Panicking? Scared? No need, let alone bulk-buying goods at the supermarket and disregarding the needs of others. The first step you need to do is to equip yourself with various information and knowledge. However, you need to distinguish between facts and hoaxes.
What are coronavirus and Covid-19?
Coronavirus is a family of viruses that can cause several diseases, ranging from the common cold to severe flu, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Coronavirus is also the cause of the latest disease called Covid-19 which stands for the novel coronavirus. Originating from Wuhan, China, this disease attacks the human respiratory system and can cause mild to severe shortness of breath.
Caused by a zoonotic type of coronavirus, the disease is transmitted from animals to humans. Meanwhile, transmission between humans occurs due to close contact through droplets of saliva or mucus.
What are the symptoms of Covid-19?
Every time an infected person coughs or sneezes, the droplets containing coronavirus can stay in the air for several hours or on plastic and stainless steel surfaces for up to three days.
The incubation period can last up to 14 days since a person get infected initially. If infected, that person will experience one or several symptoms at once, such as high fever more than 38 degrees Celsius, dry cough, runny nose, sore throat, fatigue, shortness of breath, and headache. That means you need to get yourself examined if you experience these symptoms in a 14-day phase.
Anyone who has been or is often in the same room with a patient can be infected, ranging from children to the elderly. However, some groups of people are more susceptible to the disease, including people over 60 years old, pregnant women, children, and people suffering from diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure.
How does the Indonesian government prevent further outbreak of the coronavirus?
So far, the Indonesian government has implemented several policies to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. One of them is to quarantine Covid-19 patients, residents who have symptoms, and also residents who have been in direct contact with infected people.
In addition to quarantine, the government also applies social distancing, which is an effort to avoid public places, large gatherings, or crowds of people.If you are forced to be around people, keep a safe distance of about two meters to avoid spreading the virus.
For examination, you can visit the nearest referral hospital that has been appointed by the Indonesian government. In total there are 227 referral hospitals spread across 34 provinces throughout Indonesia. You can find the list of referral hospitals along with health protocols by visiting the Ministry of Health's infeksiemerging.kemkes.go.id website.
In an emergency situation, you can call 119. For DKI Jakarta specifically, contact 112 or 081388376955.
What can you do to help prevent the coronavirus spread?
Practicing Good Hygiene video by Sun Life
In preventing the spread of the coronavirus, the community holds an equally important role. You can also contribute by doing the following three simple things:
- Clean your hands
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing, while caring for the sick, before until after preparing food, before and after eating, after using the toilet, and every time you touch animals or objects in public places.
Wash your hands with running water and hand washing soap thoroughly for at least 20 seconds. Don’t forget to rub the entire surface of your hands, each finger, and the part under the nail to kill the virus that sticks to the skin on your hands.
If you don't have access to water and soap, you can use hand sanitizer as a temporary measure. However, once you have arrived at your destination or found a toilet, make sure to wash your hands properly.
- Wear a mask
When waiting on and caring for a family that is quarantined or infected by Covid-19 in the hospital, make sure to wear a mask properly as an additional protection. Hospitals are the source of various diseases, so you can be more susceptible to contracting one while spending a lot of time there.
- Don't touch your face
From now on, stop the habit of touching your face, especially the mouth, nose, and eyes. This can further prevent the virus transferring from your hand to the area connected with the respiratory tract.
- Take care of your health
In addition, maintain your body’s endurance by eating healthy foods and vitamin C along with getting enough rest. Spare some of your time to exercise to stay fit and sunbathe in the morning.
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