his is just one essay on coronavirus from the vast collection carefully curated by Wow Essays.

This example is here for academic purposes only. For medical information, turn to the official

Health Care resources!

COVID-19, or coronavirus disease, is a highly infectious disease caused by the novel (newly

discovered) virus of the Corona family. The first cases were registered in the Chinese city of

Wuhan late in 2019 (hence the “19” in the name), but soon through human-to-human

transmission, the virus spread globally causing the pandemic.

The majority of people who contract COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate respiratory

symptoms and fever similar to the ones brought about by flue and will recover without requiring

medical help. However, the elderly and people with some underlying conditions might develop

serious complications, down to the fatal outcome.

What’s up with the masks?

The most dangerous aspect of coronavirus disease is its high contagiousness. The number of

infected people spikes explosively and the medical facilities become overwhelmed with patients

who need medical care to survive, including mechanical ventilation of lungs. Another dangerous

aspect is that infected people might experience no symptoms whatsoever, but keep infecting

others they contact with.

According to the information on the official World Health Organization website, “[the] virus

spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person

coughs or sneezes” (WHO, 2020).

That is why one of the most effective ways of slowing the spread of the coronavirus down is

respiratory etiquette: covering your face with a tissue when you sneeze, coughing into a flexed

elbow instead of your hands (to avoid spreading the virus via the surfaces you touch), and

wearing a face mask.

The necessity of a face mask has been a subject of heated disputes. Some argue it has little to no

effect and even imply that the whole thing was invented either to sell more masks or even to

“normalize face covering” in our culture in a sneaky way. Meanwhile, others reverently believe

in its protective power and stash surgical masks in their closets contributing to the shortage.

What the mask can and cannot do

The answer lies, as usual, in the understanding of how things work. Surgical masks are not an

impenetrable shield; their protection has its limitations. However, depending on the particular

mask and the material it’s made of, it can reduce the amount of infectious bioaerosols by 6-fold

on average, with maximum efficiency being a 55-fold reduction (Makison Booth et al., 2013)

Of course, there are cases when mask protection fails:

if bioaerosol from an infected person reaches your eyes

if you touch your face and eyes with hands that have been in contact with the virus (for example,

you high-fived a sick person and then scratched your nose under the mask)

if you’ve been using the mask for too long and it soaked through

There are also cases, when masks are simply unnecessary, for example, if you are out in the open

air and keep a safe distance from other people.

However, if you are contacting a person who has or might have contracted COVID-19 or going

into an enclosed space with other people, the mask is an essential means of individual protection

that curbs the risk of infection.

What is more important, the mask not only protects you from the saliva droplets spread by

people around you. It is even more efficient in holding your own bioaerosols back and

preventing you from passing the infection on, even if you aren’t yet aware of being infected.

Therefore, if you are experiencing respiratory symptoms, you should wear a mask when you visit

the store, the hospital, or simply go about your business and contact other people. This is just

civil and responsible behavior.

Should you wear a mask amidst the coronavirus outbreak? Ultimately, it’s up to you. Yet while

making a decision to wear it or not to wear it, you should weigh not only your own safety but

also the safety of others around you.

References:

World Health Organization (23-04-2020), Coronavirus overview. Retrieved from

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

Makison Booth, C., Clayton, M., Crook, B. & Gawn, J. M. (2013) “Effectiveness of surgical

masks against influenza bioaerosols”. Journal of Hospital Infection, 84 (1), 22-26.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhin.2013.02.007

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