The disease primarily affects the respiratory system with symptoms ranging from fever, cough, and mild shortness of breath, to severe desaturation, causing respiratory failure. The other members of the family include SARS coronavirus SAR-CoV and MERS coronavirus MERS-CoV. It has been named due to its genetic resemblance to the coronavirus that caused the SARS outbreak of 2003. WHO named the disease as ‘COVID-19’ and causative virus as ‘SARS-CoV-2’ on. Subsequently, the novel coronavirus was identified on Jan 7, 2020, and its genomic sequence was shared with the world. However, the causal agent was not identified during this reported period. Between Dec 31, 2019, when the Chinese authorities declared their first case of pneumonia of unknown etiology to until Jan 3, 2020, a total of 44 cases were reported to WHO. It has proved far more fatal than other coronavirus family members, with a fatality ratio of 1.4% (varying slightly among countries). To date, around 0.6 million deaths have been reported. As of Jul 15, 2020, more than 13 million people have been affected by this disease. World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic on Jan 30, 2020, and raised international public health concerns for it. It has spread to 210 countries throughout the world. The role of media and public health communications must be understood and explored further as they will be an essential tool for combating COVID-19 and future outbreaks.ĬOVID-19 is a global infectious disease that emerged from Wuhan in the Hubei province of China in December 2019. It can enable equal access to healthcare, end discrimination, and social stigmatization. Mass media has an imperative role in today’s world and it can provide a unified platform for all public health communications, comprehensive healthcare education guidelines, and robust social distancing strategies while still maintaining social connections. Media reinforced illness-preventing guidelines daily, and people were encouraged to use telehealth to meet their healthcare needs. We saw an upward trend for the promotion of health and hygiene practices worldwide by adaption of safe health practices such as increased hand washing, use of face coverings, and social distancing. The media allowed for timely interventions by the Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), enabling a rapid and widespread reach of public health communications. The media played a worldwide role in coronavirus disease tracking and updates through live updates dashboard. The unscientific cures and unverified medicines endorsed by the politicians and fake doctors proved harmful. Media coverage of coronavirus news during geographical lockdowns, extended quarantines, and financial and social hardships induced fear and caused psychological stress. The racial prejudices linked to the origin of the virus prevented collaborations among scientists to find a solution. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights multiple social, cultural, and economic issues arising from the media’s arguable role. In this review, we analyze the role of mass media and public health communications from Decemto July 15, 2020, and make scientific inferences. Much like the previous pandemics of SARS (2003), H1N1 (2009), and MERS (2012), the media significantly contributed to the COVID-19 infodemics. Mass media became the major source of information about the novel coronavirus. The speedy spread of this infection globally became a source of public worry and several unknowns regarding this new pathogen created a state of panic. The virus called ‘SARS-CoV-2’, causes coronavirus disease which was named ‘COVID-19’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Dec 2019, a novel pathogen emerged, and within weeks, led to the emergence of the biggest global health crises seen to date.
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