COVID-19: THE IMPACT ON OUR LIFE
The Chronicles:
In December 2019, the Ministry of Health of China announced the occurrence of cases of a hitherto unknown child burden that was thought to be causing pneumonia in Wuhan city. The Chinese state has taken the necessary measures. On January 9, 2020, they announced that this was a new strain of coronavirus 2019-nCoV (EODY, 2020). The exact terminology of the virus as there has been much discussion, according to Babiniotis (2020) the virus is normally called coron-virus, because the synthetic starts from the vowel.
The virus was initially detected in the Huanan seafood market, with 66% of workers being positive resulting in the market closing on January 1, 2020 (Yi-Chia et al., 2020). However, the epidemic could not be contained, as thousands of people were expected to be infected worldwide. As the spread of the virus began to take on great proportions, the focus of the scientific and not only the community shifted to this event. COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020 (WHO, 2020). Since then the pandemic:
- has taken on uncontrollable proportions until 03/03/21
more than 114,428,211 confirmed cases have been reported and
2,543,755 deaths from COVID-19 worldwide, of which 871,340 in Europe (Dionysakopoulou, 2021).
Symptoms:
The new coronavirus-2019 was named SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2), while the disease that causes it is called COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease-2019). It is one of the beta-coronaviruses that commonly causes the common cold, however it has spread worldwide, affecting in an unprecedented way:
- Health systems.
The economy and
The daily life of all people (Ciotti et al., 2019).
The symptoms of COVID-19 infection appear after an incubation period of about 5 days, while the period from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms to death appears to be around 14 days. This period depends on the age of the patient and the state of the immune system. The most common symptoms at the onset of COVID-19 are:
- Fever.
Cough and
Fatigue.
Other symptoms include:
- Headache.
Haemoptysis.
Diarrhea.
Shortness of breath.
Myalgia and
Lymphopenia (Rothan et al., 2020).
Transmission:
Transmission is mainly through the respiratory tract with droplets from sneezing, coughing or exhalation. (Koh et al, 2020). Research and epidemiological evidence show that the chances of contracting the new virus increase with age. Children are more susceptible to the virus. Instead, individuals:
- over 70 years of age
suffering from other underlying diseases have greater symptomatology (Petrilli et al., 2020).
Lockdown and measures:
Next, we will look at the changes that the pandemic has brought to our way of daily life and which sectors of society it affects to this day (Health Page, 2020).
1st Quarantine (March – May 2020)
Society began to measure its “wounds” in its sectors (Health, Education, Public & Private Employees, Companies, Business, Tourism, Catering, etc ..) Citizens had to stay at home observing all the necessary measures ( traffic – morning hours).
- All normal licenses of hospital staff (NSS) were suspended.
Primary health care structures.
Recruitment of nurses and doctors.
All educational trips and travels were suspended.
All carnival events – educational trips were canceled.
Distance education of schools for all classes.
Closing of all shopping centers (cafes, bars, museums, sports facilities, restaurants, post offices, couriers).
However, bakeries, private health services, pharmacies and supermarkets, as well as basic necessities, remained open.
There was a fine of 300 euros and a ban on public gatherings (<10 people).
Closing borders and flights.
Closing of hotel units.
Gradual Relaxation of Measures (May – October 2020)
- On May 4: Mandatory sending of SMS (13033).
Completion of written permission (exit).
Use of mask in (indoors, MMM).
Creation of ICUs exclusively for the care of patients.
Individual Sports, Temples.
2nd Quarantine (November 2020 – today)
Stricter measures with a traffic ban from 18:00 to 21:00 in the evening and after.
Mandatory use of mask everywhere.
April 2021: effort to reopen society with great care.
Coronavirus and psychological status:
In terms of human psychology, quarantine played a catalytic role. People locked up in homes around the world, brought on mental illnesses from mild as:
- Melancholy.
Negativity.
Pessimism.
Fear. - Depression.
Panic attacks and
Suicides (Merchant, 2020).
Research data are needed to develop documented strategies to reduce the negative psychological effects and psychiatric symptoms during an epidemic (Wang et al., 2020). In Greece, although a significant research activity has started regarding the pandemic, there are still no recorded data on the effects on mental health (Patsali et al., 2020).
The “Rebels”:
What has caused the pandemic is the division among young people. It is a proven fact that the whole situation has led each of us, regardless of age and gender, to question, fear, discord and overreaction regarding the management and treatment of this unprecedented condition. This results in the provocation of misinformation, a form of conspiracy by a portion of people of either low or high educational and social level. The so-called “rebels” are trying through the dynamics of the internet and social networks to turn against their fellow citizens under the pretext that behind the pandemic are hidden economic and political interests, that the virus is not as dangerous as the media spread. In addition, there is a lot of “noise” about the difficult decision of doctors in the ICU as to who will be kept alive or not (Jelnov, 2020).
Prevention
- Use of a mask
Hand wash (at least for 20 ”)
Social distances (at least 2 m.)
Avoid touching the face with dirty hands
Physical exercise
Treatment:
As the most effective treatment of the coronary artery and its mutations, the scientific community in collaboration with various countries around the world developed the development and administration of vaccines around the world, resulting in December 2020 when vaccinations began in the elderly and vulnerable groups until today. , to be considered the only official solution to eradicate the pandemic. In Greece, Efstathia Kampisiouli, an ICU nurse at Evangelismos Hospital, was the first person to be vaccinated on December 27, 2020, and then the vaccinations continued. (First Issue, 2020). Indicative vaccines manufactured by pharmaceutical companies are from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Moderna. (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 2021).
In conclusion, the essential search for the health of the population is the observance of health rules, planning of interventions and actions that will be effective and able to meet the new needs that are created, both in terms of prevention and in terms of treatment. The Covid-19 pandemic puts the scientific community on alert for the immediate restoration of normalcy and specialized investigation necessary to respond in the best possible way to this demanding situation, always with respect for life and man.
Sources:
Centers For Control Disease And Prevention. (2021, April, 3). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/different-vaccines.html
Ciotti, M., Angeletti, S., Minieri, M., Giovannetti, M., Benvenuto, D., Pascarella, S. & Ciccozzi, M. (2019). COVID-19 outbreak: an overview. Chemotherapy, 64 (5-6), 215-223.
Jelnov, P. (2020): Confronting COVID-19 Myths: Morbidity and Mortality, GLO Discussion Paper, No. 516
Koh, W. C., Naing, L., Chaw, L., Rosledzana, M. A., Alikhan, M. F., Jamaludin, S. A., & Wong, J. (2020). What do we know about SARS-CoV-2 transmission? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the secondary attack rate and associated risk factors. PloSone
Merchant RM. (2020) .Evaluating the potential role of social media in preventive health care. JAMA.
Patsali, M. E., Mousa, D. P. V., Papadopoulou, E. V., Papadopoulou, K. K., Kaparounaki, C. K., Diakogiannis, I., & Fountoulakis, K. N. (2020). University students ’changes in mental health status and determinants of behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown in Greece. Psychiatry research
Petrilli, C. M., Jones, S. A., Yang, J., Rajagopalan, H., O’Donnell, L. F., Chernyak, Y., & Horwitz, L. I. (2020). Factors associated with hospitalization and critical illness among 103 patients with COVID-19 disease in New York City. MedRxiv.
Rothan, H. A., & Byrareddy, S. N. (2020). The epidemiology and pathogenesis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Journal of autoimmunity
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & amp; Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International journal of environmental research and public health
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. (2020) Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/directorgeneral/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-mediabriefing-on-covid-19—11-march- 2020
Yi-Chia, W., Ching-Sunga, C., & Yu-Jiuna, C. (2020). The outbreak of COVID-19. An overview. J Chi Med Asso, 83 (3), 217-220.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis was vaccinated: “We smile under our masks”. (2020, December 27). Retrieved from https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1078940/sto-attiko-o-mitsotakis-gia-na-emvoliastei/
Dionysakopoulou, S. (2021). The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population in Greece. University of West Attica, Athens.
The official information website for the measures taken by the Greek Government for the new coronavirus: Health Page (2020). Retrieved from https://covid19.gov.gr/ygeiacovid19/
EODY daily report. (2020). Retrieved from: https://eody.gov.gr/wpcontent/uploads/2020/03/covid-gr-daily-report-20200321.pdf
Babiniotis, G. (2020). Chinese virus: coronavirus or coronavirus or coronavirus? Retrieved (https) from https://www.babiniotis.gr/lexilogika/leksilogika-2/467-kinezikos-ios-koronaios-i-koronoios-i-koronios
COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
Information about Koronios from the Ministry of Health of the Greek Government https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/
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