1 Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 Student s Name Institution Affiliation Coronavirus Disease COVID 19 2 World Health Organization WHO received information about pneumonia cases of unknown cause originating in Wuhan City China on December 31 2019 On January 7 2020 the Chinese authorities identified the cause to be the novel coronavirus assigned a temporary name 2019 nCoV A large family of viruses results in coronaviruses CoV causing illnesses such as the common cold which might evolve into more severe diseases In the history of human diseases the novel coronavirus nCoV emerged as a new strain With the subsequent spreading of the virus it was later named as COVID 19 virus Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO Director General on January 30 2020 declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus as a public health emergency of international concern PHEIC The outbreak was the highest level of alarm declared by WHO During that time within the 18 countries outside China the number of cases was 98 with no deaths WHO Director General announced through the media on March 11 2020 that the outbreak could exist as a pandemic due to a large number of cases outside china Coronavirus disease COVID 19 pandemic 2020 The information shared through different media platforms shows within 114 countries there were about 118000 cases by then and the number of deaths reaching 4291 the reported confirmed cases globally by mid March 2020 were about 40 percent making the WHO European Region the pandemic s epicenter The global mortality within the same region by April 28 2020 was 63 percent WHO has been working hard since reporting the first cases to help countries prepare and respond to the global pandemic Digital media platform such as Television channel like CNN has been the epitome of circulating information about COVID 19 pandemic Since the reporting of the first cases in China the digital media platform has been gathering information to advise the public on the pandemic s impact Thus it is evident that the media has been playing an important role in 3 ensuring preparedness by countries At first different nations were interpreting the pandemic information but with most TV stations covering what was happening in China different countries started implementing measures Other nations were also reluctant to address the pandemic as there was the normalcy of doing things among the citizens The greatest impact that made most nations respond is receiving how the pandemic has impacted countries such as Italy Almost every media platform shared how Italy was greatly hit by the pandemic with thousands of new cases each day Anwar et al 2020 The number of deaths increased each day thereby overwhelming most hospitals Most countries started implementing measures such as a travel ban and imposing lockdowns in major cities The information shared through digital media made many nations respond with caution by imposing different restrictions The imposed lockdowns and restrictions made most of the people work from home while others lost their jobs The media helped outline how people are struggling with the pandemic which was a good strategy to identify areas with people requiring support Most nations provided funding to ensure citizens managed to cope with the situation Also through the media the government managed to communicate to the public on the measures to take personally Different printouts were circulated to public places encouraging people to always wash their hands or use hand sanitizers to prevent contracting the virus Anwar et al 2020 Also in different public places such as supermarkets they installed audio messages to maintain social distance The use of digital media such as cable TVs websites social media platforms was a good channel to share information about the pandemic With most of the people currently having access to such a platform the government s effort to enlighten the public on measures to take was through digital media As a global concern all the platforms played an important role in enlightening the public about the pandemic Through such a platform the government and health 4 organizations managed to enlighten the public on the virus s prone and ways to help control the virus Anwar et al 2020 Despite different nations having challenges in hospitals and health care they managed to seek support from other countries through the media Different media publishers show other countries offering doctors to help countries like Italy to fight the virus Also different countries were receiving financial support from international bodies to help address people s health and welfare The print and audio media platform was the primary channel covering the spread of the virus Preparing both platforms message requires a different platform which means the audience will also be different Most print media platforms were addressing the issue of COVID 19 with a different interpretation based on the information originating from different countries For example the data shared on different websites about daily confirmed cases could differ from those shared on the audio platform Different print platform belongs to private entities such as common citizens as one could express mere speculations Also different websites could share information about how different countries record a high number of deaths each day The information sometimes could differ from the one shared over the audio platform as these channels include government radio and visual stations Brennen et al 2020 These stations require obtaining credible information before sharing it with the public Also there are high chances of government control of information to reach the public The difference in both platforms shows the difference in information shared However both print and audio platforms share the same ideology on measures to prevent the virus s spread Most of the printout in different public places showed messages encouraging people to wear masks keep social distance and not touch mouth nose and eyes including other measures The print media was also a good channel to communicate the signs and symptoms of 5 the virus and encourage people to visit a doctor when experiencing such symptoms Additionally when outlining the audio platform the same information was shared to enlighten the public Both the channels differ in the kind of information they share and the target group they are reaching Brennen et al 2020 For example in print media the information can spread faster as the