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Show full transcript for Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 video

Even though there are vaccines available, currently, there is no medication to cure an infection of Covid 19. Antibiotics do not work on viruses so there is no point trying to get them from your medical team. The virus affects all ages but the elderly and people with existing medical conditions are more prone to severe symptoms.

Treatment is currently just to give non-specific but appropriate medications to treat the symptoms rather than the virus itself. There are rumours that things like eating garlic, sesame oil and washing your nose with saline help but The World Health Organisation or W.H.O. say there is no evidence that they have any benefit. The W.H.O. also say there is no risk from receiving a letter or parcel from an infected area and the use of UV lamps will not kill the virus but can cause skin irritation.

The main advice in preventing an infection is to adopt good hand hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol hand gel. Hot air hand dryers will dry your hands but not kill the virus.

The use of alcohol or chlorine spays over your body will not help if you are already infected. There is a lot of talk about taking a temperature by using a non-contact thermometer and whether this is an effective way of detecting if someone is infected. It will show if the person has a fever which is a sign of Covid 19 infection, but it can take a few days to become sick once infected so someone may be infected but not show a temperature. Catch coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues and dispose of them correctly as soon as they are used. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve. Once you have sneezed or coughed, wash your hands or use alcohol hand gel.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands and finally, avoid close contact with people who are unwell. COVID 19 does survive on surfaces and you can catch it so good surface cleaning is important. The WHO says that the virus can last on surfaces for up to 3 days, maybe more depending on the types of material, the temperature and humidity.