Is COVID-19 Worse than the Flu? Coronavirus Q&A

Below read some answers to the latest questions we’ve all been collected from a medical expert Dr. Lucas, Is COVID-19 Worse than the Flu? let’s read all Coronavirus Q&A

Q. 1.     How does coronavirus compare to influenza because every year thousands of people die from influenza is a coronavirus that much more aggressive?

Peoples like you have maybe seen the graphic that compares the flu with the coronavirus and here are some facts that we know the flu infects an estimated billion people worldwide and is in the tens of millions in North Americans each year.

Compare that with the coronavirus which is now over a hundred thousand people and when we look at the number of deaths there are estimates that this season alone there’s been over 600,000 people that have died worldwide from the flu and we are approaching 4,000 from this coronavirus.

but the major concern remains that the coronavirus is evolving it’s changing rapidly it’s a new virus our body has never seen it we don’t have immunity to it so we don’t fully know what it’s capable of that’s why I think everyone is on full-blown alert mode but we should never lose sight of how bad the flu is every year as well.

Q. 2.     If someone gets the coronavirus what are their chances that they’ll fully recover?
We know so far is that 80%of people will have a mild asymptomatic course 15% of people will have a severe infection requiring oxygen and 5% of people will have a critical infection requiring ICU and a ventilator.

So I crunched the numbers late last night also and based on the cases that have been reported if infected with the virus the death rate right now is 3.5%.

what’s clear is we probably don’t have the right denominator which means there are cases that are asymptomatic where I’ve been very mild and these patients haven’t been tested lets put this into context.

when we talk about the flu the death rate from the flu is 0.1% so that’s a stark contrast to 3.5% that’s 35 times higher but I will repeat we don’t know all the cases the percentage will go down and with more testing, we’re still learning and the situation remains very fluid.

Q. 3.     as you said this virus is mutating so that is troublesome as well okay the federal government is sending a plane to bring a couple of hundred Canadians home from a cruise ship docked in California should we avoid traveling right now?

that’s a loaded question I think in short you should always follow the CDC travel advisory website which is updated regularly and it’s the best place to look I myself have been traveling in North America within the last few weeks and I’ve even had someone sit next to me on a plane with a surgical mask who was coughing and I still felt comfortable flying but myself I would not go on a cruise at this very moment.

Very importantly just yesterday the CDC went on record and announced emphatically if you’re a person with an underlying condition particularly an elderly person with an underlying condition you should distance yourself from the risk and that includes large crowds getting on a plane and above all not to be on a cruise ship. 

Q. 4.     If someone exhibiting flu-like symptoms can he/she ask to be tested for COVID-19?

Yes if someone sick absolutely she/he can be tested and all physicians in Canada have been receiving these emails from provincial authorities detailing what to do in case there's a concern that a patient is infected.

There are public health offices in all local municipalities and regions that have been designated for patients to come and be tested accordingly the key feature here.

I want everyone to remember is that if you have those common symptoms the cough the fever shortness of breath and you’ve been in contact with someone who’s been in an endemic area where there’s an explosion of cases.

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call your family doctor or call the emergency department first before showing up we don’t want people to just expose others unknowingly and we want to prevent this transmission full-stop so be alert call in advance don’t just show up.

Q. 5.     if a person doesn’t have a connection to someone who has had been in direct contact he/she can still ask for such a test?

I think this is a discussion to have with your health care practitioner yes it is spreading in the community so potentially you didn’t even know you had you know contact with someone from one of these areas.

but I would discuss this with my family doctor or the emergency doctor in advance we don’t want just anyone goes into the emergency room with a scratchy throat saying test me for Koba-19 or this coronavirus so it’s a conversation to have with the doctor before the testing fully gets sent out.

Q. 6.     As you know hand sanitizer and masks are hard to find these days how effective really are they and keeping you safe?

Maybe you’ve been seeing this but all across the world, everyone is buying out not only toilet paper but also all the hand sanitizer.

you can’t even get it on amazon unless you’re willing to pay hundreds of dollars so in short yes hand sanitizer is effective if and here’s the key there’s at least 60% alcohol content in the hand sanitizers.

So buying any old hand sanitizer especially if it’s alcohol-free is not going to get the job done furthermore soap and water remain your best friend.

I can’t tell you honestly how encouraging it’s been these last few weeks and airport restaurants bars I see all men washing their hands for the full 20 seconds.

I’m sure this is probably happening in the female bathroom also but it’s been a revelation and a big positive at least from the awareness that has been spread about the transmission.

Q. 7.     Finally, if someone snowbirds should he/she come home?

It’s a great question and at the moment I think I’ll echo what I said earlier if you have comorbidities if you have a medical condition do not travel at this moment.

but this is evolving we'll see what happens on a day to day the risk is real and everyone needs to be tuned in regularly for updates and we’ll see how this progresses but for right now if you have an illness or if you have a medical condition I would not come home I would stay put in outside at the moment.

It’s great information as always thank you so much for taking the time to read all if you have any further questions just put that in the comment section.