Six months ago, no one knew about the existence of coronavirus. Now the virus has spread to almost all countries, infecting more than 3 million people - and these are only those cases that are known. How this epidemic will affect the economies of countries, as well as the mental and physical health of people, is described in a new issue.
Many media personalities, politicians and ordinary Internet users claim that the panic around COVID-19 is bloated out of nothing, and the virus itself is no more dangerous than ordinary flu.
The supposedly frightening number of people who died from the infection is very high, and those who died of natural causes and old age are included in it. And coronavirus, like seasonal flu, kills the time required to estimate the case fatality ratio of Influenza using only the tip of an iceberg: joint estimation of the virulence and the transmission potential "only" about 0.1 percent of infected. So, this is not so.
A new study, an empirical estimate of the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 from the first Italian outbreak, published by specialists from Harvard and the US Bureau of Economic Research, has more accurately established the mortality rate of COVID-19 using Italy as an example. It was established that the official number of deaths from coronavirus is not exaggerated, but rather underestimated by COVID-19 in Italy: An analysis of death registry data almost doubled, because many patients did not die in hospitals, but at home.
After reviewing the available data, researchers Gianluca Rinaldi and Matteo Paradisi came to the conclusion that an empirical estimate of the infection fatality rate of COVID-19 from the first Italian outbreak shows that the mortality rate of COVID-19 is 1.29%. For young people, it is small - 0.05%, but for older people the risk is already 4.25%.
You should not hope that life will immediately return to its former course.
We all wait until the moment when we can hug friends, have a party or go on a trip. But do not rush. Although Coronavirus: Austria and Italy reopen some shops as lockdown eased are showing the first signs of weakening isolation measures, the situation is still serious. The death toll every day is still measured in thousands. We still do not know much about coronavirus and do not have a vaccine.
Whatever rules you enter in your area, use common sense. Here's what you definitely shouldn't do.
1. Have a party or go to a bar
Social distance measures have been introduced for a reason: they slow down the spread of the virus from person to person. A big party or gatherings in a crowded bar is a lot of contacts. If at least one of those present is a coronavirus carrier, he can transfer it to everyone else.
2. Stop washing hands
Even when restrictions are loosened, it will not mean that the coronavirus is over. Many organizations and stores will have to be reopened for economic reasons, although the virus will still spread, albeit more slowly than now.
3. Immediately visit people at high risk
Surely you would like to see elderly relatives as soon as possible, but do not rush with this. There will be no vaccine for a long time, and for people at risk, distancing is still the best way to protect. Before you go to them, think carefully about whether you really need this visit.
4. Start a big trip
When travel is allowed again, hotel and ticket prices are likely to be attractively low. But do not forget that at airports and train stations you will be in close proximity to a large number of people, which means that the risk of infection will greatly increase.
5. Throw away masks
In the future, a new outbreak of coronavirus or even some completely new infection may await us. So reusable masks are definitely not worth throwing out. When travel restrictions are loosened, it is best to combine optimism with realism. Use freedom, but do not give up precautions.
These simple rules will help you stay healthy at your workplace during the coronavirus.
- Keep the social distance.
When you walk fast, run, ride a bicycle, it can increase to 4–20 meters.
If you keep such a distance with others, the smallest droplets of saliva that will not reach you when talking, coughing, breathing will cause another, possibly infected person. And you, in turn, do not share your own.
2. Try changing your work schedule.
Your task is to make it possible to get to work and leave it before or after rush hour. In this case, you don’t have to jostle in crowded public transport or walk along crowded streets where it is difficult to maintain distance.
Talk to your boss: maybe you will meet and shift your working hours.
3. Use less public transport
If possible, get to the place of work by your car or bike or walk. Naturally, at a safe distance from others.
And try not to use elevators. Even if the cab comes empty, you don’t know who was riding it 10 seconds before you. The virus can still remain in the air.
4. Wear a mask on the way to work
On the street, if you are absolutely healthy, and there are few people around, you can walk without it. But only if the authorities of your region do not require otherwise.
5. Wear a mask in the workplace
You need to wear it all day for your safety.
At the same time, you need to wear a mask correctly. Here's what the WHO recommends:
- Do not touch the mask with your hands after putting it on. If you still touch, wash your hands with soap or treat with an antiseptic gel.
- As soon as the mask becomes wet from breathing, replace it with a new one. Usually you have to do this every two hours.
- Only remove the mask by the mounts. In no case do not touch the part that is adjacent to the face. After this, the disposable medical mask should be immediately discarded, the reusable - sent to the wash.
6. Disinfect hands
The primary transmission route for coronaviruses is via airborne droplets. But there is a risk of contracting by the contact way: first, touch the surface on which the coronavirus donkeys, and then touch the mucous membrane of the nose, mouth, or eyes.
Therefore, it is extremely important to wash your hands regularly during a pandemic. Best of all - with warm water and soap, at least 20 seconds. If there is no access to water, you can treat your hands with an antiseptic or alcohol wipes. Make sure that the alcohol in these products was at least 70%.
Researchers suggest in a study conducted by the University of Maryland in Baltimore that the SARS-CoV-2 virus follows a seasonal schedule and prefers a cool, dry climate, Agerpres reports.
The researchers looked at the association between climate type and the spread of COVID-19 infection, examining climate data in cities around the world affected or not by coronavirus between January 1 and March 10 this year.
Comparing eight cities with a strong spread of the epidemic (Wuhan, Tokyo, Daegu, Qom, Milan, Paris, Seattle and Madrid) with 42 other cities that were not affected or did not register with the new coronavirus, it was found that the cities most affected by the pandemic are in a latitude corridor between 30 and 50 degrees north (N), and their climate patterns are similar: they have an average temperature between 5 and 11 degrees Celsius and a specific low humidity (between 44 and 84%), when the virus spreads faster.
Thus, the study shows that the distribution of substantial outbreaks of COVID-19 caused by values such as latitude, temperature and humidity are consistent with the behavior of the seasonal respiratory virus and that SARS-CoV-2 is more difficult to spread under conditions of higher temperature and humidity.
An analysis of the distribution of coronavirus outbreaks could help prevent areas at high risk of transmission in the future, although the study's authors warn that new research on climate models is needed.
Police in Hague detained about 400 people on Sunday after refusing to leave an organized protest to challenge the social deterrence measures imposed by the authorities to limit the spread of the coronavirus, Reuters reports.
Several thousand protesters gathered in the Malieveld area of Hague, near the seat of the Dutch government, even though the assembly had been banned by the authorities.
"I detained about 400 people today. Many of them have since been released, "police said on Twitter.
Authorities allowed a brief protest in the afternoon before asking protesters to leave.
Protesters wore T-shirts marked "Stop Restrictions" and had placards calling for the rule to keep people 1.5 meters apart from being removed.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
The mayor of Hague, Johan Remkes, said the demonstration was banned because authorities had information that "troublemakers" from across the Netherlands, including groups of hooligans at football matches, intended to come to The Hague.
"This has nothing to do with the right to protest or freedom of expression. This group deliberately intended to disturb public order, "Remkes said in a statement.
These life hacks only create the appearance of protection.
1. Follow the rule of 5 seconds
Legend has it: if food fell to the floor, but a piece was lifted earlier than 5 seconds later, you can safely eat it. Because microorganisms are not so nimble and will not have time to crawl onto your sandwich or apple in such a short time.
2. Touch the door handle through the sleeve
The very idea - to create a barrier between your skin and a potentially contaminated surface - is very correct. But using your own clothes for this is not the best option. The dirt, bacteria, and viruses that were on the doorknob end up on your sleeve and then calmly contact your wrists and palms, face, hair, phone, bag, and so on.
3. Press the elevator button with your elbow or knuckle
Here is almost the same story as in the previous paragraph. It just seems that we don’t touch anything and that microbes from buttons, handles and doors cannot harm us. But, for example, the strap of a bag or a pocket of clothes is easy to touch with your elbows, and we also put them on the table, and then touch it with our hands.
With knuckles, dirt and microorganisms easily fall into the palms and face - when a person clenches his hands into fists, twists his fingers, props his chin, rubs one hand on the other, and so on.
4. Hold your breath when someone sneezes or coughs nearby.
From infection (if someone sneezing is sick with something) this will not save you. Firstly, you just won’t have time to hold your breath fast enough - and the smallest drops of saliva and sputum will still fall into your airways (yes, it sounds very disgusting, but alas, it is).
5. Wipe the surface with an antibacterial wipe
This only works if you use a new cloth for each surface. And if you wipe the same table, door handles, switches and buttons, then simply transfer microorganisms from one object to another. After all, the longer you use a napkin, the less antibacterial agents remain on it - and microbes have more chances to survive.
6. Constantly smear hands with an antiseptic
The sanitizer seems to be a universal and 100 percent remedy. He rubbed his hands, sprayed everything that was possible - and you sit "in the house." But antiseptics work only when they are used correctly.