10 COVID-19 Fast Facts to Understand & Remember

As the world struggles to contain COVID-19, understanding of the virus is key in combating it. And there’s a lot of information and misinformation, in addition to the changing facts about the virus, and all other aspects surrounding it.

In this segment, infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Francisco Sy, summarizes all we need to know in 10 catchy, easy-to-understand and remember fast facts.

Dr. Sy earned his Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree in Immunology and Infectious Diseases in 1984 from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health; Master of Science (SM) in Tropical Public Health in 1981 from Harvard School of Public Health; his MD degree in 1975 and BS Pre-Med degree in 1970 from the University of the Philippines.

Here are the 10 points he discusses in the video. Data is from April 29 2020:

1. It’s a novel virus!

2. Easy Come! Easy Go!

3. Tip of the Iceberg

4. Fast and Furious!

5. a) And the heroes come along – About 200,000 or 50% of all foreign nurses in the U.S. are #Filipinos. 23% of physicians are international medical graduates. 13,507 or 6% are Filipinos. In the 4-14-2020 CDC report: 9,282 (19%) health care personnel infected with COVID-19, 73% female, 55% infected through health care exposure, 90% were not hospitalized, 27 deaths.

b) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly- Positive and grateful attitudes to healthcare workers and first responders. However, racism, discrimination and hate crimes are increasing against Asian Americans. They are being blamed for spreading the “Chinese” virus from Wuhan, China.

6. #flattenthecurve

7. There’s no single magic bullet.

Lessons learned from countries with lower cases and deaths.

• Taiwan 6 deaths/429 cases
• Hongkong 4/1037
• Singapore 14/14,951
• South Korea 244/10,752

8. When Will Lockdown End and Life Return to “Normal”?

WHO 6 criteria for lifting the lockdown restrictions:

1. Transmission under control
2. Detect, test, isolate & treat every case & trace every contact
3. Hot spots minimized in vulnerable places (nursing homes)
4. Preventive measures established in schools, workplaces etc.
5. Imported cases managed
6. Communities fully educated, engaged & empowered

9. Empower yourself, educate yourself and your family; and keep your faith strong. Check regularly these 4 websites: Coronavirus.jhu.edu, CDC.gov, NIH.gov, WHO.int

10. We are the world! We’re all in this together. And this too shall pass!