How to stay safe from COVID-19

These past few months, the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 has dominated the news not only in our country but all over the world. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome, which first emerged from Wuhan, China.

According to experts, the fatality rate is estimated between one and three percent. Experts also say that those affected may develop symptoms such as fever, shortness of breath, fatigue and dry cough, which may progress to pneumonia and multi-organ failure. Those at highest risk are the elderly and chronically ill.

While the government and the Department of Health, together with the media, have been continuously giving us updates, we all have to do our share by giving our full cooperation and following the basic medical guidelines to keep us and our loved ones safe from COVID-19. Fake news, unfounded rumors and unverified information put us all at risk. Please do not forward unverified news. We must all cooperate to make this work and stop the spread of the disease.

The Makati Medical Center’s Women’s Wellness Center head Dr. Gia Grace Sison, a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, specializes in Occupational Medicine that deals with workplace health issues and formulating policies for health in the workplace. She is a mother of two and is married to Dr. Rogin Sison, who heads the Emergency Department of FEU-NRMF.

This week, Dr. Gia shares with us some basic medical-based advice in order to keep us safe from the virus.

PHOTOS BY KRIZ JOHN ROSALES Employees and visitors of Manila City Hall queue for a handheld thermal scanner conducted before entering the building as part of the city’s precautionary methods against COVID-19.