Seven ways to reduce the risk of contracting the flu

WHILE the coronavirus is yet to make an appearance in South Africa, there are precautions that can and should be taken to prevent contracting any flu virus, especially as winter approaches.

US-based virologists who have been working with the coronavirus for almost 50 years, said Covid-19, the newest strain, has an affinity for pulmonary receptors that is extraordinary.

The following precautions should be taken to reduce the risk of contracting any flu virus.

1. Avoiding handshaking will help prevent the spread of germs from person to person

2. Use your knuckle to touch light switches, elevator buttons and so on, rather than your finger

3. Open doors with a closed fist or hip, rather than grasping the door handle with an open hand

4. Use disinfectant wipes provided at most supermarkets, and wipe down trolley handles

5. Wash hands with soap for 10–20 seconds and ensure soap has an alcohol content of at least 60%

6. Keep a bottle of hand sanitiser in your car or handbag so hands can be cleansed with it when soap is not available. Sanitisers must be alcohol-based to be effective

7. Always try to cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard it. Try not to cough into your elbow as clothing on this part of the body will contain infectious viruses that can be passed on for a week or more

The Covid-19 virus is spread in large droplets through coughing or sneezing.

This means the air will not infect you, but all surfaces where this virus has landed in droplets can be infectious for about one week.

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