PAULINE RAJSKI/Daily The University of Michigan club rowing team raises money for Mott’s Children’s Hospital on the Diag Wednesday afternoon. What is coronavirus? Where did it start? COVID-19 is the most recently discovered strain of coronavirus. It was first identified in humans in Wuhan, China in December of 2019. Coronaviruses, a large family of zoonotic viruses, cause infections that span a wide spectrum of severity, from common colds to more severe respiratory diseases. Older populations or people with existing medical problems are most at risk for serious infections. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness and dry cough, however, other flu-like symptoms can occur and in extreme cases, patients experience respiratory complications and trouble breathing. Most people can recover from a COVID-19 infection without intense treatment. How can I avoid contracting coronavirus? COVID-19 spreads via small droplets from the mouth and nose that are circulated through the air when infected people breathe or cough. When an infected person coughs or exhales the droplets can be inhaled by individuals within a three-foot radius. People can also become infected by coming into contact with surfaces — such as doorknobs and railings — that droplets land on and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. The risk for contracting COVID-19 can be lowered by taking precautions including washing hands frequently, avoiding contact with your face, practicing responsible respiratory hygiene, staying home when sick and avoiding others who are sick. Is the virus in Michigan? On March 10, two cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the state of Michigan and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency. Testing for COVID-19 is occurring at the state level for patients who are exhibiting strong symptoms of the virus and with likely exposure due to travel history. Who should be worried about coronavirus? COVID-19 infections in children and young adults are generally mild. It can cause serious illness in some cases, with about one- fifth of infected people requiring hospital care. The demographics most at risk for contracting a serious infection as a result of COVID-19 are elderly people and those who have underlying medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or heart problems. What should I do if I feel sick? Individuals experiencing cough, fever or difficulty breathing should seek medical attention. People who feel sick with other symptoms should stay home from classes or work to decrease the risk of spreading any infection to others. If you feel sick it is best to practice self- isolation or social distancing and avoid public areas and transportation, minimizing contact with other people, wearing a facemask when around others to avoid spreading droplets and practicing good hygiene such as frequent hand washing and cleaning high-touch surfaces. What resources are available on campus right now? As during a normal school year, Counseling and Psychological Services, housed in the Union, will continue to provide counseling and support to students. The English Language Institute and International Institute will work with international students to develop a plan for the rest of the semester if needed. University Health Service will continue providing care to students. But if you feel sick, stay home and call UHS or your primary care physician. What is the difference between social distancing, isolation and quarantine? According to Joseph Eisenberg, chair and professor of epidemiology, “isolation is being three to six feet away from people so that particles being emitted won’t reach you. Quarantine means being alone and not in contact with people. Isolation is more about an ill patient being kept away from the population.” Social distancing, on the other hand, refers to making a concerted effort to stay away from others to lower the possibility of contracting the virus. Eisenberg said all three efforts are beneficial. “All measures help slow the spread of the disease,” Eisenberg said. Is social distancing really an effective way to stop the spread of the virus? Eisenberg said much remains unknown about how the virus is spread. “We don’t know a lot about the virus, we theorize it is via droplet spread,” Eisenberg said. “There are two ways this works: On an individual level, you are less likely to become sick and then on a population level, by reducing the efficiency of the spread.” How can you tell if you have symptoms for the coronavirus or the flu? While they may have similar symptoms at first, coronavirus is marked by fever and coughing that has the possibility to turn into pneumonia. While a vaccine exists for the flu and there is antiviral medication dedicated to treating the flu, neither is available for the coronavirus at this moment since it is so new. Are measures like washing hands and maintaining a six-foot distance really effective? Eisenberg said these measures can help limit the spread of infectious diseases. “Slow the spread so that even though you have the same number of cases, the peak is smaller but hospitals are less overworked, which is important because hospitals are built to capacity based on the flu season,” Eisenberg said. What measures should high and low-risk individuals take? 2 — Thursday, March 12, 2020 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News TUESDAY: By Design FRIDAY: Behind the Story WEDNESDAY: This Week in History MONDAY: Looking at the Numbers THURSDAY: Twitter Talk Steven Tukel @TukelSteven why doesn’t @UMich have us enable two factor authentication on our bodies againt Coronavirus Ruchita Lodha @ Ruchitalodha Endless spring break. #COVID19 #umich Moriah @Moriah_lewis17 im taking my classes online getting my degree on my own time Andy Reed @andykreed UMich having Euchre as an IM sport is peak Midwest help @cherryburnettte The only good thing about today is that the person working the UMich Bell tower played “Take It Off” by Kesha The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University OF Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for September-April are $250 and year long subscriptions are $275. University affiliates are subject to a reduced subscription rate. On-campus subscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. ERIN WHITE Managing Editor ekwhite@michigandaily.com SAYALI AMIN and LEAH GRAHAM Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com Senior News Editors: Barbara Collins, Claire Hao, Alex Harring, Ben Rosenfeld, Emma Stein, Liat Weinstein Assistant News Editors: Francesca Duong, Julia Forrest, Brayden Hirsh, Jasmin Lee, Hannah Mackay, Parnia Mazhar, Alyssa McMurtry, Emma Ruberg, Julia Rubin, Michal Ruprecht, Arjun Thakkar EMILY CONSIDINE and MILES STEPHENSON Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com Senior Opinion Editors: Alanna Berger, Brittany Bowman, Zack Blumberg, Timothy Spurlin, Joel Weiner JOHN DECKER and JULIANNA MORANO Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com ALLISON ENGKVIST and ANNIE KLUSENDORF Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com MAGDALENA MIHAYLOVA Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com Deputy Editors: Emily Stillman, Marisa Wright MADISON GAGNE and SADIA JIBAN Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com Senior Copy Editors: Olivia Bradish, Sophie Kephart, Silas Lee, Olivia Sedlacek, Ellie Scott TIM CHO and SIMRAN PUJJI Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com Senior Web Developers: Parth Dhyani, Abha Panda, Rohan Prashant, Jonathan Liu ALEC COHEN and ELI SIDER Managing Video Editors video@michigandaily.com Senior Michigan in Color Editors: Zoha Bharwani, Lora Faraj, Ayomide Okunade, Gabrijela Skoko Assistant Michigan in Color Editors: Cheryn Hong, Anamkia Kannan, Vaishali Nambiar, Sean Tran, Angela Zhang Senior Sports Editors: Aria Gerson, Bailey Johnson, Ben Katz, Jacob Kopnick, Anna Marcus, Rian Ratnavale Assistant Sports Editors: Connor Brennan, Lily Friedman, Lane Kizziah, Brendan Roose, Kent Schwartz, Molly Shea Senior Video Editors: Ryan O’Connor, Joseph Sim Senior Social Media Editors: Jessie Norris, Mya Steir, Kristina Zheng Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com ARTS SECTION arts@michigandaily.com SPORTS SECTION sports@michigandaily.com ADVERTISING dailydisplay@gmail.com NEWS TIPS news@michigandaily.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR tothedaily@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL PAGE opinion@michigandaily.com ANITA MICHAUD Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 ammichau@michigandaily.com ELIZABETH LAWRENCE Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 esla@michigandaily.com PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION photo@michigandaily.com NEWSROOM 734-418-4115 opt. 3 CORRECTIONS corrections@michigandaily.com THEO MACKIE and ETHAN SEARS Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com Senior Arts Editors: Jo Chang, Elise Godfryd, Zoe Phillips, Jonah Mendelson, Ally Owens Arts Beat Editors: Samantha Cantie, Dana Pierangeli, Andrew Pluta, Cassandra Mansuetti, Anish Tamhaney, Sophia Yoon SHERRY CHEN and CHRISTINE JEGARL Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com Senior Design Editor: Lizzy Rueppel MAYA MOKH and ANA MARIA SANCHEZ CASTILLO Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com JOHN GRIEVE and BEN KORN Managing Social Media Editors Editorial Staff Business Staff Senior Photo Editors: Keemya Esmael, Asha Lewis, Miles Macklin Assistant Photo Editors: Olivia Cell, Ryan Little, Emma Mati, Alexandria Pompei, Alexis Rankin MOLLY WU Creative Director SAMANTHA SMALL and SONYA VOGEL Managing Podcast Editors Epidemiologist explains what we know about COVID-19 Joseph Eisenberg, chair and professor of epidemiology, talks virus VARSHA VEDAPUDI & HANNAH MACKAY Daily Staff Reporters FE ATU RE RYAN KELLY Sales Manager LILLY HANSON Senior Account Executive ANALISE DOORHY Senior Account Executive TARA MOORE Senior Account Exeucutive See QUESTIONS, Page 3A