A New Way of Life
By: Markou Abadir
Last New Year’s Eve, people all over the world were celebrating the upcoming year with their kind wishes for peace and safety but it seems like 2019 intended to leave a unique mark unlike any other year in this century, where the new beginnings of 2020 were hit as the first case of the COVID-19 coronavirus was discovered in China.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website, the initial cases of COVID-19 were found in people who worked or shopped from seafood market in the center of a Chinese city (Wuhan), usually selling live or slaughtered animals. Scientists said that the COVID-19 virus is one of the family of diseases that range from the common cold to other viruses like MERS “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome”, and SARs “Severe acute respiratory syndrome”, and that these three viruses shares the
same origin of coronaviruses as they are transmitted from animals to human.
There have been many myths and bits of misinformation about what COVID-19 patients suffer, but all medical authorities agree that the symptoms are severe cough, high fever, and difficulty in breathing which may lead to pneumonia and death especially in low immunity patients like elderly people, those with diabetes, cancer, and other illnesses, and children. Up till now there is no treatment for COVID-19, but scientists are in a race to discover a vaccine for this disease; unfortunately this process may take many years.
As the number of cases and deaths around the world near five million and 320,000, respectively, the question becomes what precautions are we taking not only in Egypt let alone here at AUC?
In order to discover the answer, we met Physician Ahmed Abd Elmoamen and asked asking him a couple of questions about symptoms, health care, and prevention.
A person should visit a hospital for any common cold symptoms with a high fever indication, he advised.
We also talked about the primary cases of Covid19 and the suspected way of its transmission, and Dr Elmoamen added that it is crucial for everyone to be using their own utensils, such as spoons, plates, and bottles of water.
If a student living at the dorms or on their own is cooking with bare hands they should wash them thoroughly throughout the process. He also advised to make sure that the food you eat is served well done.
As for AUC, courses this semester are coming to an end having been online and using the Zoom application mostly. Summer courses are also being held online.
With the Eid-al-Fitr holiday a few days away, the government has reintroduced a stricter curfew – from 6pm to 5pm. However, it is unclear whether the government plans to go ahead and reopen businesses following the holiday.
