How to keep your family safe from coronavirus

Should we wear masks? Are children more at risk? Joe Shute asks the experts what we need to know about Covid-19

Coronavirus is upon us. More than 1,100 lives have been lost worldwide and, at the time of writing, nine cases of the virus officially known as Covid-19 have been confirmed in Britain. But while we wait to discover its true impact, there are things we can do – to protect ourselves, identify which of our family members may be most at risk, and soothe some of their worries. We asked the experts what to do about…

Infants and children

In playgrounds in Brighton – the centre of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak – instead of playing “it”, children have invented “coronavirus tag”, and there have been reports of worried parents pulling youngsters out of lessons. One school in Southampton sent pupils home this week after a student who had visited south-east Asia started to display symptoms. Schools with Chinese students are being told that they should encourage pupils to stay in the UK for half term.

But how worried should we be? According to Dr Nathalie Macdermott, a lecturer at King’s College London and specialist in outbreak diseases, there is not enough data available to show the susceptibility of children. But, she says, based on previous outbreaks, children under the age of five and particularly under the age of one are more likely to suffer a severe infection due to immature immune systems. While the virus seems to mainly affect middle-aged and older people, some children have contracted it – including a nine-year-old British boy.

Understandably, there have been reports of children growing anxious. Some Brighton schools have shown explainer videos and issued advice on washing hands. But others are leaving it to parents. Experts urge caution. “We need to modulate our language and provide advice and information to what children understand,” says Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University.

Young adults

There are fears about the spread of coronavirus on university campuses. On Tuesday, a University of Sussex student was admitted to hospital for tests after falling unwell following an overseas trip. There have also been unpleasant reports in Brighton of south-east Asian students having eggs thrown at them while wearing masks.

Dr Pankhania urges parents to warn young people about mistruths on social media. One such example is the idea that the virus can be spread through imported packaged food, when all the evidence points to it being transmitted through cough and sneeze droplets.

Another worry for parents could be the proximity in which many students find themselves, and which is usually responsible for the spread of the notorious “freshers’ flu”. Indeed, experts say, social butterflies – who flit from pubs to parties, air kissing – have the potential to become superspreaders. Public Health England has said that “close contact” can be defined by having spent at least 15 minutes within 2m of an infected person.

Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, has advised anyone who’s socialised with an infected person to self-quarantine: “If it was me and if I knew [infected people] and had mixed socially with them, I would certainly self-isolate.”

Travel advice

For parents preparing to wave teenage children goodbye over half term, or planning to take children away themselves, Mark Harris, a professor of virology at Leeds University, says as long as people are not travelling to the Far East, he would probably go ahead.

“The concern is if you get on a plane and the person next to you is infected, there’s a good chance you might get infected during the flight,” says Prof Harris. “But you have to balance it out.”

Your fellow travellers might not pose the greatest risk. A study by Emory University in Atlanta, two years ago, found that the person most likely to spread disease on a flight was actually a member of the cabin crew, with passengers sitting in the middle and aisle seats at most risk.

Wearing a standard mask will offer little protection. Typically, experts say, they are flimsy, ill-fitting and become so damp through breathing that they become useless. If someone is insistent on wearing a mask, the FFP3 variant is best, as it is equipped with finer filters and a valve to release humid air.

The best thing we can do to prevent infection is to wash our hands regularly with soap and water, and carry antibacterial gel and tissues. Touching your face after contact with an infected area is a particularly easy way of spreading the disease. Most of us unconsciously touch our faces with unwashed hands 15 times every hour.

When travelling, Prof Harris adds that it might also be a good idea to steer clear of busy waiting areas to minimise contact with international travellers.

Though “you can’t reduce the risk completely”, he adds.

Pregnant women

According to a Lancet paper published last week, two previous coronavirus outbreaks – Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) – were found to cause severe complications during pregnancy. The paper analysed 12 pregnant women infected with Sars during the 2002-03 pandemic and found that four had miscarried, while three died during pregnancy. Earlier this month, a baby was diagnosed with the latest strain of coronavirus just 36 hours after birth at Wuhan children’s hospital in Hubei province, stoking fears it could be passed on in the womb.

However, a small observational study published by the Lancet yesterday into nine pregnancies in Wuhan province – the source of the outbreak – found there is currently no evidence that it causes severe adverse outcomes in newborn babies or that it can pass to a foetus while in the womb. The study also found that symptoms in infected pregnant women were similar to those reported in non-pregnant adults, and no women in the study died.

Dr Macdermott says the true impact on pregnant women remains unclear. “Pregnant women can be more susceptible to infections as a whole, so it’s possible they might experience a more severe illness than women who are not pregnant. But we don’t have any clear data at the moment.”

Pets

There have been photographs circulating on Chinese social media of people dressing their cats and dogs in protective masks fashioned from plastic bags, paper cups and socks. According to the World Health Organisation, there is currently no evidence to show that coronavirus can be passed on to our pets.

Older relatives

As with most respiratory illnesses, it is likely to be the young and old who are most at risk. Of the first 425 confirmed deaths across mainland China, 80 per cent were over the age of 60, and 75 per cent had underlying conditions. Two thirds were male.

A clinical study of 138 hospitalised patients in Wuhan found a median age of 56, with 54.3 per cent male. A separate Lancet study of all confirmed cases in Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital from January 1 to 20 found a similar average age – with 67 men compared to 32 women.

British pensioners have come into uncomfortable proximity with the virus – not least those stranded aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, quarantined off Japan. Patcham Nursing Home in Brighton was closed this week after it was visited by a health worker subsequently diagnosed with coronavirus (though no residents have been taken ill). Other healthcare facilities in the area have been shut as a precaution.

Still, experts insist that it is safe for people to still visit local surgeries and hospitals. If anybody suspects they may have coronavirus, the official advice is to telephone 111.

“It’s best not to panic,” says Dr Gary Howsam, vice-chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners. “The general message is: people should go about their lives at normal.”

Students who flit from pubs to parties airkissing have the potential to become superspreaders

Chinese social media shows people dressing their cats and dogs in protective masks