Q&A about Covid-19

Wang Vision takes of patients with eye diseases including infections. The following info are from our colleagues from U.S. and from around the world (China, Japan, S. Korea and Italy), from medical literature and from WHO recommendations.

What is the situation worldwide, and where are we as a nation?
Why is this virus SO deadly?
Why this virus killed so many young and healthy people (with NO immune deficiency or underlying medical problem at all)?
What are the TWO means of transmission of this coronavirus:
What are eye conditions associated with this corona virus?
What country has done the BEST? WHY?
What country has done the WORST, in terms of percentage of population infected and total number of death? WHY?
What is the benefit of staying home?
How can I keep myself from being infected?
What is the most important thing for me to do now?

What is the situation worldwide, and where are we as a nation?

U.S.: 272,168, D 7,007. TN: 3,067, D 41. Regarding time, we are behind China by 4-6 weeks, behind Italy by 2-3 weeks. China is getting out of it, Italy is peaking, so U.S. will peak in mid April.

Why is this virus SO deadly?

• Most virus are either very infectious, but not as deadly; or very deadly, but not as infectious.
• This coronavirus are BOTH very very very infectious and also quite deadly.

Why this virus killed so many young and healthy people (with NO immune deficiency or underlying medical problem at all)?

• This has to do with the initial viral LOAD, at the time of initial infection. A 30-yo completely healthy doctor can die from Covid-90 if he has initially inhaled a LARGE amount of virus!
• If you have been infected with only a small AMOUNT of virus (single, and remote exposure, for example), then, since viruses do takes some time to replicate, your healthy immune system thus does the sufficient amount of time, to ramp up its activity GRADUALLY, and generate enough antibodies to kill the virus!
  
  However, if you have been infected with a LARGE AMOUNT of virus (repeated exposure, close encounter, such as in many healthcare workers), TO BEGIN WITH, then, the virus start its replication from a very big initial base number, and they can hence quickly overwhelm your system, and your healthy/active immune system then has NO CHOICE but to sound the alarm to the highest level, to try to ASAP kick up the immune reaction into the HIGHEST gear possible, from the get-go, in a VERY SHORT period of time, to try to catch up with the huge viral load that have come on so quickly and suddenly. Such a HUGE immune OVER reaction (cytokine storm) ITSELF is often the main reason why these young and healthy Covid-19 patients die!

  What are the TWO means of transmission of this coronavirus:

• Though surfaces: this coronavirus TRAVELS with regular bacteria, so on any surface which is not clean and has bacteria, this virus IS THERE! So, that means ALL surfaces!
• Suspended in the air: this coronavirus has the UNIQIQUE ability to suspend itself in aerosols. It can stay in the air for 8 hrs. So, that means if you walk into a space, that in previous 8 hrs was walked by, by someone who is infected, the viral particles could still be in the air, and you can still breath in and get infected.

What are eye conditions associated with this corona virus?

• Pink eyes, conjunctivitis. Pink eyes are associated with upper respiratory viral infection, and this coronavirus attacks our respiratory system. 1% of the coronavirus patients have been found to have the virus in their tears.
• What should I do if I have viral conjunctivitis? Make sure that you do not touch your eyes, they are very infectious. It can go to the other eye or infect others. Generally, the viral conjunctivitis is self-limiting and they resolve in about 1-2 weeks and no eye drops are needed.

What country has done the BEST?

South Korea. They have by far the lowest number of infection and lowest number of death, among the first wave of countries infected.

WHY?

Pearls:

• Social distancing, staying home, quarantine, wear masks!
• Testing, testing, testing! S. Korea tested nearly everyone! If you don’t test, you have no idea where the enemy is!
• Digitally contact tracing using the cell phone of the infected, of all people who have been in contact with that infected person in the past 2 weeks, and quarantine all these specific people!

What country has done the WORST, in terms of percentage of population infected and total number of death

Italy! For a SMALL country of only 60 million people, they have the highest percentage of population infected and total number of death.

WHY?

In the early weeks of the infection in Italy:

• Delay and insufficient testing
• NO consensus and order from the government to stay home (some people just won’t do it voluntarily!)
• People were not social distancing, restaurants were still open and public transits were still running!

What is the benefit of staying home?

• Keeping our hospitals from crashing (if too many infected come in too quickly).
• Keeping the total number infected and total death low (which many Asian countries have successfully done through staying-home orders).

How can I keep myself from being infected?

Cell phones: constant alcohol pad wipe, since you are constantly touching the cell phone.

Gas-pump handles: use paper towel or tissue when grabbing the handle, avoiding direct contact with the handle. Push the buttons using the paper towel/tissue. Discard the paper towel/tissue before you go back into your car.

HOT water (virus can be inactivated in high temperature, higher than 77 F): drink hot water, wash your hands with soap and hot water. Sun-bathing.

What is the most important thing for me to do now?

• Stay home.
• And when you go out, wear masks (CDC requires us to wear masks especially if we have flu-like symptoms).

People in the US must start adopting masks.

• Masks do not block the virus in the air, just the droplets.
• The MAIN benefit, of masks, is it blocks our accidental touching of our face with our hands if we wear masks (our hands have virus since it touch everywhere!)
• Cloth masks can be washed and reused. If they are made of cloth, then multilayer masks are best.