How can you help stop the spread of Covid-19?

When it comes to stopping the spread of Covid 19 infection we keep getting told that we,as the Public, have an important role to play.

We continually get told we should wash our hands – we did a post on the importance of washing hands here.

But washing your hands is only one part in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

What is the Coronavirus?

To learn what we can do to help stop the spread of this virus we first need to understand how Covid-19 acts and how it is spread.

Coronavirus (caused by Covid-19) is a respiratory illness; This means it is mostly spread through virus-laden droplets from coughs and sneezes from an infected person.

The first step in stopping the Spread of Covid-19

This brings us to the first part of the infection cycle and our first role to play in fighting Covid-19.  If we do not catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, hanky or other means as advised by the HSE, the virus will end up on surfaces.  Here it can live for some time.  If someone then touches the contaminated surface the virus can transfer onto their hands.  If we all catch our sneezes and coughs as advised and dispose of the tissues or hankies used for this purpose, we limit the viruses ability to spread.  Even if you think you do not have the virus, doing this is important.  Some people do not experience symptoms and yet they can still spread the virus.  Be considerate, do your part and protect those around you.  Catch your coughs and sneezes.

The second step in stopping the spread of Covid-19

If an infected person does not do their part and follow the simple advice above, they will contaminate areas around them.  Someone then comes along and touches the contaminate surface. They now likely have the virus on your hands.  They then infect themselves by touching their eyes, mouth or nose. Don’t think you touch your face often?  A 2015 study found that we touch our faces on average 23 times an hour.

We also have a role to play by cleaning and sanitizing often touched surfaces.  This will kill the virus and prevent it from getting onto the hands and clothes of friends and family.  Remember, if it is on your clothes and gets in contact with an often touched area it can transfer to that area and find its way to your families hands.  Sanitising commonly used areas in your home reduces the risk of your family touching a potentially infected area.  You can use a surface sanitiser such as found on our page https://acraltd.ie/product-category/sanitizers/ to sanitise surfaces in your home and lessen the risk of infection for you, your family, friends and the public at large.