How does the coronavirus spread?
‧ The COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is a new illness and scientists are still assessing how it spreads from person to person, but similar viruses tend to spread via cough and sneeze droplets.
‧ When an infected person coughs or sneezes, they release droplets of saliva or mucus. These droplets can fall on people in the vicinity and can be either directly inhaled or picked up on the hands then transferred when someone touches their face, causing infection. For flu, some hospital guidelines define exposure as being within 2 meters of an infected person who sneezes or coughs for 10 minutes or longer.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control
照片：衛生福利部疾病管制署提供
‧ Viruses can also be spread through droplets landing on surfaces such as seats on buses or trains or desks in school. However, whether this is a main transmission route depends on how long viruses survive on surfaces – this can vary from hours to months.
‧ There is anecdotal evidence that the virus can be spread by people before they have symptoms. Some other illnesses such as flu can be passed from one person to another before symptoms occur — but the extent to which this is happening with COVID-19 is not well understood yet.
How to protect yourself and others
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control
照片：衛生福利部疾病管制署提供
‧ Wash your hands: wet your hands with clean, running water and apply soap. Lather your hands, including the backs, between your fingers, and under your nails and scrub for at least 20 seconds. Rinse.
‧ Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the bin and wash your hands. If you do not have a tissue to hand, cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hands.
‧ Face masks offer some protection as they block liquid droplets. However, they do not block smaller aerosol particles that can pass through the material of the mask. The masks also leave the eyes exposed and there is evidence that some viruses can infect a person through the eyes.
Photo courtesy of CTS Evening News
照片：華視提供
‧ Seek early medical help if you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share your travel history with healthcare providers.
‧ If visiting live markets in affected areas avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces that have been in contact with animals.
‧ If you are in an affected area avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
‧ If you have returned from an affected area in the last two weeks, stay indoors and avoid contact with other people for 14 days. This means not going to work, school or public areas.
‧ If you have returned from an infected area and develop a high temperature, cough, runny nose, sore throat or difficulty breathing do not leave your home until you have been given advice by a doctor.
(The Guardian)
冠狀病毒是如何傳播的？
‧ 爆發疫情的COVID-19冠狀病毒是一種新疾病，科學家仍在評估它是如何在人與人之間傳播的，類似的病毒常是透過咳嗽和打噴嚏的飛沫傳播。
‧ 感染者咳嗽或打噴嚏時，會噴出唾液或黏液的飛沫。這些飛沫可能會落在附近的人身上，被直接吸入或沾到手上，然後在觸摸臉時帶到臉上而導致感染。就流感而言，一些醫院指南將「暴露」定義為：與連續打噴嚏或咳嗽十分鐘或更久的感染者，距離兩公尺以內。
‧ 病毒也可以透過掉落在物體表面的飛沫傳播，例如落在公共汽車、火車或學校課桌椅上的飛沫。但是，這是否成為病毒之主要傳播途徑，取決於該病毒在物體表面可存活時間之長短──從數小時至數月不等。
‧ 有傳聞證據顯示，該病毒可能有無症狀傳播的情況。有些疾病（例如流感），可以讓被感染的人在出現症狀前就傳染給別人──但COVID-19冠狀病毒無症狀傳染的程度仍然不明。
如何保護自己與他人
‧ 洗手：用乾淨的自來水洗手，並使用肥皂。將雙手（包括手背）、指縫以及指甲內搓揉起泡沫，搓洗至少二十秒鐘。然後沖水。
‧ 咳嗽或打噴嚏時，用衛生紙遮住口鼻，然後將衛生紙丟進垃圾桶並洗手。如果你沒有衛生紙，咳嗽或打噴嚏時請用手肘彎掩住，而不要用手。
‧ 口罩可以阻擋飛沫，因此可提供一定的保護。但口罩無法阻隔更小的、可穿過口罩材料的氣溶膠分子。口罩也無法保護到眼睛──有證據顯示某些病毒可透過眼睛感染人。
‧ 若有發燒、咳嗽和呼吸困難之情況，請盡快就醫，並將您的旅遊史告知醫療服務提供者。
‧ 若到疫區的活體市場，請避免直接、無防護地接觸活體動物，也要避免接觸放置動物的表面。
‧ 若您身處疫區，請避免食用生的或未煮熟的動物製品，處理生肉、牛奶或動物內臟時要小心，以免與未煮熟的食物交叉污染。
‧ 若您在最近兩週內自疫區返國，請待在屋裡十四天，並避免與他人接觸。也就是說，不要去上班、上學或去公共場所。
‧ 若您從疫區回來後，出現發燒、咳嗽、流鼻涕、喉嚨痛或呼吸困難之情況，請待在家別出門，除非徵得醫師同意。
(台北時報林俐凱編譯)
FOLLOW UP
讀後練習
Questions
1. Describe how viruses spread via coughs and sneezes.
2. Washing hands frequently is acknowledged to be the best way to protect against viruses. Describe the correct way to wash your hands.
3. If you cough or sneeze, what should you do to prevent the spread of droplets?
4. If you have returned from an affected area, or developed the symptoms of COVID-19, what should you do to prevent the potential spread of the virus? ?
(Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
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