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.
