In the past week, the coronavirus has shown that it is not slowing down in the least bit. Even with the countless warnings to wash hands and practice social distancing, the number of infected people in the United States is rising exponentially. Before I discuss the recent developments of coronavirus I would once again urge everyone to do what they can to prevent the spread of the virus. Practicing the safety measures given out by the government is imperative if we are going to limit the amount of damage this virus can do. Staying home rather than going to hang out with friends or be in public is a small sacrifice that we will all have to make. It simply is not worth the risk.

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As of now, there are at least 52,976 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States and 704 people have died. There have already been 163 deaths reported today, according to a tally by CNN, making this the deadliest day in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began. This number of cases, however, is most likely very inaccurate. Experts predict that there are many times more cases in the United States than reported. This is due to struggles and delays in testing, people who have not shown symptoms yet, people that choose not to get tested, and many other factors. This is dangerous, as many people are not aware of actually how quickly the novel coronavirus is spreading and how close it may be to them. While the tragedies taking place in Europe and Asia seem far away, the US may not be that far behind. Some estimates say that the United States may be as close as a week behind Italy in terms of days of the pandemic. This means that it is a possibility of the United States having the same severity of the COVID-19 outbreak as Italy if measures aren’t taken to prevent it.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fourworldindata.org%2Fcoronavirus&psig=AOvVaw19gaQNlaN7a1xSmLyEjRDB&ust=1585264693277000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAQQjB1qFwoTCOi-zKnhtugCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAQ

The governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, recent issued “Stay at home” orders to Allegheny, Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery, and Bucks counties. This encourages people to stay at home unless someone’s life depends on it. All businesses that are not life sustaining are now closed. In addition to this, all schools remain closed, and wouldn’t be expected to open for a significant amount of time. Students now must participate in online learning, where teachers and professors give their lessons online, so students can participate from home.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wgal.com%2Farticle%2Fall-non-life-sustaining-businesses-in-pennsylvania-ordered-to-close-physical-locations-to-stop-coronavirus-spread%2F31789626&psig=AOvVaw0pJXvZZ1uWG1qRoCicQcJB&ust=1585264607146000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAQQjB1qFwoTCMC0toDhtugCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

In positive news, after taking measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, China has gone a week with no new reported domestic cases of coronavirus. While they are still reporting some cases, this is as a result of people that are traveling into the country that are already infected with the virus. This shows that if steps are taken and recommendations are followed, the spread can be slowed and stopped.

Unfortunately, this does not appear to be in the near future for the United States. It will most likely get worse before it gets better. The only thing everyone can do now is avoid contact with others whenever possible and try to wash your hands whenever you get the chance.

Following the rise of the coronavirus pandemic, all Penn State sports have been cancelled and all students have been sent home for the remainder of the semester. Among the many implications of this virus is the fact that with no sports being played and no students even on campus, I have nothing to write about. Therefore, I have decided to begin writing about what killed my last blog: COVID-19. I plan on giving weekly updates on any major developments that take place concerning the virus and how it may affect us.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fif-you-are-sick%2Fsteps-when-sick.html&psig=AOvVaw26hPV2PA3bs-YMYkxLSFEN&ust=1584665569708000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCJCinreppegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

This week, I’d like to start off my new blog topic by discussing and hopefully debunking some of the common misconceptions that are currently held about the coronavirus. Many people have been spreading false knowledge, and this may cause unnecessary panic or even more damage done by the virus.

One of the most common misconceptions going around is that the pandemic originated from someone in Wuhan, China eating bat soup and becoming infected, then spreading COVID-19 to others. This is not the case, but it does stem from the truth. Coronaviruses in general are large family of viruses that can affect many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and… you guessed it… bats. These viruses can occasionally jump between species and sometimes even humans. This is most likely what took place with this specific strain of coronavirus. It may have stemmed from an animal market in China, where the virus spread from an unidentified animal to a human.

Another very dangerous misconception is that COVID-19 does not affect younger generations. Many believe that they do not have to worry about contracting the virus because either they cannot become infected by it, or even if they do, it will not harm them in any way. Similar to the last misconception, this stems from the truth, but is far from accurate. While the mortality rate for coronavirus tends to be lower in the younger generations, this in no way means they are off the hook. Coronavirus is very dangerous to any immunosuppressed people. This means that they are at a great risk if they catch the virus from anybody that has it, even if they do not feel the effects the same way. Because of this, it is arguably more important for younger generations to be cautious of the disease, due to the damage they could do if they spread the virus to others.

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One recent staple of the pandemic has been the purchase of face masks to protect people from catching the virus. These masks are designed to prevent fluids from a cough or a sneeze from entering a person’s airway. These masks cannot block airborne viruses. Masks are a good measure, but they cannot guarantee the virus won’t spread.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.boundtree.com%2FInfection-Control%2FFace-Masks%2FBiomask-Antiviral-Face-Masks-with-Earloop-Blue-Latex-free%2Fp%2F1031-21102&psig=AOvVaw1pyHxybzn6K-FdAysHeb4L&ust=1584665513104000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCLi-g5uppegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Finally, as ridiculous as it seems, some people are trying to protect themselves by spraying their body and clothes with disinfectants in the absence of hand sanitizer. It is recommended that people should not spray themselves with rubbing alcohol, chlorine, or bleach. This will do much more harm than good.

(One last point: you can still catch the coronavirus even if you buy copious amounts of toilet paper and hand sanitizer. So save them for those that need it.)

This week I will be writing about the second day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships for the Penn State Track and Field team. This took place last weekend on Saturday the 29th. Again, I have very little experience in track and field, but it was still fun to read about Penn State performing well on such a big stage.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fbigten.org%2Fnews%2F2019%2F2%2F21%2Fwomens-xc-track-big-ten-indoor-track-field-championships-central.aspx&psig=AOvVaw3dpvj2SuuLBp8rcCVfyHrs&ust=1583380604605000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCIiossf2_-cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

The Nittany Lions track & field program won four individual Big Ten titles during the second day of competition at the SPIRE Institute this year. Senior captain Danae Rivers won a pair of Big Ten titles in the 800m and mile events to finish off her Big Ten Indoor Championships career.

Rivers made history by becoming the first women’s student-athlete in the Big Ten to win four consecutive 800m titles. Rivers captured her fourth title in the event by running 2:06.27. Rivers pulled away from the field on the back stretch to claim her championship. Earlier in the day, Rivers won the mile title with a time of 4:43.35. Rivers consistent pace allowed her to remain in the front of the pack before she pulled away and won the race by about a second.

Rivers finished her career with six Big Ten indoor titles with her four 800m titles, one mile championship and one in the DMR, or a distance medley relay.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fonwardstate.com%2F2019%2F03%2F09%2Fdanae-rivers-wins-historic-ncaa-indoor-track-field-title%2F&psig=AOvVaw2TH7Gn6D_enPNFALYVP1N_&ust=1583380673365000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCLig-eb2_-cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Running in his final Big Ten Indoor Championship, senior captain Billy McDevitt continued the Nittany Lions dominance in the men’s 800m race. McDevitt qualified for the final by running 1:52.17 in last Friday’s qualifying. McDevitt followed up his qualifying time with a personal best time of 1:48.78 to win the men’s 800m race. It was the fifth consecutive title for the Nittany Lions in the men’s 800m and 11th in the last 13 years.

Penn State has won the last eight 800m Big Ten indoor titles between the men’s and the women’s 800m events.

Kiara Lester won the first Big Ten individual title of her career when she ran a personal best of 53.37 in the 400m final.

Lester also placed second in the 4 by 400m relay with a season best time of 3:37.69. The Nittany Lions relay team of Lester, Victoria Tachinski, Amariah Thomas and Antoinette Bradley won the third heat of the event and finished just .01 behind the first-place finishers.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.collegian.psu.edu%2Fsports%2Fdivision_one_sports%2Farticle_0d8f87e4-5a8d-11ea-879b-bb095b57b1d5.html&psig=AOvVaw3Qsl8z8ZEbPtVt7GvSForC&ust=1583380724614000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCODShYH3_-cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

Bradley added to her medal count as she finished third in the women’s 600m final. Bradley’s personal-best time of 1:29.75 gave her the third-place finish and the first individual medal of her Nittany Lion career.

Competing in his first Big Ten Indoor Championship, freshman Sincere Rhea collected his first Big Ten medal with a third place finish in the 60m hurdles. Rhea ran 7.82 in the hurdle finals to win the bronze.

Rhea and the 4x400m relay team of Savion Hebron, Rhea, Gary Ross and Rick Zink also climbed the podium with a seventh-place finish and a time of 3:11.92.

The women’s program finished in third with a final team score of 87.5 points and the men’s team placed ninth with 37 points.

In total, five Nittany Lions earned first team All-Big Ten honors and three earned second-team honors.

Up next, Penn State athletes will be selected for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships March 14-15 in Albuquerque, New Mexico (if anyone wants to go over break).