The coronavirus pandemic, which begun originally in late December of 2019 in Wuhan in Mainland, China has caused much concern in all countries around the world especially with the recent prediction of it lasting several more weeks.
The World Health Organization has reported that though it has been controlled in Wuhan, the cases of the infection continue to rise in countries in the Western world as well as Asia.
Statistically, the number of people affected by the infection is about to reach one million. After China, the most severely-hit country with the highest number of cases currently is Italy, followed by France and the United Kingdom.
In the midst of the pandemic, health experts have suggested a number of ways to stay healthy physically and mentally while taking measures to prevent catching the coronavirus infection.
Some of the most common ways that a person can avoid COVID’19 is by staying indoors, maintaining the recommended six feet distance from people, not engaging in any form of physical contact, maintaining good hygiene overall and having a healthy diet.
In case any symptoms of coronavirus infection appear, it is best to stay away from other people and visit a medical facility to get tested as soon as possible.
The early signs of having the infection include flu-like symptoms such as the runny nose, difficulty in breathing dry coughing, fatigue, and high fever. Secondly, some newly reported signs also include having diarrhea and loss of senses such as taste and smell.
In addition to taking all precautionary measures like the ones mentioned above, it is also important to note that there are a lot of myths regarding the pandemic.
According to health experts, the prevalence of myths and false information can become a hurdle in controlling the infection and may also increase the risk of more and more people catching them.
For instance, an event reported a large gathering of people trying to obtain a local-made medicine that claimed to be the treatment for coronavirus infection despite the strict curfews and ban on gatherings that were being observed in the country.
In a similar way, myths of specific drugs and medicines having the ability to cure the virus can encourage people to follow such behaviors and significantly elevate the risk of worsening the coronavirus pandemic.
Therefore, it is important to filter out any information regarding the coronavirus pandemic and follow or forward the official guidelines from the World Health Organization only.
For example, a question being raised by many people at the moment is whether take-out food or home-delivered food that has been cooked by a COVID’19 positive person can spread the infection.
The professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, Paula Cannon, clears this fear by stating that there is little to worry about when it comes to food.
“Restaurant kitchens can be one of the safest places in this coronavirus outbreak because they already practice strict hygiene protocols to avoid foodborne illness,” Cannon said in a recent university release.
“Owners are taking this extremely seriously and monitoring their staff for symptoms, and encouraging the strictest adherence to all food hygiene procedures,” She added.
According to Cannon’s statement, even if the infected person coughs on the food, a number of additional safety measures can be taken. For instance, one of the precautionary measures can be heating the food.
Heat is known to kill coronavirus. On the other hand, the food can also be frozen and consumed later as the coronavirus cannot survive for that long.
It is also better to add the food to clean containers at home and wash hands thoroughly before consumption. Following such measures will effectively cut down the slightest risk of coronavirus infection.