What are we dealing with?
The coronavirus is actually a larger family of viruses which includes the common cold, among other things. This particular strain wreaking havoc in the world has been named Covid-19.
Is Covid-19 really scary?
We won't lie, it is not just a cold and it is causing more concern than the flu. The World Health Organisation has made it clear that it should be taken seriously.
As the population has no antibodies yet, we don't have herd immunity or any of those things that usually act as a barrier to a growing pandemic.
It is also easy to watch the events unfolding, read newspaper headlines which are obsessively tallying death-rates and the number of cases, and to feel a growing sense of panic.
However panic is not going to help anyone. Nor is hoarding multiple packs of toilet roll!
For the individual, the risk is actually quite low and as we are aware, the main issue is health services getting saturated if people don't take simple precautions.
Good news! This is not a zombie apocalypse.
We've looked at the available information from various sources.
The best thing is to keep calm and respect all the health and safety measures in place in your area.
Unless you are elderly or have an underlying condition, you may well get away with little to no symptoms up to a mild flu and can simply self-isolate. The main goal is to protect those who are at risk and slow down the spread.
Though safety guidelines may vary in strictness, depending on your country, area, and how many cases were reported, they usually have several things in common. We will try to list those we are aware of.
Common safety measures
Some are common sense:
Cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, but avoid using your hands as that might spread the virus to things you will touch. Instead, use your elbow as a cover.
Wash your hands regularly. You can use soap or alcohol-based gels, they are both great at the job. Make sure to apply soap and rub your hands, clean between your fingers and under nails for 30 seconds to make sure you have cleaned them properly. Some guidelines we found mentioned washing your hands at regular interval five times a day, and even more often if you are in contact throughout your day with people and public spaces that could be contaminated. If you are still unsure of how to proceed, you can imitate this thorough hand washing routine for health workers.
Similarly, if you use the alcohol-based gel, use enough to rub your hands with the product for 30 seconds. Most people don't use enough gel, which minimises the efficiency.
Scented gels tend to be less efficient, so you will need to use more. If you can, purchase a clear unscented gel rather than a scented one. If your solution has been opened for over four weeks it probably needs to be replaced as they lose their efficiency over time.
You can use alcohol wipes to clean surfaces at home, but pure alcohol may be harsh on your hands so it isn't ideal to use them directly on the skin. Most gels include additives to moisturise your skin and avoid skin damage, but the wipes won't contain those. They may over time damage your skin which acts as a barrier to pathogens. If you plan to use those, you may want to wear gloves while cleaning.
In many areas, you will probably have been instructed to avoid large gatherings and any unnecessary gathering. Family dinners will have to wait. It is better to cooperate and slow down the spread so that we can protect our loved ones. Yes, the virus is very contagious, though in most cases it will have only mild repercussions on your health. In fact, you may have no symptoms at all which is why a lot of these precautions are being put into place.
Don't visit the elderly unless absolutely necessary. If you need to shop for your loved ones that might actually be a good idea to help them isolate and stay safe, but perhaps organise a "safe drop off" and leave the groceries outside the door.
Most governments will be trying to avoid having everyone fall ill too fast so that health practitioners and hospitals can handle reasonable numbers of patients at one time. Health practitioners are likely going to be under a lot of strain, so if you can help them out by looking after their kids when schools are closed, lending them a hand somehow or giving them some emotional support, and avoid giving them a harder time, you will be their personal superhero.
Don't mass purchase masks that will be needed by the doctors and nurses.
Before you rush to the emergency service, check with your local health authorities that this is actually in their guidelines: many countries have asked their citizens to avoid the emergency services if symptoms are mild and to call special numbers while self-isolating, to request further guidelines.
Also, before you empty the shelf of the supermarkets, remember that other people also need to shop for groceries. Even if there is a shortage of a certain product, such as toilet roll or hand sanitiser, please refrain from buying more than you actually need in the immediate future.
Sure you may need to stay at home for a while, but unless your area has restricted access to shops as part of safety measures, you should still be able to go get your groceries!
Avoid physical contact. This one seems fairly obvious, but we'll still mention it. Hugs, kisses, handshakes are lovely and often part of many cultures, but for now, it is better to say hello from afar and keep a good meter or two between yourself and other people.
So what can you do while you're at home?
Well, some Italians have been playing music for their neighbours. We thought that was great! If you're a musician it is a good time to play your instrument.
If you're at home with your kids, spend some quality time together!
Binge-watch those shows you haven't had time to watch. We suggest keeping away from TV news, as they tend to make things more dramatic than necessary. They also will probably only be talking about Covid-19 and feeding into people's anxiety.
Particularly, avoid watching news late in the day if you think it may affect your sleep. Sleep is very important if you want to stay healthy. Maybe try getting a news update earlier in the day from an online newspaper, and watch something on demand instead, like a comedy or something light-hearted.
Have any MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) waiting around? Perfect time to get started on one of those, if not why not shop around for a fun skill to learn from one of many online courses?
If you've had no time for reading, then you could use this opportunity to start or finish reading a book. If you're more a games person (not mutually exclusive, in fact), then you've also got some free time to play your favourite game.
And finally, our favourite option:
Have a nice relaxing spa day at home. Check out our blog post on some tips on how to give yourself that me-time we all crave.
Reducing your fear and relaxing will help to avoid decreasing the functionality of your immune system which can be affected by stress and anxiety.
You might even want to give meditation a try to reduce stress levels.
Read our three tips to reduce stress levels.
If you're one of those people who find it reassuring to know hard facts, would like to read more and really want numbers and stats, check out this page which has all sorts of important info about Covid-19. There's also this conference about Covid-19 with lots of useful information including possible future measures. And of course, the World Health Organisation has a plethora of information available.
We've used a variety of different sources including checking out some official governmental and health organisation guidelines for various countries to make a summary of the most common preventative measures, but keep in mind that as the situation evolves, some of these may change. Please refer regularly to any official guidelines for your area for more information.