#YouAsked Covid-19 Can Covid-19 be described as a bad flu? Source World Health Organization Short answer Can Covid-19 be described as a bad flu? Covid-19 is a disease caused by a recently discovered virus called SARS-CoV-2, which is a new type of coronavirus. A different virus causes influenza. Both viruses cause respiratory disease and both are spread by contact, droplets and contaminated surfaces and objects, according to the Worl... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is the big Covid-19 wave still coming? Source South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium Short answer Is the big Covid-19 wave still coming? In May, the South African Covid-19 Modelling Consortium estimated that the peak in active Covid-19 cases in South Africa is likely to be somewhere between early July (in a pessimistic scenario) and early August (in an optimistic scenario). The initial lockdown measures and social distancing delayed ... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is mandatory mask-wearing by everyone effective? Source World Health Organization Short answer Is mandatory mask-wearing by everyone effective? Members of the general public have been discouraged from using surgical masks and N95 respirators amid global shortages of protective equipment for health workers. But recently updated guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) give examples in which “the general public should be encourag... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is it true that the US is to fund the Madagascar Covid-19 herbal ‘cure’ with $2.5m? Source US State Department factsheet Short answer Is it true that the US is to fund the Madagascar Covid-19 herbal ‘cure’ with $2.5m? In April 2020, the US Ambassador to Madagascar, Michael Pelletier, announced that the United States would provide Madagascar with Covid-19-related health assistance of $2.5 million to “strengthen the health response across the country including hospitals, laboratories and community health”. ... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 How has Covid-19 spread so quickly? Source The University of Texas at Austin Short answer How has Covid-19 spread so quickly? Two measures are relevant to this question: how many people someone with Covid-19 infects and how long it takes to do so.Experts have calculated the basic reproduction number (R0) of Covid-19 to estimate how contagious the disease is. R0 is the number of people an infected person is likely to infect... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is Covid-19 in fact a bacterial infection? Source World Health Organization Short answer Is Covid-19 in fact a bacterial infection? No, Covid-19 is not caused by bacteria. According to the World Health Organization, Covid-19 is the disease caused by the new coronavirus – a respiratory virus that is spread by droplets from an infected person. Viruses and bacteria differ in a number of ways. Bacteria are “single-celled micr... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is it true that Covid-19 has been linked to strokes? Source New England Journal of Medicine Short answer Is it true that Covid-19 has been linked to strokes? Researchers are still learning about the possible complications of Covid-19. A study of 32 patients with both Covid-19 and strokes in New York found that they tended to be younger than stroke patients who didn’t have Covid-19 and that their strokes were more severe. They also had higher l... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Is Covid-19 found in semen? Source JAMA Network Open Short answer Is Covid-19 found in semen? According to research published in the online journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA Network Open, traces of the new coronavirus were found in the semen of six men with Covid-19. This small study took place at China’s Shangqiu Municipal Hospital and involved 38 men – some who were in ... Back Full answer
#YouAsked Covid-19 Health Are there fewer overall deaths in South Africa during the coronavirus pandemic? Source Report on weekly deaths in South Africa (South African Medical Research Council) Short answer Are there fewer overall deaths in South Africa during the coronavirus pandemic? The Burden of Disease Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council has been using information from the National Population Register and historical data from 2018 and 2019 to estimate the number of deaths that could be expected during 2020. They compare it with deaths registered during... Back Full answer