If you have eyes and read these blogs, you almost certainly have used those eyes to see the news about the current coronavirus outbreak too. With tens of thousands of people from dozens of countries across the world infected, you might be getting understandably worried. So the question remains, is it poor or nah for us?
As a basic overview, COVID-19 is the name for the current outbreak of a novel strain of coronavirus (nCOV) which started from a wet market in Wuhan, Hubei, China last December. While China and other countries have undergone strict measures in an effort to control the spread of the disease, for a multitude of essentially uncontrollable factors, the disease has spread anyways and there are (as of the writing of this blog) 109 confirmed cases and 9 deaths in the US.
*Keep in mind, however, that these numbers, at least for the US, are incredibly inaccurate, as very few people have actually been tested for the disease because of the lack and inefficiency of current testing kits.
So if you're reading this that statistic will either seem like a lot or just a little, most likely from how you've heard the outbreak being described in the media. Whatever the case, you should simultaneously remain cautious yet unsensationalized about yourself succumbing to nCOV.
For starters, the coronavirus is not a lethal disease for most quiz bowl players. As young people, our immune systems are strong enough to flex on nCOV so that we will only experience mild symptoms similar to a cold or as severe as a flu, unless you have an immune system deficiency. After 2 weeks of runny noses, coughing and possibly mild fevers, we'll be back to our normal selves on the quiz bowl grind.
Yet this is exactly why coronavirus has been difficult to contain, and why you should be cautious. With just mild symptoms, you are unlikely to get yourself tested or self quarantine from going to club practices, and so you can easily spread the disease to other people. Now you may be thinking, "why is this a bad thing if all of my friends have buff immune systems and won't be in terrible condition anyways?" Well the answer is simple: other people.
Herd immunity protects those who can't protect themselves from a disease. It's the reason why all of us get vaccinated in the first place too. The flu sucks but isn't a death sentence to everyone provided that they are healthy; the thing is not everyone is healthy. Someone who is very old or has an immune system deficiency can easily be at serious risk if they get the flu from someone who decided to vulch without getting vaccinated and spit all over the place, and the same applies for coronavirus. Since COVID-19 is caused by a newly discovered strain of coronavirus, there isn't a vaccine available for everyone to protect themselves and those who aren't able to be vaccinated from getting seriously ill or even dying, and there won't be for quite some time.
So with the disease now in the US, and no clear indication of who exactly has the disease and can spread it (meaning that community spread is almost certainly happening), you might be getting anxious. Don't be. There is no need to fear monger as long as you take some extra precaution to keep yourself and the herd around you safe. Here are some basic tips to follow:(you should be following these after the outbreak ends during every flu season too!)
1. Wash your hands
I have no idea why you wouldn't be doing this already but just do it as often as you can, with soap and for at least 20 seconds. It gets rid of viruses.
2. Try to stay away from crowds
Not everyone has coronavirus, but not everyone with it necessarily has symptoms either. In public try to keep a distance from people (if you don't do that already) just in case. Coronavirus isn't like Eliud Kipchoge, so further distance makes it harder for the virus to transmit.
3. Don't touch your mouth, nose, eyes etc.
Your hands touch everything, and the virus hypothetically could be on everything, which you could then possibly be transmitting onto yourself by touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. If you're going to pick your nose do it right after washing your hands, and then wash your hands again.
4. Try to self quarantine if you're sick
This is common sense, but if you're sick don't sneeze overly close to people and get germs all over your buzzer. Additionally, it's not poor sportsmanship to not shake hands if you or someone on the other team is sick (you could just bow or do some other non-contact gesture instead).
5. Stay informed
There are better, more complete guides to staying safe out there than this one. By going on to https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019 or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html and reading the posts, not only will you get powers and thus more points when this comes up at HSNCT, you will also have the most up to date information from trustworthy sites to keep you and your herd safe. Again, the media might have some over the top doomsday content trying to get you to click on their sites and panic, and maybe start ranting about geopolitics, but you should only be trusting reliable sources like the WHO and CDC. Fear mongering, hoarding face masks or food and water, or being racist to asian people does literally nothing for keeping you or the people around you well, and only distracts you from doing so. Keep calm, do your part, and spread the right message for helping control COVID-19.
Good luck and stay healthy at your next tournament!
By Nick Zhang, Teterboro