06/03/2020
I struggle to think of a previous occasion where a medical crisis has taken such complete control of the news coverage, across the world, for such a sustained period.
The Coronavirus has, I believe, grabbed the No.1 spot in the news in a manner that no other health scare has before.
Swine flu, bird flu and SARS all became major news stories, but none of them seemed to have the impact that the Coronavirus has already had. It has been the news story that hits every bulletin and repeatedly so; it's in the general news, the health news, the political news, the financial news, the sports news.....
We have continually been told that the virus is not a major risk to life and that the percentage of those who contract the illness who will then die is about 1%. However, Italy has now had a little under 2,000 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and their current death rate stands at just over 5%.
Globally, 100,686 people had been confirmed as having been infected and, of those, 3,411 have died so far. That is a death rate of just under 3.5% and we don't know if there will be further fatalities from that number.
The impact being felt by people across the globe is significant. Certain countries have been hit far harder than others, but the virus is crossing borders and is influencing every aspect of life.
So far, the guidance provided by the health professionals (and repeated by politicians and other 'interested' parties) has focused on hand washing.
I can't fault that approach. It has long been evident that proper hand washing would reduce levels of infection from many common illnesses; and yet so many people still fail to engage in very simple hygiene practices.
When I was a teenager, out drinking with friends, I took a trip to the lavatory (this happened a lot when you're out drinking beer) and a mate of mine came in a minute or so later. Another friend came in just after him. We were all getting rid of the last few pints, stood at the urinal, and after I finished I went to the sink and washed my hands.
"Oh look," said one, "Nigel went to Eton, where they taught you to wash your hands after going for a piss! We," he said, looking at the other chap, "went to a school where they taught us not to piss on our hands!!!"
I stopped and looked at him (and the other guy). I was blocking the door at this point, so they were both forced to wait and pay attention to my response....
"It doesn't matter whether we are in a toilet, out in the bar, or anywhere else," I said, "If you stick your hand down your trousers and grab your dick, then offer to shake my hand, I'm going to refuse. Just wash your @•#%$!£ hands!!!"
The amount of times I have seen men use public toilets without then washing their hands is incalculable. In supermarkets, I have frequently wanted to follow other patrons out of the toilets (after washing my own hands) and announce loudly that they had not washed their hands, but were now handling fresh produce. So far, I have reigned in the desire to publicly humiliate such people - I'm not sure of that's because I'm a coward or if I'm just too nice.
So, what should we be doing to try and limit the spread of the Coronavirus?
Of course, we should try and make sure that people wash their hands properly and frequently. However, it is naive to expect that all of those who have habitually failed to wash their hands when appropriate, will suddenly start doing so.
Yes, hopefully, some of them will do just that. But, many more will completely ignore the guidance and, therefore, will continue posing a risk.
One of the simple ways of reducing (but not eliminating) the risk of this would be to ensure that the doors of toilets in public spaces open outwards; meaning patrons don't need to use the door handle after washing their hands.
A petition calling for this to be introduced as a law has been started on the government's petitions service, but it requires signatories to get it moving.
The Petition:
Introduce a law to mandate that the doors of public toilets open outwards.
In spite of the many calls for people to wash their hands regularly, especially after going to the toilet, many people still don't do so. Users of toilets in public spaces are frequently forced to use handles to leave facilities, knowing that people before them have not washed their hands.
A law should be introduced to mandate that all doors in toilet facilities and wash rooms in public spaces (including businesses, restaurants, shops, pubs and open entertainment facilities) open outwards, removing the need to use a handle to leave the room. This should be adopted alongside mandatory signage reminding patrons to wash their hands. These steps will help reduce the spread of viruses including influenza and the coronavirus.
Click this link to sign the petition:
It seems obvious that the Coronavirus will have a more significant and lasting impact on the world that previous viruses; such as Bird Flu, Swine Flu and SARS.
It would be good to use this as a prompt to change behaviour in those who do not currently adopt good hygiene standards.
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