Spring Final Review Part II

Revising & Editing

Directions: The editorial staff at Science News for Students want to ensure their article explaining COVID-19 is
error-free! Read the article and mark ideas that need to be revised and mistakes that need to be edited
before publication. Then annotate and answer the multiple choice questions that follow. 

Science & Math
Your most urgent questions about the new coronavirus
Science News for Students, adapted by Newsela staff
02/10/2020

(1) The 2019 novel coronavirus is a new virus. (2) It is also known as 2019-nCoV. It has recently emerged in China. (3) The World Health Organization (WHO) has called it a global health emergency. (4) As of February 10, the virus had infected more than 40,000 people globally and resulted in more than 900 deaths.
(5) Many unknowns remain, but here is what we know so far about the 2019-nCoV.

What is 2019-nCoV?
(6) There are many different types of coronaviruses. (7) They usually cause colds. However, some coronaviruses have led to outbreaks in the past. (8) For example, one coronavirus caused the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. (9) Then came the Middle East respiratory syndrome,or MERS.
(10) The new coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, causes pneumonia, a type of lung infection. (11) It can lead to death.
(12) This virus first showed up in Wuhan, China. (13) An industrial city, Wuhan has a significant number of migrant workers, some of whom work in the automobile and steel industries.

When did the outbreak start?
(14) Chinese officials told WHO on December 31, 2019, about the disease. (15) It had affected 44 patients. (16) Reports tied this disease to a seafood market in Wuhan. (17) But now, researchers say that the earliest cases might not be related to the market. (18) The earliest known patient got sick on December 1. (19) However, he had not been exposed to the market. (20) Some researchers say the market was not the source of the first case. (21) It was just the place where people crowded together and
infected each other. Where did the virus come from?
(22) Coronaviruses come from wild animals. (23) Sometimes, the viruses leap to humans. (24) Current data suggest that the virus made the leap from animals’ to humans just once. (25) Since then it has been moving between people. Researchers first thought that animals from the seafood market gave the people the virus multiple times. (26) But now they have found that this is not true.
Can it infect pets?
(27) There are currently no reports of pets getting sick with 2019-nCoV. (28) But several types of coronaviruses can infect animals.
(29) The CDC is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (30) The CDC suggests avoiding contact with pets so you don't get your pets sick. (31) The CDC says that it is not like that animals or pets in the United States can transmit the disease.
What are the symptoms of a 2019-nCoV infection?
(32) People sickened by the new virus may develop a fever and cough. (33) They could have difficulty breathing. (34) Some people might experience mild symptoms.

(35) Others can develop pneumonia. (36) Sometimes the lungs fill with fluid or mucus. (37) The symptoms of 2019-nCoV may appear from two to 14 days after the person is exposed to the virus. (38) It may take a person five days to become visibly sick.

How infectious is the virus?
(39) Researchers do not yet know. (40) This new virus has never infected humans before last year. (41) So, people have not yet developed resistance to it. (42) It is likely that anybody can get infected.
How long does it stay on surfaces?
(43) Researchers are not sure yet. Other coronaviruses typically survive on surfaces for only a few hours. (44) They think it is the same with 2019-nCoV, too.
(45) It is still unclear how the new virus spreads. (46) Coronaviruses are thought to spread mainly when people cough or sneeze.
How does it spread?
(47) The new virus spreads from person to person. (48) Drops from an infected person's cough or sneeze carry the virus to someone new.
(49) Some coronaviruses can cause the common cold. (50) Severe coronaviruses infect deeper parts of the respiratory system. (51) Infected people are not usually contagious until they start to show symptoms.
What are the best ways to protect yourself?
(51) There is no drug or vaccine to treat or prevent 2019-nCoV. (52) There are things people can do to limit the chance they will become infected. (53) They are similar to what you would do to prevent colds or the flu.
(54) Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. (55) Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. (56) Finally, do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth.

Opinion: Fear about the coronavirus is normal, but don’t let it control you
By Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz, The Guardian , adapted by Newsela staff
03/08/2020
1 The novel coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, and the disease it causes, COVID-19, are sweeping the globe. With thousands of deaths already, and many tens of thousands  of people infected across the world, it's safe to say that the coronavirus has become one of the biggest events of the 21st century. It may only be a
matter of time until we see outbreaks everywhere, with public health authorities warning that the disease will probably soonstart spreading locally regardless of where  you are on the planet.

2 If nothing else, the coronavirus is scary. And that is, in and of itself, an issue. Let me explain.

3 The problem with scary things is that we aren't very good at reacting to them. Humans are, when push comes to shove, awful at interpreting risk. We're much more freaked out over turbulence on a plane than a near-miss in traffic, even though of the two a car crash is far more likely to be the source of our untimely demise.

4 We fear what we don't understand. And what we fear, we seek to control.

5 In the case of the coronavirus, there are some pretty obvious examples. Reports are out that people are panic-buying everything from toilet paper to ibuprofen, even if there is no outbreak in their local area nor a strong likelihood of a shortage of either any time soon. People are taking to pharmacies in droves, dragging masks off the shelves like there's no tomorrow, even though the evidence strongly suggests that masks are a waste of time for most people. The main reason to buy a mask – something that health authorities have been saying for weeks – is if you yourself are sick, because it stops your phlegm from getting on other people's faces. And don't get me started on those selling supplements to cure coronavirus, because if we want to look at exactly why each immunity-boosting echinacea tea is probably worthless we'll be here until the end of time itself.

6 There's no shortage of people selling supplements to cure this new infectious disease. There is, however, a distinct lack of evidence that any of it works.

7 Which brings us to one of the scariest parts of the coronavirus, that is, perhaps, what's really got people on edge. Most of the recommendations are things that other people have to do. Wearing masks when you're sick. Staying home if you feel unwell. Covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze. Seeking medical care early. And relying on other people – without having much control over your own fate – is something that none of us likes. Yes, you should wash your hands and stop touching your face, but neither of these feel like an intervention. They don't make us feel safe.

8 And really, that's what this panic is all about. Coping with the fear. Trying to find a small measure of control over a situation that seems to be made of pure chaos. Even
though it's probably not going to work, we all really want to be able to do something to keep ourselves from getting sick. Buying 15 tubs of hand sanitizer feels like a buffer against the darkness, even if you'd really be just as well off getting a normal bar of soap.

9 So amid the scary stories it's worth remembering that, while we may not have control over everything, there are evidence-based things you can do to help yourself. The World Health Organization has a series of simple tips on its website that anyone can follow. Wash your hands more often, and practice not touching your face. Yes, it seems boring, but often the best advice is precisely that. Even if the pharmacy shelves are entirely clear of N95 respirators, you can probably find boring old soap that'll be more useful anyway.

10 Ultimately, the most important thing to do is not to panic, because panic is a killer. Take a deep breath, remember that "pandemic" describes a disease's spread not its
severity, and keep an eye on the news.

11 Fear is OK. Fear is natural. We're all afraid, with even the experts admitting that there is a huge number of things about this outbreak that we just don't know yet.

12 Just don't let the fear control you. You'll probably have to live with it for a while yet.

Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz is an epidemiologist working in chronic disease. The opinions in
this article belong to the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Newsela or
its editors.