Novel Corona virus (Covid – 19)
How the coronavirus spreads and how to protect yourself
- The virus spreads in a similar way to flu or the common cold, in large droplets produced by coughs and sneezes. Germs can live on surfaces for several hours.
- Public Health England defines having close contact with a virus carrier as being within two metres of the person for 15 minutes.
- For people who might have coronavirus, health officials are urging a “catch it, bin it, kill it” approach. In short, this means means catching sneezes and coughs in tissues, throwing them away, and then washing your hands.
- Regular hand washing is considered the most important precaution to reduce the chances of contamination from the virus lingering on surfaces.
Where is the disease now?
As well as being reported in China, the disease is now in more than 80 countries around the world, including popular south-east Asian holiday destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
Italy has also seen a large number of cases, leading the authorities to impose a lock down in the north of the country.
The disease has also spread to the Middle East, with Iran particularly affected.