Do Face Shields Protect Against Coronavirus Better Than Face Masks?
We often are asked if face shields are better than face masks in the prevention of Coronavirus spread. Our answer is that both have...
Posted on March 5, 2020
Coronavirus
What a way to kick off the new decade – a never-before-seen lethal virus that has face masks, sanitizer, paper towels, and toilet paper flying off the shelves as the world prepares for an apocalypse. Governments have imposed travel bans, quarantines, and lockdowns while scientists race for a vaccine. The world has always been a hectic place but the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has made things a little crazier lately.
In the face of panicked media reports, it pays to separate fact from fiction and to properly understand the situation
The Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19 and 2019-nCoV, is a type of virus from a family known as coronaviruses, so named for the crown-like appearance of their particles. Other members of this family include the viruses behind SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), as well as more common coronaviruses that cause upper respiratory illnesses, such as the common cold and pneumonia. In total, there are currently seven coronaviruses that can infect humans; COVID-19 is new because it recently evolved from affecting only animals to now being transmissible to humans.
On the 12th of December, 2019, Wuhan city in the Hubei province of China reported a severe pneumonia outbreak, now known to be as a result of the novel coronavirus being transmitted from bats to humans.
We now have cases of human-to-human transmission in various countries across the world and authorities continue to track the virus’ movements, the media reporting an alarming increase in new cases every day.
Despite coronaviruses not being a new entity, there is a significant amount of panic and concern surrounding what is close to being considered a pandemic. COVID-19 appears to be more easily spread compared to previous coronavirus scares, such as the 2003 SARS episode, and is also demonstrating a sustained spread; it also has the ability to cause fatality, with the highest risk factors being older age, male gender, and pre-existing cardiovascular disease. Other pre-existing medical conditions thought to increase the risk of mortality from COVID-19 infection are diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, hypertension, and cancer. However, in comparison to previous coronavirus epidemics, COVID-19 is much more benign with a mortality rate estimated at 2%; SARS demonstrated a fatality rate of around 10% while MERS was significantly worse at 36%.
Although there have been reported cases and COVID-19-related deaths across the US and, as of this writing, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) currently assesses the risk of COVID-19 to the American public as being low. However, the potential public health threat posed by COVID-19 is very high, both here in the US and worldwide.
Human symptoms reported from the Coronavirus range from mild to severe (and fatal). It is generally agreed across healthcare authorities that symptoms may take anywhere from 2 to 14 days to present after exposure, though there have been reports of an asymptomatic incubation period as long as 27 days. Although it is possible to transmit the virus before even realizing you are sick, it is thought that patients are the most likely to transmit illness to other people when at their most symptomatic.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), the most common symptoms of Coronavirus in humans are:
Other symptoms may include body aches, a congested or runny nose, sore throat, and diarrhea.
80% of infected people actually recover without requiring medical intervention.
Transmission of the Coronavirus infection appears to be via droplets of respiratory fluid carrying virus particles. These droplets can be coughed or sneezed into the air by an infected person, and then inhaled by an unassuming passer-by, or transmitted by touching an infected surface and then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
The WHO recommends the following measures to protect yourself and your loved one against the Coronavirus:
Many questions have been raised as to the efficacy of solutions and appliances that may be able to kill the Coronavirus. As of this writing, none are true.
Staying abreast of updates regarding COVID-19 as well as keeping a level head and good hygiene is your best defense against the current coronavirus scare.
For more information on the Coronavirus, please visit:
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
World Health Organization (WHO)
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
We often are asked if face shields are better than face masks in the prevention of Coronavirus spread. Our answer is that both have...
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus and is impacting our local community, country, and the world at a...