6 coronavirus protective measures that are unlikely to be a waste of time



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Here are six tools that aren’t worth wasting your energy, advise University of North Carolina epidemiologist Rachel Graham and her colleagues.

1. Wear gloves at the store

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that coronavirus does not spread as easily on infected surfaces, although a person can become infected if they touch an infected surface or object and then immediately their mouth, nose, or eyes.

The use of disposable and different gloves seems a logical way to keep your hands clean and avoid contamination in the supermarket. However, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend wearing gloves when walking through stores in their guidelines.

“I don’t wear gloves to go to the store, but I wash my hands before I go to the store and I do it as soon as I get back,” Paul Volberding, an epidemiologist at the University of California, told The Washington Post in July.

Some experts even worry that the gloves give people a deceptive sense of security when shopping. “People think that gloves are a magical means of protection, but they are not. They are just another source of infection, “Ravina Kullar, an epidemiologist with the American Society for Infectious Diseases, told York Magazine last month.

According to her, people who wear gloves tend to touch their faces more often, which is very bad in the context of the new coronavirus.

2. Don’t bother to sanitize food containers, frozen or otherwise.

In August, Chinese officials found traces of coronavirus on frozen food packaging. But Michael Ryan, director of the World Health Organization’s Emergency Program, says it probably shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

“People should not be afraid of food, food packaging or food delivery,” he told a news conference last month.

Caitlin Howell, a chemical and biomedical engineer at the University of Maine, says the virus has a very low chance of surviving on frozen food.

“It is possible, but the virus is not very stable outside of the human body,” he previously told Business Insider, adding that “freezing the virus helps extend the period during which it remains contagious. That is why we believe there have been so many cases of infection in meat packing plants. However, surface transmission appears to still be very rare, even through frozen surfaces. “

University of Arizona immunobiologist Elizabeth Connick said she does not sanitize or wash frozen or otherwise packaged foods. “I did this for about a week, but then I decided there would be more cases if the virus spread that way. I don’t think there are many viruses in those packages, “he said.

3. It is definitely enough to quarantine library books for three days.

The survival of a virus on a surface depends on the type of surface. One study revealed that the virus on a paper towel and printing paper was gone within three hours. Given that, Graham says, libraries need not worry and quarantine books before they go back on the shelves.

A study in June showed that virus particles disappear from library books in three days. The researchers also investigated how viable the virus remains in books, on the surface of DVDs, and on the inside pages of a book. They found that the virus disappears from book and DVD covers in one day and is no longer detected within the book after three days.

“For more than three days, custody has been exaggerated,” says Graham.

4. No need to quarantine mail

It would be really amazing if there were enough virus particles in a letter to make a person sick, Graham says. That is why it probably makes no sense to quarantine what we receive in our inbox. Also, during the hot summer, letters in mailboxes simply “bake,” so the virus particles are actually neutralized, he added.

5. Cleaners and craftsmen may be allowed in the home.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, people have feared letting strangers into their homes. However, most experts agree that it is actually possible to let in a cleaner or craftsman from time to time.

Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told The Washington Post that the cleaner comes to his home once every two weeks. “She wears a mask and gloves at home all the time,” she said.

Connick and Fauci also said that hairdressers came to their homes.

6. It is possible to swim in the pool.

Swimming pools are not hotbeds for the spread of coronavirus because the virus does not spread through water, let alone chlorinated water, where chemicals “should inactivate the virus in the water,” according to the Centers for Control and Prevention. of Diseases of the United States

“Pathogens that normally affect the airways do not survive in water,” said Joseph Eisenberg, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Also, because the coronavirus is a respiratory virus, it is usually contracted by inhalation rather than ingestion, he explained. Therefore, browsing is relatively safe.

William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University, advises avoiding locker rooms. “When dressing, wear a mask and spend as little time there as possible,” he said. “Prolonged and close contact with people indoors should be avoided.”

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