The 2019 pandemic Coronavirus is a particularly infectious virus which has the potential to cause significant and serious disease.

We all have our part to play in keeping our community safe, and arriving on the other side of the pandemic with our society intact, and perhaps the wiser and stronger for having weathered the storm….

Most affected people will have a mild form of the disease, and some people may have no symptoms at all.

People with preexisting illnesses or other factors have a higher risk for developing the disease called severe COVID-19; here are some examples, as per the Australian Government Guidelines:

Pre- existing illnesses:
cardiovascular disease (particularly hypertension/high blood pressure)
chronic respiratory illness (e.g., asthma or COPD requiring regular medication)
diabetes
cancer
advanced chronic kidney disease or liver disease (e.g., cirrhosis)
immunosuppression,

Other factors:
male gender
age > 60 years
history of heavy smoking
being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent
pregnancy

However, I can’t stress enough that EVERYONE, whether they are on this list or not, needs to keep themselves and their community safe by washing/sanitising their hands and practising social distancing, as per the government guidelines, which are updated regularly.

There is a lot of information on the following resources, and the information is updated more regularly than I can get to this factsheet, so please use them for information pertinent to your particular situation.

https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19
https://www.health.gov.au/resources/collections/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-resources%EFv
for current government advice

and
https://ranzcog.edu.au/statements-guidelines/covid-19-statement
for information for pregnant women and their families

and
https://www.gps-can.com.au/covid19
for excellent information on the “how to go about” social distancing, looking after kids and the elderly etc.

and
https://avivaromm.com/?s=covid
for evidence- based information on lifestyle, nutrient and herbal strategies (without the hype and big – sell)

My general advice is:
Look after your physical and mental health and that of those people around you.
Follow the guidelines designed to stop the spread of the virus, including the immunisation program.
Eat nutritious food
Get adequate sleep
Maintain some exercise within the safety guidelines

If you have symptoms and you do need to access medical care, please telephone ahead, so that a plan can be made to look after you safely, whilst also protecting the staff and other patients at the health facility.

We are all going to need to be patient, and tolerant. As health professionals, we are used to seeing people when they are not at their best, and maybe have forgotten their manners. We get it. We know there will be days like that.