In late December of 2019, outbreaks of a virus started to spread around Wuhan, China. Now the virus, identified as the Coronavirus, has spread to multiple countries and in China alone has spread to more than 76,262 people. 

An article from Wired by Matt Reynolds says the virus seems to have originated from a market that sold meat illegally. At the market, they sold many animals, but the Coronavirus in humans seems to be from the same one found in bats. After the virus spread from the animals to people, it was then able to spread from person to person.

Symptoms of the Coronavirus are that of an upper respiratory infection which causes coughing, headaches, fevers, and a runny nose which altogether sounds manageable. The problem has more  to do with the fact that during the early stages of the virus, symptoms are not noticeable, or similar to the flu or a common cold, which makes it easier to spread without knowing it. People with underlying health conditions are also more susceptible to the virus and the large majority of people who have died from the virus did have underlying conditions. One major concern is that the virus could mutate, which would make it harder to find a cure, and could possibly make the virus more deadly. 

Although the large majority of people with the Coronavirus are in China, it has spread to Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Japan, Finland, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Taiwan, Cambodia, Nepal, Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Macau, Russia, Italy, The United Kingdom, France, The United States, South Korea, Germany, The United Arab Emirates, and Canada. This has caused borders to close, flights to be cancelled, and quarantines for people thought to be infected. Overall, the Coronavirus is definitely a horrible disease that has taken the lives of many people, but there is hope. Coronavirus, although deadly, is not the worst illness the world has faced and is currently facing right now. In fact, the flu has killed more people than the Coronavirus and puts more groups of people at risk. Lynn Bufka, senior director of practice research and policy at the American Psychological Association and an expert on anxiety says “The flu doesn’t feel novel. Most people’s experience with the flu is they’ve had it, they’ve recovered, it’s not a big deal — despite the fact that thousands of people die every year.” This is not to say that the Coronavirus is not horrible, and we definitely need to find a way to prevent it, but when compared to other serious illnesses, it can give people hope that this is not as bad as it seems and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the people suffering.

Trinidy Acevedo, Staff Writer

Junior Trinidy Acevedo is a staff writer for the 2019-2020 Colonel. She has a strong love for anything horror and has a large collection of T-shirts. She also loves spending time with family and camping.