10 REASONS NOT TO PANIC

1 We know what it is. The first cases of Aids were described in June 1981 and it took more than two years to identify the virus (HIV) causing the disease. With Covid-19, the first cases of severe pneumonia were reported in China on December 31, 2019, and by January 7 the virus had already been identified.

2 We know how to detect the virus. Since January 13, a test to detect the virus has been available.

3 The situation is improving in China. The strong control and isolation measures imposed by China are paying off and the number of cases diagnosed every day is decreasing.

4 80 per cent of cases are mild. The disease causes no symptoms or is mild in 81 per cent of cases. In 14 per cent of cases it can cause severe pneumonia and in five per cent it can become critical or even fatal.

5 People heal. There are 13 times more cured cases than deaths and that proportion is increasing.

6 Symptoms are so mild in children that it can go unnoticed.

7 The virus can be wiped clean. Frequent handwashing with soap and water is the most effective way to avoid contagion.

8 Science is on it, globally. There are preliminary works on vaccines, treatments, epidemiology, genetics and phylogeny, diagnosis, clinical aspects, etc. These articles were elaborated by some 700 authors, distributed throughout the planet.

9 There are vaccine prototypes. There are already more than eight projects under way seeking a vaccine against the new coronavirus.

10 Antiviral trials are under way. These are antivirals that have been used for other infections, which are already approved and that we know are safe. We have never been better prepared to fight a pandemic.