Maryland (USA): The Head of the Infectious Disease Clinic from the University of Maryland in America, Dr. Faheem Younus tweets practical measures that we can follow to combat the virus. He suggests everyone not to panic, for it will make life unnecessarily difficult. Covid-19 is a fact and we have to live with it, he says.
As reports had initially suggested that the virus will reduce its effect in the summer, this is not the case. The virus is spreading rapidly in countries where there is summer, like Argentina and Brazil. Another myth related to combating the virus is drinking water. All one will have to do is going to the toilet often. It simply doesn’t help.
Precautionary measures
Dr. Faheem suggests the following measures that will be very helpful and are more useful than just panicking. The best method for protecting ourselves against the virus is to maintain a distance of 1-2 meters and keep washing hands. There is no need to disinfect the surfaces if there is no Covid-19 infected person in the house.
Showing us the positive side, he urges to wash hands and live our life as usual since cargo packages, petrol pumps, shopping trolleys or ATMs do not cause infection. Food does not infect us either so there is no need to fear the risk of transmission though food orders. One can heat it up in microwave of they want.
When one loses their smell, it may be through other viral infections or allergies. This symptom is not specific to Covid-19.
Cleanliness
Dr. Faheem admits that purity and cleanliness must be maintained as they are acts of virtue. At the same time, he emphasises that it must not develop into paranoia. There is no need to change clothes or have a bath right after coming home from outside. Since this infection transmits only through close contact, we can still have our strolls in gardens and parks, while maintaining distance.
Dr Faheem says that he has been working against viruses for 20 years and drip infections do not work like this; the possibility of bringing Covid-19 to your home through your shoes is as less as getting struck by lightning twice a day! This virus is associated with droplets of infection, just like the flu.
Myths
He further states that we cannot be protected from the virus by drinking vinegar, ginger, soda etc. He calls wearing gloves a bad idea since the virus can accumulate on the glove. Hence it is best to wash hands frequently.
Most importantly, this is a virus, not a bacterium. So using anti-bacterial soap is not necessary. We can use normal soaps as well. This virus does not choose people from a specific religion or race. It gets passed on to all people. So it is important that we take care of ourselves, maintain distance, wash our hands and do not ‘panic’ as it is not going to help.