Abigail Gallegos

138560
Research-Based Essay
Biosecurity measures regarding COVID-19 in Quito

In March 2020, officially the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that we are in
a pandemic state, due to the new virus called COVID 19. From the advent of the virus
to the actuality, approximately one million people die globally are estimated.
Scientists and doctors around the world have started looking for a vaccine to fight it.
WHO has disseminated a number of biosafety measures to prevent contagion, but
several people to this day have not complied with these standards. That is why a
survey was conducted on 150 people in the City of Quito, in order to know what kind
of measures they choose to avoid contagion, as they know about the care that should
be taken in the face of the virus.

To enter context, coronavirus is a group of viruses that cause colds to serious

breathing problems, the new virus belongs to this family, but the particular thing about
this is that it is a new strain, which was not previously known. The virus rapidly spread
to other continents such as Asia, Europe and America. The scientific community
around the world has worked against the clock to find a vaccine that can fight the
virus. The financial support they have received has been surprising, but this does not
mean that a vaccine can be obtained quickly. Currently there are approximately 135
different prototypes of vaccines and fewer than 30 clinical trials in different stages, at
the end of the process, there will be a number of vaccines that will go on the market,
but only those that are approved based on scientific criteria, that meet all the
requirements as if their development had taken 10 years, to meet transparency and
responsibility according to Ignacio López Professor of Microbiology.

While this is happening, from the beginning of the pandemic, WHO unveiled measures
to be taken to prevent the spread of the virus such as: maintaining physical stating,
wearing a mask, ventilating rooms well, avoiding crowds, washing hands and,
coughing, covering your mouth and nose with your elbow bent or with a handkerchief.
In addition, confinement was chosen in almost all countries; in the case of Ecuador,
hard-working months, there was a state of emergency, among other measures.
In Quito, more than 150 people were surveyed to see if they applied biosecurity
measures, the surveys were conducted by people of all ages and we were able to tell
that these basic measures could prevent mass contagion, since the vast majority has
not been infected, and above all they constantly wash their hands and use masks , now
that people return to their activities, there is a much higher risk as you have contact
with more people. This pandemic has also brought a lot of unemployment, and people,
despite the risk of going out, must do so out of necessity in order to sell the products
they have at hand. Now to prevent people from leaving home social networks have
been used to procreate their products and others, they assure you that their products
are properly disinfected for added safety. The results of the survey carried out will be
indicated below:

In the research, the results showed that 72.6% of respondents have not been infected,
19.4% are unsure and 4.4% have been infected. The results have been positive, since
behind this there is good hygienic health, in the survey he wondered, what are the
biosecurity standards they use and if they use any method of biosafety, 97.5% of
respondents say yes, among the three most used are: Alcohol -86.3%, KN95 mask
-80.6% and handwashing 72.5%. And one of the important questions that were asked
is whether they live with a family member who belongs to vulnerable groups, 74.5%
said they live with seniors and 36.4% people with diabetes. The results have been
positive, because as we can see the vast majority of people surveyed meet biosecurity
standards, it maintains adequate hygiene health for the most part, and they are aware
of the risk that people in vulnerable groups are at risk.

To conclude by noting that people are aware of the risk they face if biosecurity
measures are not opted in, not only must you follow this to protect yourself but to
protect others, such as your family, your environment to which you are always, and it
is clear that most people are not infected, that the most basic thing like washing your
hands, the mask has been of great help to stay safe, and avoid leaving, more than
anything to go out alone what is necessary.