What does the mortality rate or death rate mean in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

What does the mortality rate or death rate mean in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The mortality rate is the number of people who died due to COVID-19 divided by the total number of people in the population. Since this is an ongoing outbreak, the mortality rate can change daily.

What is COVID-19 excess mortality?

Excess mortality is defined as the difference in the total number of deaths in a crisis compared to those expected under normal conditions. COVID-19 excess mortality accounts for both the total number of deaths directly attributed to the virus as well as the indirect impact, such as disruption to essential health services or travel disruptions.

What is the Infection Fatality Ratio (IFR)?

The number of individuals who die of the disease among all infected individuals (symptomatic and asymptomatic).

Are smokers at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus disease?

Smoking any kind of tobacco reduces lung capacity and increases the risk of many respiratory infections and can increase the severity of respiratory diseases. COVID-19 is an infectious disease that primarily attacks the lungs. Smoking impairs lung function making it harder for the body to fight off coronaviruses and other respiratory diseases. Available research suggests that smokers are at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 outcomes and death.

Can smoking waterpipes spread the coronavirus disease?

Smoking waterpipes, also known as shisha or hookah, often involves the sharing of mouth pieces and hoses, which could facilitate the transmission of the COVID-19 virus in communal and social settings.

Can the coronavirus survive on surfaces?

It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems likely to behave like other coronaviruses. A recent review of the survival of human coronaviruses on surfaces found large variability, ranging from 2 hours to 9 days (11).The survival time depends on a number of factors, including the type of surface, temperature, relative humidity and specific strain of the virus.

What does COVID-19 stand for?

‘CO’ stands for corona, ‘VI’ for virus, and ‘D’ for disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as ‘2019 novel coronavirus’ or ‘2019-nCoV.’ The COVID-19 virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and some types of common cold.

How do viruses get their name?

Viruses are named based on their genetic structure to facilitate the development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. Virologists and the wider scientific community do this work, so viruses are named by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV).

Is coronavirus a disease?

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.

What is the definition of a pandemic?

A pandemic is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people”. The classical definition includes nothing about population immunity, virology or disease severity. By this definition, pandemics can be said to occur annually in each of the temperate southern and northern hemispheres, given that seasonal epidemics cross international boundaries and affect a large number of people. However, seasonal epidemics are not considered pandemics.

Is coronavirus disease zootonic?

All available evidence for COVID-19 suggests that SARS-CoV-2 has a zoonotic source.

What does it mean to flatten the COVID-19 curve?

A flatter curve is created by a more gradual increase in the number of cases per day and a more gradual decrease. Over a long period of time the number of people infected might be around thesame, but the difference is the number of cases that occur each day.

What is a heathy diet during the coronavirus disease pandemic?

Eat fresh and unprocessed foods every day Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils, beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat, brown rice or starchy tubers or roots such as potato, yam, taro or cassava), and foods from animal sources (e.g. meat, fish, eggs and milk).

Why are older people at significant risk of COVID-19?

Although all age groups are at risk of contracting COVID-19, older people face significant risk of developing severe illness if they contract the disease due to physiological changes that come with ageing and potential underlying health conditions.

What preventative measures can I take against the coronavirus disease?

To prevent infection and to slow transmission of COVID-19, do the following:

• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, or clean them with alcohol-based hand rub.
• Maintain at least 1 metre distance between you and people coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid touching your face.
• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
• Stay home if you feel unwell.
• Refrain from smoking and other activities that weaken the lungs.
• Practice physical distancing by avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from large groups of people.