Living in a world of COVID-19

 

A brief dateline and explanation of COVID-19 from the Journal of The American Journal of Managed Care®

 

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dominated 2020. This is a look back at how the pandemic evolved and progressed through the year, which closed with the arrival of vaccines, but also continued challenges.

 

As the year ended, the United States surpassed 20 million infections from SARS-CoV-2, and more than 346,000 deaths. Globally, cases rose to 83,832,334 and 1,824,590 deaths.

 

Cases in some parts of the country began surging again in the weeks after Thanksgiving; the same effect may be seen in January as health officials are gravely concerned about the extent of travel for the Christmas and winter holidays. The Transportation Security Administration said it screened the most passengers (1.3 million) on the Sunday before Christmas, the most since March 15.

 

While vaccines began to roll out in the last month of the year, distribution challenges became evident and the United States fell short of its goal of providing an initial dose to 20 million people by December 31.

 

This is an updated look at how the pandemic progressed throughout 2020.

 

January 9 — WHO Announces Mysterious Coronavirus-Related Pneumonia in Wuhan, China

 

At this point, the World Health Organization (WHO) still has doubts about the roots of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the spate of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan could have stemmed from a new coronavirus. There are 59 cases so far, and travel precautions are already at the forefront of experts’ concerns.

 

January 20 — CDC Says 3 US Airports Will Begin Screening for Coronavirus

 

Three additional cases of what is now the 2019 novel coronavirus are reported in Thailand and Japan, causing the CDC to begin screenings at JFK International, San Francisco International, and Los Angeles International airports. These airports are picked because flights between Wuhan and the United States bring most passengers through them.

 

January 21 — CDC Confirms First US Coronavirus Case

 

A Washington state resident becomes the first person in the United States with a confirmed case of the 2019 novel coronavirus, having returned from Wuhan on January 15, thanks to overnight polymerase chain reaction testing. The CDC soon after deploys a team to help with the investigation, including potential use of contact tracing.

 

January 21 — Chinese Scientist Confirms COVID-19 Human Transmission

 

At this point, the 2019 novel coronavirus has killed 4 and infected more than 200 in China, before Zhong Nanshan, MD, finally confirms it can be transmitted from person to person. However, the WHO is still unsure of the necessity of declaring a public health emergency.

 

January 23 — Wuhan Now Under Quarantine

 

In just 2 days, 13 more people died and an additional 300 were sickened. China makes the unprecedented move not only to close off Wuhan and its population of 11 million, but to also place a restricted access protocol on Huanggang, 30 miles to the east, where residents can’t leave without special permission. This means up to 18 million people are under strict lockdown.

 

January 31 — WHO Issues Global Health Emergency

 

With a worldwide death toll of more than 200 and an exponential jump to more than 9800 cases, the WHO finally declares a public health emergency, for just the sixth time. Human-to-human transmission is quickly spreading and can now be found in the United States, Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

 

February 2 — Global Air Travel Is Restricted

 

By 5 pm on Sunday, those en route to the United States have to have left China or they can face a 2-week home-based quarantine if they had been in Hubei province. Mainland visitors, however, will need to undergo health screenings upon their return, and foreign nationals can even be denied admittance. Other countries beginning to impose similar air-travel restrictions at this point include Australia, Germany, Italy, and New Zealand.

 

February 3 — US Declares Public Health Emergency

 

The Trump administration declares a public health emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement comes 3 days after WHO declared a Global Health Emergency as more than 9800 cases of the virus and more than 200 deaths had been confirmed worldwide.

 

February 10 — China’s COVID-19 Deaths Exceed Those of SARS Crisis

 

The COVID-19 death toll surpasses that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak from 17 years ago, totaling 908 reported deaths in China in the last month compared with 774 deaths in the SARS crisis.

 

February 25 — CDC Says COVID-19 Is Heading Toward Pandemic Status

 

Explaining what would signify a pandemic, Nancy Messonnier, MD, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, says that thus far COVID-19 meets 2 of the 3 required factors: illness resulting in death and sustained person-to-person spread. Worldwide spread is the third criteria not yet met at the time.

 

March 6 — 21 Passengers on California Cruise Ship Test Positive

 

Twenty-one people of just 46 tested aboard a cruise ship carrying more than 3500 people off the California coast test positive for COVID-19, with 19 being crew members. The ship is held at sea instead of being allowed to dock in San Francisco while testing is conducted. Since the event, 60 passengers have sued the cruise line and parent company, Carnival Corp, for gross negligence in how passenger safety was handled.

 

March 11 — WHO Declares COVID-19 a Pandemic

 

In declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO, said at a briefing in Geneva the agency is “deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity” of the outbreak. He also expressed concern about “the alarming levels of inaction.”

 

March 13 — Trump Declares COVID-19 a National Emergency

 

President Donald Trump declares the novel coronavirus a national emergency, which unlocks billions of dollars in federal funding to fight the disease’s spread.

 

May 12 — Death Toll Likely Underestimated, Fauci Testifies

 

Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the US Senate that the US death toll of 80,000 is likely an underestimate. He warns against the relaxation of social distancing and says he is “cautiously optimistic” that a vaccine will be effective and achieved within 1 or 2 years.

 

 

October 19 — Global Cases Top 40 Million

 

Data from Johns Hopkins University indicate that COVID-19 cases have topped 40 million worldwide as the United States and other countries see their highest rates of new cases in months. More than 1.1 million people have been killed by the virus worldwide so far, and nearly 220,000 of those deaths were in the United States, which remains the hardest-hit country in the world.

 

December 31 —US Falls Short of Goal to Give 20 Million Vaccinations by Year End

 

As the year closed, the CDC says about 2.8 million people so far have received an initial vaccination. The US says on December 30 that about 14 million doses have been distributed, out of total of 20 million allocated doses.

 

 

 

 

COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Infected people have had a wide range of symptoms reported – from mild symptoms to severe illness.

---

Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

 

·        Fever or chills

·        Cough

·        Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

·        Fatigue

·        Muscle or body aches

·        Headache

·        New loss of taste or smell

·        Sore throat

·        Congestion or runny nose

·        Nausea or vomiting

·        Diarrhea

 

Look for emergency warning signs for COVID-19. If someone is showing any of these signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

 

·        Trouble breathing

·        Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

·        New confusion

·        Inability to wake or stay awake

·        Bluish lips or face

COVID 19 hits HUDGEN’S HAVEN

Sharron and I did our very best to maintain a quarantine and as most Americans we did not visit our local restaurants and it seemed most of our world was shut down.  I did maintain my work schedule with all precautions of wearing a mask and gloves; keeping distanced from other people and washing my often usually about once each hour.  As the Christmas season approached we were hearing of a possible vaccination that would be available to us soon after the year.  On the Monday before Christmas, Sharron had been having trouble with a sinus infection. We went to our local Urgent Care and they tested Sharron for COVID and she tested positive.  I went two days later and I tested positive.  We sequestered ourselves for two weeks and did not leave our house during this time.  Sharron had sinus and repertory issues and was able to keep it under control with Mucinex, Zink and cough syrup.  I was asymptomatic when diagnosed and taking meds for a common cold remained asymptotic except for the fatigue and loss of smell and taste for several days.   

 

We are aware of dear friends who experienced much more severe symptoms and several who died due to complications with the disease. We feel God was truly with us and honestly, we enjoyed the break during the week between Christmas and New Year.  I was diagnosed on Wednesday December 23, 2020 and returned back to work on January 4, 2021.