What can and must we do about the COVID-19 epidemics?

Panic and carelessness are our enemies. Top hygiene and maximum restriction of interpersonal contacts, supported with reliable information are our key allies.

Over 100,000 people in more than 100 countries are already infected with the new Coronavirus nCov-SARS2, with the disease named COVID-19. The most important element of the disease is bilateral interstitial inflammation of the lungs, which may lead to a severe condition of respiratory insufficiency known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In some countries the rise in numbers of cases exceeds the capacity of the healthcare system to provide sufficient intensive care to those with severe lung disease.
In simple words, too many patients require advanced treatment at the hospitals with use of mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy at the same time for everyone to receive them.

The numbers of cases are likely to keep rising for some time. What matters the most is how fast this happens. The key objective is to slow down the increase in numbers of people infected as much as possible, which may give hospitals enough time to help those already treated get through the most acute phase and make resources available for the new patients. When we think of healthcare capacity, we should always think of both technical resources (e.g. number of respirators available) and the healthcare personnel – doctors, nurses, paramedics and all other staff of the medical facility, who simply cannot work 24/7 plus are at much higher risk of contracting COVID-19, since they serve many such patients. There is no country where the healthcare system, even if supported by the public services, can handle the problem alone, without help from the society, which means people like me and you.

How fast the virus spreads in the community depends mainly on two critical factors:

personal hygiene

social interactions

This means: me, you, every single one of us can make the risk of infection lower and virus propagation slower by strictly adhering to some principles:

• wash with soap and hot water even several times an hour, and definitely after each contact with objects/surfaces used by other people (toilet utilities, cash – both notes and coins, shopping baskets, shopping carts, door knobs and handles, light and lift buttons, ATMs, card payment terminals, parking machines, public touch-sensitive info panels, fuel nozzle handles, table surface at a bar/restaurant/pub, passenger safety handles at public transportation vehicles, etc.
• disinfect your hands with at least 60% alcohol sanitizing fluid or gel (after washing or instead, if washing is not available)
• use disposable gloves whenever possible (have them with you when going shopping or filling up the tank)
• at the least, always have with you a pack of alcohol-saturated hand tissues, while on the go
• clean and disinfect the surfaces and items you use daily (table surfaces, bathroom utilities, computer keyboard and screen, your phone, tablet, credit cards, earphones with appropriate cleaning fluids/sprays, etc.)

• according to statistics we touch our faces (nose/mouth/eyes) about 90 times a day; this is how you can easily introduce the virus into your body through the mucosa;
• if you’re healthy, you don’t need a face mask, although it may reduce the risk of touching your nose/mouth with contaminated hands

• at best stay at home
• when at home, you have a choice of activities:
  • sleep
  • eat
  • study
  • read
  • meditate / pray
  • yoga / fitness training / dance
  • play games
  • chat / email / phone friends
  • rearrange furniture / vacuum-clean
  • watch films
  • paint
  • play an instrument / sing (have mercy on neighbors)
  • enjoy doing nothing
• leave home only when necessary (vital shopping for food/medications etc. – at best do your shopping off the shopping rush hours, best at a smaller shop, with goods loaded straight into your own eco-friendly, washable bags)
• when going out, avoid contact with public objects/surfaces as much as possible (use your shoulder / elbow / knuckle to open/close doors, switch on/off the light, press lift button, etc.)

• THIS IS NOT A GOOD TIME for pubs, clubs, restaurants, bars, theatre, cinema, museum, concert, gym, aquapark, shopping mall, other big shops, etc. – sharpen your taste for social life until we all have the epidemic wave off our backs;
• limiting your contacts with other people is particularly important if you live or have contact with your parents, grandparents or anyone ill or with impaired immunity; your social abstinence may literally save their lives
• children’s COVID-19 is almost always less severe plus children are not as good at hygiene as adults can be; therefore it is important to keep children rather away from the elderly and those who have other conditions, especially arterial hypertension or diseases of the respiratory system, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, etc.;
• poorer hygiene compliance among children is also an important reason why we close down nursery homes, kindergartens and schools – kids would not get infected and would not pass the virus further to their parents, grandparents, etc.
• time of any epidemics is generally NOT A GOOD TIME for eating out; preparing your own food in a clean way at home is safer – you don’t contact people who may be infected and you don’t touch public objects/surfaces which may be insufficiently clean/disinfected
• avoid close contacts with others (the safe distance is mostly 1-1.5 meters, but in some conditions was reported to be increased to up to 4.5 meters with dangerous exposure lasting up to 30 minutes);
• due to 5-11 day incubation period, when the infected person has no symptoms but is already spreading the virus, avoid close contacts also with those who claim they are perfectly fine – this is difficult, so just be aware virus can be spread by people who feel well and appear healthy;
• if you want to go jogging or just for a walk outdoors, you are generally safe, unless you stop for a drink or snack at a bar on the way, where you mingle with other people, join a queue, touch public objects/surfaces and/or eat/drink without washing hands first)

• if you see someone cough, sneeze or otherwise appear ill, stay away from them;
• face masks are not necessary for healthy people, but are advised for those who cough/sneeze or feel they may be infected with any microbe (to protect others) and also for those taking care of persons who are ill and may spread some microbes (for self-protection)

• the key signs indicating you may have COVID-19 are cough, high fever (usually 38 and higher), dyspnea (shortness of breath), muscle pain, fatigue, sore throat
• as the epidemics develops new patients do not get infected abroad or from someone who has been abroad, so you may suspect COVID-19 even if you did not travel to affected countries/regions or had no contact with people who came back from such places
• if you suspect COVID-19 in yourself:
  • DO NOT GO TO ANY PHYSICIAN IN OUTPATIENT SETTING!!! – if you do, you may infect the medical staff and other patients, as well as anyone on the way. The facility will have to be closed for disinfection which will block access for other patients.
  • DO NOT GO TO ANY HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT!!! – if you do, you may infect the medical staff and other patients, as well as anyone on the way. The facility will have to be closed for disinfection which will block access for other patients.
  • CALL LOCAL SANITARY-EPIDEMIOLOGY STATION OR *EMERGENCY NUMBER 112 and explain that you suspect COVID-19; special team of prepared medical staff will come to get you to an appropriate hospital ward without putting anyone else at risk of contact with you and your coronavirus (if you have it)

Keep informing others on the above safety measures
The better informed and more disciplined we all are, the greater the chance we will adjust the epidemics to our healthcare capacity and help more people survive.

EVERYONE’S ATTITUDE MATTERS!!! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!!!