I have a lot to say. This is not medical advice, it's nursing advice based on being an occupational infectious disease specialist and an infection preventionist (new word for infection control) for the last 30years.
COVID-19 has been around long enough now we can draw many tentative, but informed conclusions about the virus.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
First, there is only a minuscule chance now that the lid can be kept on this thing. Too many cases are being spread by people before they develop symptoms. And too many bureaucrats like on the Diamond Princess failed to get professional help managing the quarantine. Worse, they are still denying they mishandled things, stupidly claiming all the new cases were simply initial cases that were caused before the quarantine was initiated.
Now it is long past the 2 weeks of quarantine and new cases are still emerging.
Don't be afraid of these people coming back to their/your countries, the US, Canada, Australia. They are being properly monitored, cultured and quarantined. Safety in Japan and some of the other countries remain to be seen. And for my friends in Hong Kong, your country/territory has experience that will help.
It is worrisome that India, Indonesia, and most countries in Africa claim to not have a large number of cases. Like on the Diamond Princess, the chances are high that rather than few cases the band is playing on.
We just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, the virus itself is not that bad. Most cases are mild. Most severe and fatal cases are in the elderly and/or in people that have other conditions. Unfortunately that applies to some of us including myself.
Here's a run down of risk factors from a major study. Ignore the men more vulnerable than women, the difference is barely statistically significant.
CNBC: Coronavirus is more fatal in men than women, major study suggests
Keep in mind when you see things like cardiovascular disease increases one's risk of dying, it's still only 10% meaning 90% are going to recover.
Cardiovascular disease was the preexisting condition most associated with increased fatalities, with the study reporting a fatality rate of 10.5% in patients who suffered with the condition. Diabetes sufferers had a fatality rate of 7.3%, while the frequency of fatalities was also higher than the overall rate in people with chronic respiratory disease, hypertension and cancer.
So what do you do to protect yourself?
Wash your hands often and use a liberal amount of alcohol based hand sanitizer (60% or more) more often in between. Most of that shit in the stores doesn't have any alcohol in it at all. All those wipes they dispense at the carts in grocery stores are not better than a wet towel. And it does appear that alcohol is effective against coronavirus.
And keep your hands strictly away from your face. Start practicing now.
People still do not understand the basics. There was a line of people on the news, somewhere (could have been anywhere), passing by a person with a hand pump hand sanitizer giving everyone a single squirt as they walked past. it was not enough. Why didn't someone tell that person with the squirt bottle? Who is advising them?
Wet your hands completely with the hand sanitizer then rub your hands until the sanitizer evaporates.
Same with hand washing, don't just wet your hands and dry them. Get them fully wet and soapy before rinsing them off. It drives me crazy to see people wet their hands and dry them.
Social distancing is an equally important measure. That includes staying at least three feet away from a person's face that is talking. And pay attention to all the surfaces people are contaminating: railings, doorknobs, keyboards, the shopping cart handle, almost anything shared.
You can't avoid everything, that's where the hand sanitizer comes in. Remember, use enough to fully wet your hands.
If you are going to wear a respirator (mask) understand what you are doing. There are a lot of mixed messages out there about masks.
We don't know yet if the virus is only droplet spread or if it is truly airborne. A mask only offers partial protection. If it is an N95 (PR masks in many countries) and is properly fitted (air will follow the path of least resistance) then it will filter out larger droplets. But the smaller droplets and free floating virus will not be filtered out.
Then there is the problem of your eyes. You can prevent inhaling some droplets with a mask, but respiratory viruses can enter through the eyes. Glasses might block some droplets but goggles are better.
One thing a mask and glasses can do is keep you from putting your hands to your face. Start training yourself right now to keep your hands away from your face.
If you prevent contracting the infection, you also protect the people downstream from getting it.
I'm keeping up on the pandemic (might as well call it that now) and on the status of antiviral treatments and vaccine development.
I think that's it for now. If anyone has any questions I'm happy to try to answer.