10 things everyone should know about the COVID outbreak

10 things everyone should know about the COVID outbreak

1. COVID-19: by the numbers

The number of people who have died from the disease in the world is over 7 million in April 2024.

2. The virus can spread in multiple ways

COVID-19 is spread in three main ways:

• Breathing in air when close to an infected person who is exhaling small droplets and particles that contain the virus
• Having these droplets and particles land on the eyes, nose, or mouth
• Touching the eyes, nose, and mouth with hands that have the virus on them.

In addition, droplets can land on surfaces, and people may get the virus by touching those surfaces, although this is not thought to be the main way COVID-19 spreads.

3. The virus continues to change

Outbreaks of COVID-19 have come in waves in which a surge of new cases typically is followed by a decline in infections. A loosening of restrictions on mask-wearing and other mitigation efforts can precipitate a wave, as can an event or celebration period such as the winter holidays, when people are more likely to travel and gather indoors.

New variants of the virus have also prompted waves. Over the last two years, the variants Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omicron (named by the World Health Organisation after the Greek alphabet), and others have caused increases in cases, and illnesses ranging from mild (with no reported symptoms in some cases) to severe.

While Omicron and its subvariants have appeared to be less deadly than variants that preceded them, they have still had the ability to cause severe illness and death in some people.

4. Long COVID is still not well understood

It is now estimated that nearly 1 in 5 adults and children, including healthy ones who had mild or no symptoms during their initial COVID-19 infection, experience Long COVID, which is when new, returning, or ongoing symptoms last for weeks, months, or years.

These usually start four or more weeks after the initial infection, and range from fatigue and muscle pain to – in extreme cases – serious respiratory, digestive, and neurological symptoms, as well as autoimmune conditions and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), in which different body parts become swollen.

Experts still don’t know why this occurs. While there is still a lot to learn, dedicated post-COVID condition clinics around the country are working to help treat patients with long-COVID symptoms.

5. Vaccines are key to preventing severe illness and hospitalisation

Vaccination remains a key strategy for preventing severe disease. However breakthrough infections have increased as immunity from the vaccines wanes over time (and as new variants are emerging constantly); making infection prevention difficult.

6. There are steps you can take to prevent infection

There are other things you can continue to do to protect yourself:

• Wear a mask when appropriate, e.g. if they live in an area where there is an outbreak of COVID-19
• Also wear a mask if you are caring for someone who has COVID-19
• Maintain a social distance. Do this inside your home when you have close contact with people who are sick, and indoors in public, especially if you are at risk for severe illness. Try to avoid poorly ventilated spaces and large crowds
• Test yourself, using lateral flow tests (LFTs). If a test result is positive, you should isolate from others and let people you have had close contact with know.

Also, if you are pregnant, get vaccinated. Pregnant people are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 when compared to those who aren’t pregnant. They have a higher risk for preterm birth (delivering the baby earlier than 37 weeks), and possibly other poor pregnancy outcomes.

7. Experts continue to work on COVID-19 treatments

There are also a growing number of treatments that can prevent severe illness from COVID-19, especially in people with underlying health conditions. Some are given intravenously or by injection, while others are available in pill form.

Remdesivir was the first and is still the only COVID-19 therapy to get full approval; it was initially used only in hospitalised patients, but the most recent data has shown that it can help outpatients at high risk for severe disease.

8. If you feel ill with possible COVID, here is what you should do

Everyone should watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, whether or not they are fully vaccinated. Anyone who thinks they have been exposed should get tested and stay home and away from others. Symptoms can appear anywhere between 2 to 14 days after exposure. The symptoms may include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue, or muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat, congestion or runny nose
  Nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea

This list does not include all possible symptoms.

Whilst most people will have a mild illness and can recover at home without medical care, seek medical attention immediately if you or a loved one is at home and experiencing emergency warning signs. This includes: difficulty breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to stay awake, or bluish lips or face.

9. Be aware of the information and resources that are available to you

Because knowledge about the new virus is evolving rapidly, you can expect information and recommendations to change frequently. Threats like COVID-19 can lead to the circulation of misinformation; so it is important to trust information only from reputable health organisations and sources such as the UKHSA, CDC and the WHO.

10. How long after COVID are you immune?

For 90%, it is over 5 months. This does not guarantee protection against re-infection but it will help protect you. How do we know this? The question was addressed by Dan et al in Science in 2021.

Using 188 human cases across the range of severity of COVID-19, the authors analysed cross-sectional data describing the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 memory B cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD4+ T cells for more than 6 months after infection.

They found immune memory in all three immunological components remained measurable in greater than 90% of subjects for more than 5 months after infection.

Summary

We have described 10 things everyone should know about the COVID outbreak. We hope you have found it helpful.

Last Reviewed on 9 June 2024