URGENT & IMPORTANT REGARDING CORONAVIRUS COVID-19: The people on this group text are dear friends, family members, and in some cases even both. JK!!! But you would not be included here if I did not care about you and if you were not an important person in my life. In such, I just received an excellent short list of things to PREVENT the CoronaVirus from spreading…it comes from one of the foremost pathologists and CoronaVirus experts in the field…I thought you would find it useful and apologize in advance for being OFF TOPIC (OT) from the purpose of this text strand:
Info from James Robb, MD FCAP, a renowned pathologist:
Dear Family and Friends, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread by mid to late March and April.
Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take. These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons.
1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.
7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!
User comment: Excellent advice, thank you! I have been monitoring what we get from public health and our own experts (I am a pediatrician, seeing patients). Likely good news is that as we get data from Korea and other places, it seems likely the the 2% mortality rate quoted from China is too high. Many, many people just have mild cold symptoms, and did not get diagnosed in China, so did not get into the denominator. The elderly, and people with heart or lung disease or with diabetes are most likely to have severe disease.
User comment:
Victor’s comment: Thank you, Doctor!
