~~
I have deleted my earlier attempts at "gallows humour" regarding the Covid-19 Virus Pandemic. It is getting very serious for all of us now! Italy is overwhelmed and in complete, national lock down.
So, anything which helps to keep people safe will reduce the inevitable burden on limited health services. They are not set up for hundreds or thousands of very sick people in intensive care. Anything which helps to reduce the number of victims [or delay their rise in numbers] will hopefully reduce the inevitable death toll.
Denmark has already withdrawn trained, health service personnel from the Virus hotline. It seems they are using specially trained volunteers from the Danish Home Defense Force. No doubt this frees up skilled and highly trained personnel for more pressing and useful, active duties.
Doctors should not be answering pointless, open questions about pets and asked to speculate. Not when many questions are already fully covered online and in the public TV/radio News media.
It is vital to base your knowledge about the virus, its symptoms and its effects on trusted sources.
Here I am summarizing from the advice I found online on trusted sources. Health service websites and trusted national News websites like the UK BBC and Danish DR. Let's assume you live in a total news vacuum [boring} and need basic advice:
False information is everywhere. Criminals are hoping to gain from the pandemic. Don''t go wildly searching for information which only fits your own special set of prejudices and biases!
The basic rules include:
Be responsible for your own actions and hope that others have a conscience.The sociopaths/criminals are already black marketing worthless masks! Faith-based advice may not be in anybody's interest but the deluded adviser. It's all about maintaining your fear of the sky falling and leaving your fate in THEIR hands as the "chosen" spokesperson.
No1, 2 & 3: Wash your hands thoroughly and regularly. Particularly after going outside. Use soap and water. Or approved hand sanitizers. Minimum 60% alcohol. This may quickly strip your hands. So soap and water are probably better in the longer term.
There are helpful videos online about hand washing on the news websites. NOTE: Proper hand washing is a newly learned skill for most ordinary [non medical] people. It is not a race to see who finishes first!
Don't touch your face with unwashed hands. The virus can spread from hand contact with public "furniture" items like door handles, hole in the wall machines and handrails. Touch your face with "dirty" hands and the virus can enter by your eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash your hands immediately and thoroughly on your return home. Discard a cloth towel for a hot 60° laundry cycle. Or use kitchen towels and discard them straight into the waste.
Don't contaminate anything else before you wash your hands! Or you will have wasted your time washing your hands. Clean door knobs and other items while wearing gloves and use bleach. Don't use bleach on your skin!
Now try to remember all the things you touched BEFORE the vital, first hand washing:
Glasses/spectacles, mobile phone, car and house keys, bags, umbrellas, credit cards, shoes or boots, pet collars and leashes, prams, pushchairs, purses, money, shopping trolleys, coat buttons, zips, etc. etc. etc. etc.
Don't re-contaminate your clean hands with careless handling of potentially "dirty" objects. If they really must be handled again, then wash your hands immediately afterwards and then avoid further contact.
Develop a simple routine for your arrival at home. Avoid providing direct infection routes between your face and hands.
Be careful with shopping. You can't disinfect most of it but you can take sensible precautions.
Avoid all other human contact where humanly possible. Don't kiss, hug or shake hands. Even with those you know. It may be completely normal human behaviour, but it could lead to hundreds or even thousands more victims via the domino effect. Particularly if you are symptom-free, super spreader! How could you possibly know?
Avoid all crowded places and/or public transport if possible. Avoid close queues. Keep at least a meter distance between you. Insist others follow your lead.
Avoid supermarkets, shops, banks and post offices at busy times. Your life and that of many others may depend on it.
Discuss home working or quarantine with your employer. Will you be paid if you stay at home? Can you afford to stay at home if you are sick?
Keep your distance from other people if you really must go out. Two meters is considered safe provided it is not for an extended period and they don't sneeze or cough all over you.
Keep a tissue handy for covering your own face in emergencies. Only animals sneeze and cough with their unprotected mouth wide open! Humans have a choice. Which are you? Animal or human?
Your life and that of countless others, may depend on how important you consider your social and sporting life. Stories abound about the virus spreading from simply visiting a bar where somebody was infected. Those you meet there may be carriers without symptoms. Close contact is inevitable with friends and strangers alike. How awful would it be to distance yourself from your usual, public haunts for a while?
The elderly are at much higher risk of developing serious symptoms but may not understand those risks. Don't infect them with the virus by normal, close family, contact behaviours. Explain calmly it is for their own good. Persist in protecting them from infection. Even if they don't like it! They won't!
Avoid contact between children and the sick or elderly as children are high risk spreaders due to their usually wide range of contacts.
Avoid close contact with sick people whatever their symptoms.
If you are sick you should isolate yourself and contact the relevant authorities. Even from your own family members if at all possible.
Stay at home if at all possible. Homeworking safely avoids many potential infection routes.
Those with reduced immunity or lowered resistance due to underlying health problems or prescriptions should take extreme care. You are at much higher risk of having serious symptoms requiring hospitalization and intensive care.
As of March 11th 2020 there is no vaccine and certainly no cure. Some rare drugs, for rare diseases are being tested, but will not be widely available for a long time, if at all. Booze doesn't work and will kill you before it kills the virus. There are no snake oil patent medicines or supplements which offer any benefit. They will merely lower your guard against infection.
DO NOT RELY ON BEING CURED BY YOUR OVERLOADED HEALTH SERVICE:
They can only treat the symptoms with the indirect tools available.
It is your responsibility to avoid getting sick to the vry best of your own ability. By using common sense precautions. Good hand hygiene and distance/isolation are the most powerful personal tools against the virus. You ignore the official advice at your peril.
Your perceived social status is absolutely no protection. Several health ministers, in different countries, are already confirmed to have the coronavirus. They shook hands with lots of "really important" people. There are bound to be elections later. If we survive.
~~
No comments:
Post a Comment