What is a Coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause disease in animals. Seven, including the new virus (labelled Covid-19) have made the jump to humans. Covid-19 is closely related to severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) which swept around the world in 2002 to 2003. That virus infected around 8,000 people and killed about 800 but it soon ran itself out, largely because most of those infected were seriously ill so it was easier to control. Covid-19 is different in that the spectrum of disease is broad with around 80 per cent of cases leading to a mild infection. There may also be many people carrying the disease and displaying no symptoms, making it more difficult to control.
How is coronavirus spread?
Like cold and flu bugs - the virus is spread via droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. The droplets land on surfaces and are picked up on the hands of others and spread around further. People catch the virus when they touch their infected hands to their mouth, nose or eyes.
It follows that the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself is keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and water or a using hand sanitising gel. Being aware of this - and washing your hands more regularly can make a difference to reduce the risk of infection.
- The virus spreads in a similar way to flu or the common cold, in large droplets produced by coughs and sneezes. Germs can live on surfaces for several hours.
- Public Health England defines having close contact with a virus carrier as being within two metres of the person for 15 minutes.
- For people who might have coronavirus, health officials are urging a “catch it, bin it, kill it” approach. In short, this means means catching sneezes and coughs in tissues, throwing them away, and then washing your hands.
- Regular hand washing is considered the most important precaution to reduce the chances of contamination from the virus lingering on surfaces.
What is Social Distancing?
Social distancing is one of the pieces of advice being suggested to help limit the spread of coronavirus - but what does the phrase actually mean? Quite simply, it means making sure there's enough space between people who are well and those who might not be well... which can often be an unknown with Covid-19. The aim of such advice is to help stop germs spreading, including viruses such as Coronavirus Covid 19.
The World Health Organization says keeping at least one metre apart from someone who might be coughing or sneezing will help stop the coronavirus spreading - though health experts in the UK say people should stay at least two metres apart as pople may still be at risk even when they are more than two metres away from an infected person .
The coronavirus is spread by tiny droplets sprayed from the nose and mouth when someone who has it coughs or sneezes - if these drops are inhaled or they enter someone's eyes, the virus can be passed on. Keeping a metre - or two - away makes it less likely that the drops will spread from person to person.
Can Coronavirus Covid-19 Signage make a difference?
The UK Government’s objective is to delay and flatten the peak of the epidemic by reducing unnecessary social interaction - to reduce the risk of spread of the virus and help mitigate the risk to public health.
As part of these measures - SOCIAL DISTANCING and WASH YOUR HANDS guidance is the advice given by the World Health Organisation. To support such guidence we provide a wide range of Corona Virus Safety Signage to help inform and protect. Employees will have a Duty of Care to protect their employeees and as such our specific Coronavirus Safety Signs provide a simple cost effective support to you as an employer.
- We provide a range of Catch It, Bin It, Kill It signs
- We provide directional arrow signage, useful for directing people to specific areas such as isolation pods, treatment areas or thoroughfares.
- We provide a range of Wash Your Hands and Use Hand Sanitiser signage for reminding people of good hygiene practice
- We have a range of informative posters to help encourange best practice for people to take
- We have a great range of Keep Two Meters Apart Signs and stickers to re-inforce the Social Distancing measures that have been introduced
- Our range of Keep 2m Apart stickers are useful for Safety Helmets or to easily fix onto temporary surfaces during this pandemic.
- We offer a great range of larger Construction related Keep 2 meters apart signs which are ideal for building sites or public places.
- Our Hazzard and Floor marking tapes can help to corden off specific areas where people should not walk.