PEOPLE are being urged to wash their hands before every meal and avoid shaking hands to stop the spread of coronavirus.
It comes as two more people in the UK tested positive for the killer infection with the number of cases now at 15.
Follow our coronavirus live blog to stay up to date with the latest news and updates
5
Experts say the best way to reduce the risk of Covid-19 is to carry hand sanitiser and use it before eating and after each journey.
Covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when you cough or sneeze, rather than your hands, and binning used tissues immediately is also helpful, according to NHS guidance.
Public Health England yesterday warned that coronavirus can be caught from spending just 15 minutes within two metres of an infected person.
Viral spread
Health bosses don’t know exactly how Covid-19 is transmitted but based on other coronaviruses, it’s likely to be through droplets in the air.
By touching a surface where a droplet has landed via a cough or sneeze means you could easily pick it up.
That’s why it’s important to make sure you’ve washed any germs off your hands.
And that doesn’t mean just sticking them under the tap for a few seconds.
Experts say you need to wash your hands for 20 seconds to lower your risk of all germs – including colds, flu and tummy upsets.
If in doubt, that’s as long as it’ll take you to hum along to Happy Birthday twice in a row.
Studies on related viruses like Sars have shown that the germs can survive anything from a number of hours to several days, depending on the surface and its temperature and humidity, said Leeds University virologist Stephen Griffin.
He told BBC Breakfast it was related to the amount of virus on an object, and as you reduce the amount its longevity gets “severely shortened”.
“By and large these are very fragile viruses, easily disinfected with alcohols and bleach,” he said.
20-second routine
Dr Rosemary Leonard, a general practitioner, said a 20-second routine, tackling areas between fingers, under nails, and all surfaces on the hands and wrists, is the “most important thing you can do in terms of stopping the transmission of this virus”.
“The previous Sars outbreak was stopped by good hand-washing,” she added.
5
Avoid touching your mouth with your hands, maintain “social distance” from other people, and stop shaking hands, the experts said.
Typically, after someone catches a viral illness, the immune system kicks in and develops antibodies which prevent a patient catching the condition again.
The previous Sars outbreak was stopped by good hand-washing
Dr Rosemary Leonard
“In general, once you’ve had it as long as your immune system is working properly … you should not get it again”, said Dr Leonard.
She said there was not enough information surrounding reports of a woman in Japan who is said to have caught the virus twice to be confident that was the case.
Healthy people who have generally strong defences against colds and other illnesses are not better protected against Covid-19, Dr Griffin said, adding: “Having other illnesses has no relation to this virus in particular whatsoever.”
5
5
5
Health professionals have advised people to get flu vaccines if they have not already done so, as you are more vulnerable to a second illness if your body is already fighting one infection.
A mask will prevent some viral spread when it is new but once it becomes damp “they hardly stop anything”, Dr Leonard said.
But a mask can help by stopping someone touching their face and mouth, she added.
It comes as NHS staff with facial hair at Southampton General Hospital were urged to shave to help limit the spread of the virus.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, stubble and beards “make it impossible to get a good seal of the mask to the face”.
Guidance on its website says: “Many masks rely on a good seal against the face so that, when you breathe air in, it is drawn into the filter material where the air is cleaned.
“If there are any gaps around the edges of the mask, ‘dirty’ air will pass through these gaps and into your lungs.
“If you are clean-shaven when wearing tight-fitting masks (i.e. those which rely on a good seal to the face), this will help prevent leakage of contaminated air around the edges of the mask and into your lungs.”
