Protecting Myself From Coronavirus

Many people are asking me what I’m doing during this

coronavirus pandemic. I’m certainly overly cautious,

especially given my background in microbiology, physiology

and epidemiology. Now, in New York City, we have to social-distance, and notgo out of the house, except for necessities. Given that I live in a distant NYC suburb without a car, I have to venture out on foot to buy groceries. Here’s 
what I do.

Whenever I have access to soap and water, I thoroughly

wash all the surfaces of my hands.

I carry Purell in my pocket and use it liberally when soap and

water is not available.

I don’t touch my hands to my mouth, eyes or nose.

I also carry Lysol wipes and use this on any surface I will be

touching.

I don’t get within six feet of anyone. 

Whenever I have to open a door or touch a handrail, I do

so with a Lysol wipe in my hand or I wear one cloth glove.

But the glove, of course, becomes contaminated and, once

I get home, I disinfect it by rinsing in chlorine. (I don’t let

the glove touch my bare hands or anything else I will be

touching.)

I use a diluted solution of alcohol on my iPhone if it was

somehow set on a surface that I neglected to wipe down with Lysol.

While I’ve seen people reusing N-95 masks or surgical masks

-- the latter are not effective against the coronovirus -- most

are single-use masks and are not to be reused. In addition,

if you are wearing a mask and you take it off, you have to properly

clean your hands that touched the mask.

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Dispelling Myths on Coronavirus

I've been traveling recently. And, whether I was on NJ Transit to Newark Airport or catching up with friends and colleagues on Facebook, I sadly have been confronted with a lack of understanding of science and infectious disease, in this case the coronavirus epidemic (pandemic). Here are some of the myths and facts related to the coronavirus outbreak:

Myth: If you got a flu shot and maybe the pneumonia vaccine, you're ok.

Fact: Not true. Though getting both the flu and pneumonia vaccines (if you are over 65) would reduce the likelihood of you getting either disease that would compound your problems, they do not protect you from the coronavirus.

Myth: Scientists will have a coronavirus vaccine in a couple of months.

Fact: Not true. The development of a vaccine that will be used in humans requires a number of steps that require clinical trials, first with a small number of subjects and then with a much larger sample size. That being said, it's likely we will not see a vaccine for at least a year or more.

Myth: Only old people get sick from the coronavirus.

Fact: Though we are not seeing very young children getting sick, one of the early cases of coronavirus on the west coast was a teenager. And now there are reports that large percentages (almost 40%) of hospitalized cases in the U.S. are in ages 20s to 50s. Though most of the deaths have been among older people. Anyone can get sick with the coronavirus, though most everyone will have mild symptoms. But anyone who is immunocompromised or has an underlying health condition (such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cardiac disease) -- especially if they are older -- has an increased risk of a more serious illness.

Myth: Coronavirus doesn't stay on surfaces for very long so there's no worries about touching a surface that hasn't been in use for awhile.

Fact: It's believed that the coronavirus can remain viable on surfaces for several hours up to a few days. But it depends on the surface and the amount of virus. For example, the virus may remain viable longer on metal than cloth surface. If you think a surface may be contaminated, use a disinfectant cloth (such as Lysol) to wipe it down and, of course, wash your hands with soap and water, or, if it's not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that has at least 60% alcohol.

Myth: Taking vitamin C supplements, drinking green tea, eating garlic, or ingesting probiotics can help prevent coronavirus.

Fact: No. These natural remedies will neither protect you from this novel coronavirus nor can they treat the condition should you become sick. Neither will antibiotics work as a treatment since this is a viral infection, not a bacterial illness.

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Protecting Yourself From The New Coronavirus

Most people don't have a background in microbiology or infectious diseases. So, it's understandable why many are either in a state of denial or a state of panic regarding the new (novel) coronavirus outbreak that started in China and now has spread to numerous countries, including the U.S.


This virus tends to lodge in the lungs. It typically presents with fever, coughing and fatigue. Most people may feel like they would when they get a bad flu. But if someone is immunocompromised, is older and not well because of another condition (such as respiratory or cardiac problems), the symptoms may worsen to shortness of breath and require hospitalization.

Here's what you need to know to protect yourself:


Wash your hands thoroughly and often whenever you touch a surface of any sort or if you touch another person, as in shaking hands (which you should avoid).

When washing your hands with soap and water, do so for at least 20 seconds.

When soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Do not use a non-alcohol-based sanitizer.

Don't touch your hands to your face, including your eyes, nose and mouth.

In your home or office, use a disinfectant wipe or spray to clean surfaces.

Though there's no vaccine for coronavirus as yet and probably won't be for at least a year or so, you should make sure that you've gotten a flu vaccine as well as the vaccinations for bacterial pneumonia (pneumococcal pneumonia). Though neither of these vaccines will have anything to do with preventing the new coronavirus infection, getting these vaccinations makes it less likely that you are not otherwise medically compromised and that you'll have the need to visit a hospital or doctor's office where you'd be in close proximity to other sick people.

If you become sick, stay at home so that you don't spread any infection to others.

When you sneeze or cough, cover your nose and mouth with a tissue, for example, to prevent droplets with infectious organisms from spreading to others or to surfaces. Throw these tissues in the garbage rather than letting them touch a surface. Otherwise sneeze or cough in the crook of your elbow.

If you know people who are sick -- they have a fever or are coughing and/or sneezing -- don't get closer than six feet or so from them.

There is no need to buy any sort of face mask. The N-95 is what's used by health professionals who are treating sick people. And the Centers for Disease Control does not recommend these masks for the public. And the cotton-type surgical mask won't do much of anything in terms of protecting you should someone who coughs or sneezes near you. That's because it doesn't fit tightly to your face nor does it have small enough pores to prevent droplets from entering.

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Safely Walking on Icy Surfaces

As I walk in cold climates where icy streets are the norm, I’m always

observing how people walk on slippery surfaces. Many people break
their shoulder, arm, wrist or hip when falling on a slick sidewalk.
There are some things you can do to reduce the risk of falling.

Here are a few:

Don’t walk with your hands in your pockets. Instead, keep your
arms by your side.

Take small steps and keep your weight forward, on the front of your foot,

rather than leaning back or putting your weight on the back of your foot

Look for parallel surfaces, such as sand, grass, snow or even gravel, that

are not slippery and that you can safely navigate to your destination.

When stepping off a curb, do so cautiously, placing your foot straight down,

rather than taking a big step far from the curb, which can place you off balance.

When walking down outdoor steps, especially steep, long ones that are

found at many outdoor metro stations, always hold the rail.

Wear shoes or boots that have great traction. I’ve written about a company that sells shoes and boots with tiny cleats, such as Ice Bug.

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Safe Street Crossing Tips

As a New York City resident, I know firsthand that Manhattan is experiencing a street and sidewalk congestion that we've never seen before. And, here as well as across the nation, both motorists and pedestrians are seriously distracted -- whether it's from staring at their cell phones or plugged into their headphones. Numerous agencies and reports -- here and here -- document that distraction is a major cause of pedestrian accidents and, more importantly, fatalities.

I'm not one of those distracted pedestrians. Whenever I am in a crosswalk, my head is rotating left and right the entire time I'm crossing, making sure someone, whether a motorist or cyclist, isn't about to cut me off, despite the fact that I have the right of way. But, I've found that despite my contentiousness, whenever I'm in the crosswalk, drivers and cyclists making a left or right turn appear to not see me or perhaps choose not to. Recently, I was walking across the street with two out-of-town friends who just assumed if the light was green, they could barrel ahead. A truck turning left almost struck both of them, if it wasn't for me pulling them both back.  So what's the solution?

Over the past two years, I've been using a tactic based on what traffic control officers have long used: I hold a brightly-colored object in my hand and, using my outstretched arm that's facing any potential oncoming traffic, and I wave the object. It might be an umbrella, book, scarf, shopping bag, newspaper still wrapped in plastic, and so forth. You get the idea. I use this method each and every time I cross the street and I can't tell you the number of times this colorful arm/hand motion has piqued the driver's attention.  And, if those off times when I don't have an object to hold, I extend my arm with my hand flexed, palm out and fingers outstretched in the well-known "stop" signal as seen below.

At first my friends and colleagues thought these gestures looked fairly odd. and too embarrassing to mimic. But they saw the results as they crossed busy Manhattan streets with me. Cars stopped when they saw me waving a purple umbrella or a bright green scarf or using the "stop" hand signal. Of course, none of these gestures obviates me from still looking right, left and all about as I cross, just in case the driver still missed me.

This is hardly a controlled study. But it's worth a try. I've used these strategies when I'm traveling all over the world. After all, NYC doesn't have a monopoly on out-of-control drivers.

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