Covid-19: Frequently Asked Questions

Our country, along with every other country in the world, is currently fighting hard against a national epidemic. Covid-19, the contagious disease threatening the health of everyone living on Earth, and the questions people have about it will be the subject of this article.

What Is Covid-19?

How Did It Start?

What Are the Symptoms?

What Is the Treatment?

How Is It Transmitted?

What Are the Prevention Methods?

We will go through each of the topics above one by one and answer the most frequently asked questions about Covid-19.

What Is Covid-19?

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses. This family of viruses can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to much more serious infectious diseases such as MERS and SARS.

There are subgroups of coronaviruses found in humans that spread from person to person. This group is usually experienced as a common cold. However, there are also many coronavirus subgroups detected in animals. Subgroups of this virus that can be transmitted from animals to humans cause much more severe illnesses. It is a known fact that the SARS outbreak in 2003 was transmitted to humans from civet cats, while the MERS outbreak in 2012 was transmitted from dromedary camels.

How Did It Start?

The disease was first observed in Wuhan, China in December 2019. On December 31, 2019, China reported cases of pneumonia occurring in Wuhan to the World Health Organization. On January 7, 2020, it was recognized as a new virus never before seen in humans, and it was named Covid-19.

Starting from January 7, 2020, the disease began to spread from person to person across the entire world. As cases increased and the disease progressed further, deaths occurred. After China, it began to spread rapidly in many major countries such as Iran, Italy, South Korea, and the USA. The first case in our country was seen on March 11, 2020. As the infectious disease and death rates continued to rise, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

What Are the Symptoms?

The common symptoms of Covid-19 in people who contract the disease are as follows;

• High fever

• Cough

• Fatigue

• Respiratory failure

Among the less common symptoms seen in some cases are;

• Headache

• Loss of taste

• Body aches

• Runny nose

• Nasal congestion

• Sore throat

• Diarrhea

These are the symptoms. Symptoms of the disease appear within 2 to 3 days. In some people, this period can extend up to 14 days.

What Is the Treatment?

People who show symptoms are first examined by healthcare institutions and tested. Those who test negative are sent home, while those who test positive are admitted to special units set up for them in healthcare institutions and kept under observation. There is currently no known medication for it.

How Is It Transmitted?

This virus is essentially transmitted through droplets. Sick individuals or those who are carriers spread droplets around them when they sneeze or cough. If a person who is not sick comes into contact with these droplets and they enter the body through the mouth, nose, or eyes, that person contracts the virus.

What Are the Prevention Methods?

If we list the ways to protect against Covid-19 below;

• Washing hands frequently

• Coughing or sneezing into your elbow

• Not touching your face

• Maintaining social distance

• Staying at home

In these difficult times, staying at home is the most effective way to prevent the disease from spreading further. Everyone who is able to should stay at home.

There is no clear date as to when the disease will end. When we all calmly do our part without panicking, the disease will end sooner, and it won't be long before we return to our old lives.