Coronavirus, the highly contagious respiratory disease has spread to 183 countries or territories, and claimed over 70,000 lives.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been infected around the world.
What are the coronavirus symptoms?
The two main symptoms are a fever and a dry cough, which can sometimes lead to breathing problems.
The cough to look out for is a new, continuous cough. This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or having three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours. (If you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual).
You have a fever if your temperature is above 37.8C. This can make you feel warm, cold or shivery.
It takes five days on average to start showing the symptoms, but some people will get symptoms much later than this. The World Health Organization (WHO) says the incubation period lasts up to 14 days.
A sore throat, headache and diarrhoea have also been reported in some cases and a loss of smell and taste may also be a symptom. But these symptoms aren’t specific to this coronavirus.
There is a lot we still don’t know about the full range of symptoms.
When do people need to go to hospital?
The majority of people with coronavirus will recover after some bed rest and pain relief (such as paracetamol).
The main reason people need hospital treatment is difficulty breathing.
Doctors may scan the lungs to see how badly they have been affected and give other support, such as oxygen or ventilation, if needed.
However, people should not go to A&E if they are concerned. In all countries, the relevant health agency’s website will guide you through what you need to do.
If you are so breathless that you are unable to speak more than a few words then you will be told to call a medical emergency.
If you become so ill that you’ve stopped doing all of your usual daily activities then it will advise speaking to a medical personnel.
What should I do if I have mild symptoms?
Patients with mild symptoms should self-isolate at home for at least seven days, according to Public Health Agencies.
If you have come into contact with somebody who may be infected, you may be told to self-isolate.
How deadly is coronavirus?
The proportion dying from the disease appears low (between 1% and 2%) – but the figures are unreliable.
Thousands are being treated but may go on to die – so the death rate could be higher. But it may also be lower if lots of mild cases are unreported.
A World Health Organization examination of data from 56,000 patients suggests:
6% become critically ill – lung failure, septic shock, organ failure and risk of death
14% develop severe symptoms – difficulty breathing and shortness of breath
80% develop mild symptoms – fever and cough and some may have pneumonia.
Older people, and those with pre-existing medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure), are more likely to become severely ill. The data from China also suggests that men are at slightly higher risk of dying from the virus than women.
Treatment relies on keeping the patient’s body going, including breathing support, until their immune system can fight off the virus. Work to develop a vaccine is under way.
How do I protect myself?
The best thing is regular and thorough hand washing, preferably with soap and water.
Coronavirus spreads when an infected person coughs small droplets – packed with the virus – into the air. These can be breathed in, or cause an infection if you touch a surface they have landed on, then your eyes, nose or mouth.
So, coughing and sneezing into tissues, not touching your face with unwashed hands, and avoiding close contact with infected people are important for limiting the spread.
Face masks do not provide effective protection, according to medical experts.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) is currently looking at whether the public might benefit from using face masks.
This follows a study suggesting that the virus can travel further in coughs and sneezes than previously thought.
How fast is it spreading?
Tens of thousands of new cases are being reported worldwide each day. However, it is thought health agencies may be unaware of many cases.
After starting in China, coronavirus is now spreading fast in many other countries.
It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach the first 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000 cases and just four days for the third 100,000 cases.
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