Borrowed - very good!
Facts about COVID19:
1) It is a virus. Just like influenza (flu) is a virus. It is in family of Coronaviruses that cause colds but this strain of virus is more virulent. The disease from it is called COVID19. There is no shame in getting it. It is a virus.
2) Antibiotics do not work on viruses.
3) The best preventative medicine is healthy diet, exercising (yes seriously), and WASHING YOUR HANDS. A lot. This does not mean that splash of soap quickly run your hands under the water thing. This means a full 20 seconds, 2 rounds of singing the alphabet, washing hands and fingers with soap thing. Wash your hands every time you go to a new place, come home, go to a meeting etc.
4) DO NOT TOUCH YOUR FACE. I know we all do this and if you try not to consciously, you will find out you do it ALLLLLLL the time. so, back to #3, wash your hands!! If you wash your hands, then there are fewer germs on your hands and those germs have less chance of making contact with your mucous membranes.
5) OK. Some science: Viruses, especially this one, live on surfaces. You touch the surface and then you put that little germ in contact with your mucous membranes which then the virus is like--'wee, a place i can live and replicate'...yeah, see we don’t want that. So keep your house and workspace clean and wipe down surfaces regularly.
6) OK..more science about viruses: Before people get obviously sick with a virus, they can have that virus in their body and not look or feel sick. So, if someone has the novel coronavirus and is lucky to be healthy, but let's say wipes their mouth and then touches the table at your local eatery. Or, they sneeze because that perfume in the mall is just too much, the virus from this NON-sick person finds its way to surfaces. Then you accidentally touch the surface with the virus and then you touch your mouth, nose, eyes-well back to #5 then. This is why viruses spread easily in large crowds and gatherings.
7) As the next few weeks come and go there will be more testing. The more we test, the more people will test positive. Consider this: if more people are positive but are not that sick or not sick at all, it means that the overall mortality rate will eventually be LOWER. So, try not to panic when you see more positive tests.
8)Do not go buy all the toilet paper at Costco. (RESPIRATORY illness people)
9) Do not be afraid to NOT shake people's hands. That’s a reasonable part of trying to keep each other safe. A smile and a head nod goes a long way.
10) Children do NOT seem to be at great risk. This is good. Folks over 60 or those with chronic disease (especially lung) ARE at higher risk. Consider this for loved ones and members of your community. (More science--this virus likes to go to the lungs, so those whose lungs that are already a bit burdened or older are going to be more affected by the virus).
11) DO THIS:
--buy enough food so that if you need to stay at home for 2 weeks or so you could.
-- work from home when it’s reasonable for you to
--avoid large meetings and gatherings.
--wash your hands A LOT (see above)
--cough and sneeze into your elbow
--DO NOT SEND A FEVERISH KID TO SCHOOL
--DO NOT GO TO WORK IF YOU HAVE A FEVER
--DO NOT RUN TO THE ER IF YOU HAVE A COLD
--If someone you spend time with has been tested and clearly diagnosed with COVID19, it means that you are at risk and should stay home.
Remember, the goals for all of us are:
1) not to get sick if possible.
2) keep others from getting sick!
--LAST THING HERE--this one is SO IMPORTANT. If and when they come up with a vaccine for this one, TAKE THE VACCINE. TAKE THE VACCINE. GIVE IT TO YOUR KIDS. AND, for heaven's sake, start or keeping taking the FLU Vaccine.
Oh yeah, one more thing... be nice to healthcare workers. They’re working harder than ever.
Help each other out and just be kind.
