Coronavirus is here: what you can do about it
A couple of weeks ago, my junior-high-aged son came to me and said, “Mom, help me to learn about coronavirus. Everybody is talking about it, and it’s making me nervous. I need good information so I can sleep at night.” Now others are starting to ask me questions, given that the novel coronavirus is starting to hit closer to home – one confirmed case in Calgary two days ago, and now one presumptive case in Edmonton as of yesterday.
I am honoured to be sought as a source of reliable information. As always, I will do what I can to live up to that standard.
Most of all, let’s address important questions – what is coronavirus, what can you expect, and especially what can you do?
A coronavirus viewed under an electron microscope.
Image by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in the public domain
What is coronavirus? Most coronaviruses circulate among animals. Occasionally, they transfer from animals to humans, where they typically cause respiratory illnesses. These respiratory illnesses vary in severity, from something mild similar to the common cold, to something more severe.
What can you expect? We’re still learning this as we go, because we’re dealing with a new strain of coronavirus, but this is what has been observed so far. The current coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, brings with it a mix of good news and bad news. The good news is that COVID-19 is mild in most people, whereas the previous coronavirus diseases SARS and MERS were more serious. One piece of bad news is the trend that there is still a risk of serious illness, and sometimes death, in people of advanced age and people with underlying health conditions – these are the vulnerable people who need us to help protect them. Another piece of bad news is that COVID-19 is spreading easily between people, so, compared to SARS or MERS, more people exposed to the virus are getting infected.
What can you do? There are no anti-viral drugs or treatments to cure the disease. Prevention is the best medicine. There’s nothing high-tech about it – we don’t even have a vaccine against the virus – but steps shared by the World Health Organization make a difference in preventing spread to you and to those you love.
Wash your hands really well. A 2018 USDA study found that 97% of the time people don’t wash their hands correctly – it’s safe to assume that we all can improve. Here’s how to wash your hands properly:
Use BOTH SOAP AND WATER – not one or the other.
Scrub for at least 20 seconds (sing “Happy Birthday” or “Twinkle, Twinkle” – earnestly, not rushed).
Scrub ALL surfaces of your hands – between fingers, finger tips, the backs of hands and fingers, the thumb, under nails.
Rinse well.
Dry with a CLEAN towel or air dryer.
“Wash your hands like you’ve been chopping jalapeños and you need to change your contacts,” says Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Officer of British Columbia.
One message that makes the point well is from the British Columbia Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry: “Wash your hands like you’ve been chopping jalapeños and you need to change your [contact lenses].” Alternatively, an Ottawa doctor recently wrote a song to teach kids to wash their hands properly – it’s cute… I even had a group of seniors singing it with me yesterday afternoon. :)
If you don’t have soap and water, alcohol-based hand sanitizer will do. Briefly, here’s how to do it properly:
apply enough sanitizer to COVER ALL SURFACES of both hands
rub ALL surfaces of your hands, including under nails
rub until hands are dry – this should take some time
Keep your hands away from your face until you can wash them. Based on what we know about previous strains, coronaviruses may survive several days on surfaces (e.g. door knobs, light switches, faucets, etc.), so you might pick up the virus without even coming in contact with a sick person.
Sneeze and cough into your elbow to avoid spreading your germs. Alternatively, sneeze or cough into a tissue, throw away the tissue, and then wash your hands immediately.
If you feel sick, avoid contact with other people to avoid sharing your infection.
One last message that the World Health Organization gave is to stay informed with reliable information. Information is changing daily, so seek updates regularly. Seek advice from your doctor, and learn your government’s and employer’s plans to manage the infection. Alternatively, feel free to call or email us at Navigate Your Health, to speak to a trusted health navigator and advocate to help you figure out fact from fiction.