There are over 78,000 confirmed cases and over 2,000 deaths from the coronavirus epidemic as of Feb. 23 according to the World Health Organization (WHO), a group that helps organize international health efforts.
The disease has been officially named the “coronavirus disease 2019,” or “COVID-19” for short, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an organization that works to protect America from potential health threats.
It is thought to spread by person-to-person contact or contact with infected surfaces, and symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath according to the CDC.
As the COVID-19 epidemic has picked up steam, countless studies are being done to learn as much as possible about the new strand of this virus and the impact it is having on society.
For instance, Amanda Florian, a 2017 Milligan graduate with a communications degree focused in multimedia journalism and film studies, is currently studying the impacts of local and global media coverage of the epidemic.
She was living in Shanghai, pursuing a master’s degree in news media studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, when the news first broke of the disease.
“I was in the province of Guangdong when I first heard the news… before my flight there, I purchased 10, soon-to-be greatly treasured, face masks,” said Florian. “A few days later, the situation became worse… government officials recommended we stay indoors and avoid unnecessary contact with others.”
Florian has now returned to the states after booking a last minute flight out of Shanghai and has since subjected herself to a 14 day quarantine to make sure she is not showing any symptoms of the coronavirus.
While she does not have any concerns over her own personal health, she still has felt the impact.
“The whole outbreak became a lot more real for me knowing I had a good friend in Hubei, the province where the first outbreak was recorded. When another lost his phone for a few days, we all thought the worst. I was home (in Shanghai) when a friend called to say their family member in Wuhan had passed,” stated Florian.
News and statistics regarding the virus are updated constantly, mainly with a focus on the negative. Fears of further spreading and political debates regarding how to handle potentially infected or abroad citizens have overshadowed the positive moments.
“In Shanghai this past week, there has been an increase in the number of people being successfully treated and released from hospitals, and we need to celebrate that,” said Florian.“There’s been a ton of negative press about the situation, and that’s bound to happen, but we need to be supportive and highlight the minor and major victories—because they’re there.”
As people continue to battle the COVID-19 epidemic, you can find updates through the WHO and the CDC.
Headline photo: A map from the CDC website shows the areas with documented cases of COVID-19. The entire list of locations can be found here.