For most people, an illness with the new coronavirus is harmless. However, the virus can be dangerous for older people aged 65 and older and those with pre-existing disease. Therefore, the protection of particularly vulnerable persons now becomes the focus of measures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency [1]. This means that all WHO member countries are required to coordinate among themselves the crisis measures recommended by the organization against further spread. However, experts warn against panic and emphasize that staying calm and taking preventive measures is very important in the current situation. This is especially true for people who are at particular risk of becoming seriously ill. These include older people aged 65 years and older and those with existing pre-existing conditions such as hypertension, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diseases and therapies that weaken the immune system [2].
The main goal in the fight against the spread of coronavirus has been to detect and treat infected individuals at an early stage, to identify chains of transmission, and to prevent further transmissions. Because mass events can result in many contagions that cannot be traced later, they have been temporarily banned. General measures such as washing hands thoroughly or sneezing into the crook of the arm are commonplace for medical personnel from the outset. Avoiding sick people and keeping your distance, on the other hand, is hardly possible. Therefore, the risk of infection should be minimized as far as possible by means of given measures (overview 1). The regularly updated version of the guidelines and recommendations valid for Switzerland is available on the homepage www.bag.admin.ch [3].
Literature:
- www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus, last call 07.03.2020
- www.bag.admin.ch/bag/de/home/das-bag/aktuell/medienmitteilungen.msg-id-78381.html, last call 07.03.2020
- www.bag.admin.ch/bag/de/home/krankheiten/infektionskrankheiten-bekaempfen/meldesysteme-infektionskrankheiten/meldepflichtige-ik/meldeformulare.html, last call 07.03.2020
CARDIOVASC 2020; 19(1): 39
