As the coronavirus reaches a crucial stage simply passing off coronavirus as a ‘flu-like’ outbreak is a naive move. This warning is coming from doctors and virologists.
There is a major outbreak in Italy too. The health system of the country is stretching too long for now. The country is witnessing more than 10,000 cases. And therefore we should not underestimate this virus.
In a viral tweet, one woman from northern Italy warns the country made a ‘big mistake’ in the lead-up to the outbreak in the European epicenter. Because of this, the death toll is soaring beyond 600.
“Please, please guys. Here in northern Italy, we made one big mistake. Everybody kept saying: ‘It’s just flu’ and now our intensive care units are collapsing,” 23-year-old Bianca, from Lombardy, tweets.
“Everybody kept going outside like nothing happened and now our grandparents and parents are dying.”
“Coronavirus is not flu.”
And in a long column on Facebook which is circulating 32,000 times till now. Dr. Daniele Macchini who is on the frontline of the coronavirus fight in the Italian city of Bergamo reveals the devastating effect the virus is having on the health system.
“Explain to me which flu virus causes such a rapid drama. And while there are still people who boast of not being afraid by ignoring directions”.
Do not underestimate coronavirus
Profferson Ian Mackay wars that do not underestimate CoronaVirus. He is an associate professor at the University of Queensland and a virologist.
Professor says many people refer to coronavirus as “just another flu” without seeing it as a “big risk”. He continues “It’s hard to stress how bad this could be if we don’t take it seriously”.
“We’re seeing the virus spread and cause a lot of severe disease and while it’s not death. It’s still severe disease and it’s tying up a lot of healthcare resources. That’s not what we see every year from flu,” he said.
Weeks before, the condition of medical teams in Hubei, the original epicenter of the virus, was widely documented as staff works day and night in their battle against the outbreak.
‘This virus is not influenza’
Last week, the World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus specifically warns the coronavirus outbreak shouldn’t be compared to the flu.
“This virus is not SARS, it’s not MERS, and it’s not influenza. It is a unique virus with unique characteristics,” he says.
Tedros restates that COVID-19 cause more severe disease than seasonal influenza.
“While many people globally have built up immunity to seasonal flu strains. COVID-19 is a new virus to which no one has immunity,” he said.
“That means more people are susceptible to infection, and some will suffer severe disease.”