What is Covid-19?

March 19, 2020

Lincoln County joined the world Wednesday when the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed. This information comes amid massive social distancing shut-downs around the world and in North Platte, Neb.

Emmalynn Berry
North Platte grocery stores are running out of essentials. Gary’s Super Foods was completely out of toilet paper on March 19. To discourage hoarding, the store has been limiting sales to two packages per person.

Covid-19 is a novel (new), highly-contagious corona virus first detected in Wuhan, China that targets people’s respiratory systems. Mild to severe symptoms of fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath appear 2-14 days after exposure. The spread of the virus can spread person to person contact through respiratory droplets when people cough, sneeze, speak and/or breathe out. Older people and those with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms which would need hospital treatments.

The virus is spreading exponentially across the globe. The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11. As of this writing, the U.S. has confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been confirmed in all 50 United States, with 27 of those cases in Nebraska.

In order to flatter the curve, and lower the impact on health care facilities, president Donald Trump has issued “15 Days to Lower the Spread” which recommends people stop traveling, self-isolate to groups of 10 or less, and maintain a distance of 6-feet apart.

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