COVID 19 – General information
On 30 January 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. On 11 March 2020, WHO characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic.
There are currently no authorised vaccines or treatments in the EU to prevent or treat COVID-19. However, there are ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. (source: www.ema.europe.eu)
What are the main symptoms?
It may vary in severity from having no symptoms at all (being asymptomatic) to having
- fever,
- cough,
- sore throat,
- fatigue and muscular pain and
- severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis.
What to do if feel the main symptoms?
It is important that once you feel the above symptoms, please follow the protocol of your respective country. In some countries you are not even allowed to visit your general practitioner, but to call a central phone number.
What can I do not to get infected?
Here are some tips and useful hints, which might help you to stay healthy:
- social distancing – try to self-isolate yourself and reduce the occasions you might meet with others. It is especially advised to avoid crowded places (eg. public transport) and keep 1 metre (more recently 1,5-2m) from others
- regularly wash your hands in a proper way
- try avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands
There are number of resources available and plenty of information accessible through different channels. As we are getting to know more and more about the virus, some of the previous assumptions and good practices may change.
Due to these unprecedented times, we highly recommend to visit reliable sources and regularly check them for further updates.
If you want to learn more, please visit the following links:
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19-pandemic
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/human-regulatory/overview/public-health-threats/coronavirus-disease-covid-19
https://www.eu-patient.eu/COVID-19/covid-resource-point/
https://www.europeanlung.org/en/lung-disease-and-information/covid-19