The CoronaVirus, also referred to as COVID-19, presents itself in these symptoms:
cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills,
muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, new loss of smell or taste, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea
- according to the Centers for Disease Control. They mention that anyone can have mild to severe symptoms.
They also express that older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions, like heart or lung disease, or diabetes, seem to be at risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness. The difficulty in spotting the CoronaVirus before unintentionally spreading the illness is the buffer time in the appearance of the symptoms, as the CDC says that “symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.” For a more detailed explanation on how to help prevent the spread and lower the curve, refer to the links provided.

The spread of incorrect information during a pandemic can be disastrous. The most probable source that includes the most complete and accuarate information would be the information found on the CDC website. This is because it is a national public health institute. The information found on the site spans more information about other diseases as well, apart from COVID-19. This is information available to the public, therefore it should be referenced if needed. On the section on CoronaVirus, the information that can be viewed are the symptoms, the risk groups, testing sites, and information on the cases in the US, and some others.

Some bizarre ideas spread across the internet with the arrvial of COVID-19. The use of Twitter, in particular, was a cataclyst for false rumors and theories that invaded the internet. For example, there was wide speculation that the Pope had been infected with COVID-19. Another example is that a self-proclaimed scientist tweeted that hand sanitizer is not useful in combating COVID-19. These and other false claims spread on the internet can be harmful because, taking the hand sanitizer not being useful claim, it would deter people from incorporating dispensers of hand sanitizers in open businesses during the pandemic, leaving possibility of the spread. This is why information on the internet should be checked for accuracy and reliability before being taken completely serious and literal. An article by Buzzfeed includes some of the hoaxes people have tried to pass off during this CoronaVirus pandemic.