Question

Write about your predictions for the international health care system after the resolution of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Answer 1

Ans.

If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection. Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing. Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water. If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly.

It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days.

A person can possibly get COVID-19 by touching a surface or an object (e.g. doorknobs and table) that has the virus on it and then touching his own mouth, nose, or eyes.

Using available preliminary data, the median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately 2 weeks and is 3-6 weeks for patients with severe or critical disease.

The incubation period of the virus is the time between the exposure and the display of symptoms. Current information suggests that the incubation period ranges from 1 to 12.5 days (with median estimates of 5 to 6 days), but can be as long as 14 days.

No pharmaceutical products have yet been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of COVID-19. However, a number of medicines have been suggested as potential investigational therapies, many of which are now being or will soon be studied in clinical trials, including the SOLIDARITY trial co-sponsored by WHO and participating countries.

In many countries, doctors are giving COVID-19 patients medicines that have not been approved for this disease. The use of licensed medicines for indications that have not been approved by a national medicines regulatory authority is considered “off-label” use. The prescription of medicines for off-label use by doctors may be subject to national laws and regulations.

No, although RNA fragments of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in blood of symptomatic COVID-19 patients, this does not mean that the virus is viable/infectious. In general, respiratory viruses are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion. Blood centers should have routine blood donor screening measures in place to prevent individuals with respiratory symptoms or fever from donating blood. As precautionary measures, blood centers might encourage self-deferral of those with travel history to an COVID-19 affected country in the previous 14 days, or of those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.