“We would like to give special thanks to those who have stood at the frontline battle against Covid-19 and to our heroes who have lost their lives in aiding those in need”…
Declared as a global pandemic by WHO, The Novel Coronavirus has become an extraordinary pandemic crisis befallen among us all. While we may still play “pointing fingers,” what the entire world needs is a little bit of musical love through musical therapy to deal with the panic haunting us! The telehealth industry and the online world has opened new doors for us all, in ways that we have never imagined before. Multiple organizations from all around the world have expanded their business endeavors to cope up with the new normal to sustain their businesses while expanding their means to connect with clients, organizations, and the respective stockholders. Let alone, we all have evolved in one way or the other, despite if you have realized it or not. We all have adapted methods that can cope with our lives in the new normal situation of global pandemic 2019.
What is the global pandemic 2019?
If you haven’t heard about the current situation of the global pandemic 2019, then you are definitely living under a rock. Covid-19 or most commonly known as coronavirus, is a novel virus characterized by respiratory infection. Having its first case to be reported in December 2019, the novel virus outbreak in Wuhan, china, and is reported to emerge out from the wholesale food market of the region. However, not all of the wholesale food markets had shown traces of the COVID-19. It was named SARS-COV-2 by the officials of Wuhan City, China, in late December. Further analysis reported SARS-COV-2 to cause COVID-19 by developing pneumonia. While experts are still unsure of what the virus is all about and how to fight it, it was understood that the new virus is linked to a similar group of viruses found in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). This implies the fact that it is highly contagious and is easily transferred through means of physical and non-physical mediums. The Novel virus consists of multiple diseases and viruses within its nucleus, and what’s worse is that it can mutate and evolve, developing exceptional methods to interlink with receptors of cells within the human body. Many experts have described this as; the coronavirus outer shell has a crown-like feature that works like a key. Once locked on to the healthy cells in the body, the healthy cells open up and allow the virus to enter a healthy cellular structure, which eventually alternates its genetic makeup.
What do we know so far?
To date, we have understood that the virus is characterized by respiratory illness affecting lungs and throat, while causing pneumonia in severe cases. According to the medical journals, covid-19 symptoms are recorded to be 80% mild in most of the cases, and only 20% severe in the rest. However, Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions and the elderly with weak immune systems are at high-risk.
Making Efforts to Battle against COVID-19
The AMTA (American Music Therapy Association) has collectively contributed to the pandemic crisis in several ways, using telehealth. According to AMTA publications, over the last few months, experts have been continuously working round the clock to propose new methods that can uniquely assist us all to fight the battle against Covid-19. While a vaccine is still questionable, many victims who were exposed to the virus have recovered successfully.
What do you need to do while the Pandemic Continues?
While Covid-19 is one of the most popular subjects to consider nowadays, the Government of Florida has issued precautionary safety measurements that all residents of Florida and everyone around the world should be practicing as if it’s a part of the religion! So here is what you and everyone else should be doing:
1. Check for symptoms
Florida's CDC provides a self-checker that helps individuals make decisions and seek the right type of medical assistance associated with COVID-19.
2. Learn everything you can through the phone first!
If you think you are infected with the Novel virus, don't waste any time. Contact your health provider and learn about testing sites near you. It won’t hurt to get yourself tested.
3. Cleansing is essential, remember to wash up!
We all tend to wash our hands frequently, and there is no doubt about that. Cleaning is essential during the current pandemic issue. Consider hovering your soapy hands under running water (warm water) and rub them thoroughly for about 20 seconds. Rubbing them for less than 20 seconds can leave small-microscopic sized germs or droplets of the virus, which can be infectious later. However, If you are not a big fan of washing your hands regularly, you
4. Distance yourself, yours, and others’ lives depend on it.
Just because you may not feel the symptoms, doesn’t mean that you aren't carrying the virus. The Novel Coronavirus works surreptitiously. You could be a carrier and may be effecting others without even knowing it. That’s why it is fundamental to maintain your distance from others and wear a mask. Social distancing includes following measures:
· Maintain a distance of about 6ft from everyone.
· Avoid physical contact such as handshaking, hugging, participating in a large crowd, or
5. Adopt Telehealth!
Should businesses seize their operations simply because of a virus? The answer is No. We all have lives to live and bills to pay. However, there are safety protocols that we all should administer at all times, despite how safe and sound it may appear to be. While social distancing and washing your hands frequently are strong tools to battle against the novel coronavirus, telehealth alone is opening new doors for the world. Providing nations with updated information, services, products, and therapy sessions, telehealth doesn’t only provide information congested under a single hub. Instead, it exposes us to services like virtual music therapy. VMT, or Virtual music therapy, can help individuals attain a calmer sense of state within themselves. For years, music has always influenced individuals in several ways. It can either have a positive or a negative effect. Given, the effect depends on the level of the frequency the music is amplifying its pitch. The human internal body parts, like the heart and brain, all work according to a certain frequency. These same frequencies can be provided through music, influencing the magical work in your body to help promote a healthy functioning condition.
Children who have disabilities or suffer from illness can be prone to the novel virus, which limits their ability to heal and recover on their own. Using the fine tunes of frequencies, we can help promote the rhythmic pulses that the human body imitates, resulting in a faster, effective, and highly efficient method to recover, through the natural way!
Chris Howard, MBA
Ana-Alicia Lopez, MM, MT-BC