Schools in many countries have been closed and more companies are encouraging remote work due to the virus. So managing your life at home during the epidemic has become an important issue. TP-Link gives our tips here.

Overview

What is the novel coronavirus(COVID-19)?

As a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus, coronavirus is a large family of viruses that exist widely in nature. It is named after corona for the corona-looking spikes that protrude from the envelopes of the virus. Coronavirus can cause multiple diseases in humans and animals, including respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, neurological diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

2019-nCoV is sensitive to ultraviolet rays and heat and be effectively inactivated by 56 ° C for 30 minutes and lipid solvents such as ether, 75% ethanol, chlorine-containing disinfectants, peracetic acid, and chloroform. However, chlorhexidine cannot effectively inactivate the virus.

Pathogeny

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that may cause illness in animals or humans. In humans, several coronaviruses are known to cause respiratory infections ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

 

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don't feel unwell.

Spread

The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales. These droplets land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.[g]

Normally, person-to-person contact will spread the virus exponentially from one generation to the next. Limiting contact with the infected, especially from earlier generations, is essential. This requires taking effective measures to protect ourselves throughout the outbreak.

 

Protect Yourself

You can reduce your chances of being infected or spreading COVID-19 by taking some simple precautions:

1. Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water to kill viruses that may be on your hands.
2. Maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
3. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.
4. Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
5. Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
6. Keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 hotspots (cities or local areas where COVID-19 is spreading widely).

FAQ

Should I wear a mask to protect myself?

You should wear a mask if you are ill with COVID-19 symptoms (especially coughing) or looking after someone who may have COVID-19. Please reduce unnecessary outings, and wear masks if outings are unavoidable. This is to protect others and yourself.

How to put on, use, take off and dispose of a mask?

1. A mask should not only be used by health workers, caretakers, and individuals with respiratory symptoms, such as fever and cough but also be used by people in public places.
2. Before touching the mask, clean hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
3. Take the mask and inspect it for tears or holes.
4. Orient which side is the top side (where the metal strip is).
5. Ensure the proper side of the mask faces outwards (the colored side).
6. Place the mask on your face. Pinch the metal strip or stiff edge of the mask so it molds to the shape of your nose.
7. Pull down the mask’s bottom so it covers your mouth and your chin.
8. After use, take off the mask; remove the elastic loops from behind the ears while keeping the mask away from your face and clothes, to avoid touching potentially contaminated surfaces of the mask.
9. Discard the mask in a closed bin immediately after use.
10. Perform hand hygiene after touching or discarding the mask – Use alcohol-based hand rub or, if visibly soiled, wash your hands with soap and water.

 

How to wash my hands to prevent COVID-19?

1. Wash palms: fingers close together, rub your hands palm to palm.
2. Wash back of hands: with your fingers linked through the other hand, use your right palm to rub the back of your left hand, then exchange.
3. Wash fingers: link your fingers together, facing each other, then rub your palms and fingers together
4. Wash back of fingers: bend your fingers into an empty fist, rotate the knuckles in the palm of the other hand, and then exchange.
5. Wash thumbs: hold the thumb of the other hand with one hand, rotate and rub, and then exchange.
6. Wash fingertips: put your five fingertips together, put them in the palm of the other hand, rotate and rub, and then exchange.
7. Wash wrists: hold the wrist of the other hand, rotate and rub, and then exchange.

How should parents help protect children?

1. Do not take children to visit relatives, friends, parties, and group lunch or dinners.
2. Parents need to change clothes and shoes when coming home from outside and wash their hands before holding the child.
3. Educate or help your child to wash hands with soap or running water after eating, playing, coughing, sneezing, or touching saliva and secretions.
4. Do not try the food with your mouth and then feed it to the child, and do not share tableware with your child. Do not kiss, exhale, or gasp to the children, or blow on the hot food.
5. Disinfect children's toys and articles regularly.

 

Can I catch COVID-19 from my pet?

To date, there is no evidence that a dog, cat or any pet can transmit COVID-19. COVID-19 is mainly spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks.

 

Can I get infected by e-shopping?

The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperatures is also low.

It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).

Up to now, there have been no cases of infection with the COVID-19 virus as a result of purchasing goods or receiving courier services.

 

How do I disinfect packages?

2019-nCoV is sensitive to ultraviolet rays and heat and be effectively inactivated by 56 ° C for 30 minutes and lipid solvents such as ether, 75% ethanol, chlorine-containing disinfectants, peracetic acid, and chloroform. If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.

Page last reviewed: March 27, 2020

Content source: World Health Organization, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services