Avoid crowds, wash hands after going out

People are growing anxiety as five additional cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed on Friday alone. It is critical to prevent the spread of the contagious virus during this weekend when many events involving large crowds are scheduled and many people will go outside. In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, people are advised to avoid crowds whenever possible, and follow rules to prevent infection when outing.

Experts advise people to strictly follow rules for prevention of Wuhan pneumonia even though they have not visited China, since secondary and tertiary transmission of the disease occurred in Korea. It is advised that people use hand sanitizer or wash hands with soap thoroughly using running water for at least 30 seconds after going out.

Many people are cancelling dining appointments or schedules during the weekend, but if you cannot avoid going outside, you need to wear a protective mouth mask of N80 or higher level for the time being. When you are engaged in activities while wearing the mask, it is important not to take it off and put it on again. If you have to have meal with someone else, you should use your own clean dish. Patient No 6, who is the first infected case within Korea, reportedly shared bulgogi with an infected person, by using chopsticks to pick up the food from the bulgogi pot.

If the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms any patient is living in your neighborhood, you should use extra caution. But once a place has been decontaminated after confirmed patients visited, you don’t need to be overly anxious about visiting the place.

With any respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough, you should avoid contacting other people and going out, and refer to health authorities for inquiries. If you suspect possible infection, you need to report to local health center or the KCDC’s call center at 1399. If you find any symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus, you should visit a general hospital equipped with an independent treatment facility, and follow instructions. A list of such treatment facilities can be found at www.cdc.go.kr.

If the disease center tells you to be quarantined, you should follow the measure to avoid transmission in your local community. “During the MERS epidemics, self-quarantine measures at home were not followed properly, accelerating local transmission of the disease,” said Kim Woo-joo, professor of infectious diseases at Korea University Guro Hospital. “Both citizens and health authorities should pay extra caution to ensure thorough quarantine.”


1am@donga.com