It’s probably just a cold, but you should still cover your coughs.
Popular Science
Date:\ February 28, 2020
By: Rachel Feltman
If you’re sick, try to stay home.Unsplash
The CDC calling the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 across the United States “inevitable” has understandably triggered a decent amount of anxiety. While COVID-19—which is thought to have originated in Wuhan, China back in December after jumping from an as-yet-unconfirmed animal host—has a troubling fatality rate of around 2 percent (based on current estimates), the vast majority of people who contract the virus experience only mild, cold-like symptoms. In fact, it’s quite possible that the disease’s fatality rate is artificially inflated; with so many confirmed cases featuring mild symptoms, it’s likely that there are many COVID-19 cases going totally unnoticed.
If you get COVID-19, you’re unlikely to get seriously sick and even less likely to die, especially if you are otherwise healthy. But that raises a troubling question that’s difficult to answer: How do you know if your seasonal sniffles might actually be COVID-19? Here’s a handy guide.
What symptoms does COVID-19 have?
First things first: What symptoms should you look out for?
The main symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. [FULL STORY]
