Coronavirus: COvid-19

What is a coronavirus? What makes it so dangerous? How can you protect your family? What to do if you test positive?

A coronavirus is part of a family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases, for example, pneumonia. Seven of them are known to infect humans. In the past few years, three have jumped from animals to humans. Therefore, they are zoonotic – it means they can be transmitted between humans and animals, for example, bird flu &, swine flu. MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus ) which caused a flu outbreak in the Middle East was transmitted from dromedary camels to humans and was first identified in 2012.

COVID-19 is caused by a new strain of the coronavirus that appeared in December 2019 and was first identified in China patients. Scientists are unsure where it came from.

 

COvid-19 Tracker: South Africa

South Africa

Confirmed

1,564,355

+1,424 (24h)

Deaths

53,663

+92 (24h)

Recovered

1,488,572

95.16%

Active

22,120

1.41%

COvid-19 Tracker: Worldwide

Country	Cases	24h	Deaths	24h	%	Recovered	%	Active
USA	32,305,912	81,773	579,942	887	1.8%	24,836,187	76.9%	6,889,783
India	14,521,683	233,943	175,673	1,338	1.2%	12,666,889	87.2%	1,679,121
Brazil	13,834,342	76,249	369,024	3,070	2.7%	12,298,863	88.9%	1,166,455
France	5,224,321	36,442	100,404	313	1.9%	4,046,518	77.5%	1,077,399
Russia	4,684,148	8,995	104,795	397	2.2%	4,310,557	92%	268,796
UK	4,383,572	2,596	127,225	34	2.9%	4,139,553	94.4%	116,794
Turkey	4,150,039	63,082	35,320	289	0.9%	3,591,550	86.5%	523,169
Italy	3,842,079	15,943	116,366	429	3%	3,218,975	83.8%	506,738
Spain	3,407,283	10,598	76,981	99	2.3%	3,129,234	91.8%	201,068
Germany	3,116,950	21,934	80,387	246	2.6%	2,752,000	88.3%	284,563
Poland	2,660,088	17,847	61,208	595	2.3%	2,255,232	84.8%	343,648
Argentina	2,658,628	29,472	59,084	159	2.2%	2,324,107	87.4%	275,437
Colombia	2,619,422	16,703	67,564	365	2.6%	2,442,453	93.2%	109,405
Mexico	2,295,435	4,189	211,213	401	9.2%	1,820,959	79.3%	263,263
Iran	2,194,133	25,261	66,008	328	3%	1,761,497	80.3%	366,628
Ukraine	1,921,244	17,479	39,096	438	2%	1,465,820	76.3%	416,328
Peru	1,689,051	7,988	56,454	305	3.3%	1,610,563	95.4%	22,034
Czechia	1,597,103	3,238	28,317	38	1.8%	1,485,924	93%	82,862
Indonesia	1,594,722	5,363	43,196	123	2.7%	1,444,229	90.6%	107,297
South Africa	1,564,355	1,424	53,663	92	3.4%	1,488,572	95.2%	22,120
Netherlands	1,387,043	8,898	16,873	12	1.2%	1,156,626	83.4%	213,544
Chile	1,109,311	7,613	24,923	157	2.2%	1,037,539	93.5%	46,849
Canada	1,106,062	9,346	23,541	41	2.1%	997,202	90.2%	85,319
Romania	1,023,565	3,264	25,937	137	2.5%	930,942	91%	66,686
Iraq	964,435	7,561	14,915	30	1.5%	843,851	87.5%	105,669
Belgium	939,309	3,993	23,636	33	2.5%	789,423	84%	126,250
Philippines	914,971	10,726	15,738	145	1.7%	705,757	77.1%	193,476
Sweden	900,138	0	13,788	36	1.5%	724,684	80.5%	161,666
Israel	836,740	34	6,315	1	0.8%	827,745	98.9%	2,680
Portugal	829,911	553	16,937	4	2%	787,607	94.9%	25,367
Pakistan	745,182	5,364	15,982	110	2.1%	650,775	87.3%	78,425
Hungary	742,198	5,216	24,762	241	3.3%	445,920	60.1%	271,516
Bangladesh	711,779	4,417	10,182	101	1.4%	602,908	84.7%	98,689
Jordan	681,870	2,732	8,117	60	1.2%	625,912	91.8%	47,841
Serbia	657,716	2,846	5,920	39	0.9%	579,625	88.1%	72,171
Switzerland	632,399	2,205	10,503	5	1.7%	566,679	89.6%	55,217
Austria	589,299	2,416	9,843	30	1.7%	550,470	93.4%	28,986
Japan	520,745	4,576	9,538	39	1.8%	475,574	91.3%	35,633
Lebanon	506,808	2,008	6,854	45	1.4%	420,223	82.9%	79,731
Morocco	504,847	587	8,934	7	1.8%	490,921	97.2%	4,992
UAE	493,266	1,843	1,547	2	0.3%	476,518	96.6%	15,201
Saudi Arabia	403,106	964	6,801	10	1.7%	387,020	96%	9,285
Bulgaria	384,887	2,126	15,100	121	3.9%	304,033	79%	65,754
Slovakia	374,586	636	10,970	93	2.9%	255,300	68.2%	108,316
Malaysia	370,528	2,551	1,365	2	0.4%	350,563	94.6%	18,600
Panama	360,249	419	6,185	2	1.7%	350,134	97.2%	3,930
Ecuador	355,964	533	17,528	39	4.9%	298,604	83.9%	39,832
Belarus	341,539	1,516	2,403	10	0.7%	331,972	97.2%	7,164
Greece	311,033	3,027	9,330	91	3%	266,175	85.6%	35,528
Croatia	303,598	2,698	6,486	44	2.1%	281,059	92.6%	16,053
Azerbaijan	296,374	2,163	4,077	32	1.4%	260,193	87.8%	32,104
Georgia	293,321	1,077	3,916	8	1.3%	279,831	95.4%	9,574
Bolivia	286,114	823	12,603	84	4.4%	235,495	82.3%	38,016
Nepal	282,890	836	3,070	4	1.1%	274,812	97.1%	5,008
Tunisia	281,777	2,401	9,639	86	3.4%	232,643	82.6%	39,495
Kazakhstan	281,351	2,656	3,333	27	1.2%	241,625	85.9%	36,393
Palestine	278,135	1,728	2,955	18	1.1%	243,522	87.6%	31,658
Dominican Republic	260,133	494	3,410	5	1.3%	218,010	83.8%	38,713
Kuwait	254,472	1,406	1,436	8	0.6%	237,667	93.4%	15,369
Moldova	244,866	689	5,521	28	2.3%	228,766	93.4%	10,579
Paraguay	244,528	0	5,110	0	2.1%	200,259	81.9%	39,159
Ireland	242,819	417	4,831	11	2%	223,395	92%	14,593
Denmark	241,007	677	2,452	3	1%	230,084	95.5%	8,471
Ethiopia	238,527	1,973	3,300	15	1.4%	177,629	74.5%	57,598
Lithuania	231,601	1,088	3,739	7	1.6%	209,538	90.5%	18,324
Slovenia	230,826	860	4,147	5	1.8%	213,980	92.7%	12,699
Costa Rica	228,577	1,044	3,071	6	1.3%	196,974	86.2%	28,532
Egypt	214,639	841	12,653	42	5.9%	162,170	75.6%	39,816
Guatemala	210,667	1,973	7,160	40	3.4%	189,536	90%	13,971
Armenia	207,103	961	3,835	18	1.9%	186,200	89.9%	17,068
Honduras	198,975	761	4,929	24	2.5%	76,214	38.3%	117,832
Qatar	194,930	978	367	10	0.2%	172,598	88.5%	21,965
Bosnia	188,994	1,279	7,788	86	4.1%	145,863	77.2%	35,343
Venezuela	180,609	1,244	1,870	17	1%	162,936	90.2%	15,803
Oman	176,668	0	1,821	0	1%	156,845	88.8%	18,002
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	171,131	573	2,882	9	1.7%	156,344	91.4%	11,905
Nigeria	164,147	67	2,061	0	1.3%	154,304	94%	7,782
Bahrain	162,089	1,155	581	7	0.4%	150,179	92.7%	11,329
Uruguay	159,569	3,070	1,788	62	1.1%	126,119	79%	31,662
Kenya	150,260	1,041	2,443	19	1.6%	99,580	66.3%	48,237
Macedonia	145,909	908	4,388	31	3%	121,439	83.2%	20,082
Myanmar	142,617	7	3,206	0	2.2%	131,884	92.5%	7,527
Albania	129,307	179	2,337	2	1.8%	100,600	77.8%	26,370
Algeria	119,323	181	3,148	4	2.6%	83,169	69.7%	33,006
Estonia	116,678	478	1,070	6	0.9%	100,176	85.9%	15,432
S. Korea	112,789	672	1,790	2	1.6%	103,062	91.4%	7,937
Latvia	110,343	612	2,042	12	1.9%	101,088	91.6%	7,213
Norway	106,727	825	708	1	0.7%	88,952	83.3%	17,067
Sri Lanka	96,186	237	615	7	0.6%	92,611	96.3%	2,960
Montenegro	95,205	163	1,421	9	1.5%	90,295	94.8%	3,489
Ghana	91,545	0	766	0	0.8%	89,400	97.7%	1,379
Cuba	91,448	1,040	500	9	0.5%	86,142	94.2%	4,806
Kyrgyzstan	91,374	230	1,544	4	1.7%	86,621	94.8%	3,209
Zambia	90,750	218	1,233	3	1.4%	88,414	97.4%	1,103
China	90,468	11	4,636	0	5.1%	85,533	94.5%	299
Uzbekistan	86,022	292	635	1	0.7%	83,649	97.2%	1,738
Finland	83,633	380	887	2	1.1%	46,000	55%	36,746
Mozambique	69,067	65	797	3	1.2%	61,188	88.6%	7,082
El Salvador	67,249	150	2,068	8	3.1%	63,560	94.5%	1,621
Luxembourg	64,746	197	785	0	1.2%	60,627	93.6%	3,334
Cameroon	61,731	0	919	0	1.5%	56,926	92.2%	3,886
Singapore	60,769	34	30	0	0%	60,446	99.5%	293
Afghanistan	57,721	109	2,539	4	4.4%	52,105	90.3%	3,077
Cyprus	54,621	677	284	1	0.5%	39,061	71.5%	15,276
Namibia	46,330	145	599	3	1.3%	44,392	95.8%	1,339
Côte d'Ivoire	45,474	30	274	1	0.6%	44,993	98.9%	207
Botswana	44,075	0	671	0	1.5%	39,493	89.6%	3,911
Jamaica	43,473	233	713	16	1.6%	19,472	44.8%	23,288
Uganda	41,310	47	338	0	0.8%	40,898	99%	74
Senegal	39,664	58	1,087	2	2.7%	38,410	96.8%	167
Thailand	39,038	1,585	97	0	0.2%	28,480	73%	10,461
Zimbabwe	37,534	112	1,551	1	4.1%	34,981	93.2%	1,002
Malawi	33,919	17	1,136	2	3.3%	31,717	93.5%	1,066
Sudan	31,790	0	2,208	0	6.9%	25,539	80.3%	4,043
Madagascar	31,039	832	531	4	1.7%	25,193	81.2%	5,315
Malta	29,860	27	405	2	1.4%	28,872	96.7%	583
Australia	29,483	14	910	0	3.1%	26,385	89.5%	2,188
DRC	28,859	90	745	0	2.6%	25,841	89.5%	2,273
Maldives	26,021	82	68	1	0.3%	23,360	89.8%	2,593
Angola	24,122	171	560	3	2.3%	22,203	92%	1,359
Rwanda	23,812	68	322	1	1.4%	22,015	92.5%	1,475
Gabon	21,566	0	132	0	0.6%	18,219	84.5%	3,215
Guinea	21,392	93	138	2	0.6%	18,856	88.1%	2,398
Syrian Arab Republic	20,856	143	1,423	9	6.8%	14,594	70%	4,839
Cabo Verde	19,975	195	189	1	0.9%	17,870	89.5%	1,916
Mayotte	19,757	0	168	0	0.9%	2,964	15%	16,625
Mongolia	19,672	1,107	37	6	0.2%	11,044	56.1%	8,591
French Polynesia	18,688	0	141	0	0.8%	4,842	25.9%	13,705
Réunion	18,425	0	135	0	0.7%	16,794	91.1%	1,496
Swaziland	18,414	2	670	0	3.6%	17,682	96%	62
Mauritania	18,103	31	452	0	2.5%	17,466	96.5%	185
French Guiana	18,081	116	95	0	0.5%	9,995	55.3%	7,991
Tajikistan	13,308	0	90	0	0.7%	13,218	99.3%	0
Burkina Faso	13,083	19	154	0	1.2%	12,742	97.4%	187
Haiti	12,885	9	251	0	1.9%	11,723	91%	911
Somalia	12,837	0	656	0	5.1%	5,346	41.6%	6,835
Mali	12,835	129	426	5	3.3%	7,309	56.9%	5,100
Guadeloupe	12,717	0	176	0	1.4%	2,242	17.6%	10,299
Andorra	12,712	71	123	2	1%	12,105	95.2%	484
Belize	12,538	9	318	0	2.5%	12,143	96.8%	77
Togo	12,391	90	119	2	1%	9,970	80.5%	2,302
Curaçao	11,769	95	85	5	0.7%	8,247	70.1%	3,437
Guyana	11,642	115	267	4	2.3%	10,061	86.4%	1,314
Hong Kong	11,636	17	209	0	1.8%	11,253	96.7%	174
Lesotho	10,709	0	315	0	2.9%	5,028	47%	5,366
South Sudan	10,432	16	114	0	1.1%	10,148	97.3%	170
Djibouti	10,385	110	110	0	1.1%	8,880	85.5%	1,395
Aruba	10,264	45	92	0	0.9%	9,660	94.1%	512
Congo	10,084	0	139	0	1.4%	8,208	81.4%	1,737
Martinique	9,890	0	64	0	0.6%	98	1%	9,728
Bahamas	9,634	41	194	1	2%	8,984	93.3%	456
Suriname	9,496	38	187	2	2%	8,779	92.4%	530
Papua New Guinea	9,343	155	82	0	0.9%	846	9.1%	8,415
Trinidad and Tobago	8,678	0	150	0	1.7%	7,843	90.4%	685
Benin	7,611	0	95	0	1.2%	6,728	88.4%	788
Equatorial Guinea	7,259	0	106	0	1.5%	6,885	94.8%	268
Nicaragua	6,778	0	180	0	2.7%	4,225	62.3%	2,373
Iceland	6,286	7	29	0	0.5%	6,184	98.4%	73
Central African Republic	5,728	46	75	0	1.3%	5,112	89.2%	541
Gambia	5,720	26	170	0	3%	5,190	90.7%	360
Yemen	5,715	58	1,108	11	19.4%	2,204	38.6%	2,403
Cambodia	5,480	262	38	2	0.7%	2,393	43.7%	3,049
Niger	5,116	3	190	0	3.7%	4,771	93.3%	155
San Marino	5,016	4	87	1	1.7%	4,682	93.3%	247
Seychelles	4,834	69	25	0	0.5%	4,351	90%	458
Chad	4,686	13	168	0	3.6%	4,329	92.4%	189
Saint Lucia	4,398	43	65	1	1.5%	4,235	96.3%	98
Gibraltar	4,291	1	94	0	2.2%	4,181	97.4%	16
Channel Islands	4,053	0	86	0	2.1%	3,956	97.6%	11
Sierra Leone	4,016	0	79	0	2%	2,833	70.5%	1,104
Comoros	3,815	6	146	0	3.8%	3,589	94.1%	80
Barbados	3,765	12	44	0	1.2%	3,648	96.9%	73
Guinea-Bissau	3,710	4	66	0	1.8%	3,117	84%	527
Eritrea	3,491	5	10	0	0.3%	3,288	94.2%	193
Burundi	3,477	53	6	0	0.2%	773	22.2%	2,698
Liechtenstein	2,790	10	56	0	2%	2,665	95.5%	69
Vietnam	2,772	14	35	0	1.3%	2,445	88.2%	292
New Zealand	2,591	0	26	0	1%	2,464	95.1%	101
Monaco	2,391	4	31	0	1.3%	2,276	95.2%	84
Turks and Caicos Islands	2,369	2	17	0	0.7%	2,290	96.7%	62
Sao Tome and Principe	2,272	1	35	0	1.5%	2,204	97%	33
Sint Maarten	2,202	3	27	0	1.2%	2,139	97.1%	36
Bermuda	2,060	37	17	0	0.8%	1,195	58%	848
Liberia	2,042	0	85	0	4.2%	1,899	93%	58
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	1,819	1	10	0	0.5%	1,677	92.2%	132
Saint Martin	1,702	0	12	0	0.7%	1,399	82.2%	291
Isle of Man	1,575	0	29	0	1.8%	1,534	97.4%	12
Caribbean Netherlands	1,541	12	15	1	1%	1,435	93.1%	91
Antigua and Barbuda	1,213	4	31	0	2.6%	949	78.2%	233
Mauritius	1,202	0	15	0	1.2%	865	72%	322
Timor-Leste	1,193	55	2	0	0.2%	624	52.3%	567
Taiwan	1,070	2	11	0	1%	1,032	96.4%	27
Bhutan	941	7	1	0	0.1%	876	93.1%	64
St. Barth	934	0	1	0	0.1%	462	49.5%	471
Diamond Princess	712	0	13	0	1.8%	699	98.2%	0
Faroe Islands	662	0	1	0	0.2%	660	99.7%	1
Cayman Islands	525	2	2	0	0.4%	499	95%	24
Tanzania	509	0	21	0	4.1%	183	36%	305
Wallis and Futuna	438	1	5	0	1.1%	44	10%	389
Brunei	221	0	3	0	1.4%	206	93.2%	12
British Virgin Islands	187	0	1	0	0.5%	182	97.3%	4
Dominica	165	0	0	0	0%	159	96.4%	6
Grenada	155	0	1	0	0.6%	152	98.1%	2
New Caledonia	121	0	0	0	0%	58	47.9%	63
Fiji	68	0	2	0	2.9%	64	94.1%	2
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	62	0	0	0	0%	55	88.7%	7
Lao People's Democratic Republic	54	1	0	0	0%	49	90.7%	5
Macao	49	0	0	0	0%	48	98%	1
Saint Kitts and Nevis	44	0	0	0	0%	44	100%	0
Greenland	31	0	0	0	0%	31	100%	0
Holy See (Vatican City State)	27	0	0	0	0%	15	55.6%	12
Anguilla	25	0	0	0	0%	22	88%	3
Saint Pierre Miquelon	24	0	0	0	0%	24	100%	0
Montserrat	20	0	1	0	5%	19	95%	0
Solomon Islands	20	0	0	0	0%	18	90%	2
Western Sahara	10	0	1	0	10%	8	80%	1
MS Zaandam	9	0	2	0	22.2%	7	77.8%	0
Marshall Islands	4	0	0	0	0%	4	100%	0
Samoa	3	0	0	0	0%	2	66.7%	1
Vanuatu	3	0	0	0	0%	1	33.3%	2
Micronesia	1	0	0	0	0%	1	100%	0

How does it spread?

In short:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Touching public surfaces (counters, doors, elevator buttons, handles, communal pens, public transport, etc.)
• Person-to-person contact (shaking hands, close contact, talking, etc.)

It’s likely to be transmitted in droplets from coughing or sneezes from infected persons. An infected person can also share the virus by talking and breathing since it also produces tiny droplets in the air. Some say microscopic droplets from a sneeze can hang in the air for 3 hours infecting people. Most respiratory droplets fall to the ground within a few feet of the infected person.

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Princeton, and the University of California, Los Angeles exposed various materials to the lab’s virus. They found that it remained virulent on surfaces for a lengthy period: from up to 24 hours on cardboard to up to two or three days on plastic and stainless steel.

A study in Germany has found that people can transmit the virus when they don’t even know they have it yet or have only a few symptoms.

A small study out of China suggests that the new coronavirus can persist in the body for at least two weeks after symptoms of the disease clear up.

What makes the coronavirus so dangerous?

How does it precisely affect the lungs? What kind of damage does it cause?

LUNGS – it is here where the disease begins and ends for most people. Coronaviruses cause respiratory infections.

Stage one:

The coronavirus targets human lungs cells and invades them quickly when the virus enters the body through the mouth or nose (or even mucous membrane of the eyes).

There are 2 types of human lung cells – one cell type produces mucus to protect lung tissue, and the other are hair-like buttons called cilia, that removes pollen, viruses or objects from the lungs in a wave-like motion.

If the cilia aren’t working, the lungs’ routine cleaning can occur, and the person’s lungs fill up with debris and fluids. This causes difficulty with breathing and shortness of breath.

Stage two:

When your body senses an invader like the coronavirus, your immune system responds by sending an army of immune cells to the infected area. The immune cells work to clear the area and repair the lung tissue.

In normal lungs, your immune system’s reaction is highly regulated and confined to the affected area, killing only invaders. However, with corona, the immune system can go haywire and start killing anything in their way – healthy cells. The immune response can cause more bad than good because more debris and fluids are clogging up the lungs. The person presents with pneumonia in both lungs. Pneumonia is lung inflammation caused by a bacterial or viral infection, in which the air sacs fill with pus and may become solid.

Stage three:

More lung damage now causes respiratory failure. Some patients die, and some end up with permanent lung damage. Lesions are caused by the coronavirus that gives the lungs a honeycomb appearance.   Chest scans can reveal COVID-19’s distinctive pattern of pneumonia.

It causes the immune system to dump cytokines into the lungs without any regulation.  Angela Rasmussen, a virologist and associate research scientist at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, describes it as attacking an invader with a missile launcher instead of just a gun.  It weakens blood vessels in the lungs and causes fluid to seep through to the air sacs. You basically drown because of the fluid in your lungs – normal respiration cannot take place with lungs full of fluids.

The immune response implications extend outside the lungs with elevated liver enzymes, a lower white blood cell and platelet count, and low blood pressure. The reaction spills over to the rest of your body because multiple organs now are affected by the cytokine response—combined with a diminished capacity to pump oxygen to the rest of the body—it can result in multi-organ failure and death.

Source:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/02/here-is-what-coronavirus-does-to-the-body/

What are the symptoms of coronavirus infection?

The following symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure:

Initially, a sore throat that lasts three to four days 

FEVER   –    COUGH    –    DIFFICULTY BREATHING    –    SHORTNESS OF BREATH

• Pneumonia in both lungs

 

Please note: THE NORMAL Flu vaccine will not protect you against corona

The flu vaccine helps you not get seasonal flu, which might weaken your lungs and put you at greater risk if you should contract a coronavirus.

Is there a vaccine available?

Vaccines are available since 2021. There are, however, too few to vaccinate everyone. Currently, it is given to frontline medical staff and people who are most at risk. It might be another year before it will be available to all.

How can best protect my family and me against it?

• HONOR THE LOCKDOWN – ADHERE TO THE ALL THE RULES
• WASH YOUR HANDS/ WASH YOUR HANDS/ WASH YOUR HANDS/ WASH YOUR HANDS!

ONE: Hand cleaning is of utmost importance all day long: when you have done shopping; been to a bathroom; when you enter your home; when you prepare food; before you eat or drink; when you start or leave your workplace; when you use an ATM or credit card machine.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser if you can’t get to a sink. You do not need fancy disinfectants to wash your hands – good old-fashioned soap and water do the trick.

NOTE: A hand sanitiser must contain at least 60 -70 % alcohol. If you run out of alcohol hand sanitisers, look for other products with high alcohol content, for example, mouth wash (94%), Stroh rum (60% to 80%).  METHYLATED SPIRITS also kills many germs and is a useful sanitiser for toilet seats and other fittings.

TWO: If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue and throw it away afterwards. We don’t know how long the coronavirus survives on clothes or your hands – refrain from coughing in the elbow of your shirt or into your hands without a tissue.

THREE: Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands aren’t clean. It isn’t easy because we touch our faces 100’s of times per day. If it will help you not to touch your face, wear a mask. It can be a washable home-made mask made of cotton. It will not protect you against the coronavirus in the air – only N95 masks can do that. If you are already sick with coughing and sneezing – also wear a mask so that you limit the spread of your germs to other people.

FOUR: Avoid close contact with anyone who is sick. If you know someone is sick – keep your distance from them.

FIVE: Clean surfaces you often touch:  Your smartphone is like a third hand. Wipe it down. Door handles, taps, TV remotes, telephones,  laptops, kettles, fridge & cupboard door handles, steering wheel & gear stick,  and the door handle of your car. If there are many corona cases in your area – think of what could become infected and needs a wipe with an alcohol, JIK or Biocide solution daily. Wipe right: Use ammonia or alcohol-based products. Skip the baby wipes.

Ultraviolet light can be a potent disinfectant, and we get a lot of UVA light from the sun. Direct sunlight can help rapidly diminish the infectivity of viruses on surfaces.

SIX: Stay home from work, school and public areas if you’re sick. Period.

If you are still healthy:

• Avoid crowds anywhere.
• Don’t visit malls or shops during peak hours.
• If you have to go to the shops, send only one person only – now is not the time for family shopping excursions.
• Disinfect your hands when you enter and leave the store.
• Touch as few things as possible.
• If you stand in a queue to pay – make sure there is 1.5 -2 m between you and the next person. Respect the request for social distancing.

SEVEN: Stock up on home supplies, medicine and resources (at least a 30-day supply) should a mass quarantine be enforced. Limit your trips to shopping malls. 

EIGHT: Boost your immune system. It is a good idea to drink a Vitamin C (sustained-release) product every day of your life. Echinaforce® is a clinically proven, herbal product that helps prevent and treat colds, flu, and upper respiratory tract infections. It also helps prevent the complications of colds and flu.  Other products that enhance a strong immune system are colloidal silver, colostrum, probiotics.

Reduce or eliminate your intake of sugar. Sugar paralyze your immune system for hours after the information. A robust immune system can help you to have mild flu, instead of becoming critically ill.

If you have a pre-existing lung condition (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, lung cancer) or are on immuno-suppressants, now is a great time to talk to your doctor or specialist about what they would like you to do if you get sick.

NINE: If you begin to have a high fever, shortness of breath or any other more serious symptom, the best thing to do is to call 0800 029 999 in South Africa to let them know and inquire about next steps.

Coronavirus starts deep in the lungs, and the most common signs are fever and dry cough, followed by fatigue and shortness of breath.

If you have any of these symptoms, please make every effort to remain at home.

Don’t go to the office; don’t drive the kids to school; don’t go to the store; don’t ride public transportation. If children exhibit any illness, they too should remain home from school.

Advice for how to handle it if you actually test positive:

You basically want to prepare as though you know you’re going to get a nasty respiratory bug, like bronchitis or pneumonia. You have the foresight to know it might come your way!

You DO NOT NEED TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL unless you are having trouble breathing or your fever is very high (over 39°C) and is not brought down by taking paracetamol. 90% of healthy adult cases thus far have been managed at home with essential rest/hydration/over-the-counter medications. For symptom management and a fever over 38°c, take Paracetamol, not Ibuprofen.

NOTE: Antibiotics work only on bacteria. They do not work against viruses. The coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, is a virus and, therefore, antibiotics should not be used as a means of prevention or treatment.

HELPLINE:

You are welcome to chat with an online counsellor for more advice: LIVE CHAT

NATIONAL HELPLINE SOUTH AFRICA:

0800 029 999

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