22, 2020. There might be more instructions coming from the Government, and they ought to be followed.

Guidelines/precautions for small kids

  1. Learn important skills such as how to maintain proper hand hygiene, not touching faces, not sharing drinks and food, and maintaining the 6-foot distance when interacting with peers.
  2. Learning how to adapt to online school and how to do school work online.

Guidelines/precautions for high school students

  1. Stay in your house, even if it is boring.
  2. Refrain from touching your face or eating food without washing your hands.
  3. Make a schedule to continue learning in addition to the online school that is present so that you stay focused on learning and not waste the free time you have.
  4. Don’t use your phone while eating if you don’t sanitize your phone often.
  5. Don’t underestimate the coronavirus as it does not discriminate from teenage students and is a threat to people of all ages.

Guidelines/precautions for college students

  1. These are the learning years for students, so it is very important for all of you to do extra work or reading on the subjects being taught in college in addition to any additional online instruction.
  2. Even if it doesn’t affect you significantly, you may still have the virus and be able to transmit it to others, so it is important to stay home.

For young adults

Don’t buy in bulk; there may not be enough left for everyone else.

For old people (Over 60 years)

  1. Stay at home and socially isolate yourselves
  2. For people at high risk (individuals with diabetes, heart disease, asthma, emphysema, or cancer) extra precautions must be taken.

Should I wear masks?

Masks are only to be used by people in a region experiencing an outbreak, health care workers treating patients, and people who are experiencing flu-like symptoms.  If you have no symptoms, use of masks is unnecessary. If you are sick and are experiencing flu-like symptoms, talk to your health care provider for guidance and best practices for your unique case. A mask could potentially help avoid the spread of the virus from you to others.

Things to remember

  1. If you test negative to Coronavirus today, you could still get infected later on.
  2. If you get infected with coronavirus and survive through the illness, you could get immunity to the virus.
  3. A person who is infected may be symptomatic, or remain asymptomatic.
  4. Most people only experience minor flu-like symptoms and recover within a few weeks, but the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those who appear well.

On March 24, 2020, the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi announced a complete 21-day lockdown all across India.

Summary and conclusions

We have summarized some of the facts about COVID-19 in this article, with the hope that the readers will find them useful.  It is very important to understand that COVID-19 is not just the responsibility of one community, city, state, of India, it is the responsibility of every citizen of every country in the World.

Remember your work may be disrupted, as you develop new and creative ways to move your project forward. In some cases, you might be performing essential duties that can only be done at work, while others are working remotely.

The weeks to come will bring all of us challenges of many different kinds whether academic, professional or personal. We encourage you to look for support when you need it. We encourage you to lend your support to friends or coworkers or even complete strangers when you see that they need it.

Each one of our readers is encouraged to follow the recommendations by the scientists of India and the guidelines/regulations by the Government of India.  Please follow the complete lockdown ordered by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

Only working together will we be able to tackle this pandemic.

About the Authors:

Akshay Kulkarni: An 11th grader at the Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville, GA and a proud member of Global Thrombosis Forum since 2016. Akshay aspires to become a physician.

Anusha Tembe: A tenth grader at Campbell High School in Smyrna, GA. Anusha has been with GTF for about five years. Her career goal in life is to have a career in biomedical science

Anushka Bhate: A 10th grader at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina, Anushka has been with GTF for one year. In the future, Anushka wishes to become a physician.

Sanket Gavankar: A tenth grader attending Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta, Georgia. Sanket has been a member of the Global Thrombosis Forum for three years and plans to study medicine in college and become a cardiovascular surgeon.

Rashmi Kulkarni, MD: A Board-certified physician in Family Medicine and a part of Northside Gwinnett Primary Care Group in Dacula, GA. Dr. Rashmi graduated from Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College in Mumbai, India and completed residency at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She has been in practice since 2004 and a proud member of the Global Thrombosis Forum.

5 Comments

  1. Congratulations Young GTF members and Dr Rashmi…..
    Very impressive article

  2. Really impressed with the effort put in by these youngsters. They are doing their bit while social distancing. A well researched article!

  3. Dear Young members of High School and the young Doctor Rashmi K: I read with great interest your article on Covid-19. The article summarizes everything one needs to know about the virus. It is absolutely amazing how you gathered your thoughts and put them in writing. This article is very valuable for all the readers of the Indian Periodical. A word of thanks to the Editor of the Indian Periodical for bringing such an important topic in front of its readers.

  4. Jayashree Atul Laddu

    Dear members of GTF: Congratulations on your efforts in educating the population! Keep up the good work!

  5. Dear members of GTF: Congratulations on your efforts in educating the population! Keep up the good work!