14 measures to protect against Corona

The corona pandemic triggers  fear  of infection in many people. To protect against the  corona virus  , the government has taken various measures that also depend on the current number of cases. There are also numerous recommendations for the behavior of each individual person. Which hygiene measures really make sense to prevent the virus from spreading and to protect both yourself and others from infection? We present 14 protective measures and explain whether they are suitable or not.

keep distance

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is primarily transmitted from person to person through droplets that are expelled when you sneeze or  cough , but also when you speak. Like raindrops, these droplets fall to the ground after a short flight.

The following therefore applies: Stay out of the line of fire – a distance of at least one and a half to two meters from other people is recommended to prevent infection. This also means that touching other people should be avoided if possible. Shaking hands or hugs as a greeting, for example, are therefore taboo.

wash your hands

It is assumed that infection with the corona virus can also occur via infectious surfaces. This means that if someone has, for example, coughed onto a surface and transferred infectious droplets onto it, another person can contract it if they touch the surface and then touch their own mucous membranes, such as in the mouth, eyes or nose with their fingers .

In order to prevent this form of infection and to protect yourself from the corona virus, regular, thorough hand washing is essential. Disinfectant  isn’t strictly necessary here – plain water and regular soap is enough to wash the virus off your hands.

There is also a help for the duration of a thorough hand washing: Simply recite the verse “The princess with the ribbon washes her hand long and well” five times slowly, then you have washed your hands long enough.

mouthguard

Wearing a  face mask to protect against the corona virus was  quite controversial  , especially at the beginning of the  pandemic . It was feared that doing so would create a false sense of security and thereby neglect other precautions of greater importance. In addition, a simple mouthguard protects the environment, but not the person wearing it. Only FFP2 or FFP3 masks without a valve protect both the wearer and the environment. Therefore, people over the age of 60 or those who belong to a risk group for a severe course of COVID-19 should use FFP2 masks or FFP3 masks.

In addition, the safety of mouthguards depends on various things that are often done wrong. A beard, for example, can mean that the edge does not seal properly and you can still get infected. Some people also wear the mouthguard below their nose, which makes it less effective.

Why masks make sense

Despite the initial concerns, masks are now considered an important tool in the fight against the pandemic. Because if everyone wears a face mask, according to experts, this can help to contain the corona virus, despite the criticism.

As a barrier of sorts, even simple forms of face masks, such as a surgical mask, could reduce the speed of droplets expelled when you speak, cough or sneeze. In this way, everyone can contribute to protecting the people around them. This is particularly relevant because a certain proportion of infections can be traced back to cases in which the transmitting person has not yet shown any symptoms and is therefore not yet aware of their illness.

Numerous studies have now confirmed the effectiveness of a face mask to protect others.

disinfectant

The coronavirus can be killed by commercially available disinfectants, provided they are labeled as “virucidal” or “limited virucidal”. At home, it is sufficient to wash your hands thoroughly with soap. On the way, if no washing facilities are available, the use of disinfectants can be advisable. However, it should be noted that disinfection cannot prevent inhalation of droplets released when you sneeze or cough.

Other disinfection measures

Care should be taken when using disinfection measures other than disinfectants. Various sterilization measures can be very harmful to the body – for example, spraying alcohol or chlorine on the body cannot prevent infection and also attacks the mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth. UV lamps also attack the skin and are not suitable for disinfecting hands, for example. The internal use of disinfectants, for example by drinking, is strongly discouraged.

Coughing in the armpits

In order to prevent droplets from flying through the air and sticking to surfaces, it is necessary to catch the cough or sneeze safely, for example with a handkerchief or by coughing and sneezing into the crook of your arm. The handkerchief should be discarded after use.

When coughing into your hands, there is a risk that you will then unconsciously touch objects such as door handles. This can in turn infect other people.

The main purpose of this measure is to ensure that infected people do not infect other people, but it is advisable for everyone for hygienic reasons. Also keep in mind: Not every infected person has to develop the typical symptoms. So it can be that you are contagious without even knowing it. That’s why you should protect your fellow human beings and cough into the crook of your arm.

Don’t touch your face

Mouth, nose and eyes are considered the main entry points for pathogens such as Corona. Bacteria, viruses and other pathogenic germs easily enter the human body via the mucous membranes and can spread there quickly. Therefore, virologists advise during the corona pandemic to switch off this route of infection if possible. And the best way to do that is not to put your hands on your face.

Five tips to stop touching your face

We unconsciously touch our faces without even thinking about it. It is therefore normal that we find it difficult to consciously renounce this reflex. These tips may make it easier to keep your hand off your face:

1. Redirect movement:  You catch yourself wanting to touch your face? It is then best to redirect the movement by touching another part of the body, thus bypassing the reflex.
2. Counting touches:  Anyone who notices that they are touching their face can note this on a tally. At the end of the day, you will be amazed at how often your hand was on your face. And those were just the situations that you were consciously aware of.
3. Environment should point out:  The family and other people in the environment can draw your attention to it if you touch your face. If you pay attention to each other and point it out to each other, you can break the habit together.
4. Tissues as protection:  A protective barrier between the face and hands can be tissues. It’s best to always keep some handy and wrap a cloth around your fingers, for example if your face  itches .
5. Don’t say bans:  If you decide not to do something again, the pressure to do it increases. Instead of forcing yourself to stop touching your face, you should phrase it positively and keep the meaning behind it in mind. This makes it easier to give up.

reduce contacts

The surest way to avoid contracting the coronavirus is to keep direct human contact to a minimum. This reduces the risk of infection, but also of accidentally infecting others if you are unknowingly infected yourself. It also makes it easier to identify contact persons in the event of an infection.

You should also keep your distance from other people when going for a walk. It is best to avoid avoidable trips.

Ventilate properly

It is now known that a significant proportion of infections can be traced back to aerosols, i.e. very fine droplets that are expelled when speaking or breathing, for example, and remain suspended in the air for some time before sinking to the ground. Their distribution can be favored by certain factors, such as loud speech, labored breathing (e.g. during sports) or certain  air conditioning systems . There is therefore a particular risk of infection indoors, which is why mouth and nose protection makes sense in many situations, especially in closed rooms.

5 tips for correct ventilation

Another focus for protection against the corona virus is the correct  ventilation  of commonly used interior spaces, such as in the apartment, in the office or in the classroom. The  indoor air hygiene commission at the Federal Environment Agency  recommends ensuring the highest possible level of air exchange and fresh air. She gives the following tips:

1. Immediate airing is advisable after every sneeze or cough.
2. Classrooms should be ventilated intensively every 45 minutes at the latest with the window wide open.
3. If sport is practiced in a room, we recommend airing it out at least five times an hour.
4. Permanent ventilation is recommended when many people are in one room, for example when a family is visiting the apartment.
5. According to experts, however, tilting windows is not sufficient.

 As important as proper ventilation is, it can only ever be an additional measure and cannot replace other hygiene measures to protect against  COVID-19 .

Corona-Warn-App

The Corona warning app was developed on behalf of the federal government. As a tracing app for smartphones, its aim is to be able to inform contact persons of a person infected with COVID-19 quickly and anonymously. In this way, chains of infection should be broken more quickly.

The voluntary Corona-Warn-App temporarily saves which other users of the app a person has come into contact with within the last few days. Anonymous random codes are exchanged if the encounter meets the specified criteria (below a certain distance for a certain duration). The data exchange also works with various other apps in other European countries.

The advantage: Even if the infected person does not even know the identity of a contact person, for example because they were only standing next to them on the bus or at the supermarket checkout, they can warn the person in question in the event of an infection. This is done by an infected person entering their positive test result in the app. Anyone who has come into contact with this person in the last few days will then be automatically warned and can also be tested.

In addition, the app offers a diary function with which one’s own contacts can be logged. With this contact diary, encounters in the event of an infection can be traced more quickly and the people concerned can be informed, even if they are not using the Corona-Warn-App. Numerous other apps also offer a comparable function. The app can also be used to verify vaccinations or test results.

The Robert Koch Institute is the publisher of the German Corona app. It can be downloaded free of charge  from the Google Playstore  or the  Apple App Store  .

Corona-Tests

There are a number of different methods that people can use to test for a corona infection. PCR tests are considered to be particularly reliable, but they are also more complex, expensive and it takes a comparatively long time before a result is available.

As an alternative, various rapid antigen tests have proven themselves, which can be carried out in test centers, pharmacies, medical practices or, in the case of self-tests, also at home. Although they are not quite as meaningful, they can deliver a result in a comparatively short time. That is why they are mainly used where several people come together where there is actually no concrete suspicion of a corona infection, for example at airports, in schools, nursing homes, clinics or other workplaces. Regular testing of as many people as possible can help to identify infected people without symptoms at an early stage and break the chain of infection.

Corona vaccinations

Various corona vaccines have been developed at high pressure since the beginning of the pandemic   , the first of which was approved in the European Union in December 2020. Several effective vaccines are now available. Two doses of vaccine are required for full immunity protection, additional booster doses are recommended to further enhance immunization protection.

Vaccinations do not offer complete protection against corona infection, but they can significantly reduce the likelihood and thus help to stop the pandemic and prevent deaths.

pets

It is believed that the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 started in an animal market and the virus was transmitted from one animal to the first infected person.

Depending on the animal species, it cannot be ruled out according to the current state of knowledge that an infection  can occur from person to animal  . Individual cases of infected dogs or cats have already been reported, and ferrets, rabbits and golden hamsters can also become infected. So far there is evidence that chickens and pigs cannot become infected, while cats are more likely to be infected than dogs. In order to be able to research the connections better in the future, the veterinary office should be informed if a pet tests positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Infections  from animals to humans  have so far only been reported in a few isolated cases. In Thailand, a veterinarian is said to have been infected by an infected cat. A mutant form of the virus was also transmitted from mink to humans on fur farms in the Netherlands and Denmark. As a precaution, the killing of the mink was ordered in Denmark.

In the current corona pandemic, human-to-human transmission   continues to be the key factor in the spread of the virus. According to  the recommendations of the Friedrich Löffler Institute for Animal Health , limited contact with pets is  therefore currently not necessary. It is sufficient if the general hygiene regulations, such as thorough  hand washing , are heeded when dealing with the four-legged friends.

However, anyone who is infected with the corona virus should also pay particular attention to appropriate hygiene to protect their pet and be more careful not to infect the animal.

gloves

The corona virus is not transmitted directly through the outer skin on the hands. Nevertheless, some people, for example when shopping, use gloves to protect against infection to prevent the pathogens from getting on their hands and later on their faces.

However, experts are critical of this and consider gloves to be more harmful than useful. There are several reasons for that:

• This measure often creates a false sense of security, which then leads to wearing the same gloves for a long time and unconsciously touching your face, for example.
• In the warm, humid climate under the gloves, pathogens can also spread particularly well, which is why you should definitely wash your hands with soap or disinfect them before putting them on and after taking them off.
• The material of the gloves is also important. Many disposable gloves are porous and can therefore let pathogens through. If a glove is damaged unnoticed while shopping, the virus has an even easier time of it.
• Experts also point out that latex, rubber or vinyl release significantly more germs into the environment than skin. So by wearing gloves you really contribute to the spread of the pathogens.

Therefore, it makes much more sense to wash your hands regularly with soap and water and not to wear gloves. When shopping, it may be advisable to disinfect the handle of the shopping trolley beforehand. In any case, you should be careful not to touch your face while shopping and wash your hands thoroughly immediately after shopping.

quarantine

Home quarantine or isolation is imposed on people who have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. This is a very important tool to prevent the spread of disease. If you have been quarantined, it means that you are no longer allowed to leave your home, not even to go shopping. An exception only applies to an appointment for a  corona test . You are also not allowed to have visitors and should avoid contact with other people in the same household as far as possible, for example by eating meals in separate rooms.

Find out about the applicable rules, how long the quarantine lasts and whether a “free test” with a negative test is then required. So that all people who have been placed in quarantine are taken care of, social networks have formed throughout Germany that go shopping for those affected or walk the dog. Contact points include the fire brigade, the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) or volunteer helpers in the community.