Become a coronavirus super-preventer from The Independent and Dr. Rita Issa

Covid-19 is spreading exponentially but you can help save lives by slowing its growth so that it doesn’t overwhelm our health system.

Here’s how you can become a super preventer.

  1. Change your behaviour.
    For up to date official advice visit: UK www.nhs.uk/coronavirus,
    Global www.who.int/coronavirus
    This advice is based on UK Government as of 16th March but please check official up to date advice.

Coronavirus is a respiratory illness which means it’s mainly spread by somebody coughing and then someone else inhaling those droplets, or touching an infected surface and transferring it to your mouth.

So you can prevent transmission by:

  • catching coughs in a tissue and chucking it away
  • washing your hands regularly with soap for 20 seconds
  • avoiding shaking hands with others
  • wiping down surfaces
  • You can also remind others by putting up posters around sinks along with soap

Practice social distancing.

Spending 15 minutes within 2 metres of somebody with the virus poses a significant risk. As we’ve started to see higher cases of the virus we’ve seen measures introduced to reduce the amount of time that we socialise with each other, so that’s social distancing.

  • Stop non-essential contact with others
  • Avoid unnecessary travel
  • Work from home wherever possible
  • Avoid pubs, clubs and social venues

This is especially the case for at risk groups including:

  • People over 70
  • People with underlying health conditions
  • Pregnant women

You can also encourage your workplace to take on healthy policies such as implementing sick leave and encouraging people to work from home.

Know the symptoms and what to do

The most common symptoms of coronavirus are:

  • New continuous cough
  • High temperature (37.8 degrees or higher)

In the UK, if you or anyone at home has symptoms:

  • Stay at home for 14 days
  • Check the NHS online assessment tool to find out what to do:
    111.nhs.uk/covid-19

Be prepared to self-isolate

Self-isolating means staying at home, that’s:

  • Not going to work
  • Not socialising
  • Not getting on public transport
  • Not going to the shops

We can prepare for this by stocking up with a food order and making sure that others around you are also prepared. But don’t order more than you need. Nobody needs 50 rolls of toilet paper. And after all, if not everybody can get access to the stuff that they need, then more people are going to be at risk.

Share the right information

We understand that Coronavirus is really scary but you can take action and help others by becoming a super preventer by following the official advice.

Coronavirus shows us that the health of the world is interconnected. As the world shuts down, now more than ever, we need to come together and support each other to find global solutions including developing a vaccine that’s available for all. Our global crises can’t be faced by working alone. This needs everyone.

If you’re on Facebook, you can watch the video that the above summarises here:

https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline/videos/590902048303134/