- Reports out of China reveal that a coronavirus infection rarely results in severe symptoms, with the vast majority of patients only experiencing mild symptoms that quickly go away.
- Over 80% of confirmed COVID-19 patients were classified as mild, and over 70,000 of the roughly 80,000 coronavirus cases in the country have already been deemed cured and have been discharged.
- Researchers continue to battle the pandemic in China and abroad, but social distancing and lockdowns are still the most effective way to slow the spread.
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Data out of China, the hardest-hit of any country currently dealing with the novel coronavirus pandemic, offers some good news for the first time in, well, a long time. As CNN reports, the most recent data from China suggests that the vast majority of people who come down with COVID-19 suffer only mild symptoms — and sometimes no symptoms at all — and then recover quickly.
The disease can be devastating for the elderly and those with serious chronic conditions, and the report is by no means a reason to abandon social distancing practices elsewhere in the world, but it’s encouraging news nonetheless.
The data from China includes the outcomes for most of the first 80,928 people who were confirmed to have the novel coronavirus. We’re all preparing for the worst, but the figures from China are encouraging, with over 80% of patients being classified as having mild symptoms. In fact, of those over 80,000 coronavirus patients, over 70,000 have already been deemed cured and have been discharged.
As has been known from the earliest days of this pandemic, the older a person is, the more likely they are to suffer severe health complications from a COVID-19 infection. However, young people can still be at serious risk, especially if they have any type of underlying health condition. Things like high blood pressure or cardiovascular issues appear to increase the mortality rate significantly, as does diabetes.
China hit a major milestone yesterday when it reported no new coronavirus cases local to the country. Chinese officials still reported 34 new cases of infection, but those were from individuals who had recently arrived in the country from elsewhere, and were not the result of community spread within China. Some have questioned whether these numbers are accurate, but the official reports are all we have to go on at the moment.
Being the first country to be hit with a pandemic always puts you at a disadvantage, and China has taken some seriously drastic measures to stem the spread of infections across the country. Now, as more rapid testing options begin to roll out, other countries may be better equipped to deal with the situation, especially if citizens continue to follow important social distancing recommendations and avoid contact with their elderly loved ones for the time being.
