The concept of Coronavirus and Disability Attorneys seems to present a conflict. Many people believe they have to leave the safety of their homes in order to pursue a Social Security Disability SSDI and or SSI claim. This is not the case at Social Security Professionals .
As of this writing dated April 3, 2020, by Social Security Disability Attorney, Donald Peters, we are in the midst of a pandemic caused by a quickly spreading virus known as the coronavirus or COVID-19. This article is not intended to give medical advice. You should pay attention to advice from your own doctor and Medical experts at the Federal level and your own local region. If you have Social Security Disability questions, you can call me. We are able to handle Social Security Disability and SSI applications, appeals, and even hearings at full force without interruption despite the pandemic. Best of all, you don’t even need to leave the safety of your home.
Conflicting Information
This article offers information from several sources such as the CDC, WHO, John Hopkins University, and others. Some information may conflict depending upon the source. Conflicting information, however, most often occurs as a timing issue as information about this virus changes by day or even by the minute.
Trust your instincts. If you feel you may be infected, call your doctor. Practice the prevention methods suggested by medical experts.
Diagnoses – Deaths – Recoveries
Medical experts predict that the majority of COVID-19 patients will suffer mild symptoms to moderate symptoms and recover. Others, however, will not be so fortunate. Indeed, in many cases, patients suffer acute respiratory symptoms and many have already died. Our medical experts are now predicting further deaths are inevitable and will be numerous. The numbers of diagnosed cases, deaths, and recoveries change rapidly on a daily basis.
Many people want to see the amount of recoveries reported as regularly as diagnosed cases and deaths. Recoveries give hope. Underreporting recoveries can occur for a variety of reasons.
Diagnoses and deaths are fairly easy to report. With a diagnosis, you either have one or you don’t with a test result. Deaths are pretty obvious and immediately reported. But recoveries, however, are not so obvious. At what point has a patient recovered? Some patients improve, appear to have recovered, and then become worse. Although we would like to hear about recoveries, most people are more concerned with hearing about the numbers of diagnoses and deaths and how we can prevent them.
Origin and Spread – Timeline
The coronavirus originated in China in December 2019 and quickly spread to other countries. At this time, it has been reported in over 200 countries and territories. The first US case was reported on January 20, 2020 in Washington.
Many of you readers are from Michigan. The first COVID-19 cases did not appear in Michigan until March 10, 2020.
All of the above dates are significant because many people believe, although never diagnosed, that they already had the coronavirus. Since these people believe they already had the virus, some also believe that they are now immune from COVID-19 and are free to commingle without risk of spreading or contracting the virus. These are very dangerous and likely inaccurate assumptions.
First, many people in Michigan believe they had the virus before the virus even made its way into Michigan. I have seen people post on social media such as facebook that they believe they had the virus before the virus even originated in China, which makes no sense.
If we are going to make assumptions about COVID-19, it is safest to assume, without a diagnosis to the contrary, that we did not have the virus and we still need to exercise all necessary precautions.
How the virus spreads
The virus spreads primarily through very small droplets expelled during coughing, sneezing, talking, and breathing. The droplets could land on your face directly or can be transferred by touching one another or by touching any surfaces or objects where the droplets have landed. The possibilities are endless. Typically, your hands eventually come in contact with the droplets. When you subsequently touch your face, the virus can enter your body through your eyes, nose, or your mouth. Once inside, the virus travels to your lungs where it reproduces and causes damage. The virus can survive from hours to days depending upon the type of surface.
While the virus was not considered airborne as it spreads through droplets, experts now seem to agree that the virus remains airborne much longer than originally thought. This appears to be consistent with more recent recommendations that people use face masks, contrary to initial recommendations.
Symptoms of Coronavirus
Thus far, there is no cure or vaccine for the virus. Experts say we may be 18 months away for a vaccine. Currently, doctors are trying other drugs that have been used in the past for other viruses but their effectiveness with regard to COVID-19 is not yet known. Doctors are also taking plasma from patients who have recovered from the virus and giving it to infected patients in hopes that antibodies from the recovered patients can help the infected patients.
Our data regarding COVID-19 rapidly changes on a daily and hourly basis. If you’ll recall, we were first told to maintain 3 feet social distancing between one another and later 6 feet. Now, as of the time of this article, many states and regions, including Michigan, have full stay-at-home orders except for essentials. It is a good idea to monitor reputable news sources, not sources that are strongly associated with political parties who manipulate information to support their political agendas.
Protect Yourself and Others From the Virus with “Prevention”
At the time of this writing, there is no cure for the Coronavirus. Our medical experts advise we attack this virus by using “prevention.” They suggest strategies and techniques to prevent spread of the virus including hand washing, social distancing, isolation, and respiratory hygiene. A few techniques include:
- Social distancing, 6 feet, best – stay inside;
- Don’t visit or have visitors, even family members;
- Stay home;
- Good personal Hygiene;
- Wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and water;
- Use hand sanitizer when soap and water isn’t available;
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue and discard immediately;
- Cough or sneeze into arm to prevent dispersion into air;
- Do not touch your face;
- Do NOT touch unwashed hands to face, mouth, nose, or eyes;
- Wear protective face masks;
- Wear protective rubber gloves;
- Clean anything you bring into your home with disinfectant wipes;
- Leave recently purchased nonperishable items outside for over 24 hours, 2-3 days if possible;
- Call your doctor if you feel you may have COVID-19;
Do Protective Face Masks Help Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus?
The advice regarding the effectiveness of protective masks has changed dramatically since the virus first came to the United States. Currently, there remains a difference of opinion regarding mask use.
We were originally told masks could help prevent spreading the virus because a cough or sneeze could be contained within the mask instead of droplets being disbursed. We were also told, however, that masks would not protect us from receiving the virus.
Do Face Masks Protect the Wearer from the Coronavirus?
Ironically, we have been told the masks will not protect the wearer yet hospitals are asking for mask donations to protect hospital employees. Notably, information changes drastically by the day and by the hour as we learn more about this virus.
Now, medical experts tell us to wear protective masks to prevent the spread. There still remains some conflict as to whether masks protect the wearer. Some doctors and members of media are still stating the masks will only prevent spread but will not protect the wearer from the virus. This notion can be true or false depending upon the variables. It is likely motivated by a desire to preserve enough masks for our medical professionals and to prevent wearers from having a false sense of security.
I spoke to a doctor recently on one of my disability cases. During our conversation, as an aside conversation, we talked about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the effectiveness of masks at protecting the wearer. His response on the topic was simple and made common sense. The doctor said of course a mask will help protect the wearer. The mask is a barrier. It is a barrier between droplets and your face. A mask will not totally protect you, but it is certainly better than nothing on your face at all.
As common sense tells us that a mask will help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus and can offer some protection to the mask wearer, there are safety concerns with wearing the mask.
Since the virus came to the United States, we have been told to wash our hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and water and to not touch our hands to our face.
Use Proper Precautions When Wearing Masks
A problem with mask use is that we may feel the need to frequently adjust the mask and touch our hands to our face in the process. When we touch our face, we risk spreading the virus from our hands to our face.
Another concern is that people may develop a false sense of security with mask use. They may feel if they are wearing a mask, they no longer need to wash their hands frequently or to refrain from touching their faces. This would be a big mistake.
Wear the mask properly. Once fitted properly, don’t touch the mask or your face. Continue to wash and disinfect your hands, stay home as much as possible, and maintain safe social distancing when out for essentials. Watch White House briefings and especially your local daily news for up to the minute suggestions on Coronavirus spread prevention.
Stay Informed
There is a lot of misinformation out there on Social Media. I have been reading some unbelievable posts on facebook which can be very dangerous because readers often believe the false information is true. The innacurate and misleading information usually comes from people with a political agenda. Stick to credible sources.
Stay informed and follow the recommendations of our health experts. The COVID-19 data changes very quickly. Advice from our leaders and medical professionals has changed and adapted in light of new data and will likely continue to do so. If we are told something is the right way to do something today and it conflicts with what they told us last week, it may simply be that it was right last week according to our information at that time.
Watch the president’s briefings. Whether you like him or not, during the president’s briefings you will often hear from a medical expert such as Dr. Fauci who can explain progress and proper precautions from a medical viewpoint.
Pay attention to your local news which will provide up to the minute recommendations and mandates and information more relevant to your region. Some regions have been hit harder than others by the virus and recommendations and attitudes regarding urgency and severity can vary accordingly.
Some useful sources used to prepare this article that you may wish to view to keep advised include the following:
- Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- John Hopkins University
- John Hopkins Medicine
- Coronavirus Pandemic Wiki
- Coronavirus in Michigan Wiki
- WDIV local 4 Click on Detroit
Coronavirus and Disability Attorneys
You may have seen law firms suddenly advertise they can pursue your case remotely in light of the stay-home mandates put into play as a result of the Coronavirus. At Social Security Professionals, we have been doing this for decades.
You can call Social Security Professionals to speak for free with a top disability lawyer with the highest A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau to discuss your Social Security SSDI and/or SSI claims. The coronavirus stay-home order will not affect your claim in any way. We can discuss your case and gather pertinent information over the phone. Applications and appeals can be filed electronically by computer as you sit comfortably and safely in the privacy of your home. At present, even disability hearings are handled over the phone with great success.
You do not have to leave the safety of your home during the coronavirus pandemic or for any other reason. Call Disability Lawyer Donald Peters today for a Free Consultation. (248) 549-3485 – Donald Peters.