Part 1 is here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tobys-covid-19-survival-guide-from-hong-kong-toby-mak/

Thank you for the positive feedback on my article above, much appreciated. I have also received some questions, motivating me to write this part 2.

COVID-19 could be in the air via respiratory droplets

See https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/modes-of-transmission-of-virus-causing-covid-19-implications-for-ipc-precaution-recommendations

I do not wish to define size of droplets and argue whether COVID-19 is airborne. Frankly I do not give a damn. What I know is respiratory droplets could travel long distance, and could hanging in the air for some time (see https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17542834). That is why a crowded place, particularly confined place (live an elevator), is of high risk.

This is the reason behind the following, at least in my view (sorry this is my patent attorney habit):

  • The public should be encouraged to wear face mask - this could reduce respiratory droplets spreading around significantly if all the people are wearing face masks. If you want to know why, see below:

https://couriernewsroom.com/2020/05/01/we-asked-health-experts-about-the-wear-your-mask-the-urine-test-meme/

We do not want to get pee all over our body, right? That's why I put the picture as the front of this article.

  • The number of infections is lower in places where wearing face mask is a norm, like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.
  • Why you should also wash your face, as once you walk outside, your face could be covered with tiny respiratory droplets hanging in the air.

COVID-19 will be with us forever until a vaccine has arrived

Like it or not, this is a done deal. The reasons are as below:

  1. Many infected people has no or little symptoms.
  2. The virus could exist on droplets hanging in air (see above).
  3. Its fatality rate is not high.
  4. Too many people have been infected.
  5. It is a virus, which will mutate.

COVID-19 is a very "successful" virus because of 1-3, which result in 4. By contrast, although Ebola is very terrible because of its high fatality rate, it could not be as widespread as COVID-19, as people infected with Ebola are easily identifiable, and Ebola kills too many of its infected people too quickly.

Even with a vaccine, COVID-19 could come back, as it will mutate.

It sounds miserable, but let's think positive. At the very least, we Hon Kong people react cautiously (with no help from the useless slow reacting HK government) in this pandemic because of what we learnt from SARS, which result in the relative low infection number. We just need to change our habits. The "safe zone" idea that I will discuss may help.

Wearing face mask to prevention infection

Many people feel wearing mask unconformable. Are you seriously telling me this? Wearing face mask is one of the things I hate most! As I said in part 1, at my PhD study, I had to wear masks with filter to work for 4-6 hours per day for a period of time. The type of mask I wore is shown below:

944126a.jpg

You can imagine why after my PhD study I immediately swore to myself that I would not put anything over my mouth and nose anymore. Even during SARS in 2003, I did not wear face mask when going to clinics or hospitals (my wife complains many times about this).

But this time it is really different (see the reasons above), and that's why I now wear face mask (luckily, not the one in the above picture) in crowded public, particularly confined, areas. See what happened at the Diamond Princess Cruise incident in Japan, finally infecting over 700 people, notwithstanding a cruise is a large confined space.

If I have it, basically everyone around me is going to get it. Face mask is proven to be useful. Singapore is the worst in Asia as of now, as it did not encourage its people to wear face mask at the beginning. Wearing face mask became mandatory in Singapore only about three weeks ago (thanks to Patsy Koh of Infinitus for this information). All other places in Asia with the habit of wearing mask are doing well, including even Japan that is still in a state of emergency.

However face mask has to be worn properly. Below is a link showing how:

https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/use_mask_properly.pdf

The key is to cover one's mouth and nose, completely. However, even if a face mask was worn improperly, it is better than not wearing one.

Many of my friends in the West resist wearing face mask (I hope this is not the main reason why we are friends). I suggest wearing face mask only when necessary, but the catch is, when is it necessary? This is why I will discuss the concept of safe zone below.

Safe zone

It has its literal meaning, but could have different definition for everyone. My definitions of safe zone is any surface that has been immediately cleaned by disinfectant, which could include my hands, face, my iPhone (you will be surprised how dirty your phone is if not cleaned), or even the toilet seat.

However, this has a time limit, as the surface will become dirty after some time, depending on how the surface is used and exposed. Your home should also be one of your safe zones, and that's why it is a good idea to clean up your home like mopping the floor periodically.

Therefore, extra precautions should be taken, i.e. including wearing face masks, in places where you are not sure when it has been disinfected, or you could not disinfect easily, and in particular confined places. Such places include public transports, shopping malls, supermarkets, and offices.

Thinking the opposite, if you could clean your hands and face properly and immediately before and after, it may be fine to hug someone (people who know me well know that I am a hugger) and/or shake hands, or rub your face as you like.

Do NOT feel offended or you are offending others for cleaning hands and/or face.

So the idea is to extend and maintain your safe zone as much as you can. Some examples are as below:

  • Create buffer zones to safeguard your safe zones. For example, if your bathroom is close to the entrance of your home, you could change to your home-wear and take a bath in the bathroom before actually getting into your home, i.e. making your bathroom the buffer zone. Of course it will be necessary to disinfect your bathroom often. Other measures include leaving your shoes/bags outside, or at an entrance area, and bring them back into your home after wiping them with disinfectant.
  • Get easy-to-carry disinfectant like hand-sanitizers or wet tissue with alcohol.
  • Get a wearable air ionizer, (working principle is here: https://homeairguides.com/about-air-purifiers/what-is-an-air-ionizer-how-does-an-ionizer-work/). But remember to wash your shirt/top immediately after getting back home, as your shirt/top is the first landing site of the collated particles. The picture below show the one I am wearing when I go out.

944126b.jpg

Maintaining health at home

If we are healthy, even if we got the virus, it may not develop into a disease. Our body is the ultimate weapon to fight the virus. That is why we need to maintain our health.

However, this does not mean only physical health, but also mental health. Both of these will be discussed below for staying home, as places like gyms may not be accessible. For example, gyms in Hong Kong were ordered to be closed since 27 March 2020, and were allowed to be opened on 8 May 2020.

Physical health

Muscle building

One major change after my part 1 is that my dumbbells have arrived! I have been doing my weight training at home since then. No need to play with the bag of rice anymore (with my wife and daughter staring at me......)

I am not young and maintaining my muscle is important. Muscle loss could create many problems, some of which are reported below:

https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3024720/age-related-muscle-loss-what-it-why-it-happens-and-what

It is never too late (although at the beginning stage it is painful, and the later you start, the more painful it could be).

Exercising at home

As I said in part 1, I recommend fitness gaming. I found a list below, and choose the those you like:

https://www.thegamer.com/fitness-video-games-active-exercise-gaming/

Personally I like Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure because it does not only have and divide exercise games for arms, ab, and legs, it has Yoga training, and therefore quite comprehensive. What I like most is it gets my 13-years old daughter to exercise everyday, whom refused to move a single piece of her muscle before playing this game. It can allow one to do a lot of different types of exercise within a small space, which is much need in a place like Hong Kong. I solemnly swear I say the above is not for the purpose of being hired by Nintendo (but I will not resist).

Of course, traditional exercise like bicycling, running (around your house), and the like still work, do them as you like.

Mental health

There are too many things to worry about at this troubling time, which could worsen one's mental health, and then affect physical health. People whom have experienced depression would know what I mean. "Take it easy" is easier said than done, and for people experiencing real trouble, this is BS. There is no one-fit-all solution, but the following may help (hopefully):

  1. Say this to yourself: When there is nothing right, turn left. There is always a way out, not perfect, but a way out.
  2. Distinguish things that you can control, and things you cannot. Put those that you cannot control behind. I am really concerned that nukes would be flying over my head before the end of this year because of the tension between the US and China, but there is nothing I could do to control this, so I will try not to be bothered by this as much as I could. On the other hand, I can control whether I do exercise today (and I have, 65 mins with about 270 kcal burnt by playing Ring Fit).
  3. Do good things, like helping others (or at least try). Trust me, it will make you feel happier. It does not have to be physical, but merely saying something nice to a person in social media would do. This motivates me to write this and part 1, and I can tell you, I feel so happy after hearing people say they found some gems in my part 1.
  4. Cherish the time with your loved ones. In particular, we can no longer take this for granted.
  5. Manage your work, which could reduce your stress. This is why I shared my email tips in part 1.

If you wish to me to talk more on anything related (or unrelated), please let me know and I am happy to write a part 3.

Originally published 11 May, 2020

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.