This 'Song' Trick Will Destroy Coronavirus Better Than Hand Sanitizer
With the novel coronavirus finally spreading in the United States, it’s now up to every American to ensure the virus is stopped dead in its tracks.
The media hypes youths’ resilience to the virus as proof that COVID-19 is less deadly than the flu, but this simply isn’t the case.
While the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is only slightly deadly for young people, for elderly patients 80 or older the virus has a sobering 14.8 percent fatality rate in China, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
For those 70 to 79, the fatality rate remains high at a jaw-dropping 8 percent.
Because of the virus’ rapid spread, everyone should be expected to do their part to mitigate the disease no matter how safe their own age group is.
Many people stocked up on hand sanitizer as fear of the virus swept America, but it turns out that ordinary soap works even better if used in a proper manner.
Palli Thordarson, a chemistry professor at Australia’s University of New South Wales, explained the reasoning behind soap’s efficiency in a lengthy Twitter thread.
1/25 Part 1 – Why does soap work so well on the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus and indeed most viruses? Because it is a self-assembled nanoparticle in which the weakest link is the lipid (fatty) bilayer. A two part thread about soap, viruses and supramolecular chemistry #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/OCwqPjO5Ht
— Palli Thordarson (@PalliThordarson) March 8, 2020
“The soap dissolves the fat membrane and the virus falls apart like a house of cards and ‘dies’, or rather, we should say it becomes inactive as viruses aren’t really alive,” Thordarson wrote Sunday.
“Disinfectants, or liquids, wipes, gels and creams containing alcohol (and soap) have a similar effects but are not really quite as good as normal soap,” he continued.
Even with soap, careless handwashing only gives a false sense of security.
To really destroy the novel coronavirus, it’s important to not only use the correct technique (here’s the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation), but to do it for the proper amount of time — 20 seconds. While this may seem difficult, there’s a simple trick using songs that can make the task a fun routine.
Journalist Jen Monnier compiled a list of songs with 20-second choruses to hum or sing in your head while helping mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
You’re supposed to wash your hands for 20 sec, which is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice. But I’m tired of singing Happy Birthday and you probably are too, so I’ve done the very important public service of compiling other songs with roughly 20 sec choruses to sing:
— Jen Monnier (@JenMonnier) March 2, 2020
It’s important to remember you shouldn’t be singing these out loud, which may only help spread the disease if you’re an asymptomatic carrier.
Her list, and the many comments below it, contains something for almost everyone.
From Beyoncé to Fleetwood Mac, and Prince to Dolly Parton, there’s hardly an excuse to cut corners with handwashing once you find the right song for you.
Along with proper handwashing, many recommend taking a sick day or simply working from home if you find yourself with symptoms of COVID-19.
While the disease may seem a trivial matter for younger people, for the nation’s elderly the spread of the novel coronavirus is a dire situation. Once it makes its way into a confined space like an assisted living facility, it’s not hard to see how it can easily sow destruction.
The government alone cannot be relied on to combat this outbreak in America.
It’s up to every one of us to slow and stop the spread of this deadly virus.
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