Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses that contain single-stranded ribonucleic acid. There are seven known types of coronavirus that can cause various diseases in humans. Most coronaviruses cause mild respiratory infections, but fatal outbreaks of coronavirus infection have occurred intermittently over the past decades. These include SARS-CoV (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus), the first case of which was reported in November 2002 in southern China, and MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus), which originated in Saudi Arabia in September 2012.
Nowadays, the attention of the entire world community is drawn to one common problem – the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19. The first reports of cases of a new coronavirus infection appeared in the city of Wuhan in the PRC at the end of December 2019. The disease spread rapidly throughout China, and a month later, the WHO recognized an outbreak of the infection, and a pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020. In Washington state, the first case in the United States of a new type of coronavirus was recorded on January 20, 2020. The epidemic situation for COVID-19 changes daily. According to “COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic” (2021), as of June 21, 2020, coronavirus infection was registered in more than 220 countries; the number of infected with the virus is about 179,369,956 people. The number of diseases in the United States, which are the leader from all countries in terms of the number of infections – 34,406,059 people.
The coronavirus has a relatively high infectivity rate. According to Jefferson et al. (2020), on average, one sick person will infect another two to three people. Moreover, the likelihood of contracting coronavirus is higher than the flu but less than with measles. Clinical symptoms in coronavirus can range from asymptomatic disease to severe clinical presentation. Bickerton and Maier (2020) claim that virulence varied significantly: MERS from 2012 to March 2019 – 858 cases among 2494 cases (34.4%); SARS from June 2003 to March 2021 – 774 cases among 8096 cases (9.6%). The probability of death with COVID-19 for patients under 40 years old is about 0.2%, for patients over 60 years old, it reaches 3.6%, and for those over 80 – almost 15%.
Susceptibility to the pathogen is high in all population groups. Ou et al. (2020) identified factors and risk factors for severe COVID-19. These include age over 60 years, chronic diseases of the lungs, cardiovascular system, liver and kidneys, obesity, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and immunodeficiency states. In turn, Koley and Dhole (2020) note that experts at the University of Oxford, using the Cox regression model, identified the key risk factors for mortality in coronavirus. Blacks and Asians are at higher risk of dying if diagnosed with COVID-19. Moreover, socially disadvantaged people were in the high-risk category.
The primary mechanism of transmission of coronavirus infection is aerosol. When a carrier of the virus coughs, sneezes, or speaks, droplets or microscopic particles carry the virus from the nose or mouth into the air. Anyone who is at least 2 meters away from this person can breathe these particles into their lungs. According to Jefferson et al. (2020), the coronavirus can live in the air for up to 3 hours. Furthermore, the infection can occur due to a person’s contact with various objects containing a virus on their surface. For example, a person grasps a door handle with a virus on it and then touches their face, nose and rubs their eyes with this hand. It is at this time that the virus enters the body. Thus, respiratory syndrome coronavirus is transmitted by aerosol and contact.
Outbreaks of respiratory syndrome coronavirus have a significant impact on all areas of society. They push companies to rapidly change how they operate and put the sustainability of different systems to the test. Organizations are faced with a whole host of new systemic challenges – disruption to business continuity, sudden quantitative changes, real-time decision making, productivity metrics, and safety threats. Haleem et al. (2020) state that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the largest ever disruption to education systems, affecting nearly 1.6 billion students in over 190 countries. The closure of schools and other educational institutions affected 94 percent of the world’s student population. However, Nelson (2020) indicates some positive impacts of the pandemic on education, such as introducing new technologies into the system.
In turn, healthcare facilities are facing catastrophic financial problems associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaye et al. (2020) note that the American Hospital Association estimates the economic impact of lost profits on America’s hospitals and health systems at $ 202.6 billion. Lack of preparedness has been one of the main factors in the struggles faced by medical institutions worldwide. Items such as personal protective equipment, hospital equipment, and disinfectants were in short supply. These shortcomings have been identified by COVID-19 and have prompted health organizations around the world to develop crucial new pandemic preparedness plans. Alternative strategies such as telemedicine, social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and quarantining have helped mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and are likely to impact healthcare for the foreseeable future.
The Monroe County government has developed a reporting protocol in the face of the respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak. According to “Monroe County Government COVID-19 Updates & Resources” (n.d.), people who have symptoms characteristic of such a syndrome, or who have close contact with a patient with COVID-19, have lived or have recently arrived from an area with the continuing spread of COVID-19, must immediately inform their doctor about it. Moreover, a list of necessary resources has been compiled, including emergency cash assistance contacts for eligible families who lost their jobs due to COVID-19, emergency food services, the COVID-19 information line, and a crisis telephone line. Thus, Monroe County has resources related to the infectious disease reporting protocol.
There are strategies for preventing an outbreak of respiratory syndrome coronavirus, one of which is to control sporadic cases and foci and prevent transmission of the virus to the general public. According to WHO (2021), early diagnosis is a significant factor in containing the spread of the virus. Testing helps to identify new potential patients who have no symptoms. Furthermore, WHO (2021) affirms that isolation of the sick is an equally effective strategy. All people who have been diagnosed with the disease should be sent to a particular institution for quarantine. Thus, strategies are to identify those who are infected, track potentially infected, and isolate those who are ill.
Thus, in the 21st century, outbreaks of respiratory syndrome coronavirus occur periodically, including severe acute respiratory syndrome – coronavirus SARS-CoV, Middle East respiratory syndrome – coronavirus MERS-CoV, and new coronavirus infection COVID-19. The spread of these diseases among the population of different countries has general patterns. It is higher among males, older people, among people with impaired immunity and the presence of chronic diseases, in which the frequency of deaths also increases. These diseases leave an irreversible mark on all spheres of society, including education, healthcare, and business. Among the strategies for preventing the outbreak of respiratory syndrome coronavirus, early diagnosis of the disease and the isolation of cases are distinguished.
References
Bickerton, E. & Maier, H. (2020). Coronaviruses: Methods and protocols. Springer US.
COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. (2021). Worldometer. Web.
Haleem, A., Javaid, M., & Vaishya, R. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 pandemic in daily life.Current Medicine Research and Practice, 10(2), 78–79. Web.
Jefferson, T., Spencer, E., Brassey, J. & Heneghan, C. (2020). Viral cultures for COVID-19 infectivity assessment – A systematic review. Clinical infectious diseases, 1-35. Web.
Kaye, A. D., Okeagu, C. N., Pham, A. D., Silva, R. A., Hurley, J. J., Arron, B. L., Sarfraz, N., Lee, H. N., Ghali, G. E., Gamble, J. W., Liu, H., Urman, R. D., & Cornett, E. M. (2020). Economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare facilities and systems: International perspectives. Best Practice & Research: Clinical Anaesthesiology, 1-14. Web.
Koley, T. & Dhole, M. (2020). The COVID-19 pandemic: The deadly coronavirus outbreak. Taylor & Francis.
Monroe County Government COVID-19 Updates & Resources. (n.d.). Monroe County Department of Tourism. Retrieved 2021, June 23 from Web.
Nelson B. (2020). The positive effects of covid-19.BMJ, 369, m1785. Web.
Ou, M., Zhu, J., Ji, P., Li, H., Zhong, Z., Li, B., Pang, J., Zhang, J., & Zheng, X. (2020). Risk factors of severe cases with COVID-19: a meta-analysis.Epidemiology and Infection, 148, e175. Web.
World Health Organization. (2021). COVID‑19 strategic preparedness and response plan: Monitoring and evaluation framework.Web.