Coronavirus symptoms – why on earth on a website about singing? That’s right, it’s now becoming a part of our daily lives, my friends, at least for the meantime.  The good news is, there is an end to everything. This epidemic won’t be here forever.  It could end next month, 6 months from now or longer, who knows, but it will come to an end, folks.

Keep yourself and your family safe, will you? The more people around you, the higher the chance of getting it.  It’s alarming, it’s spreading globally at a rapid rate. I myself canceled an appointment that can wait another day to be home safe.  So, can you as much as possible.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is a pandemic. This disease, which started in China in 2019, spread all over the world. Most countries are now battling against it.

COVID-19 is becoming one of the worst that the world has seen since the 1918 to 1920 flu pandemic which infected about 500 million people and an estimated 50 million deaths. Why? This is a sneaky one. The symptoms can be mistaken for the common cold and signs of infection take a while before they surface–almost two weeks.

We’re going to take a look at some of the symptoms of this distressing epidemic.

SYMPTOMS: CORONAVIRUS

The three most common symptoms are shortness of breath, cough, and fever. Some of the uncommon ones are sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing. In worse cases, symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.

Don’t we all experience these symptoms sometimes?  Yep, including you who love to sing, and the symptoms might be totally unrelated to this virus, but let’s put some seriousness to it, folks.

The respiratory system is often subject to a lot of stress. This makes anyone more prone to ailments that display similar symptoms.

To make matters complicated, a person who contracted COVID-19 is often asymptomatic. This means that signs or symptoms of the disease may or may not appear during the incubation period. On average, the virus’s incubation period is around five days.

When left untreated, the disease can cause devastating damage to the infected person’s body. Some of these are pneumonia, organ failure, and even death.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE SYMPTOMS?

If you have any of the symptoms, immediately get yourself tested. Don’t second guess or downplay the severity of this disease.

Note that the symptoms emerge two to six days after you contracted the virus. If you are unlucky, it might take at least 14 days before it shows any signs or symptoms.

If you recently visited a public area or just anywhere with a trace of any human being around, make sure to sanitize yourself, your belongings, and your home.  Don’t wait for the government to declare a lockdown or a state of emergency.

If you need to go out, practice social distancing. Also, forget about handshaking. If you need to greet someone, you can do what’s called a “verbal handshake” like waving, nodding, or doing the highbrow.

BOREDOM AWAITS

I’d like to think that people who love to sing like you are often extroverts. Mingling with people and showing off their talent are two distinguishable traits they have. If you aren’t one, then there’s nothing wrong with it and self-quarantining might be hella therapeutic for ya, but for those people whose spirits can’t be contained inside a barren four-walled room, here are some things you can do.

1. Take advantage of self-quarantining by resting your throat and rehydrating. See the bright side and treat it as a long-awaited staycation.
2. Get your karaoke machine and sing some songs! What an idea, huh?
3. Update your mixtape. It’s time for you to catch up with your favorite performers.
4. Learn something new. The Internet is a vast stream of knowledge. Swim on it! Or you can just take some online classes. I had reviewed MasterClass, check it out!
5. Just enjoy your time with your family.

ADDITIONAL SAFETY MEASURES

Even in the comfort of your own home, you should still do these safety measures.

1. Make sure that you cover your sneeze and coughs even at home. Sneeze to your elbow, not your hands.
2. Stay in a room alone if possible. Make sure to clean any surface or material you use and don’t share any personal belongings with anyone. This might sound harsh when you’re living with a loved one, but that’s actually a loving thing to do. The virus stays alive even on plastic or metal materials for a day or two. It can also stay active for at least half a day airborne. This is troubling and sad but it’s a fact
3. Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use alcohol with 60% to 70% concentration if soap and water aren’t available.
4. Avoid touching any surface and even be cautious with our own pets. Everything around you is a potential breeding ground for the virus.
5. Wash used clothes as soon as possible, especially if you walked outside. The virus can live on your clothes for three hours or more. I can’t imagine this to be true, but it is. Avoid your clothes from contaminating your home by washing them as soon as you can.
6. Only eat fully cooked food and avoid meat from animal organs.

EMERGENCY WARNING SIGNS

People who died from COVID-19 are often old and have heart conditions. If you fit those descriptions, it’s important for you to head straight to the hospital to get checked. On the other hand, if you have a history of lung disease or diabetes, you are prone to it as well. If that’s the case, again, get yourself checked.

Also, you should seek emergency care if you experience these signs and symptoms:

• Bluish Face or Lips
• Confusion
• Persistent Chest Pain or Pressure
• Breathing Difficulty or Shortness

BATTLING STIGMA

The existence of a virus running rampant is stressful enough, but if you get profiled to be a potential carrier, you’ll definitely be stigmatized. The chances are higher if you are:

• Asian or look like an Asian
• A frequent traveler
• A first responder
• A person who’s always in a crowd

One piece of advice I can give you is to avoid social media in the meantime. Only keep your lines of communication to your friends and family. Like with any disaster-related stigmas, this can go away if left ignored and once the pandemic is over.

CONCLUSION

These are just a few of the most important things you need to know and some precautions. The outbreak seems simple and avoiding getting infected isn’t complicated.

However, it can easily get out of hand if people don’t maintain discipline and cooperation.

In boxing, before the fight starts, the referee says, “Protect yourself at all times”.  This is a bigger blow than a punch.  I’d say the same.  Do all you can to defend yourself from this heavyweight puncher at all cost.

If you need more information about COVID-19, I suggest that you head to CDC’s website. Be safe.