people, personal, thoughts

Working from Home

Although I’ve been retired for 10 years, I worked from home for most of the last 10 years I was working. And I still work from home on most of my current community give-back activity.

There are now a lot of people around the world who are having to work from home for the first time, and maybe wondering where to start.

There are a lot of website out there which tell you how to work from home, but I have to admit I wouldn’t be finding their hints and tips always very useful – at least initially.

Working from home isn’t rocket science, but it does need a little bit of organising and discipline. Most of it is common sense, but not always obvious common sense. So I thought I’d put together a few of my thoughts in the hope that they may help some of you. Here goes …

Working from home is brilliant … Until the cat throws up on your laptop or your neighbour decides now is the time to rebuild his house (don’t laugh, the latter happened to me!). It won’t be long before you wonder why you ever bothered going in the office.

  1. Basically you need to treat your home workplace up as if it is your regular office.
  2. Have a set workplace. It doesn’t matter whether it is your study, the basement or the kitchen table, as long as it is always the same place. Resist working from your bed or sofa; or in front of the TV. I used to work at my desk in the study; this became my office when I took my laptop out in the morning; and it became mine again when my laptop was put away.
  3. It doesn’t matter whether you get dressed, spend the day in your nightshirt or even nothing, as long as you’re comfortable and aren’t having a videoconference with your group director. However some people feel more professional and work better if they’re wearing reasonable day clothes.

  4. If you’re spending the day in your pyjamas, don’t go out in them! If you need to pop to the corner shop, the post-box or to collect the kids, do please put on jeans and a t-shirt.
  5. Know when to “log on” and “log off”. Try to have a regular start and stop time. If possible use the same schedule as you would in the office; you’ll probably stretch it a bit at both ends but you should still get some extra time to yourself as you’ll not be commuting. I used to start about 8am and stop no later than 6pm. Do not be tempted to either lie-in or keep working into the evening; you can prevent the lie-in by having 9am team conference calls.
  6. On the other hand you do have the flexibility to work when you’re most productive, whether that’s 5am or midnight, although this must not be an excuse to work longer hours. You’ll still need to be available during office hours, so you still need that regular schedule.
  7. Remember, if you’re sick, then you’re sick and shouldn’t be working – just like you wouldn’t go in the office.
  8. Keep to your normal time management method; this will help you keep focus. If you’ve never been taught time management, find an online course and start now. Try to avoid taking a quick break to do the laundry/bath the cat/pop to the supermarket/whatever. It all too easily becomes an hour and a half.
  9. You might want to have a separate phone number for your work – possibly a second mobile. Likewise a separate laptop and email address.
  10. If you don’t have the technology you need (whether it’s a new laptop, or printer, or a piece of software) nag your boss until you get it. Without it you will not be optimally productive.
  11. Communicate, communicate, communicate. In fact, over-communicate. Ensure your boss and your colleagues know you’re there, and you’re being productive. All it needs is the odd phone call, an instant message or two a day, or emailing in that special report you wrote.
  12. Keeping in contact with other humans is allowed – preferably by phone or video, rather than just by email. If nothing else my wife and I talked briefly on the phone at some point most days. Instant messaging can also help a lot, especially if everyone you need to talk to is on the same platform. But voice is best.
  13. Don’t be frightened of phone/video meetings – they’re just like normal meetings, with maybe a bit more discipline, except you can’t spill coffee in Sharon’s lap.
  14. If you’re having a phone/video meeting, remember that you need to circulate any papers in advance by email.
  15. If you’re having a videoconference ensure you know how to share your screen so you can display your visuals and the whiteboard.
  16. Look out of the window. I found I did this quite a bit during 1-2-1 phone calls (and boring teleconferences) and I did quite a lot of garden birdwatching (no, feathered kind!) this way.
  17. In my opinion do not have music on, or the radio, or the TV. Despite what you might think you will concentrate better if it is quiet and there are no distractions. If you must, catch up on TV news at lunchtime.
  18. Do not be tempted to look at social media. I found that easy as I had a separate laptop and mobile phone.
  19. Do take proper breaks; refill your tea/coffee/juice; and go to the loo. Just ration the biscuits!
  20. Also ensure you stop for lunch, if only for 20 minutes. But do not waste time preparing and cooking a meal: either have a soup or sandwich type lunch, or prepare food the night before. This was something I found hard too do; with no-one to sit with at lunch it was too easy to grab some bread and cheese and eat it at my desk.
  21. If there are other people at home with you, set some ground rules, ensure they respect that you’re working, and they know what your routine is. If they’re children, make sure you work out in advance how to keep them amused and out of your hair. Do have joint lunch or breaks, but keep them to a normal length.

Those of you who are seasoned home workers will doubtless not agree with everything I’ve said, and have different things which help you. That’s good. The moral is that ultimately you have to find the way that works best for you – for me that was being totally focussed. YMMV.

medical, personal, ramblings

Horrible Times 1

2 Comments

Over the last weekend I started writing what I hope may become an occasional series of comment/diary entries emanating from the current mess known as Coronavirus. Here’s what I wrote on Sunday (lightly edited).

Sunday 15 March 2020 – Ides of March

This Coronavirus (Covid-19) is getting a grip of everyone. It looks like we’re in for a long haul, and a very messy one. Few of us trust the government’s strategy, which is at total odds with what the rest of the world are doing (except for the USA, and President Trump is an even bigger moron that Boris Johnson). The strategy may protect the over-70s for a bit, meanwhile it will rip through the rest of the population. Then the over-70s will succumb as soon as the restrictions come off, creating a second (and third etc.) wave before we’re near to having any treatment or vaccination options – don’t expect those within a year. Anyway it is now much too late; the genii is out of the bottle and in my estimation has been since probably mid-December (because the first case is now thought to have been in mid-November, but not recognised for what it was). So we needed to impose draconian social distancing measures very early, like back at New Year, if we really were to nip this in the bud.

I’ve already cancelled one of our doctor’s patient group events for this week, and my meeting the same morning with the Practice Manager. More will doubtless follow over the next few days. Others organising events I’m involved with as far ahead as mid-May are discussing cancelling them too.

Unfortunately I’m also minded to cancel my fortnightly massage sessions: not only because it’s a risk to me but also because my masseuse is newly pregnant and others working in the same practice are at significantly high risk. That makes me really sad as I enjoy the massage sessions and the chat, and it does help keep my back going. But we need to consider others in this as well as ourselves.

Amongst all this I’m really frightened and depressed. I’m almost 70 and with diabetes, obesity and sleep apnoea so I’m in a high risk category for serious complications if I do get Covid-19. And if I do I fear that it will kill me – either because my immune system is too compromised or because the hospitals won’t be able to cope and I’ll be a low priority for treatment.

I know the chances of me succumbing to this are relatively small, but that doesn’t make it any less frightening. So I feel my best hope is not to get this and be around long enough for either a good treatment or a vaccine.

But then I’m worried too that Noreen will fall ill. She’s not far behind me in age and she does have a long-term hereditary condition, although that doesn’t seem to affect either her immune system or lungs. Indeed her immune system, hitherto, has been so good it keeps many things under: she’s a Typhoid Mary. If Noreen does fall off her perch before me I know I shall be absolutely sunk: not because I can’t do what has to be done (although that may not be easy) but mentally; the depression will be completely overwhelming. Equally I know Noreen will struggle without me.

But what can we do? Both of us being risk averse as we are we’re inclined to behave as if we’re over 70, and self-isolate as much as we possibly can. Luckily we can (for now, at least) get grocery deliveries – not ideal but OK – and we have the reserves we built up against Brexit to help.

Even before all this I was beginning to feel my mortality and realising that I likely have only a few more years. The thought of not being here leaves me feeling deeply sad and almost terminally helpless. I’m starting to understand how, in his last years, my father just gave up the will to keep going.

It’s also interesting to start to really appreciate how frightening in must have been for people during the Black Death of 1348-9, the Plague of 1665, and the Spanish Flu of 1918-19; especially given that they really didn’t understand how any of this worked and what they could do to mitigate the diseases. In that sense at least we stand half a chance.

Please stay safe everyone!

amusements, memes

Ten Things: March

This year our Ten Things series, on the tenth of each month, is concentrating on things which are wackier than usual, if not by much. From odd road names to Christmas carols by way of saints and scientists. So here goes with March …

Ten Entries from Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary

  1. Chop. A piece of leather skilfully attached to a bone and administered to the patients at restaurants. (right)
  2. Dentist. A prestidigitator who, putting metal into your mouth, pulls gold from your pocket.
  3. Cannon. An instrument employed in the rectification of national boundaries.
  4. Noise. A stench in the ear. Undomesticated music. The chief product and authenticating sign of civilization.
  5. Cat. A soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.
  6. Envelope. The coffin of a document; the scabbard of a bill; the husk of a remittance; the bed-gown of a love-letter.
  7. Hand. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.
  8. History. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools.
  9. Opera. A play representing life in another world, whose inhabitants have no speech but song, no motions but gestures and no postures but attitudes.
  10. Adage. Boned wisdom for weak teeth.
beliefs, freedom of speech, medical, sexuality, thoughts

Sex is Binary

About three weeks ago there was an article in Wall Street Journal [paywall] under the headline:

The Dangerous Denial of Sex

The first half of the article crystallised what I’ve been thinking for a while: that although there are rare instances of intersex individuals, to insist that biological sex is a spectrum is erroneous. Supplanting biological sex with a subjective and fluid “gender identity” arrived at “by the whim of the owner” (my deliberately slightly irreverent words) is unrealistic and impractical. To quote just one paragraph of the article:

There is a difference … between the statements that there are only two sexes (true) and that everyone can be neatly categorized as either male or female (false). The existence of only two sexes does not mean sex is never ambiguous. But intersex individuals are extremely rare, and they are neither a third sex nor proof that sex is a “spectrum” or a “social construct”. Not everyone needs to be discretely assignable to one or the other sex in order for biological sex to be functionally binary.

From here on I dislike the tone of the article which to me sounds very right-wing, misogynistic and derogatory. Added to which I’m far from convinced the authors’ arguments follow logically.

That is not to deny (a) that some individuals’ biological sex is ambiguous, nor (b) that some individuals may self-identify to a different gender than their biological sex. While I will admit to not fully understanding this (cis-hetero male privilege and all that), it seems to me that the disconnect between an individual’s biological sex and their gender identity begins in some way as a psychological process. My gut feeling is that the medicalisation of this to sex reassignment is not sufficiently controlled or counselled (especially in adolescents), and is thus somewhat dangerous – as the quoted article goes on to imply.

This is also not to deny the psychological stresses that those affected go through in coming to terms with their situation, leading up to gender-reassignment, and that they encounter during transition – this latter is something I’ve witnessed in a work context and which was quite disconcerting even to a completely uninvolved bystander.

So basically I’d say: by all means gender identify however you please, but in the vast majority (not all) of cases biological (anatomical) sex is binary, not a social construct. Yes, gender reassignment surgery is possible, and some require it. However it is not something I’m personally comfortable with – just as I’m not comfortable with IVF etc.

As with so many other things, while I may not agree with you or be comfortable with your views, I would defend and support anyone’s right to gender identify however they wish. It’s your life, not mine.

Of course, YMMV.

people, personal

Father at 100

Today my late father would have been 100. Unfortunately he died in May 2006 at the age of 86. He was surprised to make 86.

He was about 67 when my parents moved from my childhood home in Waltham Cross to the outskirts of Norwich – somewhere my father unexpectedly found he didn’t like. I don’t recall my mother ever saying what she thought – she was one to just get on and make the best of what was there – but Noreen and I were delighted as we both love Norwich.

He didn’t expect that he and my mother would have more than a few years there. So they made their bungalow comfortable, but he admitted later that had he known they’d have almost 20 years left they would have done a number of things to adapt the bungalow more to their liking. This, plus the fact that he never adjusted to having a stoma following bowel cancer surgery in his late 70s, made his last few years exceptionally miserable.

In many ways Bob was a “miserable old git” who believed that life and everyone were out to get him and his money. If there was a negative take on anything, he’d be right there. Whether this was because he was depressive, or vice versa, or both, I’ve never worked out. His depression could have been partly genetic as his father was also depressive; and his fairly awful childhood through the depression preceding WW2 would only have exacerbated it all.

Probably because he’d never been allowed to achieve academically, despite being able, in retrospect he put a lot of covert pressure to succeed on me as a kid. This, together with the depression and general angst, left me with a very negative attitude and has doubtless contributed to my depression. Luckily I managed, in my 40s, to somehow (I still don’t know how) to a large extent overcome the negativity and let much of the annoyances and stupidities of life just wash over me.

Me (centre) with my parents in the early 1980s

Bob also viewed me as profligate, lacking in common sense and a failure – because his values and common sense didn’t match mine as I beat my own path through life: I didn’t get a proper academic job, refused to be a teacher and sold out to the commercial world.

Having said that he was clearly loved when he worked, for a few years in the early 70s, as a personnel manager, and went out of his way to support his staff – even in one case where one of his junior staff got pregnant out of wedlock and he gave her support against both her parents and his colleagues. In that sense he was quite progressive – indeed my parents were decidedly bohemian, as evidenced by the fact that they lived together for two years following the war while my mother’s divorce was settled. And that I was encouraged to call them, and anyone else, by their first names.

I also have to appreciate that I was encouraged (by both parents) to read, to think, to know about history, and to understand natural history and the environment. There were books in almost every room when I was growing up, and none were off-limits. I recall he bought Lady Chatterley’s Lover as soon as it became available; I read it in my very early teens and found it terminally boring. There was also a copy of Havelock Ellis on the living room shelves, which I devoured at 16/17 when I had my first serious girlfriend.

I’ve never quite forgiven Bob for the effect of his overriding negativity on me, and the constraints (I felt were) placed on me as a kid; although I recognise that he was doing the best he knew how, and I am extremely grateful for the very open, liberal and bohemian upbringing. All of this clearly shaped me, and once I managed to throw off the worst of the negativity, has made me the slightly maverick thinker I like to believe I am today.

Happy birthday Bob, wherever you are!

amusements, memes

March

We’re beginning every month this year with a haiku (or a longer poem made of haiku) relevant to the month.

Spring & Joy

Smiling seeds sprout fast
Giggling ground welcomes their roots
Spring, burst out laughing!

[Demetrios Trifiatis]

All the poems can be found online at http://www.haikupoemsandpoets.com.

arts, environment, history, links, medical, science

Monthly Links

Once more (where is this year going; it’s already the end of February?) we bring you our monthly bumper bundle of links to items you will wish you hadn’t already missed. I’m ignoring Coronavirus per se for the simple reason that everything is moving too fast. Here goes …

Science, Technology, Natural World

One of our favourite physicists introduces the top 10 most important effects in physics.

Here’s an interesting idea about measurement: forget feet and meters there’s as more fundamental measurement for earthlings.

Anyone who is active in science, especially chemistry, will love The Pocket Chemist.

Male-male competition, and sometimes female preferences, have helped fashion the flashiest adornments. [LONG READ]

Health, Medicine

Do drugs deteriorate? Why are their use-by dates important?

Facemasks. Do they actually do any good against flu, coronavirus or pollution?

What can the medical profession do to help your back pain? It seems there’s not a lot in their toolkit which is of much help.

Retinal migraines are rare, but what are they like?

We all have left-right asymmetry (internally), but how do bodies map this out? [LONG READ]

And another biological conundrum … how do body parts grow to the right size? [LONG READ]

Apparently girls are beginning puberty a year earlier than they were 50 years ago.

Sexuality

Katherine Rowland talked to 120 women about their sex lives and desires.

As if we need an excuse, here are five ways to have more sex with your partner.

Here’s a review of Kate Lister’s new book A Curious History of Sex. I found it interesting and amusing. [Disclosure: I helped crowdfund it.]

An interesting look at parenting in a polyamorous relationship. There’s no evidence it’s any worse for children than any other style of relationship.

Meet some of Britain’s sex-positive influencers. [LONG READ]

Environment

Estate owners across UK are queueing up to reintroduce beavers.

Art, Literature, Language

Anglo-Saxon charters and place-names are an often-overlooked source of folklore and popular belief.

A portrait, long thought to be of Louis XIV’s son, turns out to be a late-17th century Lord Mayor of London.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

The records of the High Court of Chivalry (which still exists) reveal quite a lot about the life of 14th cetury soldiers.

The British Library has digitised a 15th century children’s guide to manners: Pyke notte thy nostrellys.

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of the mysterious 14th century Bek’s Chapel, lost at the time of the Civil War.

Four secret societies whch operated in the London’s shadows.

A brief hiostory of the (somewhat disreputable) East India Company.

The vast collection of King George III’s military maps are now available online.

London

A secret passageway has been discovered in the Place of Westminster.

The V&A Museum of Childhood at Bethnal Green is to close in May for two years for a £13m revamp.

Lifestyle, Personal Development

Want to rewire your brain for clearer, calmer thinking? The case for Transcendental Meditation.

And finally … Women share their stories of celebrating their body hair.

We’ll have more next month!

current affairs, medical, science, thoughts

Coronavirus: Attitudes to Panic

This post has originated in all the fuss surrounding the Coronavirus situation. In it I’m not interested in the science of how the Coronavirus works, or how it is being treated. I’m more interested in our reactions and the way we (individually and collectively) are approaching the problem.

The post is constructed around quotes from four comment articles [1-4] (referenced below) which have appeared in the last few days.

What’s interesting to me, from a rational standpoint, is the psychology and attitudes behind what is happening.

In the new coronavirus, we see a world that is more connected than ever by international travel, but that has also succumbed to growing isolationism and xenophobia. We see a time when scientific research and the demand for news, the spread of misinformation and the spread of a virus, all happen at a relentless, blistering pace. [4]

For example: The number of people travelling by plane every year has more than doubled since SARS first emerged, in 2003 [4] and we now have 24 hour rolling news both online and on TV.

On top of that

People are often optimistic about risks [called] “optimism bias”; people may think they can control their own exposure to diseases, that they don’t need a vaccine because they aren’t susceptible to flu, or that they won’t transmit their cold to others. [1]

It’s entirely normal that there are still many uncertainties [4]. We don’t yet know enough to be completely certain about the risks of COVID-19 … no one really knows how bad COVID-19 is, and how much damage it could eventually lead to [3].

For instance: How transmissible is the virus? Once infected, how much time passes before people show symptoms, and how likely are they to die? Which people are most at risk? [4].

It appears that on average, infected people spread the virus to two or three others [4]. This the Basic Reproduction Number (what epidemiologists call R0). It is about the same as that for flu, but way lower than for measles which has an R0 of 12-18 [5].

Current data suggests that COVID-19 kills around 2% (the Case Fatality Rate) of those infected [3] (although expect this number to change). However flu with a Case Fatality Rate of 0.1% kills more people [3] (presumably because although it is more widespread, we have a vaccine).

Even the normally cautious epidemiologists don’t know the answers. Harvard epidemiology professor Marc Lipsitch [says] “I think the likely outcome is that it will ultimately not be containable” [2].

In fact

Lipsitch predicts that within the coming year, some 40 to 70 percent of people around the world will be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. But … this does not mean that all will have severe illnesses. “It’s likely that many will have mild disease, or may be asymptomatic”. [2]

That doesn’t sound good, so no wonder the uncertainties that academics are used to dealing with, about fatality rates or transmissibility, are stoking fear [4] because when we’re uncertain about something, we often rely upon our feelings and prior experiences in place of information. Surgical face masks offer the sense, however illusory, of protection [1].

Indeed

According to experts, the value of surgical masks depends entirely on the context in which they’re used: a surgical mask won’t work unless it’s worn consistently and properly. If worn incorrectly, their utility quickly plummets … Though face masks may provide the feeling of security, masks are most valuable in situations where they are necessary – such as among front-line health workers … We touch our faces, noses and eyes many times a day, making it difficult to completely avoid contact with infection. [1]

[If you want more on face-mask efficacy, see my post “Coronavirus and Face Masks” of a few days ago.]

While

researchers can share data and refine ideas faster than ever … they’re doing so in full view of a concerned citizenry … [and] … preliminary data that might once have run the gantlet of peer review before being published can now be downloaded by anyone, sparking misinterpretations and conspiracy theories. [4]

A climate of uncertainty can cause misinformation to flourish [1] and create fertile ground for mixed messages and inconsistency, which in itself can breed mistrust and fear [3]. And as we all know false reports readily cascade through channels that amplify extreme messages over accurate ones … Hoaxes and half-truths are huge problems during epidemics [4].

But of course we’re often required to make decisions based on having incomplete information [3]. I would actually go further: we never have all the information we need to make the decision; all we can do is to make the best decision we can at the time with the (limited) information we have.

This is why clear messaging from trusted sources, and guidance on what to do and how to do it, is essential during a pandemic [1]. Especially communicate often, communicate what is and isn’t known clearly, and provide simple action items for individuals to take … like hand-washing [and] acknowledge that [all of this] may change quickly [3].

However with public health that’s not easy. The risks of sending the “wrong” message can have devastating consequences – unnecessary anxiety on the one hand … and thousands of unnecessary deaths on the other [3]. And confused citizens might forgo sensible measures such as hand washing in favour of inefficient ones like panicked mask buying [4].

What’s perhaps worse is that border screenings and travel bans have historically proved ineffective and inefficient at controlling diseases. If anything, they can make matters worse. People will find a way to get where they want to go [4]. For example, although the Iran/Afghanistan border has been closed, some 3000 people cross that border illegally every day [6].

What’s more

bans can also break the fragile bonds of international trust … If countries know that they’ll be cut off during an epidemic … they may be less likely to report future outbreaks, leading to costly delays. [4]
Waiting too long to sound the alarm can be disastrous. [3]

As with many things this leaves us with a spectrum of possible reaction and attitude.

On the rational end, we must ask ourselves about … the effectiveness of [any] solution … [and how individuals can use that] solution effectively. On the emotional end, we ask ourselves about … how severe might it be if we … were infected [and] how likely we might contract it. [3]

A lot of the expert discussion (or at least discussion quoting experts) in the media has been at the rational end about the effectiveness of various actions, while I suspect a majority of individuals are inclined to work more towards the emotional end of the spectrum – often because they’re not presented with clear, concise, factual information; whether deliberately by the less reputable press and politicians, by omission, or because it is just packaged in a way they can’t understand.

At the end of the day we probably have to move individuals quite a long way (probably further than is possible) towards the rational side, while at the same time ensuring that the experts are doing as much as possible to make the right solutions effective and have some understanding to allow them to meet the individuals part way. That’s probably a circle that can never be made fully square. Nevertheless the experts have to work their socks off to square the circle as best they can, and take the people with them in supporting their solutions. And that ain’t ever going to be easy.

[1] “When it comes to coronavirus, we shouldn’t let our feelings trump the facts”; 26 February 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-feelings-facts-face-masks-covid-19

[2] “You’re Likely to Get the Coronavirus”; 24 February 2020; https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/02/covid-vaccine/607000/

[3] “Uncertainty in a Time of Coronavirus”; 26 February 2020; https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/uncertainty-in-a-time-of-coronavirus/

[4] “The New Coronavirus Is a Truly Modern Epidemic” 3 February 2020; https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/02/coronavirus-very-2020-epidemic/605941/

[5] “Basic reproduction number”; 27 February 2020; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_reproduction_number

[6] “Coronavirus in a war zone: Afghanistan braces for outbreak after first case”; 26 February 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/26/coronavirus-in-a-war-zone-afghanistan-braces-for-outbreak-after-first-case

medical

Coronavirus and Face Masks

1 Comment

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.