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The highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant of the UK coronavirus is starting to spread in the US, making the already difficult task of slowing the virus even more difficult. With recent studies confirming that the new variant of the virus is significantly more transmissible than the current dominant COVID strain in the United States, some experts are warning that it is safer to stop doing certain activities immediately to avoid the new COVID strain. Read on to see what you should avoid as the pandemic rages on, and for an update on where the UK variant is already located, check out The New COVID Strain Is Now In These 12 States.
Read the original article on Better life.
As COVID becomes more contagious, some of the basic activities that may have come back into our routines are now too dangerous to continue. “The best protection is always to avoid contact with other people inside, especially for a prolonged period”, Stephen goldstein, an evolutionary virologist from the University of Utah, told Vox.
But that doesn’t just mean avoiding social gatherings or eating out with friends – it also means limiting time with strangers while doing essential daily activities and chores to reduce your exposure time. “Spending five minutes at the grocery store is much better – six times better – than shopping for 30 minutes”, Tom peace, MD, former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), told Vox. “Shopping on the sidewalk is even better, and having them delivered is even better.” And to learn more about how you can stay safe, check out these 3 Things That Could Prevent Almost All Cases of COVID, Study Findings.
Unfortunately, the realization that a highly contagious strain is now spreading in the United States means that some activities deemed too risky in the early days of the pandemic are again likely to be too dangerous. As long as infection rates remain high, the risk of transmission can make almost any indoor run a risk of exposure.
“Maybe if I’m in New Zealand [where new virus cases have mostly hovered below 20 per day for months], I can go get my hair cut, ” Julie swann, PhD, a professor at North Carolina State University who has studied the effectiveness of COVID-19 masks, told Vox. “But I wouldn’t go in person to have my hair cut if there is a virus that is spread 50% more transmissible where I live,” she added, referring to the transmissibility of the British strain. . And for more on sensitive people, check out CDC says if you’re that age, you’re now more likely to catch COVID.
While recent discoveries about mutated versions of the virus may make certain behaviors riskier, there is actually not much that has changed in terms of what to avoid – namely, not to be out of date. indoors with others, especially without wearing a mask. Taking in activities outdoors, however, remains a relatively safer option, even given the contagious nature of the new variant.
“There seems to be a bit of noise about the need to be more wary of the transmission on the outside, but I don’t know where this is coming from,” Richard Lessells, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, told Vox. “Based on the evidence, we still believe that the risk of transmission outdoors is significantly lower than indoors, and there is no reason to believe that the new variants significantly change that equation. And for more regular news on COVID, sign up for our daily newsletter.
But it’s not just about avoiding being inside with others. Ashish jha, MD, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, says that one precaution that could be improved is the quality of the mask. “High quality masks are really important, “he said in an interview with NBC on Jan. 8.” We haven’t done much to make high quality masks – this is something we still have to to work.
The next time you replace your mask, do your research to make sure it will protect you as much as possible. And for masks to avoid, check out The CDC has issued a warning against these 4 face coverings.
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