25/02/2020
How can I avoid catching or spreading the coronavirus? What should I do if I feel sick?
First of all, we advise you to wash your hands with soap and water frequently, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel when soap and water are not available. When you have symptoms such as coughs and sneezes, please cover your mouth and nose properly (called “cough etiquette”, explained below). If you cover coughs and sneezes with your hands and touches objects around you with those hands, there is a chance of spreading virus via those objects. Properly covering coughs and sneezes is particularly important when you are in crowded places such as schools, offices and packed trains.
Seniors and persons with chronic diseases are advised to take extra precaution and avoid visiting packed places and using public transportation as much as possible.
If you have been to China’s Hubei province or Zheijiang province in the 14 days before your symptoms started, or have had a contact with people who have been to those provinces, and feel sick with fever, cough, or other symptoms, please make a phone call to a nearby Public Health Center before you visit a doctor’s office or emergency room. It is also important that you tell medical practitioners, in advance, about your recent travel to those provinces or the contact with people who have been to those provinces.