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The Department of Health has launched a public information campaign on the coronavirus.
Dr John Tregoning, Reader in Respiratory Infections, Imperial College London, said:
“The infectious material spreads in the large droplets produced by coughs and sneezes. Therefore catching this material and safely disposing of it reduces the risk of further spread.
“Binning the tissue is important to get rid of any potentially infectious material.
“All viruses are susceptible to soap which breaks them down.
“All of the advice is standard advice to stop respiratory infections. The government is stressing it now because the new coronavirus can spread between people and increased awareness can reduce the spread.”
Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:
“The coronavirus spreads in a similar fashion to flu or even the common cold. Straightforward advice such as good hand-hygiene is important, as that cleans the viruses off people’s hands, and helps to reduce transmission.
“Although it won’t protect specifically against coronavirus, one way people could help support health services is to ask their GP or pharmacy about the flu vaccine. Not only will this provide protection against the flu, but it will ease the burden on their local health services by reducing the number of presentations they see of respiratory infectious diseases, freeing up resources should any coronavirus cases be diagnosed.”
* https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-public-information-campaign-launched-across-the-uk
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