The coronavirus, or specifically COVID-19 is a new virus that affects your lungs and airways. The COVID-19 is a new strain of coronavirus first identified in Wuhan City, China but has since spread to more than 60 countries.
Symptoms and staying at home
The current NHS guidelines are recommending you stay at home if you have either a high temperature (feeling hot to touch on your chest or back) or a new, continuous cough. This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours.
Generally the coronavirus causes more severe symptoms in the older generation and those with long term conditions that may have weakened their immune system. These conditions may include asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
What you should do if you think you have the coronavirus
If you think you may have coronavirus, it is advised you do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. This is to reduce contact with other people. Instead, the NHS say you should contact the 111 service or use its dedicated 111 online coronavirus service
here where they will ask a few questions and advise you on what to do next.
How long to stay at home
The current guidelines are:
- If you have symptoms mentioned above, you'll need to self isolate at home for 7 days.
- If you live with someone who has symptoms, you'll need to stay at home for 14 days from the day the first person started showing symptoms.
- If you live with any one that is over 70, has a long term health condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try and find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days. When living at home together you must try to stay away from each other as much as possible.
How to avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus
Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly is perhaps the best preventative measure against the coronavirus. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. If you can't get to a sink, it's a good idea to keep an alcohol based sanitiser on you as it will help in the mean time. Hand sanitisers with more than 60% alcohol content are the most effective at killing microbes.
It is important when you cough or sneeze to use a tissue or flexed elbow to sleeve where possible rather than your hands, to prevent spreading the virus. Then dispose of the used tissue in a closed bin immediately. Clean your hands as mentioned above.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands. Your hands touch a huge amount of surfaces throughout the day which could easily be contaminated.
Try and avoid contact with people who are unwell. Droplets from coughing or sneezing spread the virus so make sure to protect yourself and not risk contamination.
Try to avoid large events, social activities,and social transport. If possible, work from home to limit contact.
DIY hand sanitisers
As retailers face shortages on hand sanitisers, DIY guides have flooded the internet, most likely stemming from the World Health Organization's
guide to 'local production'.
But the WHO
guidelines were intended for communities with no clean water and with no other choice to stay clean amid the coronovirus outbreak.
It is advised to focus on hand washing rather than following DIY hand sanitiser guides due to the possibility of doing more harm than good. The use of Isopropyl alcohol can be damaging to your skin if not mixed correctly with the proper ingredients. Certainly be wary of buying hand-made hand sanitisers from places like ebay where you don't know what ingredients are included.
Travel advice
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office is now advising British people against all non-essential travel worldwide which as of 18th March 2020 applies initially for a period of 30 days.
If you need to cancel or change your travel plans it's best to contact your airline or travel company, and get in touch with your insurance provider.
Last updated 19/03/2020
Sources: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
