I am Dr. Bharat Pankhania. I have been an infectious disease doctor for the
last 20 years and I'm here to bust some myths about the new coronavirus, COVID-19.
The seasonal influenza virus, of all the people it infects, causes deaths of about 0.6%.
The coronavirus, when it infects people, appears to be causing deaths around 1, 1.5%.
So, of course, the new coronavirus we're very concerned about it because it's more infectious
and more disease-causing than the seasonal influenza virus.
Public transport is unavoidable - we've got to live our lives.
I would create my own virtual personal protective zone. Be conscious, be aware.
Try and avoid entering crowds. Step back if there are crowded places,
step away and far away from anyone who is coughing and sneezing as soon as you can get to
a nice warm water and sink, wash your hands carefully and thoroughly and dry them.
That is the best precaution you can take to look after yourself.
The best hand sanitiser that we can use against the coronavirus
is one that has an alcohol content ranging from 60 to 90%.
It needs a mixture of alcohol and water in the right proportions.
Having said that, the best solution is warm water, soap, wash your hands and dry them properly,
much better than using alcohol hand gel only.
The corona virus can infect anyone and everyone - regardless of their age.
It is a new virus, it has just emerged, everyone on planet Earth is susceptible to it.
Of those people who get infected the elderly and the ones with other coexisting medical conditions
seem to suffer more serious harmful effects from this infection.
Anyone can get infected and therefore we should make sure no one gets infected.
The best place for face masks is in a healthcare setting.
For people who are not used to wearing face masks it is not a good idea to now start.
You might, by mistake in the process of fiddling around with your face mask,
introduce an infection to your sensitive area, the nose, the mouth area.
Keep your hands clean and keep your hands away from this sensitive area,
the nose and the mouth and, of course, your eyes too.
We have a report of one dog in Hong Kong who has tested positive for the coronavirus.
This is most probably from the dog's owner to the dog, rather than from the dog to the owner.
We are also keeping a very close eye on domestic animals and pets
to make sure that they are not becoming reservoirs of this coronavirus.
A lot of people think that a mutation is a bad thing.
All that it is is that when the virus replicates, it makes mistakes.
We hope that as a result of multiple infections and multiple mistakes,
these viruses actually lose their potency and become ineffective in infecting humans.
It is very difficult, extremely difficult, to create vaccines from scratch.
The coronavirus vaccine is not around the corner.
In the absence of a good vaccine we need to exercise infection control
because that is the only remedy we have against the coronavirus.
There is no scientific evidence that any one of those home remedies
are of any benefit against the coronavirus infection.
Using some of those remedies, such as sesame oil,
have the potential to set up a serious allergic reaction in some people.
My advice is: please don't go down the route of using these home remedies
which are not tried, tested or trusted.
Our priority number one, with regard to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, is to
bring it safely under control and reduce the number of cases,
and hopefully eliminate the coronavirus from planet Earth.
Having achieved that, our second important priority is to look at
why did this virus emerge in the first instance?
A lot of these viruses are resident in animal populations.
As a result of man's interference in animal populations, we allow the emergence of these new viruses.
A lot of thought, scientific thought and applications have to be put into place
to prevent such emerging viruses again.