Coronavirus: How to protect yourself

The Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak is a new illness and scientists are still assessing how it spreads from person to person, but similar viruses tend to spread via cough and sneeze droplets.

When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they release droplets of saliva or mucus. These droplets can fall on people in the vicinity and can be either directly inhaled or picked up on the hands then transferred when someone touches their face, causing infection. For flu, some hospital guidelines define exposure as being within six feet of an infected person who sneezes or coughs for 10 minutes or longer.

1. Wash your hands: wet your hands with clean, running water. Apply soap. Lather your hands, including the backs, between your fingers, and under your nails. Scrub for at least 20 seconds Rinse.

2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in a bin and wash hands. If you don’t have a tissue to hand, cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hands.

3. Face masks offer some protection as they block liquid droplets. However, they do not block smaller aerosol particles that can pass through the material of the mask.

4.Seek early medical help by phone if you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share your travel history with healthcare providers.

5. If you have returned from an affected area in China, Iran, South Korea or Italy in the last two weeks, stay indoors and avoid contact with other people for 14 days. This means not going to work, school or public areas.

6. If you have returned from an infected area and develop a high temperature, cough, runny nose, sore throat or difficulty breathing do not leave your home until you have been given advice by a doctor.

7. If visiting live markets in affected areas avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces that have been in contact with animals.