CNBC's Beijing Bureau Chief Eunice Yoon gives tips on how she's managed to stay healthy reporting through the coronavirus epidemic in the middle of the outbreak in China.
Eunice Yoon is CNBC's Beijing Bureau Chief. She's been covering the coronavirus epidemic in China since the beginning of the outbreak.That said, I've picked up a few things while covering the coronavirus epidemic in China that might help as people in the U.S. and Europe begin to cope with outbreaks now spreading in their home countries.
Keep your distance: Stay at least 1 meter, or 3 feet, from other people. Two meters if you can swing it.You've probably heard the personal hygiene advice a lot by now, but this will likely be your best protection — it certainly has been mine. In China, the health authorities maintain the main way COVID-19 spreads is through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing.
People here are used to government orders in a way that many in Western societies are not. In addition, in the early days, little was known about the virus.If I were living outside of China, I would wear a mask depending on my lifestyle. If you drive your own car and shop at stores that don't get too crowded — and you're not sick — you don't really need a mask. However, if you're crammed on a train in Manhattan, you might want to consider wearing one.
In China, the death rate has been highest for people in their 70s or 80s or people with compromised immune systems — between 8% to 14.8% — based on data from Feb. 11. For example, for those with heart disease, the fatality rate has been 10.5%. For most others, however, the death rate has been under 0.5%.
As for how long you can keep a mask for, the rule of thumb I hear from the factories is medical masks should be tossed after one day. N95 masks, which filter out 95% of airborne particles, can be used for three days. If any mask gets moisture in it, trash it. It happens to be cold outside in Beijing so I'm always wearing gloves.
One other thing is to take care of your mental state and keep it in check. Try not to give in to hoarding. I understand it — because I felt the need to hoard in the early days, too, buying an extra laundry detergent and hand wash when I really didn't have to.
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