COVID-19 precautions
Since the first wave of coronavirus, several spikes have emerged. This is because people are not following the recommended precautions, e.g. social distancing. The coronavirus second wave has started in many countries in the fall season, because as the weather gets colder, people tend to gather indoors. Moreover, many places have relaxed their restrictions.
Is it really a new wave?
Some people do not believe that there could be a coronavirus second wave. They claim that the recent increase in numbers of new cases have recently increasdue to better diagnostic methods. This is not true because the numbers of patients in hospitals and new deaths have increased as well.
Should we wait for herd immunity to happen?
Some people believe that herd immunity will end the pandemic. Herd immunity means that when 70% of the population gets infected, transmission of the virus will be limited. However, we cannot let people transfer infection freely, because this will overload hospitals and exhaust medical care providers.
Whether someone can get infected twice, has not been settled yet. If the acquired immunity was temporary, patients can get reinfected. This puts more load on hospitals and makes it harder to obtain herd immunity.
Will the vaccine end the pandemic?
As the whole world awaits for the development of a vaccine for COVID 19, we cannot rely on the vaccine alone to end the pandemic. According to the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, a vaccine will complement the other tools we have, not replace them.
Life with COVID-19
To cope with coronavirus second wave we need to:
- follow safety instructions including hand washing, social distancing and wearing a face mask to protect ourselves and others and decrease the rate of infection.
- Stay up to date with new guidelines from trusted sources.
- Make sure your children take their vaccination on time, including influenza vaccine. This will decrease hospitalisation rate in general, and reduce the pressure on healthcare facilities.
- Try to maintain two weeks supply of food, medications and other household needs in case of lockdown.
I know it can be frustrating to go through this situation all over again, but this can be a good opportunity for us to take care of ourselves and learn new things.
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