Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause various diseases in humans and animals (including birds and mammals). Coronaviruses are a known cause of colds, but other coronaviruses can also cause severe pneumonia and even death. Previous epidemics caused by coronavirus were SARS-CoV which appeared in 2002–2003 and MERS from 2012.
The cause of the current outbreak is a coronavirus that had not been previously diagnosed when it appeared in 2019. Due to its close relationship with the SARS virus, it was named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes was named COVID-19. It is believed that the virus was transmitted to humans from an animal, but it has not been confirmed from which animal, although bats are considered likely.
Most people show symptoms 2–3 days after infection and almost all within 7 days. Symptoms are various such as cough, fever, cold symptoms, bone and muscle pain and fatigue, and sore throat. Gastrointestinal symptoms (abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea) and change or loss of sense of taste and smell may occur. COVID-19 can also cause severe illness with lower respiratory tract infection and pneumonia, which often presents as breathing difficulties during the first week of illness. Illness can be prolonged with the risk of other infections as a result, e.g. bacterial pneumonia. Then some people struggle with long-term complications such as shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, fatigue, lack of energy, and headaches.
Anyone can get infected and get sick, but the chance of a serious illness increases with age, especially after the age of 65-70. Individuals with certain underlying conditions are also at increased risk of serious illness if they develop COVID-19 disease. These problems include cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes, severely impaired kidney function, obesity, cancer, certain congenital immunodeficiencies, or diseases/drugs that cause immunosuppression. Organ transplant recipients, pregnant women, and individuals with severe mental disorders are also considered at increased risk, as are children with certain underlying medical conditions. Individuals should seek further instructions from their doctors.
COVID-19 is transmitted between individuals. The mode of transmission is spray/air, contact, and droplet transmission. This means that the virus can be spread when a sick person coughs, sneezes, or sneezes and another person inhales spray from the sick person or hands are contaminated by droplets and that person then brings them up to their face. Aerosol transmission or airborne transmission means that the virus can hang in the air in a very fine spray from the respiratory system. Then an infected person can leave a space, e.g. a room where ventilation is poor but the virus is still in the air for a short time, and the next persons who use the space breathe it in and become infected.
People can be contagious for 1–2 days before symptoms appear. Some people also have little or no symptoms and can still be contagious.
Close contact increases the risk of infection. Family members in a household with a person sick with COVID-19 are at the highest risk of becoming infected themselves. Individuals who interact closely with a large number of people are also at greater risk of infection than those who interact with few others. Hand hygiene and general hygiene are important prevention measures against infection.
Re-infections can happen, but immunity from previous infections and vaccinations reduce the chance of serious illness from re-infection.
On the website of the Icelandic Medicines Agency, you can find information about medicines due to COVID-19. Antibiotics do not work because antibiotics work on bacteria and not viruses. Treatment is mainly supportive and depends on the patient's symptoms and condition (e.g. giving oxygen, intravenous fluids), but special drugs are used for some patients.
A test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is a PCR test or rapid test.
A PCR test is done at a healthcare facility or hospital and looks for the genetic material of the virus (nucleic acid, RNA), while rapid tests look for the protein (e.g. antigen) of the virus. If signs of the virus are found, the test is considered positive, but negative if the virus is not found.
Self-tests are quick tests that individuals perform on themselves, and usually, they also read and interpret the results themselves. You can buy rapid tests in pharmacies and supermarkets and use them at home to get confirmation of infection.
An antibody test is a blood test that measures antibodies that a person makes as part of the immune response to an infection. In this way, signs of infection can be seen even if a person has recovered. Antibodies that can be measured in an antibody test, however, decrease over time (after a few months).
Caution in contact and closeness with others, mask use, and good hand hygiene are important tips to avoid infection.
Transmission is mainly direct between individuals with droplet and spray transmission.
Proximity with others increases the chance of infection.
Close contact with persons with common cold symptoms, sneezing, or coughing should be avoided. Those who have to cough and sneeze should do so in the crook of their elbow or in a tissue that is then thrown away.
Masks are useful to limit the spread of droplets/spray but also when close contact is unavoidable. However, masks provide varying degrees of protection depending on the type and how they are used.
Hand washing with soap and water is preferred for hand cleaning.
Hand sanitizer can be used if hands are not visibly dirty after touching common contact surfaces, e.g. doorknob, or after handling money or payment cards.
Gloves. It is best to do good hand hygiene. If people want to use gloves e.g. when handling, you must put on clean gloves for each handling and throw the old ones in a waste container. In certain situations, the use of gloves also applies, e.g. in healthcare and cleaning.
Masks are part of individual quarantine measures and complement hand washing and other quarantine measures. It is important to use a mask correctly and that it covers the nose and mouth, also if the mask gets wet (due to moisture in the breath) it does no good.
Before and after touching the mask, hands should be cleaned.
Concerning health care, appropriate protective equipment should be used, preferably an anti-viral mask (FFP2). For the general public, e.g. where many people gather, you can use a disposable mask, e.g. so-called surgical masks, but it is also possible to use reusable masks. It is extremely important not to use the same mask for too long and to wash multi-use masks daily. Disposable masks should not be stored for reuse.
In general, coronaviruses do not live long outside the body. Research indicates that coronaviruses (including SARS-CoV-2) can survive outside the body for a few hours to several days. This varies depending on the conditions (e.g. type of surface, ambient temperature, and humidity). The SARS-CoV-2 virus seems to live longer outside the body on hard and cold surfaces than on soft materials such as cardboard and paper.
If a surface could be contaminated, it should be cleaned with soap and water or a disinfectant. Afterward, hands should be cleaned with soap and water or hand sanitizer, and be careful not to touch the face (eyes, mouth, or nose).
There is no indication that the coronavirus is transmitted through food according to the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). COVID-19 is not a foodborne illness. However, those who are sick should not prepare food for others, as contact is the mode of transmission.
The virus has not been found in animals in Iceland.
Minks are susceptible to the virus, but infection has not been detected in mink farms in Iceland, and there is little chance of transmission to the wild mink population, where contact with humans is minimal.
More information about COVID-19
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Directorate of Health