31 Solutions People Came Up With To Try To Protect Themselves From Coronavirus

From grapefruit and cabbage face masks to plastic bottles and even bras, some people in China are using whatever they can get their hands on to reduce the risk of contracting the disease. While most of these creative ideas won’t be as effective as proper medical equipment, any protection might be better than none. Probably. Just remember that a grapefruit is not a valid alternative to a professional mask.

Bored Panda talked to a member of flight staff from a major Middle-Eastern airline based in Dubai, who wanted to remain anonymous, about the situation regarding the spread of the coronavirus. According to her, a family of 4 that traveled to Dubai from Wuhan has been quarantined until they are healthy.

She also told Bored Panda that the airline that she works for hasn't stopped its flights to China. Which has her concerned for her own health. That's why she's come up with her own protocol about how to protect herself from the virus.

"After every flight, I immediately wash my clothes and take a shower as soon as I get back home," she said. "While I'm on a flight, I wear a medical mask and I only eat the food that I prepared myself."

She also revealed that it's highly likely that she'll be on at least several flights to China in February. In her opinion, not all countries in the world are equally vulnerable to the virus and calls Dubai one of the "gateways" that is at risk.

The flight attendant revealed to Bored Panda that a large number of people are now flying with masks on and are disinfecting their hands when they can. According to her, people have been advised to touch their faces less and avoid large crowds.

The vast majority of cases of people with the coronavirus abroad are those who’d been to Wuhan, the epicenter of the disease. However, the BBC writes that in 8 cases (in Germany, Japan, Vietnam, and the US), people were infected by those who’d traveled to China. Today, the first cases of the virus reaching the UK have also been documented.

Countries are reacting by closing borders, canceling flights, and quarantining people returning from Wuhan. While companies like Starbucks, Google, Tesla, and IKEA closed some of their shops and partially suspended their operations. However, the WHO is sure that China can control the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

China locked down the province of Hubei (with 60 million people) from where the virus spread. What’s more, China’s advising its citizens abroad to stop non-essential travel back home.

Meanwhile, the UK, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, and New Zealand are conducting voluntary evacuations from Hubei province. These people will be quarantined to see if they show any symptoms. That’s because it takes 1-14 days for symptoms to show and the illness can be transmitted even before then.