I just heard in the news that the mobile phones are the proxy carriers of diseases today. it’s partly cold and cloudy Sunday morning in Chicago right now and I am writing this blog by updating the latest statistics of Coronavirus, one of the world’s deadliest epidemics in modern history. Now, I must cover the detailed info about how to disinfect phone in this article and keep this habit in routine practice later on.
Well, before going on the phone cleaning tutorial, let’s have a look into the latest news on coronavirus. The global figures are here as under:
Total Cases till 07th March 2020: 107,518 with 3,658 reported deaths globally (Top 10 country affected by Corona Virus as of 07th March 2020)
| Country | Total Cases | Total Deaths | Total Recovered | Total Cases/1m Pop |
| China | 80,701 | 3098 | 57332 | 56.1 |
| S. Korea | 7,313 | 50 | 130 | 142.6 |
| Iran | 6,566 | 194 | 2,134 | 78.2 |
| Italy | 5,883 | 233 | 589 | 97.3 |
| France | 949 | 16 | 12 | 14.5 |
| Germany | 939 | – | 18 | 11.2 |
| Diamond Princess (Cruise Ship) | 696 | 7 | 245 | – |
| Spain | 597 | 17 | 30 | 12.8 |
| Japan | 461 | 6 | 76 | 3.6 |
| USA | 447 | 19 | 15 | 1.4 |
Global Govt health administrators are at their optimum alert level with necessary precautionary steps but the coronavirus (Covid-19) acts like a bushfire and many new countries are registering their cases on each morning. In the recent past, Iran, Italy, S.Korea, and Japan are the top victims outside mainland China.
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Actually, I was shockingly surprised at Japan and S.Korea figures and the way the virus spread in these two developed nations and among the world’s top ten economies with a strong nationwide health infrastructure. It means the corona-virus is deadlier than we think it for. Let’s see first, what’s the corona virus and how it spreading globally.
What is Corona Virus?
According to the WHO, coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that range from the common cold to much more serious and critical diseases. These diseases can infect both humans and animals.
The strain that began spreading in Wuhan, Coronavirus epicenter and the capital of China’s Hubei province, is related to two other coronaviruses that have caused major outbreaks in recent years: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). Symptoms of a coronavirus infection range in severity from respiratory problems to cases of pneumonia, kidney failure and a buildup of fluid in the lungs.
How Does It Spread?
Covid-19 spreads more easily than SARS and is similar to other coronaviruses that cause cold-like symptoms, experts have said. It appears to be highly transmissible, and since cases are mild, the disease may be more widespread than current testing numbers suggest.
There have been reports of people transmitting the virus before they show symptoms, but most experts think this is probably not a major driver of new infections. What is concerning, however, is that symptoms can be mild, and the disease can clearly spread before people realize they’re sick. SARS spread when people had a full-blown illness, which is one reason it was possible to contain it — it was easier to tell who had the virus.
As per WSJ Report, The Federal Reserve has begun holding dollars it receives from Asia before recirculating them amid concerns over the spreading coronavirus outbreak, a spokeswoman confirmed Friday. So, you may imagine what risks are there on each corner of this word and how Govt’s are taking the preventive measure to battle with this new generation of ‘old virus’.
How Deadly Is The New Coronavirus?
Public health officials say the novel coronavirus is less deadly than SARS, which killed about 10 percent of people who were infected during the outbreak that began in 2002. But epidemiologists are still trying to determine exactly how deadly Covid-19 is.
About 2 percent of reported cases have been fatal, but many experts say the death rate could be lower. That’s because early in an outbreak, mild illnesses may not be reported. If only people with severe illness — who are more likely to die — seek care, the virus will appear much more deadly than it really is because of all the uncounted people with milder symptoms.
Early Symptoms Of Coronavirus
As per WHO guidelines, Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure, and even death.
How To Detect, Prevent & Control The Corona Virus
More than 25,000 people across the globe have accessed real-time knowledge from WHO experts on how to detect, prevent, respond to and control the new coronavirus in the 10 days since the launch of open online training. Watch the video here as under for more visual understanding to fight coronavirus.
Corona Virus Precautions:
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
Well, scientists found that the new world is at more risk to spread coronavirus faster than historical outbreaks because at that time we were not ‘modern like what we are now’.
But, there’s no more reason to panic and we all just need to follow some rules and to exercise precautionary steps by keeping up some basic hygiene standardize practices to defeat the potential of the virus. Many of us just get satisfied by wearing masks, gloves, and washing hands with sanitizers.
Most people who become infected experience mild illness and recover, but it can be more severe for others. Take care of your health and protect others by doing the following:
Wash your hands frequently
Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Washing your hands with soap and water or using alcohol-based hand rub kills viruses that may be on your hands.
Maintain social distancing
Maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. The reason is when someone coughs or sneezes they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain the virus. If you are too close, you can breathe in the droplets, including the COVID-19 virus if the person coughing has the disease.
Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth
Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.
Practice respiratory hygiene
Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately. Because droplets are the highest potential to spread the virus in most cases. By following good respiratory hygiene you protect the people around you from viruses such as cold, flu and COVID-19.
If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early
Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance. Follow the directions of your local health authority.
National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on the situation in your area. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also protect you and help prevent the spread of viruses and other infections.
Stay informed and follow the advice given by your healthcare provider
Stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19. Follow the advice given by your healthcare provider, your national and local public health authority or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
National and local authorities will have the most up to date information on whether COVID-19 is spreading in your area. They are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.
Persons who are in or have recently visited (past 14 days) areas where COVID-19 is spreading
- Follow the guidance outlined above.
- Stay at home if you begin to feel unwell, even with mild symptoms such as headache and a slight runny nose, until you recover. Why? Avoiding contact with others and visits to medical facilities will allow these facilities to operate more effectively and help protect you and others from possible COVID-19 and other viruses.
- If you develop fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical advice promptly as this may be due to a respiratory infection or other serious condition. Call in advance and tell your provider of any recent travel or contact with travelers. Why? Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility. This will also help to prevent the possible spread of COVID-19 and other viruses.
Mobile Phones: Virus and Bacteria Carriers
There are 3.5 billion smartphone users in the world today (2020) and as per global health studies and various reports suggests that the mobile phone carries bacteria, viruses along with its screen surface that gets attached to it during kitchen, hospital or toilet visits. Phones can transmit common illnesses like flu, diarrhea and eye infections. And now it’s more important and necessary to disinfect our personal gadgets like phones, laptops, and smartwatches too.
Even not only coronavirus preventive measures, Global health research reports from time to time have cautioned that mobile phones are a hotbed for bacteria and viruses and can be prime disease carriers. If your phone or laptop is contaminated by chance, no amount of hand washing will be fruitful.
So unless you’re regularly cleaning your lil’ portable germ box, you’re not really doing that good a job of protecting yourself from getting sick. In fact, we should all be making a habit out of cleaning that damn thing, with or without the new coronavirus outbreak as motivation.
How To Disinfect Phone?
Cleaning the phone or gadgets
1. Make sure you know exactly how water-resistant your phone is during the disinfection process. That way you can be mindful of how much water you’re using. It’s better to err on the side of caution and just use a damp towel, though.
That means two things: It’s okay to clean your phone with a damp cloth and you should stick with mild cleaning solutions to avoid damaging the glass coating. So, unless you have a fancy UV light to sanitize your phone, here’s how you can get it done the old-fashioned way.
Here’s a list of phones, from the least to most water-resistant:
- Safe with spraying water (IP53 rating): Pixel
- Safe with 1-meter immersion for up to 30 minutes (IP67 rating): iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8, 8 Plus, X, XR; Pixel 2
- Safe with 1.5-meter immersion for up to 30 minutes (IP68 rating): iPhone XS, XS Max, 11, 11 Pro, 11 Pro Max; Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S8, S8+, S9, S9+, S10, S10+, S10e, Note 8, Note 9, Note 10, Note 10+, Fold; Pixel 3, 4
2. Unplug any cables and turn your phone off. Remove any accessories. Be careful to not damage your phone — or worse, hurt yourself.
3. Mix hand soap with water. Use your best judgment to determine the soap-to-water ratio.
4. Dip one of the lint-free cloths into the soap solution. You want a damp cloth, so make sure you wring it to remove any excess water.
5. Wipe your phone with the damp cloth. Make sure you get the front, back, and sides. Never dunk your phone into the solution, even if your phone is water-resistant.
6. Use a dry lint-free cloth to wipe your phone down. Again, avoid using paper towels if you can.
7. Optional: Remove your SIM-card holder. Might as well get that cleaned, too.
8. Dip a Q-tip into the soap solution. Squeeze it dry with your fingertips.
9. Use the Q-tip to gently clean the tray. Use a toothpick to get to the nooks and crannies, if you need it.
10. Wipe the tray down with a dry cloth. Then stick it back into your phone — and voila, you’re done!
More: You may like to know how to find your iPhone
Here are 10 things you must do to prevent your smartphone, laptop from spreading infection.
1. Use earphones for making phone calls. This reduces the chance of virus transferring from the phone to your face
2. Don’t keep your mobile phone and handkerchief in the same trouser pocket.
3. Avoid using public computers in internet cafes or offices. Use sterile gloves if you really need to use them.
4. If your smartphone is IP68 water-resistant then use soap and water to clean or use hand sanitizer. But, Don’t forget to switch off your phone first. Note that the use of hand sanitizers or any cleaning product with alcohol is generally not recommended for cleaning gadgets. But desperate times call for desperate measures and you need a solution with at least 60% alcohol to kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
5. To clean laptops, apply an ample quantity of hand sanitizer and use a tissue to clean every corner. Don’t forget to switch off your laptop first. Note that as mentioned above too, the use of hand sanitizers or any cleaning product with alcohol is generally not recommended for cleaning gadgets. However, exceptions can be made in exceptional situations.
6. Don’t forget to clean your earphones as well. You can use any hand sanitizer for the same.
7. Don’t use any cleaning liquid on gadgets as it might cause discoloration
8. Always wash your hands with soap and water after cleaning your phone or laptop
9. Make it a habit to clean your personal gadgets regularly at least once a day
10. Try not touching someone’s phone or laptop and avoid giving your gadgets to other people
So, we all are at risk of being coronavirus victim and then carrier, so follow the basic rules. Always Be Careful…stay safe and acknowledge others about it.
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