26/03/2020
Keeping Safe from THE CORONA VIRUS
When we first heard about it spreading in China, it sounded so remote to many of us. We most likely thought it was just some flu that would go away in a few days. Alas! People started to die, we were seeing the number of deaths going up. And to make matters worse, it was spreading to other countries.
Then we stated to hear that it may not come to Africa because it cant survive in hot climates like ours. But its here now, not just in Africa but in Zambia! So if we are still not taking it seriously, maybe we need to rethink matters.
While it is true that the mortality rate is not as high as in China or in European countries, we still need to take precaution, not just for ourselves but for others too.
Here are a few things to consider so we can take positive action against the Corona Virus:
• Its spreads via the droplets that comes off you when you cough.
- If you feel the urge to cough, do so in your sleeve! Simply fold your arm, raise it as close as possible to your mouth so you can cough into the fold of your elbow. That will help arrest any droplets and prevent it from falling onto any surfaces or worse, on other people.
• It spreads via contaminated surfaces.
- The urgency to keep your hands sanitized all the time cannot be overemphasized! If you touch a surface that has virus on it, you will not know. Naturally, we like to touch our face or sometimes throw some quick food into our mouth without washing our hands. That is dangerous! The only way to keep safe is to sanitize, sanitize and sanitize! Wash your hands with soap as often as possible. According to science, it take 20 seconds for soap to kill the bacteria on your hands.
- Buy a hand sanitize that you can move around with. Though the hand sanitizers are now in short supply, you can even make your own. Buy Glycerin and methylated spirit or Dettol. To every portion of glycerin, add 3 portions of the methylated spirit. Or you can get wet wipes, even the baby ones. Just remember to pour some methylated spirit into them and use to wipe often.
- Be wary of constant handling of money. Money is among the dirtiest things on earth. Keep safe by limiting cash transactions. Or if you have to touch money, wear gloves or wash your hands as soon as money is out of your hands.
• It spreads via hand to hand contact.
- While it is true that in our local culture, shaking hands is the norm, it must be avoided at this time. It is something that we need to learn to practice for the sake of avoiding the spread of the virus.
• It does not survive in high temperatures.
- According to the WHO website https://www.who.int, “heat at 56°C kills the SARS coronavirus at around 10000 units per 15 min.” We know that, yes, we have a hot climate here, but it doesn’t get to 56! But do you remember that traditional method of killing the flu? We would get lemon leaves or eucalyptus leaves and boil. While hot, we would cover in a blanket and steam. Sitting in that blanket with the steam was sure beyond 56°C, considering that water boils at 100°C.
So if WHO’s fact is to go by, our traditional method is worth keeping on standby and putting to effect immediately we feel flu-ish, and make sure to stay in the sauna for 15 minutes!
Many ways have been mentioned as to how we need to keep free of the corona virus. It is important to take heed and keep safe.
To read this article in Lozi and Tonga, go to http://www.perfecttext.co.zm/blog.html
