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This is not a regular blog post that you will find on a financial marketplace. This is us simply taking a 2-minute pause to recognize something which is deemed alarming and big at the same time. Till today as you read this post, the number of people infected with Coronavirus pandemic has risen to 2,667,551 out of which 186,252 have deceased, 57,955 are in critical condition and 730,928 have recovered completely. The death toll has overtaken previous epidemics SARS(2003) and MERS(2012) which had claimed the lives of 774 and 858 people. Most people who are infected with Coronavirus are from Wuhan (China), which has been identified as the epicentre of the epidemic and efforts are being made now at a global level to contain the virus as much as possible. Despite all the measures the Coronavirus has infiltrated its way into 199 countries including India where the number of people that got infected have touched 21,700, and the total death count has reached 689.

Today with this post we want our readers to be aware of the measures and precautions that they should adopt in their daily lives in order to be safe from Coronavirus or as a matter of fact all kinds of viruses.

What is Coronavirus, and what are its symptoms?

Coronavirus is a respiratory system attacking virus. They might start looking like a common cold virus but as the day progresses from 2nd to 14th day it starts turning worse from the bad. These types of Coronaviruses have been responsible for several outbreaks around the world, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) pandemic of 2002-2003 and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in South Korea in 2015. Most recently, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) triggered an outbreak in China in December 2019, sparking international concern.

Types of Coronavirus: 

Different types of human coronaviruses vary in the severity of illness they cause and how far they can spread

There are currently seven recognized types of coronavirus that can infect humans.

Common types include:

• 229E (alpha coronavirus)
• NL63 (alpha coronavirus)
• OC43 (beta coronavirus)
• HKU1 (beta coronavirus)

The strain which is prevalent right now is a new one, and it is called nCov, aka Novel Coronavirus.

Symptoms of Coronavirus

Symptoms vary from person to person with a 2019-nCov infection. It may produce few or no symptoms. However, it can also lead to severe illness and may be fatal. Common symptoms include

• Fever
• Breathlessness
• Cough & Cold
• Loss of taste, loss of smell

In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

If in case you feel the above symptoms for more than 2 days(ruling out common cold & flu), you should immediately consult your doctor. Though it is said that the virus is very much incurable but it is very much advisable to practice the following regimen as goes the old saying - “Prevention is always better than cure”

What are the Precautionary measures to avoid contracting Coronavirus?

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your sneeze with a tissue and dispose of that tissue in a covered dustbin.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using regular cleaning spray or wipe.
• Wash your hands often with soap water for at least 20s before eating or after using the bathroom. 
• You can use any hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to disinfect your hands but make it a point to use only soap water in case your hands are visibly dirty.
• Use a good quality govt. prescribed mask if you have contracted initial symptoms like cough & cold.

How is India responding to the Coronavirus outbreak?

As a precautionary step, the Prime Minister has extended the total lockdown of 21 days to another 19 days till May 03,2020 . In a complete lockdown scenario, people are advised to sit at home and maintain social distancing. In this way, India can mitigate the risk of infection of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, all the essential services will continue to provide aid to the citizens. As this lockdown has affected the weaker section severely, the Finance Minister, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman on the 26th March 2020 came up with a special financial announcement to counter the Covid-19 effect. Although these welfare plans will help the poor and underprivileged people, still middle class or lower-middle-class people need not worry because RBI has also provided some comfort to these people. The RBI has taken some firm steps in the form of a repo rate cut to make the loan cheaper and a 3-month moratorium period for outstanding loan payments.

Earlier, India evacuated 766 people from China, 124 from Japan, 450 from Iran, and 218 from Italy. To keep up with the rising demand of testing facilities, the Centre had allowed accredited private labs to conduct   tests for Covid-19. On 22nd March India witnessed ‘Janata Curfew’ which was extended by the various states. Currently, the number of Covid-19 infected patients has reached 21,700.

Covid-19 Infected Numbers of Various States/UTs

State/UT	Confirmed	Active	Recovered	Deceased
Maharashtra	5,649	4,591	789	269
Gujarat	2,407	2,125	179	103
Delhi	2,248	1,476	724	48
Rajasthan	1,937	1,566	344	27
Madhya Pradesh	1,687	1,401	203	83
Tamil Nadu	1,629	949	662	18
Uttar Pradesh	1,449	1,255	173	21
Telangana	943	725	194	24
Andhra Pradesh	893	725	141	27
West Bengal	456	362	79	15
Karnataka	445	287	141	17
Kerala	437	127	308	2
Jammu and Kashmir	427	330	92	5
Punjab	283	200	66	17
Haryana	264	103	158	3
Bihar	148	104	42	2
Odisha	689	55	33	1
Jharkhand	753	42	8	3
Uttarakhand	46	23	23	-
Himachal Pradesh	39	19	18	2
Assam	136	16	19	1
Chhattisgarh	36	8	28	-
Chandigarh	27	13	14	-
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	22	11	11	-
Ladakh	18	2	16	-
Meghalaya	12	11	-	1
Goa	7	-	7	-
Puducherry	7	3	4	-
Manipur	2	-	2	-
Tripura	2	1	1	-
Arunachal Pradesh	1	-	1	-
Mizoram	1	1	-	-

On the other hand, the Indian Railway had cancelled all the passenger trains till 31st of March to stop the Covid-19 from spreading. In response to the World Health Organisation(WHO) declaration COVID-19 as pandemic and surge in coronavirus infected patients in India, the government had released a list of helpline numbers for all the States and UTs.

COVID-19 Helpline Numbers for Various States and UTs

State/UT	Helpline Numbers
Andhra Pradesh	08662410978
Arunachal Pradesh	9436055743
Assam	6913347770
Bihar	104
Chhattisgarh	077122-35091
Goa	104
Gujarat	104
Haryana	8558893911
Himachal Pradesh	104
Jharkhand	104
Karnataka	104
Kerala	0471-2552056
Madhya Pradesh	0755-2527177
Maharashtra	020-26127394
Manipur	3852411668
Meghalaya	108
Mizoram	102
Nagaland	7005539653
Odisha	9439994859
Punjab	104
Rajasthan	0141-2225624
Sikkim	104
Tamil Nadu	044-29510500
Telangana	104
Tripura	0381-2315879
Uttarakhand	104
Uttar Pradesh	18001805145
West Bengal	3323412600
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	03192-232102
Chandigarh	9779558282
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu	104
Delhi	011-22307154
Jammu	01912520982
Kashmir	01942440283
Ladakh	01982256462
Lakshadweep	104
Puducherry	104

In times like these, we are determined to spread awareness about this deadly virus which is wreaking havoc across the globe and contribute towards busting the false news surrounding the same. We also believe in giving our readers the Afinoz advantage about the facts and figures which have been used in the post as each and every word is brought to you after confirming from UN and other reliable agencies websites so that you do not find yourself in a humongous pile of fake news that can add fuel to the rising mass hysteria around the Coronavirus.

Better to be safe than sorry

(Updated on 24th Apr 2020)

Source:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/coronavirus-in-india-live-news-latest-updates/liveblog/73891111.cms