We look at the latest advice and speak to a virologist.
HOW DO YOU keep yourself safe from the spread of coronavirus and Covid-19?
Thats what is on a lot of peoples minds this past week, especially now
that many companies are encouraging people to socially distance and work
from home if applicable.
Regardless of if youre working or not, you might still be meeting people,
spending time with family members, or going to the local shop.
Do these all pose risks? How much contact should you have with your family?
What about going out for a walk?
Heres what we know about keeping yourself safe.
The basics first: How coronavirus Covid-19 is spread
Its important to know, first of all, how the virus is spread. Its spread
in sneeze or cough droplets.
<https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/protect-yourself.html> As the
HSE explains, to infect you it has to get from an infected persons nose or
mouth into your eyes, nose or mouth.
This can be:
* Direct
* Indirect
So, via:
* Hands
* Objects
* Surfaces
This is why anyone who has symptoms is asked to self-isolate for 14 days,
and why everyone should limit unnecessary social contact as much as
possible. If you are in an at-risk group, youre to avoid close contact with
people outside the home.
Advice from a virologist
Kim Roberts is assistant professor of virology at Trinity College Dublin. We
asked her how people can make sure that their risk of contracting Covid-19
is kept low while at home or in work.
She said of the situation that this is all about risk, and its about how
everyone needs to assess risk. Nothing is risk-free and we need to accept
that we need to think through the risk in a careful way, while being
realistic and not over-thinking things.
The aim of all of this social distancing is to slow down transmission not
stop transmission totally.
She said that social distancing can be incredibly powerful and can vastly
cut down on transmission rates.
On average an infected person can infect 2.5 people. If we can change that
to infect 1 and a quarter people, the difference in a month of the number of
people that one person will have contributed to infecting will change from
244 people down to contributing to the infection of four people in a month.
If we can reduce transmission by 50% those are the numbers we are talking
about. Some are going to infect more than 2.5 people, but its a way of
visualising the impact that the social distancing measures can have if we
take it seriously.
What about eating out or going shopping?
Roberts pointed out that the aim is not to prevent all transmission its
to cut down on transmission. Each activity we do is going to have a
different degree of risk, she explained.
Someone going out for dinner at a restaurant with somebody is at greater
risk of picking up the virus than going to a supermarket, buying shopping
assuming it is not rammed full of people and then coming home, washing
their hands, putting the shopping away and washing their hands again.
Going out to a restaurant or café, for example, involves being around more
people for a longer length of time.
But its not just about that, explained Roberts. Depending on how social
distancing is working in that restaurant, it is not just the person you are
having dinner with, but also the waiters you are interacting with, other
people having dinner as well, depending on how closely spaced people are.
Similarly, going to an indoor event, so a small gig or cinema, theres
different risk there than going to the park, she added.
Part of that risk difference is the virus survives longer indoors.
So how long does the virus survive?
Roberts said that the data looking at how long the virus survives currently
indicates that: Indoors it is looking like it can survive at a level that
can lead to infection on plastic or stainless steel for probably a day maybe
a bit longer. Something on a porous substance like cardboard is more likely
to survive for a few hours. This is because its faster for the respiratory
droplets to dry up on cardboard.
Roberts said that outside, the coronavirus doesnt survive as well, for a
whole host of environmental reasons: the air, the temperature changes, the
humidity, all of those things can affect how the virus survives. These can
mean the droplets shrink faster.
This also means that one way to improve reducing transmission inside the
house is to open windows and doors, and keep the house well ventilated.
Outside, there is a lot of air movement. If loads of air is moving, those
water droplets [that contain the virus] are being dispersed rather than
concentrated.
What about gloves, should we use them?
Gloves offer a false sense of security, said Roberts. If you are wearing
them you are going to have to change them on a regular basis to keep them
clean.
Instead, she recommends handwashing and not touching your face. As soon as
you step out of the house, work really hard at not touching your face, as
soon as you arrive at the destination, whether its a cafe or home, wash
your hands straight away.
Roberts said that if you do want to meet up with one or two friends, meeting
outside in a park is a good option while making sure hands are washed
before and after, and you dont touch your face.
Social distancing guidelines can also come into play here.
What about getting a takeaway from a restaurant or café? Is there a risk of
transmission with this?
Its really difficult to assess risk for something like that, said
Roberts. In part it will depend on whether the cafe/restaurant has a policy
where they encourage members of staff to stay at home if they are displaying
symptoms. If they are not exhibiting symptoms, the chance is much lower than
if they are expecting people to come in no matter what.
Risk is influenced by length of time so if youre just going somewhere and
getting takeaway coffee, the transmission risk I would have thought would be
low, lower than sitting inside the cafe with 10-15 other people, added
Roberts.
She said that when it comes to being outside, going outside, getting fresh
air, having a walk is really important. We all have to mind our mental
health as well as minding others and trying to reduce transmission.
Inside the home
If you are social distancing, you are going to be spending a lot more time
in the house.
What are the risks inherent in this?
If everyone in the house is well and no one has symptoms, then carrying on
as normal is the best practice with a few extra bits like regular washing
of hands, and washing hand towels on a daily basis. Also with high-touch
surfaces, giving them a more regular clean.
Washing hands before preparing food, and before and after eating.
Roberts said that she would also recommend not sharing food: I wouldnt
suggest sharing platters of food, and not sharing cups and things along
those lines. So we can do small things like that.
What about physical contact with your family?
Hug and kiss your kids and your partner because we need that reassurance,
we need that connection. We need to mind our mental health as much as our
physical health, she said.
Of course, that still has caveats.
If someone is ill, or showing symptoms, put in a few extra social
distancing measures, advised Roberts. If the person has to self-isolate,
they should follow the HSE guidelines.
The reason for that is of course in your house you have a greater
transmission risk because you are all spending this time together inside.
The chance of passing the virus on to someone in your household is greater
than passing it on to someone in the supermarket.
Does it matter what you use to wash your hands or household?
Wash your hands with any soap and soap is better than any hand
sanitiser, said Roberts.
In terms of cleaning products, use whatever you would normally use to clean
the kitchen.
Roberts also noted that if you do get sick, it doesnt mean you have done
something wrong. The aim of the current measures is not to eliminate the
chance of anyone getting ill.
Its worth bearing in mind that one of the fears, one of the worries is
people who become sick may feel like theyve failed or let people down. But
if we try our best to limit transmission we are doing our best.
Its about acting responsibly, taking social responsibility seriously, but
there are limits and as long as we are doing our best thats all we can
ask. She added:
Its all about slowing down transmission. How and when these social
distancing measures start being eased I dont know. They are going to be
reassessing the impact so people need to realise it is not going to be life
back as normal on the 29th. Its likely measures could be extended and weve
got to make sure that we can live as normally as possible under these social
distancing recommendations.
This is not going to finish in a couple of weeks time. This is going to be
going on for weeks so we have to manage it in a sensible way.
Reduce your risk
These tips are all from the HSE:
* Wash your hands properly and often
* Cough or sneeze? Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your
sleeve
* Put those used tissues in the bin, then wash your hands
* Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
* Avoid close contact with people keep a distance of 2metres
between you
* Avoid crowded places, especially indoors (gatherings of over 100
indoors and 500 outdoors are currently banned)
* Stay at home if you are sick this helps stop the spread.
* Also, pay heed to the travel advice from the Department of Foreign
Affairs
Youre advised to wash your hands after coughing and sneezing, before and
after eating and preparing food; if you were in contact with someone who has
a fever or respiratory symptoms; before and after being on public
transport/in a crowd; arriving and leaving buildings (including your own
home); if you have handled animals or their waste; before having a cigarette
or vaping.
Of course, youre always to wash your hands if they are dirty or if you have
used the toilet.
What not to do
* Dont touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean
* Dont share objects that touch your mouth (eg cups, bottles,
cutlery)
* Dont shake hands
* The HSE recommends not to use gloves in place of washing your
hands. This is because the virus gets on them in the same way it gets on
your hands. Plus, when you take them off, your hands can get contaminated.
Website:
https://www.thejournal.ie/coronavirus-how-to-keep-yourself-healthy-at-home-5
047557-Mar2020/?utm_source=email
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