GUWAHATI, March 23 - Newspapers cannot be termed as carriers of coronavirus and in fact under the present circumstances, the society needs newspapers to spread awareness among people. This was the view expressed by noted physician Dr Ilias Ali. He also said that the people should not panic but maintain strict hygiene.
Talking to The Assam Tribune, Dr Ali observed that these days, most of the newspaper houses have gone for extensive mechanization and physical handling of the newspapers has come down. That is why, the risk of spreading of coronavirus through the newspapers is minimal, he added. At the same time, he said that under the present circumstances, the society needs newspapers for spreading of awareness among the people. He pointed out that the newspapers have been doing wonderful job in spreading awareness among the people, while, the Government is also using the newspapers to spread knowledge among people.
Dr Ali said that everything that the people buy from the market can carry virus. The currency notes are the most vulnerable as those are touched by many people. That is why, people should wash their hands frequently and avoid touching of face, nose and eyes by hands.
He said that at present, there have been instances where bogus companies have been taking advantage of the situation to manufacture sanitizers and the quality of it is doubtful. That is why, people should try to use soap and water to wash hands and preferably use tap water.
�The surgeons always use soap and water to wash hands before any operation to kill germs in hands and they do not use sanitizers. This is because washing by soap is much more hygienic than use of sanitizers,� he added. He further said that some people have the habit of wearing threads on wrists, while, some have the habit of wearing a number of rings. By doing so, they compromise with the benefits of hand washing.
Dr Ali said that eating fish or meat would not increase the risk of coronavirus infection. He suggested that everyone should increase intake of Vitamin C and nutritious food to boost the immune system. Social gatherings should be avoided at all cost and people should stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary to venture out at this moment. If necessary, people can prepare three layer masks at home and the same should be washed after a few hours of use.
The physician further revealed that only around 20 per cent of the people affected by coronavirus need medical treatment and five per cent need ICU care, while, the mortality rate is 2.7 per cent. The people above the age of 60 years, cancer patients having chemotherapy , kidney transplant patients, persons going through steroid therapy etc should be more careful as their immune system is not very strong, he added.
