I know it’s been a while, but now it’s time for a Corona Update. Things have been so stressful since the last Corona blog. So basically, Covid-19 has taken over just about the entire country. This all happened within a matter of just under two weeks. We have had an extended spring break with classes resuming remotely on Monday. Also, UNC is giving us a two-hour time slot to move out of our dorm for the remainder of the semester. To top things off they aren’t speaking about any refunds until after April 1st. Just to give you a brief overview, the United States is basically in shambles and the POTUS doesn’t seem to think that there is anything wrong.
Let me catch y’all up on the sequence of events from now until Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on March 10th. That next day the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a global pandemic, which means it is an epidemic in several countries around the world. March 13th the POTUS declares a national state of emergency. The following day North Carolina cancels all public schools and bans gatherings of 100 people or more. Three days later NC limits restaurants to to-go orders or delivery.
Yesterday, North Carolina got word of the its first case of the coronavirus from community spread which means people have been infected with the virus in an area even with people you are not sure how or where they contracted it from. This has led state leaders to move from the containment phase to the mitigation, which will prep ourselves because it will get worse before it gets better. A few days ago the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), placed pregnant women into a “high-risk” category for this virus. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does know if pregnant women are at greater risk from getting sick from Covid-19 than the general public, however, they would rather want to take extra precautions just to ensure the safety of the mother and the baby.
Now here’s the latest:
According to the NCDHHS, there are at least 137 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in North Carolina. There are over 16,500 cases confirmed in the United States and of those there were 215 deaths. Luckily, there has not been any confirmed deaths in North Carolina. However, we expect to see the number of cases and deaths to continue rise.
Everything is just so hectic and my hometown pretty much looks like a ghost. I’m pretty sure North Carolina will join other states such as California and New York in a total state lockdown, only allowing essential personnel to work and only allowing people to leave the house to go to either the grocery store or the hospital.
Another scary thing for healthcare workers is the shortage of medical supplies for personal protective equipment (PPE). As I’m watching CNN now, they are saying that it’s at the point now where healthcare professionals have to refuse their same PPE between patients. This is extremely dangerous because it leads to the spread of infection, which we are trying to limit. I hope we are able to find solutions to these problems that we’re dealing with as a country because I think it is critical in a time like this. In the meantime, stay safe out there!
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