COVID Clues (10-15-20)

A lot has happened in the year 2020, but the most prominent thing to happen is the global quarantine due to the pandemic of Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus. The pandemic has caused controversy between people. Some feel it is just like influenza (the flu) while others agree with the lockdowns as they think we should protect the people at risk. But neither point of view is completely wrong. Covid-19 and the flu are both respiratory illnesses that are contagious, but there are still some major differences. Covid is much more contagious and it can take longer to show symptoms, but those who are infected, stay contagious longer. Plus, the flu has a vaccine. And while there is a vaccine for Covid in the works, it is not complete, nor perfected, and has to go through many trial tests.

Covid and the flu are still similar in a few ways. Covid has a lot if not all symptoms of the flu, along with a few others, making it hard to tell if one has the flu or Covid. Some shared symptoms of Covid-19 and the flu are fevers or chills, coughing, shortness of breath and or difficulty breathing, fatigue, a sore throat, and or a runny nose. If infected with either virus, one might also experience muscle pain or body aches, headaches, or even vomiting and diarrhea - but that is seen more commonly in children than adults. Some Covid-19 symptoms, unrelated to the flu, are congestion or runny nose, nausea, or even a new loss of taste or smell. While symptoms are shared between the two viruses, each virus expresses symptoms at different times. Meaning, a person with the flu can show symptoms anywhere from one to four days after infection, but if someone is infected with Covid, they can express symptoms anywhere from two to fourteen days after infection, but will typically show symptoms five days after infection. Unfortunately, once infected, symptoms are not all present at first, and there is not a way to know how fast they will be shown. Like for TikToker Maryn Short (@mcfluflu), a 19-year old in Louisiana, who went out for a sugary Starbucks drink and was unable to taste it. In a TikTok video from December 8th, Maryn shows a news broadcast with an interview of her explaining how she could taste her lunch just hours before the Starbucks drink, and how she woke up with a stuffy nose but just assumed it was because of the Louisiana weather. This just shows how quickly symptoms can appear.

With everything opening back up, numbers will go up even with masks. It is inevitable because when places open up, people go out and touch things. We do things subconsciously, like put our phones down while we take our wallets out, pick up our phones again, touch our faces, and so much more. There is no avoiding the rise of numbers as things open up again. With 15,040,175 cases in America, and California having 1,450,235 - as of December 9th - of those, scientists are getting closer and closer to a vaccine. But even with all those cases and vaccines, from different companies, there are still 285,351 people who have passed away due to Covid in the U.S.. California, alone, has 11,497 hospitalized confirmed patients, 2,621 confirmed patients are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). But that is just for confirmed cases, there are still 980 probable cases, and 89 probable cases in the ICU. In El Dorado County, there are 614 cases and zero deaths. So, in total, there are 289,306 Covid-related deaths in America and 20,854 Covid deaths in California. So while the death rate is less than 0.02%, way too many people have had to suffer at the hands of Covid-19 and the amount of worrying we do should not be based on that percentage since the numbers are so large.

With numbers constantly rising, and people wanting to go out again, there are a few ways to keep yourself and others safe. The most important precaution is to wear a mask, as it can protect you and those around you. Even if you don’t think you have it, you could be asymptomatic, meaning you don’t show symptoms. So if you wear a mask, you avoid accidentally spreading germs and the virus to others. Plus, during the upcoming winters, wearing a mask protects your nose from the harsh winds, and it won’t be runny. While you may want to go out and have fun with friends, it is safer to stay home. And while stay-at-home orders are constantly being put in place and taken out, if people stay home as much as possible, and continue to protect themselves and others, numbers will go down and we can live again. More ways to protect yourself are to social distance, avoid coming in contact with sick people, stay home if you feel sick, follow the guidelines of your public health officials. Other things that you might not think about are washing your hands more often - especially with the flu season coming up - clean surfaces more, avoid touching your face, and maybe avoid smoking or vaping as it weakens the lungs and immune system.

Of course, with every illness, there are certain people who are more likely to catch it. It is the same with Covid. People more likely to catch Covid are people who are smokers (or if you vape), older adults who are over 65, and people with compromised immune systems. Those who have serious chronic medical conditions such as heart or lung diseases or diabetes are also at risk. But while you may not fall under any of these categories, you are still at risk as we do not know everything about this virus.

If you happen to catch Covid, make sure to stay away from others and isolate yourself, it is recommended in a single room with an attached bathroom, consider having others bring food to your door so you do not have to leave.

As you may have heard, California developed a system where we color-code each county based on how many Covid cases recorded each day and the percentage of positive cases out of tests administered - both averaged over seven days. There are five different tiers in this new system, and those tiers are color-coded. Going from best to worst, the tiers are Yellow, Orange, Red, Purple, and Blue. Yellow is for minimal counties or counties that have less than one - for every 100,000 cases total - new cases every day, and has less than 2% positive tests. For the yellow tier, schools can open for in-person learning instruction based on county and state guidance. Orange tier is for moderate counties, that have 1 to 3.9 new cases daily, for every 100,000 cases, and have 2 to 4.9% positive tests. Orange-tiered counties can reopen schools for in-person instruction once again based on state and county guidance. Red tiered counties are substantial counties, these counties have 4 to 7 new cases a day, for every 100,000 total cases, and 5 to 8% positive tests. Their schools can reopen for in-person instruction after they have remained in the red tier for 2 weeks. And finally, the purple tier is widespread counties that have more than 7 new cases daily, still for every 100,000 total cases, and have more than 8% positive tests. Purple counties have most schools closed to in-person instruction unless they meet certain conditions. Blue counties are counties that have Stay-at-Home orders put in place because their numbers are very high along with their percentage of positive cases. El Dorado County is in Blue Tier.

With everything that is happening in 2020, it is greatly appreciated if you do everything you can to keep yourself and others safe. Working together, we can lower the numbers in our community and help to make our lives normal again.

Works Cited

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“COVID-19.” CDPH Home, www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/ncov2019.aspx#COVID-19 by the Numbers.

Harrington, Theresa. “Quick Guide: What California's Color-Coded County Tracking System Means for Schools.” EdSource, EdSource, 9 Dec. 2020, edsource.org/2020/quick-guide-what-californias-color-coded-county-tracking-system-means-for-schools/639357.

“Health and Human Services.” EDC COVID-19 Cases, www.edcgov.us/Government/hhsa/Pages/EDCCOVID-19-Cases.aspx.

Martichoux, Alix. “Coronavirus California: Map Shows Which Counties Can, Can't Reopen under Stay-at-Home Order, Reopening Tiers.” ABC7 San Francisco, KGO-TV, 9 Dec. 2020, abc7news.com/california-covid-watch-list-criteria-newsom-4-tiers-reopening-plan-ca-county-map/6393906/.

“Similarities and Differences between Flu and COVID-19​.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 Oct. 2020, www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/flu-vs-covid19.htm.

TodayShow. “'This Has No Flavor': Teen Realizes She Has COVID-19 While Filming Starbucks Taste Test.” TODAY.com, 7 Dec. 2020, www.today.com/food/teen-realizes-she-has-covid-19-tiktok-tasting-starbucks-t202929.

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About the Contributor

Staff Writer, Eliza Stephen