The Coronavirus Preparedness Handbook

How to Protect Your Home, School, Workplace, and Community from a Deadly Pandemic

Tess Pennington

• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781510762572
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Diseases & Allergies

Life-Saving COVID-19 Information: Quarantines, Lockdowns, Face Masks, Immune Support, Food Readiness, Sanitation, and More The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, started in Wuhan, China. Shortly thereafter, 11 million people in Wuhan and 57 million people in other regions of China were under lockdown. But that was half a world away and couldn't happen here. On March 7, 2020, less than 90 days after the initial Wuhan outbreak, 16 million people in Italy were put on lockdown. How many of these people put on lockdown were prepared? Are you prepared? The Coronavirus Preparedness Handbook by Tess Pennington will prepare you for whatever may happen in your region. Find life-saving information, including everything you need to know about:

• Preparing for quarantine
• When to release someone from isolation
• Choosing face masks, respirators, and gloves
• Creating a medical supply chest
• Boosting your immune system
• Stocking your pantry
• Sanitation tips
• Communicating during lockdown
• Preparing your community and schools
• And more!

From a description of the virus and how to prevent yourself from getting the virus to the supplies you should have in your house in case of a lockdown, this book will prepare you for all possibilities.

CHAPTER 1

Just the Facts

At the onset of the virus, here’s what we know: the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, or 2019-nCoV, is a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in late 2019. This virus is deadly, highly contagious, and spreading rapidly. It is also considered a novel virus, meaning that it has not been previously identified and is not the same as other coronaviruses that commonly circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold.

Seven strains of coronavirus are known to infect humans, including this new virus, causing illnesses in the respiratory tract. Four of those strains cause common colds. Two others, by contrast, rank among the deadliest of human infections: severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. The medical consensus is the COVID-19 virus is less deadly than SARS. However, it is more transmissible; the human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 is higher than SARS. The thing you need to know is this: the virus itself is lung specific and only has cell receptors for lung cells. Therefore, it only infects your lungs. The only way for the virus to infect you is through infected droplets from coughs and sneezes that enter through your nose or mouth or eyes via your hands.

Origin of Coronavirus

Because this is such a large category of viruses, it’s difficult to tell where it came from. Some say it jumped from animals to humans, but researchers have so far failed to produce conclusive evidence to support that hypothesis, although it does make sense. Many viruses have adapted and mutated to jump to humans in the past, causing immense harm to humanity (think AIDS/HIV which scientists say “officially” came from monkeys). This virus probably originally emerged from an animal source but now seems to be spreading from person to person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is also unclear whether this novel virus is seasonal or longer lasting. Because this is a rapidly changing event, only time will tell.

The World Health Organization has a six-stage influenza program that explains how viruses jump from animals to humans:

Stage 1: No animal influenza virus circulating among animals has been reported to cause infection in humans.

Stage 2: An animal influenza virus circulating in domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans and is therefore considered a specific potential pandemic threat.

Stage 3: An animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but it has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks.

Stage 4: Human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to sustain community-level outbreaks has been verified.

Stage 5: The same identified virus has caused sustained community level outbreaks in two or more countries in one WHO region.

Stage 6: In addition to the criteria defined in Stage 5, the same virus has caused sustained community level outbreaks in at least one other country in another WHO region.

Post-peak period: Levels of pandemic influenza in most countries with adequate surveillance have dropped below peak levels.

Post-pandemic period: Levels of influenza activity have returned to the levels seen for seasonal influenza in most countries with adequate surveillance.

How Do You Catch the Coronavirus?

While our understanding of this virus continues to evolve, we know that coronaviruses, in general, are spread in the same manner as the common cold—through infected water droplets from a sneeze, cough, or the breath. Because the coronavirus is novel, the human population has little or no immunity against it. This allows the virus to spread quickly from person to person worldwide.

It’s important to note that person-to-person spread can happen on a continuum (meaning just because you have had the virus, that doesn’t mean you won’t get it again). If these droplets come in contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth of an individual directly or indirectly, the individual may become infected. Health experts agree that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

It is uncertain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment, etc.).

According to the CDC, the virus is thought to be spread mainly person-to-person in the following ways:

• Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).

• Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

• From contact with infected surfaces or objects.

Soft surfaces like fabrics and carpet are not reported to be of concern for the presence of coronavirus. What health officials are concerned with are frequently touched items. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot you can do to make a dent in all of those nasty germs stuck on surfaces in public places like grocery store cars, park benches, school desks, and even at the airport. But you can encourage your children to wash their hands frequently and keep their hands away from their little faces. But at home, there are some surfaces more prone to being carriers of germs and illnesses. These areas in the home include tabletops, countertops, remote controls, game controllers, computer keyboards, doorknobs, sinks, light switches, faucet handles, sinks, countertop, tub, and toilet (including the entire seat and the toilet handle).

What Coronavirus Is Not and the Misinformation Surrounding COVID-19

The worst types of disasters are the ones that we do not know much about. This, of course, invites speculation, hysteria, and anxiety-driven decisions, and ultimately clouds what the facts really are. What is clear is that when a contagious disease is breaking out in random parts of a nation and people are dying from it, it frightens people. As a result, people are going to want answers; they are going to want to protect their families, and they will look to the country’s leaders for guidance. Practical advice and truth must be shared in order to prevent misinformation from running rampant and the “chicken little effect” from taking over.

Here are some common questions surrounding the novel COVID-19:

• Is COVID-19 airborne? There has been some confusion on whether or not the virus is airborne, such as in the diseases of the measles or chicken pox. According to the CDC, no evidence suggests that this virus is airborne. However, if you are sick, it is highly recommended that you protect others around you and in your community by wearing a mask to prevent the spread of germs from coughs and sneezes.

• Who is the most at risk? Moreover, individuals who are over 60 years old or have an underlying health condition such as cardiovascular disease, have a weakened immune system, a respiratory condition, or diabetes could have a high risk of developing a severe form of the virus. In a published study in the official China CDC Weekly, it was revealed that out of a subset of 44,700 infections confirmed in Chinese patients through lab tests, more than 80 percent were at least 60 years old, with half over 70.

• Is it safe to receive packages in the mail? Yes. The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low, and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, travelled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is also low.

• Can I catch COVID-19 from my pet? No. There is no evidence that companion animals or pets such as cats and dogs have been infected or could spread the virus that causes COVID-19.

• Will warm weather stop the outbreak? It is not yet known whether weather and temperature will impact the spread of COVID-19. Some other viruses, like the common cold and flu, spread more during cold weather months, but that does not mean it is impossible to become sick with these viruses during other months. At this time, it is not known whether the spread of COVID-19 will decrease when weather becomes warmer. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and other features associated with COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing.

• Are pregnant women and children more susceptible to getting COVID-19? There is not currently information from published scientific reports about susceptibility of pregnant women to COVID-19. Pregnant women experience immunologic and physiologic changes that might make them more susceptible to viral respiratory infections, including COVID-19. There is no evidence that children are more susceptible to COVID-19. In fact, most confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported from China have occurred in adults. Relatively few infections in children have been reported, including in very young children.

• Should I be tested for COVID-19? Call your healthcare professional if you feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing and have been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, or if you live in or have recently traveled from an area with ongoing spread of COVID-19.

Symptoms of the Coronavirus

COVID-19 can be difficult to diagnose based on symptoms because it presents so similarly to a general cold or flu. Reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

Symptoms may appear 2–14 days after exposure:

• Fever

• Cough

• Shortness of breath

• Pneumonia (in some cases)

• Body aches

• Nausea and/or vomiting

• Diarrhea

What Exactly Does COVID-19 Do to a Person?

The virus infects the lower respiratory tract and multiplies. It attacks two specific lung cells: mucus producing cells (protecting lungs from pathogens) and ciliated cells (clears debris, including viruses, out of the lungs). Ciliated cells are thought to be the preferred cells that the coronavirus attacks. When the cells are attacked and die, they slough out into the lungs, which fill with debris and fluid. Many patients infected with this virus end up getting pneumonia as a result.

The immune system responds to the lungs and, as a result, the lungs become inflamed. While this inflammation is ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Responding to COVID-19 — A Once-in-a-Century Pandemic? By Bill Gates
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Just the Facts
• Chapter 2: Pandemics: What Are They and What Can We Expect
• Chapter 3: Quarantine and Isolation
• Chapter 4: Pandemic Medical Needs
• Chapter 5: How to Prepare the Home for a Pandemic
• Chapter 6: A Prepared Community
• Chapter 7: What Will Our Future Look Like?
• Endnotes
• Full Pandemic Supply List