What follows is from a senior A&E Consultant with whom I am very slightly acquainted. It is based on the latest information on various NHS websites, and is reproduced with permission.

IMPORTANT: A public service announcement about face masks and coronavirus

Dr Rowley Cottingham, senior A&E consultant, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Dated 16 February 2020, but still current on 23 February 2020

There is a lot of nonsense and misinformation doing the rounds about Coronavirus Covid-19. I have access to internal NHS briefings, and here is what is known to work at present:

Firstly, please don’t rely on the type of mask you see everyone wearing. They are entirely ineffective at stopping virus movements; you need one classified as FFP3 (Filtering Face Piece level 3) and to have undergone a ‘fit’ test to ensure it fits you. Even then the protection is relatively short-lived. Why do we surgeons wear simple masks while operating? Really just to stop bits of dribble, breakfast and similar falling in patients’ wounds.

The slightly better news is that unless someone pretty much sneezes ON you, you are unlikely to get a big enough viral load on your mucous membranes to start infection by breathing. Not impossible, but you need to play the odds. So if you think you may have CV that’s when you wear the simple mask – to reduce how much you shed.

Current internal NHS documents are saying that Covid-19 lasts about 48 hours on surfaces. Therefore, you are best off reducing the viral load on your hands as much as possible. Here are the rules, and I encourage you to adopt these from now for ever, as they are what will protect you from all sorts of infections, including things like norovirus, influenza, hepatitis A and many others:

• Always carry tissues and use them to catch coughs or sneezes. Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
• Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water, especially after using public transport.
• Try to avoid touching handles – turn the tap off with your elbow if it isn’t proximity triggered and if there is a towel hold the door handle with it to exit before discarding it.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Covid-19 is a new strain of Coronavirus and we are still learning about it. There is an incubation period of up to 14 days, which is why those self-isolating are asked to do so for that period. We don’t yet know precisely when someone who has the virus is and isn’t infectious, which is why people are asked to self-isolate to prevent the spread of infection.