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FAP AND COMMUNITY TOGETHER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE NEW CORONAVIRUS
The world is experiencing a health crisis unprecedented in recent human history, as the threat of the COVID-19 virus pandemic spreads across the world. Maranhão, according to official data, until April 1 has already registered 62 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with patients of different age groups and 1 (one) death. As it is extremely contagious, it is likely that more confirmed cases of patients with the new Coronavirus will be reported here soon. In addition, the number of people infected with the H1N1 virus grows, with some deaths being recorded.
In this context, the Faculty of Baixo Parnaíba, as well as all the main Higher Education Institutions of the State of Maranhão, such as Universidade CEUMA and UNDB, under the terms of State Decrees Nº 35.662, Nº 35.667 and Nº 35.685, in addition to Ordinance nº 343/2020 of the Ministry of Education, took a series of measures recommended by health authorities to mitigate the spread of the virus and give public health systems and supplement the chance of not being overwhelmed and able to meet the demand. Because it is a virus that spreads through droplets and human secretions, which can stay for long periods of time hovering in the air or deposited on surfaces, there is no way to prevent the majority of the population from being contaminated eventually, but we can slow the growth in the number of cases to ensure that health systems meet demand and do not collapse. As a training institution, aware of its social function, FAP understands the importance of raising the community's awareness in order to protect each other in this moment of crisis. Below, some important tips, all based on information from reliable sources, verified and, mainly, based on solid proof and accreditation by the scientific community.
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Most of the information came from the World Health Organization (WHO) and can be found by CLICKING HERE
If the symptoms generated by the new coronavirus are those of a common flu, why so much concern?
Although the symptoms are similar to those of a common flu, there is evidence that the new coronavirus has a greater ability to affect the respiratory systems, because the infection caused in the lung is often more severe and more difficult to reverse. Even so, the importance of prevention is related to the need to contain its spread, to avoid reaching, above all, people at risk groups, for whom the coronavirus usually generates more severe symptoms and for whom it can be fatal.
Prof. Dr. Átila Iamarino on the New Coronavirus: Why it is important to stay at home.
What can I do to prevent the spread of the New Coronavirus?
The number 1 measure recommended by both the World Health Organization and the overwhelming majority of the scientific community is the social isolation of the majority of the population, that is, of all those who may be isolated.
In addition, it is essential that everyone maintain the habit of washing their hands frequently with soap and water, or if it is not possible, sanitize them with gel alcohol. It is also important to avoid bringing your hands to your eyes and mouth. There is also a recommendation for those who have flu or cold symptoms, that is, runny nose, cough, sneezing etc., to use masks, preventing droplets and secretions from contaminating other people, or that, when coughing or sneezing, cover your face with the inside of your elbows.
The benefits of soap, as a simple ally in the fight against coronavirus;
What is horizontal insulation? And what is vertical insulation?
Horizontal isolation consists of generalized social isolation, that is, of all people who can remain at home, avoiding social contact, regardless of being part of risk groups. Vertical isolation is the proposal, not yet tested, to isolate exclusively the people who make up the risk group.
The biologist, doctor of Microbiology, Átila Iamarino, explains why we cannot consider vertical isolation.
Who are the people considered to be at risk? Are they more likely to get the disease? If I'm young, I don't have to worry about this disease, right?
There is no risk group for contamination by the virus. The risk group concerns people who are more likely to have more severe symptoms once they are infected. This group is made up of people like the elderly, immunosuppressed people, that is, people with low immunity and people with chronic conditions, such as cardiac, diabetics, asthmatics, etc.
There is nothing to guarantee that, being young and healthy, someone who is infected will not develop into a serious case.
There is a not insignificant number of young people and middle-aged people, without chronic conditions, among the serious cases and also among the dead. One of the confirmed cases in Maranhão is, even, of a child of 1 (one) year. In addition, although the likelihood of progressing to a serious case is lower for young people, these, although asymptomatic, act as transmitters of the epidemic, being able to contaminate family members, co-workers and classmates, teachers and clients who, perhaps, are part of the program. group of risk. So the concern and the effort to contain the pandemic must be all.
Why don't we isolate only people in a risk group (vertical isolation) instead of the whole society (horizontal isolation)?
Vertical isolation has been widely rejected by the vast majority of experts and the scientific community for the Brazilian context, for two reasons:
The first , it has never been scientifically tested and its effectiveness has yet to be proven, with strong indications that it is not the most effective choice for a pandemic situation like the current one.
The second , because the context of poverty for a large part of the Brazilian population makes it virtually impossible to isolate only people at risk. The main problem is the precarious housing conditions, which force large numbers of people to share small spaces, without access to adequate ventilation, room divisions or even basic sanitation. This is a very common reality in the poorest communities, on the outskirts of large Brazilian cities and in the most impoverished rural areas.
I heard that there is already a cure for the New Coronavirus! Can I stop worrying?
FALSE! It is not true that there is already a cure for infection caused by the new Coronavirus or that there is a vaccine. Politicians and celebrities who claim this are spreading fake news.
Medicines like Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine are just two of several substances whose effectiveness in fighting infection with the New Coronavirus is being tested. All studies and research are still at an early stage, so there are no recommendations from experts or safe amounts of use of these drugs , whose consumption on their own can have serious collateral damage and consequences.
Is Brazil doing badly in the fight against Coronavirus?
THE SCENERY IN BRAZIL MAY BE BETTER [THAN IN OTHER COUNTRIES]
Not for now. Imperial College London, one of the leading research centers in this pandemic, which has been providing governments like the UK and WHO with scientific data to better understand the global situation, has launched a study analyzing the different scenarios for the pandemic in several countries, including Brazil.
The study offers a projection of contamination and deaths with and without the measures adopted, notably the horizontal social isolation and the increase in the capacity for hospital care.
The conclusion is that, in Brazil, thanks to the measures taken by the state governors (which were implemented here at a stage much earlier than the stage in which the European countries and the United States put them into practice) there is a possibility that, if the measures, the scenario does not worsen to the point where it worsened in Italy, Spain and the USA. More information about the study can be found by CLICKING HERE .
3 SCENARIOS FOR THE END OF PANDEMIA (BBC BRAZIL)
FAP encourages its entire academic community and the external community to comply with the recommendations of health authorities during this period of crisis. As distant as the problem may seem, noncompliance with preventive recommendations for social isolation and hygiene may mean that it will take us more time to overcome the peak of the crisis when it reaches us and that we will put the health systems that serve us all at greater risk of collapse. Right now, we are all part of the solution, and the quick outcome of this crisis depends as never before on our ability to act collectively and to place the interests of the community above our individual ones. Stay safe!