The most reliable way to stop the fast-spreading illness is frequent and thorough hand-washing
IN 1439 King Henry VI of England banned kissing as a greeting to stop the spread of the Black Plague. Today, as covid-19 spreads around the world, authorities are encouraging similar measures to fight infection. In China, to avoid hand-shaking, people are being told to greet one another with agesture, where a palm is folded over the opposite fist. In the Gulf, citizens are saying hello with a wave rather than the traditional “nose to nose” greeting.
Many therefore seek to avoid any contact at all. Mike Pence, the American vice-president, has taken to greeting people with the “elbow-bump”, which was adopted in some places during past epidemics, eg, of avian flu and Ebola. The “Wuhan shuffle” involves bumping feet. And in Iran, which has the worst outbreak of covid-19 outside China, some have taken to bumping hips.
Substituting handshakes for fist, elbow and foot bumps may help slow the spread of covid-19. But epidemiologists say the most reliable way to stop the fast-spreading illness, which by March 6th infected more than 100,000 people and killed 3,400, is frequent and thorough hand-washing . Like the common cold, covid-19 is thought to spread via droplets of moisture ejected when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or just speaks.
For many, especially in poor countries, following this advice is easier said than done. According to the, only a quarter of people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to basic handwashing facilities including soap and water. In Ethiopia, the figure is just 8%; in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 4%. Still, changing habits can help. The disease has already reached the region.
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