Coronavirus

Even our clinic has suffered to some degree from fear of the coronavirus - a patient from Latvia postponed treatment because of fear of traveling to us by public transport.

Of course, from a medical point of view, the risk is not unfounded - the virus is contagious and lethal to certain populations and is transmitted through the air and as a droplet infection. However, it cannot be ignored, the situation is greatly amplified through mass media, which are effective images (quarantine, empty store shelves, etc.) and the game on the nerves of readers / viewers allows to be the center of attention all the time. The third side is the travel agencies and the tourist lobby, who confirm that everything is perfectly fine. Who to believe then? How to reach the truth that is somewhere between the two spectra.

Here are some of our considerations in the context of general information:

- No matter how cynically it would be, but according to statistics, the majority of the population does not need to fear a new infection more than the flu. This is due to the fact that the lethality of both viruses is about the same for the population up to the age of 50, and the course of both diseases is similar.

- The most common course of the disease is in people who already have a chronic illness or weakened immunity, which means that chronically ill people deserve special care.

- If we look at China as a whole and Huan, or the "birthplace" of the coronavirus, we can see that Huan has a population of about 12 million. It is about 9 times larger than the population of Estonia, whereas the size of China's largest city is not 5 times smaller than that of our country, ie that our population density is lower, which is good for the development of the epidemic.

- As the statistics of recent days show, China has gained control over the spread of the infection - the growth of the virus has slowed down significantly. This means that the virus can be fought. In addition, the official casualty rate in China is 100,000 less than a population of nearly one and a half billion, or less than one thousandth of a percent.

- In addition to the inflammatory panic of media noise, it also has its advantages - without exaggerating to all of humanity, the focus has been on the problem of the coronavirus, which is positive in the fight against the disease.

Of course, this is only a small part of the considerations. But I would like to draw some conclusions from them. First and foremost, there is no need to sow panic. Yes, the virus has started to spread in the territory of Estonia as well, but we know the nature of this disease and we have a positive Chinese (and not only) experience in fighting the coronavirus. Therefore, it is necessary to keep yourself (masks, gloves, avoid human mass hysteria), but not go to the extreme - hide at home with an annual supply of groats, matches and salt.

You can get more detailed information on how to behave in the created conditions and get new, and most importantly, verified information, at the address of the Estonian Health Board.