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.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fchart%2F20860%2Fcoronavirus-fatality-rate-by-age%2F&psig=AOvVaw1c8qHOHt5X-24Hh3nV2qTs&ust=1584664809109000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAMQjB1qFwoTCMCB2cqmpegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

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.)