Simple steps students can take protecting themselves from Coronavirus

As the Coronavirus wreaks havoc all over the world, educators and students are becoming overly concerned. In an attempt to control the virus and keep the students safe, there has been a shutdown of many schools and institutions of higher learning. As health officials all over the world struggle to get a grip on the multiple outbreaks, education systems have been immensely affected. Currently, 22 countries in three continents have made the hard decision to close down schools with many students around the globe facing cataclysm. This has been even worse for international students that were studying in China, given that they are not able to travel back to their home countries owing to the travel bans that have been implemented. The UN has issued warnings that the unparalleled scale and the speed of the educational disruption that is being caused by the virus. It is owing to all these changes that are being experienced globally that the need to protect the students has been strongly recognized.

The spread of the Coronavirus has disrupted education to a significant extent given that millions of students all over the world have been impacted directly according to the research conducted by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural education. It has been to be one of the ways to protect the students by closing down so many institutions. Despite the many efforts that have been put in place to ensure the continuity of learning, the rate of infection is so severe that such measures have been deemed relevant. While this is not a new thing, temporary school closures due to health and new crises always have a significant adverse effect on learning. The global scale and speed at which schools are closing down due to the Coronavirus are unmatched. If this continues, there could be a high threat level to the right to education to many students. But what measures should be put in place in order to ensure the well-being of all students? In this article, we are going to explore the Coronavirus and some of the ways that should be used to protect students all over the world from this unforgiving and treatment-resistant virus.

What is Coronavirus? 

In order to assess the risk of the virus, it is considered to learn as much about it as possible. It is extremely difficult to understand such an outbreak unless you are well aware of some of the signs and symptoms and ways that you can avoid it. Since the announcement of the virus in China approximately two months ago in the city of Wuhan, the virus has raced around the globe. Cases of the virus have since then been reported in other countries, for example, Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Iran. So many questions on the virus are yet to be answered, and it seems that the whole world is worried. It is, however, evident that a number of features of the disease have come into focus through the powerful tool of research and sharing. Most countries have invested a considerable amount to the research in a bid to combat the deadly threat.

In the past, bad outbreaks like SARS in 2002-2003 were easy to control owing to the fact that people became infectious after approximately seven days after they were sick. In most cases, such people were already in isolation, and their contacts were in quarantine. The reason that it has been challenging to control the Coronavirus has been so difficult to control is attributed to the fact that people become infectious in the very early stages of their disease. So bad is this that it is possible for people to infect others even before they start to develop the symptoms of the disease. It is being said that individuals that have contracted the virus are shedding or emitting the infectious virus in the pre-symptomatic phase. This allows little time and ability to isolate the persons before they can pass on the virus. In fact, it has been noted that people are actually more infectious in the early phases than in the late phases of the disease. If individuals can make others sick before they know that they are sick, breaking the chain of transmission is very difficult.

Institutions of learning are generally very crowded and contain at least thousands of student. If a single case of the virus penetrates into such a population, the end-results could be devastating. For this reason, it is imperative that measures are put in place to protect students who are likely to exhibit a higher rate of transmission owing to the fact that they are in close contact in classrooms, social halls, assembly halls, libraries, and other school facilities. The epidemiology of the outbreak is so strange since it does not follow the normal cycle of any disease. Just as seen in China, the spread of the disease among close contacts is ubiquitous, and in such areas, it is likely to occur very fast. Once a single individual has brought the virus into the school, it will be most likely that the percentage of infection or the secondary attack rate will be very high.

By definition, the Coronavirus alludes to a group of viruses that cause a variety of diseases in humans and animals. The disorders, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) are zoonotic, which means that they are transmitted between people and animals. The viruses (CoV) are a vast family of viruses that cause diseases, for example, common cold, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV). The novel Coronavirus (nCoV) has never again been identified in humans. There have been several Coronaviruses in animals, but they had not yet infected humans in the past. Some of the common signs that an individual has contracted the virus include fever, shortness of breath, respiratory symptoms, breathing difficulties and cough. In more severe cases, pneumonia may result, kidney failure, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or even death. No cure is yet to be found, and students all over the globe are growing overly concerned about their safety.

Ways to Protect Students from Coronavirus

Owing to the huge threat of the virus, there has been an increased level of monitoring of any form of development associated with the virus all over the world. The health of the students has been taken into a priority in order to protect all members of the universities. There has been a huge worry rate al over the world given the high spread-rate of the virus. Considering the fact that most universities admit foreign students it is understandable why there is so much concern. The institutions of higher learning are closely adhering to the guidelines provided by WHO as well as local and national health experts who are considered to have the highest amount of knowledge regarding the virus. Many actions have been taken to sensitize the whole world about this deadly virus. Below are some of the ways that can highly contribute to protecting students from the Coronavirus.

Testing and Isolation

Students or staff who had recently traveled to China or some other nation as of now with the infection must be screened and disconnected regardless of whether they don’t have the side effects. Those displaying manifestations, for example, fever, cough, and shortness of breath in the wake of voyaging or being in contact with an individual who had traveled ought to be screened to see if he/she has the infection. When tried, they ought to be segregated from different students and staff where they are firmly observed as blending with the rest would entangle the issue in case they are as of now conveying the infection, they will contaminate countless individuals. Given the methods of transmission of the infection, this is a significant advance since it lessens the odds of contamination. The explanation that the disease spread extremely quickly in China was ascribed to the way that individuals that showed signs and manifestations of the virus were not segregated fast enough. If this had been the situation, at that point, it would have been generally more straightforward to attempt to control the infection. In the institutions of higher learning, this ought to happen promptly, as soon as the debilitated individual is recognized.

Sensitization

The learners ought to be provided with all the data concerning the infection. Colleges should step up to the plate of reaching all the students and staff to guarantee that they approach the most recent counsel. Data and information with respect to Coronavirus ought to be dispersed to all members of the university so they get educated on the most proficient method to shield themselves from getting contaminated. People coming back from territories influenced by the infection ought to be made mindful of self-isolate to ensure others are kept safe. They should remain inside and maintain a strategic distance from contact with others regardless of whether they don’t have any side effects, along these lines they will be securing others at the school.

Flu vaccination

Institutions of higher learning ought to urge understudies to get their flu vaccinations, all the more so those individuals who have not effectively gotten it. Coronavirus displays comparable indications as those of flu. This will limit the quantity of flu-like sicknesses nearby and will restrain disarray if Coronavirus disease starts to spread. Since it appears that it is difficult to recognize the two maladies, taking out or decreasing the odds of one happening would help effectively distinguish the event of the other things considered.

Travel history

Wellbeing workers at the institutions ought to enquire about the movement history at whatever point they are assessing a patient with breathing issues or in the event that they have been in contact with an individual who had as of late come from one the influenced zones. This is significant as they can follow the patient’s development before infection and make ends in the event that it could be Coronavirus or not. In the event that an individual had made a trip to the influenced nations, they ought to be confined from the rest to screen and screen to find out whether they have the infection or not. The significant issue with the infection is that it can without much effort spread through contact with surfaces that have been touched by a contaminated individual. As one goes to and from nations with significant levels of disease, they are well on the way to interact with such surfaces in transport, lifts, and other open territories and accidentally contract the infection. This is the reason the laborers ought to consistently guarantee to stay on the high alert and discover the travel history of all people that visit or go to the regions.

Cleaning and disinfecting of touch surfaces

College specialists are encouraged to expand the cleaning and sterilizing of high touch surfaces, for example, door handles, seats and bathrooms in the college structures to dispose of any infections. These surfaces convey plenty of diseases. When one neglects to wash their hands subsequent to contacting altogether, they could go quickly transfer the virus to eyes, nose or mouth through where they enter the body making one sick. In this manner, organizations ought to likewise sensitize learners about the significance of handwashing. At the point when these significant levels of sanitation are executed and kept up, all things considered, the spread of the fatal infection will be diminished to a base level.

Suspension of education Programs

Colleges are encouraged to promptly suspend any instruction programming to any nation which has been influenced by the Coronavirus. No college ought to permit its learners to venture out to these nations, as doing so will jeopardize their lives. Heading out to various nations, particularly those that have elevated levels of disease expands the likelihood of coming down with the infection and spreading it back to the foundation of higher learning.

With the high transmission rates of the Coronavirus and the devastating outcome in places that have been hard hit, it is more important than ever to put measures in place to ensure that students are protected. In case the virus found its way to a school that holds thousands of students, the results would be distressing. It would also be very difficult to contain the disease given that it is highly transmissible in the early stages. Taking of the correct measures and precautions as well as paying close attention to any information that may help in fighting the disease early enough is the best approach to ensure that the lives of the students are protected. It is also important to seek expert advice on the best ways to remain safe from this virus. It is, therefore, the duty of the institutions to make sure that they put all necessary measures in place and that they continue to conduct relevant research on the virus and the best course of action to take in case they suspect that any of their students have been affected.