Coronavirus in the U.S?

Arika Estree, Staff Writer

The Coronavirus, or more properly COVID-19, is becoming more and more of a threat every day, even though the Centers for Disease Control has yet to declare it a pandemic. 

As of February 24, almost 3,000 people have died worldwide. While there are still no confirmed deaths in the U.S., it’s still spreading and now 53 people with the virus are confirmed. 

The first pending case in Michigan has been confirmed at Michigan State University. While the test results have not come back yet, they have all the symptoms and are currently in quarantine.   

The symptoms of the Coronavirus can include, but are not limited to, a fever, shortness of breath, cough, head aches, body aches, and in severe cases, pneumonia. 

It has also been discovered that if you contract this disease while pregnant, your future child will be born with it, decreasing their likelihood of surviving infancy. 

Up until February 24, health officials had said the coronavirus has been slowing down, but now it’s just started taking off. Still, the reality is that flu poses a much larger threat for those in west Michigan.

Wherever you go in China, it is necessary to wear a mask, to prevent air particles from entering into the air and into other people’s lungs. If you’re caught on the street without a mask, you will likely be detained and arrested. 

If you want to go into any public Chinese buildings, you will need to obtain a scan of your lungs which can apparently tell whether or not you have the virus or not. This device is highly accurate and the people in China are depending on it for survival. 

While health officials say most people will contract some version of the coronavirus throughout their lifetime, the deadly strand that has been killing people is called 2019-nCoV, or COVID-19. 

Although almost all of the cases are in China, it’s still a threat to countries around the world as it spreads.

Overall, hundreds of people in the U.S. have been sought to have the virus, although, most of them did end up testing negative, according to The Centers for Disease Control. 

Even though the virus seems to be spreading fast, President Donald Trump says he has a plan. 

Trump and the President of China, Xi Jinping, say that when the weather starts to heat up, in the spring and summer, the virus will slow down and eventually die out. 

“The heat kills these kinds of viruses,” said Trump at one of his rallies. 

The first person to be diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. was tested on by scientists, to compare the blood of a human with and without the virus.

The blood of someone with coronavirus is a very dark purple color, it looks extremely unhealthy. In contrast, the blood of someone who doesn’t have it will be your average red blood color. 

Scientists in the US and in China have been fighting to find a permanent cure, like a vaccine or antibiotic, but have yet to find anything.

The only way to help fight the virus is to keep studying it and find out what therapy, vaccine, or medicine can help save lives. 

Scientists currently have plans to try to fight the multiplying virus with two separate versions of the lethal coronavirus. 

The same corporation that developed a cure for the Ebola virus, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, is currently working on something to try to stop the spread. 

The safest ways to prevent obtaining the virus is to stay away from people who might have it or have it, wash your hands multiple times daily, and see a doctor the second you have symptoms. 

Despite how scary the potential outcomes of this virus may be, there are still ways to prevent it from spreading.