Have we any resident microbiologists who could advise us?
I'm confused by all the nonsense we're being fed about the coronavirus, Covid-19. I see on the telly streets and floors being sprayed with some form of detergent or disinfectant. My understanding of a virus, as distinct from a bacterium, is that a virus needs a host to live off and thus it must be passed directly from person to person or animal to animal. Therefore you can't be infected by picking up the virus from the road - or can you? If someone with the virus spits on the pavement and you step in it, can it run up your leg and infect you? The life of Covid-19 outside a host is a matter of debate with *estimates* of the viability varying from minutes to hours to days. Does anyone have definitive information?
Wearing face masks is now like a fashion thing. At least it must be fashionable because they're in short supply and wearing a mask provides protection only in very limited circumstances. If I am infected with the virus, then wearing a mask can prevent me from spreading the virus to others by coughing or sneezing. But only for 15/20 minutes after which time the mask is rendered useless by the moisture which saturates it when I breathe out. Thus I'd need 4 masks per hour changed by me and hands washed afterward to keep others safe from infection. Other people wearing masks around an infected person are wasting their time as the masks won't stop them being infected if the virus lands elsewhere on their bodies. And just to mention that your regular DIYer's face mask from Woodies provides no protection from micro-organisms.
I see that hand-sanitisers are becoming scarce, which I suspect as probably a good thing. A recent study showed that while the generic sanitisers can kill-off some innocuous micro-organisms, they leave a cleaner, healthier breeding ground for more dangerous "germs". To be effective sanitisers must contain at least 65% alcohol. Ordinary proper hand-washing with decent soap and hot water is an effective virus killer.
This notion of binning tissues after a single use is likely to trigger panic buying and enrich supermarket owners and tissue manufacturers. It is also likely to increase the risk of infection for others. The best course of action after using a tissue is to put it back in your pocket or handbag (not up your sleeve as it may slip out). Depending on the infective life of the virus outside a host, and waste disposal and handling procedures at the point of disposal, binning it can create infection risks for others. Take your tissues home with you and dispose of them there, preferably in the fire.
So, who to believe? I'm open to being convinced otherwise but I wonder if there is another agenda here. What are we not being told?
This post isn't meant to encourage you to ignore the well-intentioned advice of your local health-professionals, I just believe they are misguided, parroting the populist "party lines".