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by calvinbhai 2300 days ago
For me, the critical pieces of info everyone should consider are these:

1) Washing hands often, significantly reduces chances of getting infected (because virus has a fat membrane that breaks when in contact with soap)

2) If you are under 60 yrs old, covid-19 infection becoming fatal is extremely low, which in turn means, keep older population away from anyone carrying this virus, hence self-quarantine around elders is extremely important.

3) Wear mask only if infected.

4) The virus doesn't last long on dry surfaces, hot weather (bumped up the heat in house by a few degrees, yet comfortable enough).

5) I try to eat cooked foods (no salads, no cold foods). This should further reduce the chances of getting infected

6) Follow less frequent yet more reliable sources of news (this is the hardest to achieve for most people).

(correct me if I'm wrong, or add more to it if needed)

6 comments

2) needs a very key caveat. When you have access to medical care and are under 60 years old, mortality is very low. Even if you're old, access to medical care lowers mortality to less than the oft quoted 2% rate.

The issue is that mortality climbs rapidly for all age buckets if you don't have access to medical care. If and when the medical system buckles under load, things get dark very fast.

agreed.

All my points assume access to decent health/medical services

Does this contradict 4) above? I don't have the expertise to judge, but the plain sense of the words suggests it does.

Persistence of coronavirus on inanimate surfaces [0]

Most data were described with the endemic human coronavirus strain (HCoV-) 229E. On different types of materials it can remain infectious for from 2 hours up to 9 days.

[0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019567012...

> 4) The virus doesn't last long on dry surfaces, hot weather (bumped up the heat in house by a few degrees, yet comfortable enough).

What's your source for this? What temperature is required to see this effect? How sure are you that your house is hot enough?

I haven't heard about heat before, but generally for the flu high (50%) humidity is very helpful.
It's low humidit. You can read why on Wikipedia
Incorrect. High humidity is thought to somewhat reduce flu transmission [0]

[0] https://www.google.com/search?q=flu+humidity

Although a single sneeze releases up to 40,000 droplets,[96] most of these droplets are quite large and will quickly settle out of the air.[94] How long influenza survives in airborne droplets seems to be influenced by the levels of humidity and UV radiation, with low humidity and a lack of sunlight in winter aiding its survival;[94] ideal conditions can allow it to live for an hour in the atmosphere.[97]
1b) Don't touch your face
Virus can penetrate through eyes, nose and mouse; but not skin. Adding that bit of a detail is important. "Oh I didn't touch my face, but I licked my fingers".
UV-Light sterilizes alot of the virus if not in a huge droplet..
> correct me if I'm wrong

Your #3 is not borne out by evidence or studies. Respirators, surgical masks, and pediatric masks have all modeled and/or shown to provide a significant degree of protection.

A related questions to ask oneself:

- who most needs to be healthy, you or medical providers?

- assuming we agree medical providers are in greater need of remaining healthy, does buying a mask from Ace Hardware or Home Depot take it out of the hands of a medical provider?

- will masks being out of stock at Ace Hardware affect a supply chain decision that would have otherwise gone to the hospital? if so, who is doing that wrong and why not intervene there?

- what about the principle where airlines tell you to put on your oxygen mask before your child's, and the notion that some % of Americans will find themselves as medical care providers to a household?

Having enough masks for the second scenario is relevant if you have 'at risk' household members.

On #4, some research suggests 9 days at comfortable room temperatures, 30C for instance.