 This book is entitled, a kid's book about COVID-19, written by Malia Jones. The dedication reads, for my boys, Owen and Desmond. The best teachers I've ever had. The world is now facing a difficult and unprecedented time with lots of uncertainty about what to do. The author has a pretty good understanding about epidemics and how diseases are spread, but people across the world are feeling uncertain and vulnerable. They feel scared. Many adults feel scared as well. Hi, my name is Malia Jones and I'm a social epidemiologist. That means that I'm a scientist who studies how human diseases are spread. This book is entitled, a kid's book about COVID-19. Do you know what COVID-19 stands for? It gets its name from coronavirus, the CO from corona, the VI from virus, the D from disease, which forms the word COVID and the number 19 comes from the year it first surfaced. By now, you've definitely heard about COVID-19 or maybe it's more common name, the coronavirus, because everyone is talking about it all the time. It has now been declared a pandemic, which means it is a disease that's rapidly spread across the world. Maybe your school is closed, sports or events might be canceled, grownups like your teachers, coaches, counselors, your parents, they might be a little scared, they're uncertain what to do. It's okay to feel scared, it's normal. Seems like everyone in the entire world is thinking about one thing, coronavirus. So I'm here to tell you about the coronavirus, what it is and what it isn't. COVID-19 is a new disease that people have never had before. It's never existed in the history of the world until now, COVID-19 is caused by a virus, which is under the group of coronaviruses. That also includes SARS, H1N1 and others. A virus is not something you can see. COVID-19 is very, very tiny. It can only be seen under a microscope. It can get inside your body and multiply, making lots of copies of itself and spreading in your body. And it can make you very sick. You've definitely had a virus before. Like a cold sore throat, the flu, the coronavirus can cause things like a fever, a cough, a stuffy or runny nose, fatigue or a headache. Some people get COVID-19 and they don't even know it. They don't even realize they're sick, they feel normal. There's another group of people that get it and maybe just feel a little run down with a cough or a headache or a little weak, but they can keep going. Whereas another group of people become very seriously ill. They're weak with a serious cough and a fever and they can't recover. They're unable to take care of it themselves and may have to go to the hospital. Some of those people become even worse and may die. Lucky for you, kids don't usually get very sick when they get the coronavirus. But you can still give it to other people. You may feel fine, but you might actually be a carrier for it. You may have heard that the coronavirus is just like the flu. Similar to other illnesses, but it's not. It's different, it is not like the flu. This is really different, it's not like the flu. In the past, if you were sick with a cough or sore throat or upset stomach, the doctor would be able to give you medication or send you home for rest. But with COVID-19, doctors don't know how to treat it. There's no medication or vaccination for it. As of yet. But doctors are still working on it, looking for a solution. This is new. There's no vaccine for COVID-19. There are several viruses out there that already have vaccinations. But for COVID-19, we don't yet have one. Doctors and scientists are still working very hard on that. COVID-19 is spreading fast. And people are easily infected. It's not like a typical seasonal cough or cold or stomach upset. It is far more dangerous. People can become very ill and some people even die from COVID-19. Those who are older or maybe have a weakened immune system are more likely to have a serious infection. There's still a lot we don't know about coronavirus. Scientists are learning and studying every day and learning something new about it. So much is unknown. But what we do know for sure is how you can get it, which is through snot. When someone coughs or sneezes and snot and spit flies out of their nose, it's like an atomic bomb of germs. You can't see germs. They're so small you can't see them. Some germs are viruses, others are bacteria, which means you need medication to combat them. Germs can live on all kinds of surfaces for several days. For example, doorknobs, phones, iPads, pencils, tables, even a sandwich. Sometimes if you borrow your friend's phone and start using it, if there's viruses on that phone and you touch it, you may then rub your eye and then that leads to an infection or maybe you eat a sandwich that has virus particles on it. Then you swallow that bite of sandwich and it gets into your body. Or maybe while chatting with a friend, your friend coughs or sneezes and you breathe in some of those bits of snot you can become infected. Yes, it is disgusting. Scientists call that droplet transmission. That can occur through sneezing or coughing. Little snot particles can get out in the air and spread the virus between people. It's disgusting. I know this seems scary and you might want to panic or worry, feel nervous. That's okay, many grownups feel the same way. Your parents, teachers, coaches, counselors, doctors. But you know what you can do to help? Don't pick your nose and keep your hands out of your mouth. Even if your fingers look clean and don't appear dirty, the virus could still be there because you can't see it. You should try to keep your hands out of your nose and mouth whether it be picking your nose, sucking your thumb, biting your nails. If you insist on picking your nose, even after a scientist told you you can't do it, make sure you wash your hands first. It's so important to have clean hands and you should wash your hands for 20 seconds. And if you don't have a watch, you can count to 20 in your head while washing your hands vigorously. You soap and work up a good lather. Then you can go ahead and eat with clean hands. Cocoon, which means to remain in your home. Some of you may live in a house or an apartment, that means to stay there, to not go out or play with friends or be in large groups. Means to remain in your home. If you have to go to the store with your mom or dad, take a short trip but otherwise remain home. Because scientists are unable to test everyone because of how quickly the coronavirus is spreading. They're still searching for a vaccination. So it's so important that you stay home. That's why doctors and scientists encourage you to maintain social distancing, which means avoiding close contact with others. It's possible that others don't know they have it and could spread it to you. Or you yourself may have it and unknowingly spread it to others. It's important to cocoon at home and remain there. It's okay to go outside. But be careful and don't play with friends. Are you worried that you could spread coronavirus to grownups in your life, maybe teachers, your parents, coaches, your friends? Don't worry, it's not your fault if that happens. It's not your job to figure out who has it. Scientists are working very hard as fast as they can. They're doing their best. Your job and most important responsibility is to be a kid. Things you can do to help others are simple things like washing your hands vigorously with soap and water and not picking your nose. Also cocoon for a while. Stay in your home. Don't go out to play with friends or neighbors but to remain at home. We all need to work together and I know you can. If we work together, fewer people will get sick and fewer people will be in danger. If we continue to work together, scientists will have more time to be able to study the disease, to find the best medication or vaccination to prevent it. They'll be able to come up with new treatment plans to help people recover. COVID-19 is dangerous and it's important that everyone collectively does their part. All of us have to work together to help stop COVID-19 in its tracks. Everyone needs to help remind one another about good hand washing, sanitation, using a mask and social distancing. All of that will allow people to stay healthy and stay safe too.