WHAT ARE GERMS AND VIRUSES?

Have you ever felt yucky? You may have had a cold where you were coughing, sneezing and your head hurt. You may have had the flu where you were sick to your stomach, had a fever, and felt really tired.

Sicknesses are caused by germs (some of which are known as viruses).

Viruses are really, really, tiny. They’re so small that doctors and scientists need special tools called microscopes to see them. Germs can spread through the air when you cough and sneeze or live on things you touch like doorknobs and playground slides.

Viruses and germs like to get into our bodies through our eyes, noses, and mouths. When they get in our bodies, they can make us sick. Sometimes we get better on our own with medicine and rest. There are other times when we have to go see a doctor to get healthy. Most germs and viruses have been around for a while, so doctors know exactly what to look for and how to treat them.

When parents and teachers tell us to cover our mouths when we cough or wash our hands, it’s to help us stop viruses and germs from getting us and our loved ones sick.

WHY IS COVID (CORONAVIRUS) DIFFERENT?

There are a couple of reasons why COVID is different from the same kind of sicknesses you or your family members may have had before.

1. It’s a new virus so doctors and scientists don't have all the answers on how to treat it.
2. The germs can spread very quickly in the air or on things we touch.
3. Sometimes it takes two days – or even two weeks – from when the germs enter your body until you start getting sick.
4. The virus affects different people in different ways. Some people just feel like they have a cold, but others may get really sick and have to go to the hospital.
5. You can have the virus and never feel sick but still spread it to other people (like your teacher, friends, parents, or grandparents).

Since the virus spreads really easily and can make some people really sick, doctors have been encouraging people to be extra careful when going to places outside their homes.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I GET COVID? AM I GOING TO GET VERY SICK OR DIE?

As far as we know, kids are very unlikely to get very sick or go to the hospital if they get the virus.

Some kids, maybe someone you know, have been shown to have the virus. This is called “testing positive for COVID-19 or Coronavirus," which means doctors found traces of the virus in their bodies.

Most children who get the coronavirus usually feel like you have a cold or flu. You may be a bit more tired, have a cough, and an achy body, but this doesn’t mean we don’t have to be careful!

Remember, the virus is tricky and acts differently in some people. You may have it and only have a cough, but it could jump from your cough to your grandparents and make them very very sick.

That’s why wearing a mask, washing our hands, and staying six feet apart is so important!

WHEN WILL COVID BE OVER? WHEN WILL THINGS GO BACK TO NORMAL?

We don’t know when it will be over. The more the virus spreads from person to person, the longer it will take to end the spread.

A lot of kids (and adults) want everything to be back to normal.

Masks can be uncomfortable. Our favorite places have new rules. We miss hugging and high-fiving people we haven’t seen in a while.

But working together is important to defeating the virus! Have you heard the fable about the Four Oxen and the Lion? It’s an excellent story about how working together kept a group of oxen safe from the hungry lion. If you haven't heard the fable, you can watch a video about it!

Wearing a mask, washing our hands, and standing six feet apart is like the oxen’s horns protecting us from the virus (or the hungry lion).

When we all work together, we stay safe from the virus and slow the spread down until it ends.