The new coronavirus, first detected in China and also known as SARS-CoV-2, is responsible for a fast-growing infection (COVID-19), which is easily transmitted by drops of saliva or respiratory secretions when coughing or sneezing.
The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to those of the normal flu, such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, and headaches. The way the virus acts in the body is still unknown, so the WHO recommendations are aimed at all people with symptoms who have traveled to China, Italy or another country with a growing number of cases or contact with people potentially infected to contact your local health authorities and find out how to proceed.
Check the top COVID-19 symptoms and use our online symptom checker to assess your risk of becoming infected.
For people who are not infected, the recommendations are to protect and prevent possible contamination, this protection may be provided by certain measures against any type of virus, including:
In addition to this, it is also recommended to cook all foods well before eating them, especially meat, and wash or peel the skin from foods that do not need to be cooked, such as fruit.
In a pandemic situation, such as the current one with COVID-19, it is possible to lock, where you will be asked to stay indoors most of the time, to avoid crowded areas.
In these cases, it is important to follow instructions on how to behave within your home to protect your family, which should include:
In addition, it is important to maintain all general good practices against viruses, such as covering your nose and mouth whenever you need to sneeze or cough, but also to prevent too many people from inside. from home.
If there is an infected person in your home, it is important to go a little further to prevention, going so far if necessary to assign that person to a single room.
An isolation room is used to separate the infected person from other healthy family members, until the consultant tells you that you no longer have to isolate or until the result of a coronavirus test is negative, as the symptoms of coronavirus are very similar to flu and cold symptoms, and there is no way to know who is actually infected or not.
This type of room does not need special preparation, but the door must always be closed and the infected person should not leave, if necessary. If you need to use the bathroom, it is important to wear the mask when walking down the aisles. In the end, the bathroom should be disinfected with each use, mainly the toilet, shower and sink.
Inside the room, the person should maintain hygiene practices such as using a disposable handkerchief to cover their mouth and nose whenever they need to cough or sneeze and wash their hands frequently. Any objects used inside the room, such as plates, glasses or cutlery, should be moved with gloves and washed immediately with soap and water.
If a healthy person needs to enter the room, they should wash their hands before and after they have been in the room, and also wear disposable gloves and masks.
The isolation room should be used by sick people with mild to moderate symptoms that can be treated at home, such as general discomfort, cough, constant sneezing, low fever or nasal discharge, for example.
If symptoms get worse, you have a high fever or have shortness of breath, it is important to contact your local health authorities and follow the advice of healthcare professionals. If you have to go to the hospital, avoid public transport and always wear a mask.
During this pandemic period, such as COVID-19, it is ideal to work from home whenever possible, however, when this is not possible, there are some rules that will help reduce the risk of contracting the virus in your workplace. :
You should also allow air renewal, opening the windows as much as possible.
As in your workplace, public places should only be used when needed, such as going to the supermarket or pharmacy, for example, to buy food or medicine.
Other places such as shopping malls, cinemas, gyms, cafes or any other store should be avoided, as they are not considered basic needs and can be filled with people.
However, if you need to exit, be sure to
Open and well-ventilated public places, such as parks or gardens, can be used safely for walking or exercising, but it is advisable to avoid group activities.
It is considered a suspected infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, when the person:
He was somewhere with an increasing number of infected cases, less than 14 days ago, and has symptoms of high fever, persistent cough and shortness of breath;
You have been in contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and have symptoms of infection, severe cough, shortness of breath and high fever.
In these cases, it is recommended that the person inform the local hospital by phone and follow the instructions, if necessary, go to the hospital to confirm the diagnosis, it is important:
It is important to inform everyone you have been in contact with in the last 14 days, such as friends and family, if they suspect an infection, so they can be alert to any symptoms.
In the hospital, a suspected case of COVID-19 will go into an isolation room to prevent the virus from spreading, and then blood tests such as PCR, respiratory secretion tests, and pulmonary positron emission tomography scans will be performed. the results are negative for COVID-19.
Disposable masks are not mandatory for the general population, but it is recommended that sick patients who need to go to the hospital or other public place, such as a gp or pharmacy, be used. The mask protects others from contact with saliva. droplets that can be released by sneezing or coughing.
Healthy people don’t need to wear a mask. Washing your hands regularly with soap and water, avoiding direct contact with potentially sick people, and avoid touching your face are much more effective ways to fight the virus.
But if you want to wear a mask, use the “Surgical Mask” type. This type of mask is safe for places with few known cases, due to the fact of covering the nose and mouth, preventing the drops from spreading through the air.
In the areas most affected by the virus it is important to use other types of masks, for example, N95, N100, PFF2 or PFF3, but also protective goggles, to protect the eyes, this type of protection is usually used by healthcare professionals when they come into contact with infected people.
The coronavirus family virus can infect animals such as camels, bats or snakes, and the first cases of COVID-19 have been identified in people who have had contact with wild animals, so the virus is believed to have mutated and transmitted to humans through animals.
However, many people infected with the new coronavirus were not in contact with these animals, but were quite close to people infected with animals, confirming human-to-human transmission through droplet inhalation and contact with infected people.
It is important to always wash your hands, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and avoid public spaces with many people.
According to a U. S. research group, by March 2020, SARS-CoV-2, China’s new virus can survive up to 3 days, but this may vary by material and environment.
In general, the survival time of the virus responsible for COVID-19
This study suggests that contact with infected surfaces may also be a means of transmission of the new coronavirus, however, more research is needed to confirm this hypothesis, however, precautionary measures such as hand washing, use of hand gel and cleaning of the infected. This cleaning can be done with normal detergents, 70% alcohol or a mixture of 250 ml of water with a tablespoon of bleach (sodium hypochloride).
The new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, known as SARS-CoV-2, was recently discovered and, for this reason, it is not yet known what the body can cause.
However, it is known that in some risk groups, the infection can cause more severe and life-threatening symptoms. These groups include people with weakened immune systems, such as:
In these groups, the new coronavirus causes symptoms similar to pneumonia, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that require intensive hospital care.