There’s nothing that media companies love more than whipping up a story to perpetuate more views, clicks and in turn sell more newspapers. With that in mind, we thought we would uncover the truths and the not so truths about the COVID-19 disease spread -including garlic and its not-so-magical powers. More importantly, how can we stop the spread by cleaning both in our homes and businesses.
Finally, apart from panic buying 10 years supply of toilet roll, we outline what proactive and maybe reactive steps you can undertake to not get the virus, or stop it spreading further. So let’s get started with the basics about viral cleaning.
How to stop Coronavirus in the home or Business
Good housekeeping such as hoovering is important, though it won’t necessarily catch the virus and kill it. Although Coronavirus can’t live that long outside of the body by sitting on a door handle, it can transfer to the next person who touches it. By wiping down these areas with anti-viral wipes or spray this will kill the virus. Hot washing bedding of suspected infected areas is a must, as is a wipe of the bed frame of course. The same goes for office desks, chairs and anywhere that has come into contact with people. Finally, for a complete clean, use a ULV (this stands for Ultra Low Volume) machine to put a disinfectant into the air. We will talk a little more about this below. Understandably you may not have access to a ULV machine. Undertaking a decontamination of a property is something Pure Pest Solutions can do so not to worry. Simply get in touch now.
What if I’m worried my home or business may already have the virus?
As the virus rate increases, there is a higher chance it is in your home or business and so a deep clean would be advisable. It may be of course that someone has visited you who has subsequently had the virus and you want to make sure they didn’t leave it behind.
COVID-19 is an 'Enveloped Virus', meaning it has an outer layer. In short this means that using anti-viral wipes on surfaces with areas where the virus is residing should kill it. For anything airborne we suggest using a mist system such as PX-ULV-Disinfectant, known as extreme deep cleaning/disinfecting. The principle here is that liquid is converted into a mist and propelled into the air with an Ultra Low Volume (ULV) Machine. The mist circulates around a room carried by natural air currents for an hour. During this time all areas are disinfected in a safe and complete manner. Treatments need to be undertaken according to the UK governments decontamination advice (fig 1).
If you would like more information on extreme disinfecting of an area where members of the public come through, or someone has come through with COVID-19, Pure Pest Solutions are happy to help and advise. We also offer heat treatments that raise the contaminated area to 70 degrees in order to disinfect the space as well.
What is Coronavirus AKA COVID-19 and where did it come from?
COVID-19 was first found officially on the 30th of December 2019 in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, China . Using protocols learned from the previous SARS outbreak, a bioinformatic analysis carried out on an unknown pneumonia strain identified it. Sadly the virus has grown, taking over the world in a doomsday type fashion. If it were a person, there is no doubt it would have a cat on its lap and be laughing in a James Bond villain style at the evil banality of it all. The disease is very contagious, but luckily the symptoms mostly masquerade as flu like and generally won’t kill you - but as we know you are more at risk if over 70 and/or have pre-existing medical conditions (fig 2).
What is the chance I’m going to die then?
Realistically, not much. Should you contract the newer ‘L type’ strain your chances of death are higher. The New York Times (fig 3) quotes the death rate from flu in America as 0.1% of cases. COVID-19 has a higher rate than the flu of anywhere between 1.4 -2.3% depending on your sources. Your risk is much higher if you are older. If you're over 80 the death rate increases to 14.8% (fig 4). So it may be worth hiding Grandad in the cellar; just ask his permission first!
Does Garlic stop the disease?
Well no, but the World Health Organisation still has pointed this out. It doesn’t say anything about Cadburys Dairy Milk so I’m heading out to panic buy as much as possible.
Should I invest in companies that make white suits, antibacterial handwipes and face masks?
Yes
What can I actually do to stop the spread of COVID-19?
To stop the inevitable spread, it comes down to washing your hands properly. Singing happy birthday twice (hopefully loudly) is the time marker recommended. The NHS says always wash your hands when you get home or into work and use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze, put used tissues in the bin straight away and wash your hands afterwards, and try to avoid close contact with people who are unwell (fig 5).
Conclusion
In reality Coronavirus is coming and will very sadly cause deaths. The death rate, although higher than flu, isn’t perhaps as bad as the media has led us to believe, although the economic effects and stress on the NHS may cause more problems to come. That being said, by keeping good hygiene standards and undertaking extreme disinfecting the risks can be decreased.
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