This might seem like overkill, but I’d rather overkill coronavirus than have coronavirus underkill me.
Greetings from New York City! Before I get into how to protect yourself against coronavirus, I wanted to share a bit of background about some of the things I’ve learned about COVID-19 (which I’ve been tracking since January 24, 2020). While the virus definitely sounds scary, I’m more worried about the origin of the virus than actually contracting the virus, because as many of us have read, if you have a strong enough immune system, the virus will likely not be deadly.
A month ago, when coronavirus started to hit mainstream media, I made a video sharing my opinion about how this new illness was way worse than China was making it seem (below). A month later and I think it’s fairly obvious to most of us that China was lying about it from the start (which they’ve admitted). They can call it “shortcomings” and “deficiencies” all they want, but when you’re arresting whistleblowers and forcing symptom-less people into forced quarantine, I’ll call this “deceptive,” “lying” and “trying to hide the truth.”
The evidence that this virus was leaked from a lab was so obvious to me from the beginning. Not only is there a Wuhan virology lab kilometers from the “epicenter” of the outbreak (a seafood market lol), but scientists were unable to agree on and determine the source of the outbreak (“it’s snakes! it’s bats! it’s anteaters! it’s pangolins!”). The timing of the leak is also highly suspicious to me as this thing really started spreading right before Lunar New Year, WHICH IS CONSIDERED THE LARGEST HUMAN MIGRATION ON THE PLANET. With over 3 billion journeys made during this time, the most inconvenient time for a new virus to creep up on us would be… Lunar New year.
What makes this even scarier is that if this was leaked from a lab, this means that this strain of coronavirus was likely bioengineered. The jury is still out on whether or not this is or was supposed to be a bioweapon (I won’t go there go for now), but the short-term impact that it’s had on the global economy could be the very goal of the virus (if it was purposefully leaked). Who knew the stock market crash that analysts were predicting was going to come because of a virus? We probably won’t know the true economic impact the virus will have until later in the year when companies can measure the affects on their supply chain shutdowns across China. I know many countries are being hit super hard in the tourism sector, including Thailand.
One of the scariest features of coronavirus is that, like many STDs (ahem, chlamydia), infected patients can carry the virus and transmit it without showing any symptoms. With the primary health screening being just a temperature reading and the fact that the virus can transmit through the air and into the eyes*, how exactly do you stop the spread of what is essentially an invisible and (for many people), harmless virus?
*Face masks do not prevent coronavirus exposure as the virus can go through your eyes so you’ll need to wear goggles too. Stay woke! However, as my friend Hung Duong noted, if an already-infected person is wearing a mask, then this would help prevent the coughing party from coughing into the face of a healthy person. It’s more of a defensive measure for an already-sick person and a useless measure for a currently-healthy person.
Today the CDC said “it’s not a question of if coronavirus will spread, but when” which to me means it’s already spread in the US. This is how they prepare us for the incoming news. They tell us what might happen when it’s already happened so when it actually happens we’re prepared. This is how the news about the alien invasion will work but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
According to sources, the case fatality rate is between 2-4%. A majority of the people who died were of older age or had compromised immune systems. While it is extremely unfortunate for anybody to fall victim to a disease, these statistics bode well for those of us who are relatively healthy. So without further ado, I wanted to share some steps that you can take to either avoid getting coronavirus, or maximizing your odds in defeating it should all of us contract it.
How To Protect Yourself Against Coronavirus
I find it interesting that a majority of the people that are worried about getting the coronavirus are the ones that aren’t doing everything in their power to have a strong immune system (so yes, they should be worried). To me, the logical first step is to have a healthy lifestyle. The best defense against any sickness, and especially coronavirus, is to have a strong immune system. Now, for some of us with pre-existing medical conditions, this can be more challenging, but there are still a few things you could be doing to give yourself a boost. You can read thisarticle from Harvard or you can read my list below. The point is, if you have an unhealthy lifestyle and you’ve compromised your immune system based on lifestyle choices, you should be concerned. If you want to be a healthy individual, you have to act like one.
BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
- Are you drinking 2-3 liters of water a day? Your body runs on water and most of us simply don’t drink enough of it.
- Are you overweight? Being fat takes a toll on your body. Maintaining a healthy weight annually is extremely important towards overall health. I get that “fat is beautiful” but “fat isn’t healthy.”
- Are you sleeping 7-8 hours a day? If you aren’t getting enough rest, then your body can’t function at its’ optimal level. Having enough sleep should be a non-negotiable (unless of course if you just had a baby).
- Are you having enough sex? According to OnHealth.com, “sex boosts your body’s ability to make protective antibodies against bacteria, viruses, and other germs that cause common illnesses”
- Are you minimizing your stress? If you’re in a bad relationship, you hate your job or somebody is causing drama, remove these negative influences and stressors from your life and your immune system will thank you.
- Are you exercising? You don’t need to go to a gym. You can exercise at home, go for a run, lift weights, play a sport, or have sex.
- Are you taking your multivitamins? With a healthy enough diet, multivitamins aren’t necessary, but I look at these as supplements to an already decent diet.
- Is your nutrition good? Food is fuel and if you have a shitty diet, you’ve likely compromised your immune system. Start eating vegetables, eat smaller meals or try intermittent fasting.
AVOID LARGE CROWDS & KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
I was in Bangkok during Lunar New Year. As soon as I read that Bangkok is the most-visited city in the world for Wuhan residents, I knew avoiding Lunar New Year celebration crowds was a wise move. This was before we even knew coronavirus carriers could be asymptomatic.
In terms of preventative social measures that you can take, I would suggest avoiding large crowds. I understand that in cities like New York City, this could be very difficult where we cannot avoid large crowds. However, pay attention to your surroundings. If you see someone coughing or sneezing, try to avoid standing next to them. If you take the subway to or from work, good luck during rush hour!
WASH YOUR HANDS
This seems to be the number one pieces of advice by health experts and unfortunately I don’t think many us wash our hands enough. I would make it a goal to wash your hands every hour if possible. This might seem like overkill, but I’d rather overkill coronavirus than have coronavirus underkill me.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it. If you have a healthy immune system, you really don’t have much to worry about. If you don’t have a healthy immune system, you should focus on fixing that to decrease your likelihood of a complicated coronavirus infection. If you’ve done all that and you want to throw in more preventative measures, you can avoid large crowds, avoid sick individuals and of course, wash your hands. Here’s a graph from our friends at WHO.
Just remember, with health comes freedom, and freedom means happiness. Be Free My Sheeple!
Zzzzzzzz……
I hope your fatigue is not a coronavirus symptom.