Why Doctors Missed Early Cases of the Coronavirus
In 2020, the novel coronavirus has affected millions of people around the world. In the United States alone, COVID-19 is responsible for over 100,000 deaths. In addition, the coronavirus pandemic has closed businesses, canceled sporting events and taught the world a new vocabulary with the term social distancing.Common Symptoms Similar to Other Illnesses
The novel coronavirus is named for its crown-like shape. In images, the virus looks like a ball covered with spikes. It belongs to a family of respiratory viruses that include several forms of the common cold. Because of this, its major symptoms start out in a similar way to cold and seasonal flu symptoms. Patients often experience:- A low-grade fever
- A persistent cough
- A sore throat
- Muscle and body aches
- Runny nose and congestion
Unexpected Entry Into the United States
One reason that patients were misdiagnosed early on was that doctors did not expect the illness to reach their locations. The novel coronavirus was first reported in Wuhan, China. Most of the efforts to contain the disease in the United States were focused on preventing travel back and forth between China and the U.S. However, the virus was already spreading to other parts of the world, such as Spain and Italy. While much of the country was focused on the virus hitting West Coast states like California and Washington, the virus appears to have made it to the East Coast from European countries. There is some speculation that some states, such as New York and Massachusetts, were already dealing with COVID-19 cases in late January of 2020. Many doctors assumed that instances of respiratory illness were due to seasonal flu or walking pneumonia. Due to the lack of testing capabilities at the time, it is impossible to know how many cases were missed.Early Testing Issues

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