Probably during this time many of us have done online shopping or ordered more food at home, and since we cannot go to the physical stores or restaurants to take our order, the only solution is to have the package delivered by courier.
But what happens to all the packaging in which the products we order during this period are placed? Should we disinfect each one as we do with different surfaces or with food? In this regard, the Center for Disease Prevention and Control has an answer for us. It states that there is a very low risk that the new coronavirus will spread in packages that have been shipped over several days.
At the same time, the World Health Organization also found that it is highly unlikely that a package will be contaminated after being exposed to different conditions, and therefore the risk of a person becoming infected with coronavirus after it has reached its packaging iis low.
But what happens to packages that arrive on the same day the order is placed, such as those from the services that deliver food? According to the Food and Drug Administration, there is so far no evidence that the virus would be transmitted through food or packaging.
Also, the World Health Organization says that the risk of food contamination up to the shelves of stores is quite low.
Several weeks ago, studies by specialists found that the new coronavirus can withstand plastic and steel for up to 72 hours, on paper and glass between 4 and 5 days, on wood 4 days, and on cardboard up to 24 hours.
However, it does not hurt to take some precautionary measures. One of the tips often given is to pay attention to hygiene, and in this sense we must wash our hands at least 20 seconds after touching the different packages. When we come in contact with a courier who delivers these packages to us at home, it is advisable to wear a mask, but also protective gloves.
The Spaniards were frightened and returned to harsh measures. Spain decided on Wednesday (May 6th) to extend the state of emergency for another two weeks. That was after it was given free to walks and physical activities.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on the parliament, which approved the measure, after easing the restrictions, bringing the number of cases of illness to 3,121 on May 6. This is after, after the end of April and the beginning of May, they had stabilized at 850 -1,200 new cases per day.
Spain has registered 256,855 cases of COVID-19 disease and over 26,000 deaths. The Sanchez government wants to gradually lift the measures of isolation at home and at the same time control the implementation of measures of social distancing and hygiene among the population.
Home isolation was imposed on March 14 and the state of emergency was due to end on Saturday, May 9, but will be extended until May 24. Although the opposition claimed that 60 days of state of emergency were illegal, it had to vote on the law for national security.
Self-isolation is such a regime when the maximum number of people do not allow contacts with each other. Simply they spend all their time at home and go out only in case of an important need. For example, buy products at the supermarket.
This is an important and practically way to deal with a pandemic. The less you contact people, the lower your risk of getting sick or infecting others. Staying healthy right now is an important help to society and the medical system, which is under heavy pressure. After all, if at the same time more people get sick than the medical facilities are able to accept, someone will not be helped. To prevent this terrible situation, stay home. Moreover, if you come up with different activities, it will not be boring at all.
From a legal point of view, the individual quarantine is applied in two ways:
(1)institutionalized quarantine (most often referred under the term quarantine), when an individual is placed by authorities in special quarantine centers for a certain period of time;
(2)home isolation (also referred to as self-isolation), when an individual has the obligation to remain in the home area for a period of time decided by the authorities.
Contact with other people should be avoided so to keep away the coronavirus infection. The World Health Organization recommends not approaching others closer than a meter, and the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention - 1.8 meters. It is believed that at this distance the virus particles will not be transmitted by coughing or sneezing. That’s why at home we feel safe, the feeling of safety is the most important now. Self-isolation means safety.
The pandemic that took over 250,000 lives in just four months and contaminated over 3.7 million earthlings turned everything upside down! On Monday, May 4, schools in Germany opened their doors. But the traditional noise during breaks did not resound in the hallways. The children obeyed the rules imposed by the COVID-19 terror.
Before the pandemic, school and high school courtyards resounded with the merry laughter of children. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ordered schools and high schools to open on May 4, after closing their doors in early March.
But the children discovered a rigid environment, in which the rules imposed by the measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus put play, jokes and childhood in the background. The 10th grade students at the Schillerschule in Ettlingen have been preparing for exams since last week. On Monday, May 4, the little ones from the gymnasium and primary school also showed up at the same school.
The hallways of the school were marked with yellow stripes and posters with strict instructions were mounted on the walls: keeping a distance of 1.5 meters, using face masks, gloves and regular hand washing.
According to Deutsche Welle, only children in the final grades were able to go to school on May 4, to avoid the congestion of educational institutions. The benches for two students were used for one child and the whole school is subjected to a strict disinfection ritual performed at three key times of the day: in the morning, at noon, between shifts and in the evening. At the entrance to the classrooms, pumps with alcohol-based disinfectants were installed.
The fear in the souls of parents who send their children to school is indescribable. And in China, primary and secondary schools opened their doors on April 27. Even high school students were able to return to campuses on April 27, and students will resume classes on May 11. The rules for distancing and preventing the spread of the new coronavirus are strictly observed. In primary school, parents made children's one meter long sticks to be worn as "wings" on the back that would force other classmates not to get closer than a meter.
The first dates according to TASS, a study by Hong Kong researchers shows that the ideal temperature for the development and spread of the new coronavirus is 4 degrees Celsius, under these conditions it can withstand the most. However, at 22 degrees, the new coronavirus remains active for one week, while at 37 degrees, the virus becomes inactive within two days. At 70 degrees Celsius, the virus dies in less than five minutes.
The recent dates are established by scientists from France who published a report indicating the temperature at which the coronavirus dies. As it turned out, inactivation is possible only at 92 ° C, subject to exposure for 15 minutes.
Initially, it was assumed that heating to 60 ° C for an hour would be sufficient. However, during the study it turned out: with this effect, the activity of the virus decreases by 6 times, but some strains still survive.
Evaluation of heating and chemical protocols for inactivating coronavirus scientists published on bioRXV portal in the form of a preliminary report (the so-called preprint). The conclusions made are for informational purposes only and require additional checks.
Earlier, other studies showed that different types of coronaviruses can live in the refrigerator for up to 9 days, and in the freezer they can exist for years.
Belgian Llama’s immune system could be the key to treatment for the new coronavirus. Belgian researchers have found that her body can produce antibodies that could stop COVID-19. Scientists have already continued research into the fight against SARS and MERS, when US scientists discovered that the animal has developed immunity to both types of coronavirus.
He is four years old, lives on a farm in Belgium, has brown chocolate fur and could be the key to an effective drug for Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. Researchers have recently discovered that antibodies in her blood can stop the virus. Other tests are now being done to see if they can be used in the future to help people with coronavirus.
Belgian Llama already contributed to research in the fight against coronavirus in 2016. At that time, scientists at the University of Ghent, the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, USA) and the National Institutes of Health in America examined two previous forms of the agent. pathogen - SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV. They found that llama’s blood developed antibodies in a type of immunization therapy that successfully fought both forms.
The human body can produce only one type of antibody, while the blades produce two types. These antibodies are similar, but one of the types of antibodies produced by the slides are several times smaller.
"Llama’s antibodies are easy to handle," said Dr. Xavier Saelens, a molecular virology specialist at the University of Ghent.