The coronavirus is a global pandemic that has forced its way into the world at large. What initially appeared to be an over reaction from the media, is now a very real threat that isn’t stopping anytime soon. Borders are being closed, entire countries are being quarantined and the death toll has reached 10,000 worldwide.
Though the entire world seems to be engulfed in mass hysteria, there is an equal push back of calmness from scientists and doctors who are unphased by the happenings. Where on the spectrum lies the truth of how serious this situation is? This makes it hard for people to understand how they should be acting at a time like this.
Professor Danielson is a professor of biology in the department of biological science at the University of Denver. He has written a text book called Molecular Diagnostics 3rd Edition that goes in depth on how to diagnose diseases and genetic mutations in humans. He has been teaching out of his text book at DU since the 1990s in the class called: Virology and Infectious Human Disease.
His insight on the current event is very based on logic, “The first thing that is concerning about this particular virus is that it appears to be highly contagious. The second thing is the virus is seen to cause pneumonia and it does it at a higher rate.”
What the public does not seem to know is that coronavirus is a somewhat common virus. It was discovered in the 1960s, and was named for its crownlike appearance of its surface projections (The Cold War, 1988). The coronavirus group causes about 15-20 percent of colds. In the last decade we’ve seen the emergence of at least two coronaviruses that have mutated to a more aggressive form.
There are seven different groups and four of those will affect humans seasonally. This virus causes cold symptoms and most cases are minor. As the virus moves from humans to animals and back again, they can change their genes more quickly and you can develop new strains of the virus. Which is what we are currently dealing with: a mutated, more aggressive form of a coronavirus that WHO has classified as COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019).
We saw the same thing happen in the early 2000s with the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak. This was caused by a mutation of a coronavirus. Professor Danielson explains that this virus is deadlier than the flu but not as deadly as SARS.
“1/1000 patients might die from a really bad seasonal flu. With the coronavirus the odds are 1/100 or 2/100. That means coronavirus is 10 to 100 times more deadly than the seasonal flu.”
Given this information COVID-19 has everyone on lockdown including the kids of DU. The quarantine and almost mandatory social distancing has affected everyone personally, even the ones who do not have the virus. Every student has canceled their spring break plans in lue of this pandemic.
Winans’ remaining three ski competitions, that she has been training everyday for, is now canceled. She even had plans to ski Big Sky, Montana all week, but now she’s just traveling home.
“So now I have to find a new hobby.”
Staying positive, Winans understands the severity of the situation and empathizes for the people who have it worse.
“I’m really lucky because people are losing their jobs and are not in as good of health as me. It’s a pretty lucky problem that not being able to ski is my biggest issue.”
This virus is spreading quickly and everyone’s reality is changing hour by hour. Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announced that all restaurants and bars will close for in-person dining for eight weeks (Sexton, 2020). At the rate closures are going it seems this will be the case for all of Colorado in a matter of days.
Though take out, delivery, and drive throughs are still options for eateries, many workers are out of the job. Polis estimated around 240,000 Colorado service industry workers will be affected by these closures (Navarro 2020), Winans family included.
Her sister, Annika, graduated from college last May and has been taking the year to serve tables, coaching a free ride ski team, and teach nordic ski lessons in Crested Butte before applying to law school. She heavily depended on each of these jobs to pay rent and eat.
“She lost all three of her jobs. She’s being positive about it and is applying for online jobs but she’s going to move home because she can’t afford rent anymore.”
Annika is not alone. There are countless closures across the country making all who can work from home. Not everyone has that privilege so the government has made plans to help. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a $100 billion coronavirus aid package into law which includes provisions for emergency paid leave for workers as well as free testing (Dzhanova 2020).
This could mean direct payments to bank accounts, tax cuts or relief for the industries suffering. Bills are still being voted on and relief packages are still being created. But one thing is certain, everyone is urged to self quarantine and practice social distancing.
Students are now being sent home from their abroad programs and international travel is highly unrecommended. Student Hailey Jordan was studying in Singapore and was supposed to be there until the end of May. Her trip was cut short and has plans to come home this weekend.
“I’ll admit when my mom first bought my ticket I was p-ssed. But as everything is shutting down the threat is becoming more and more real to me. So I’m happy to be going home to my family.”
Whether or not this situation has been blown out of proportion, this has been a sobering experience for everyone worldwide. There are flu shots for the flu but there is no vaccine for COVID-19. Since there is no vaccine, no correct therapy, and a very low supply of good test kits we are all asked to take reasonable precautions like hand sanitizer and disinfecting.
Though it’s clear that we are still in the thick of the pandemic and things are likely to get worse before they get better, it’s important to stay positive and help in any way possible. Donate blood, stay inside, and stay informed.
The desolate grocery store shelves are a sure fire sign that people are panicked. Professor Danielson thinks the panic isn’t unwarranted.
“We’ll know after the epidemic has passed if we have overreacted.”
Works Cited
Journal Sources:
The cold war: Research on the common cold. (1988). Editorial research reports 1988 (Vol. I). Washington, DC: CQ Press. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre1988012200
Other Sources:
Sexton, Josie. (2020). Restaurants and bars scramble as Denver mayor orders them to close dine-in service. Retrieved from: https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/16/restaurants-bars-closed-denver-coronavirus/
Navarro, Natalia V. (2020). Restaurant Closures Over Coronavirus Concerns Leave Small Businesses In Limbo. Retrieved from: https://www.cpr.org/2020/03/18/restaurant-closures-over-coronavirus-concerns-leave-small-businesses-in-limbo/
The MFJS Reporter -- Winter 2020 M-W 