The library is committed to supporting South College students and faculty alike through ensuring continued access to our online resources and services. Library staff are available online using the Ask a Librarian chat and ticket system, by email, and through online appointments using Zoom.
Faculty can contact their Program Librarians for recommended resources and links to ebooks, articles, and online videos to use in Canvas courses.
Eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is determined at the State level. There are some resources that can help you find locations to receive the vaccine in several states, but you can also check with your Local Health Department for appointment options.
Call 1-877-857-2945*
The Tennessee Department of Public Health Call Center is staffed from 10:00 am - 10:00 pm CST daily.
TPH also will receive public email inquiries and questions at tn.health@tn.gov.
For more information visit: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html
Call 1-844-442-2681
The Georgia Department of Health has set up a dedicated hotline for answering questions about COVID-19.
For more information visit: https://dph.georgia.gov/preparing-and-responding-covid-19
Call 1-888-892-1162
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has set up a Latest Updates page for COVID-19.
To receive text updates from the NCDHHS, send COVIDNC to 898211.
For more information visit: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-response-north-carolina
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 in a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China.
| How does COVID-19 spread? | The virus that causes COVID-19 probably emerged from an animal source, but now it seems to be spreading from person to person. It's important to note that person-to-person spread can happen on a continuum. Some diseases are highly contagious (like measles), while other diseases are less so. At this time, it's unclear how easily or sustainably the virus that causes COVID-19 is spreading between people. Learn what is known about the spread of newly emerged coronaviruses at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/transmission.html |
| What are the symptoms of COVID-19? |
Patients with COVID-19 have had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of
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| What are severe complications from this virus? | Many patients have pneumonia in both lungs. |
| How can I help protect myself? | The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19 |
| What should I do if I recently traveled to China and got sick? | If you were in China within the past 14 days and feel sick with fever, cough, or difficulty breathing, you should seek medical care. Call the office of your health care provider before you go, and tell them about your travel and your symptoms. They will give you instructions on how to get care without exposing other people to your illness. While sick, avoid contact with people, don't go out, and delay any travel to reduce the possibility of spreading illness to others. |
| Is there a vaccine? | There is currently no vaccine to protect against COVID-19. The best way to prevent infection is to avoid being exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. As of March 16, 2020, developers are conducting a trial test of a potential vaccine, however, new drugs must pass through three iterative phases of clinical trials before being deemed safe enough for widespread use. |
| Is there a treatment? | There is no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19 at this time. People with COVID-19 can seek medical care to help relieve symptoms. |
For more information: www.cdc.gov/COVID19
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In response to this ongoing public health emergency, the Johns Hopkins' Center Center for Systems Science and Engineering developed an interactive web-based dashboard (static snapshot shown above) to visualize and track reported cases in real time.
The following links will take you directly to articles on COVID-19 by the respective news sources.
Snopes is the "definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors and misinformation." The site has fact checked many stories regarding the coronavirus. Please see the links below.
What does "flatten the curve" mean?
You've probably heard the phrase "flatten the curve," which is a projection of the number of people who contract COVID-19 over a period of time. The graph represents the number of people who have the disease (y- or vertical-axis) for each day since the first confirmed case (x- or horizontal axis).
A high curve is created by a steep increase in the number of diagnosed cases per day followed by a quick decrease. A flatter curve is created by a more gradual increase in the number of cases per day and a more gradual decrease. Over a long period of time, the number of people infected with COVID-19 might be about the same, but the difference is the number of cases each day.
The current issue in the United States is there haven't been enough tests. Public health experts say the only reason why those numbers have not exploded is because there isn't enough inventory to test everyone who may be infected.
Why does it matter?
Simply: There aren't enough doctors, hospitals, beds, or the aforementioned tests kits. The nation's health care system has a fixed capacity of the number of people it can treat per day, which is marked by the straight line on the graph. A higher curve would likely exceed that capacity, meaning that people would be left waiting for days to be seen and treated by medical professionals. The flatter the curve, the more likely it is to fall under that maximum capacity, allow each patient access the resources they need.
How do we flatten the curve?
That's where social distancing becomes critical. Social distancing involves avoiding people or places where it's possible to come in contact with germs by droplets, direct contact or surfaces that are potentially contaminated with the virus. For many, that means working or attending school from home, and staying in rather than going out to bars, restaurants, live shows, etc. Basically anywhere large numbers of people (think 10 or more) congregate. But while not everyone can or will be able to do that, public health officials are saying it's the most effective way of slowing it down.
Source: The Hill
The links and content from this guide were copied with permission TSU Libraries. All information on the guide is from various government organizations.