Coronavirus: What can you do to help protect yourself?

Advice is being offered in a nationwide government-funded campaign to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Adverts telling people what they can do to help protect themselves are appearing on social media, in newspapers and on the radio from Sunday as part of a Government-funded effort in the fight against the virus which has killed 305 people globally.

The NHS and Government-branded advice will also be targeted at outlets and online forums Chinese nationals in the UK are known to read and listen to.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said while the UK’s “highly trained and experienced clinicians are working round the clock” to prevent the spread, the general public can play its part.

Here are some things which the campaign says you can do:

– Carry tissues to catch your coughs and sneezes. Make sure to bin the tissues afterwards.

– Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water or use sanitiser gel.

– Keep an eye on the Public Health England and Department of Health Twitter feeds which are regularly updated with the latest information on how the UK is dealing with coronavirus and what you should be doing to protect yourself. You can also visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus.

– If you are a traveller who has arrived back in the UK from China’s Hubei province within the last 14 days, you should stay at home and avoid having visitors. Call 111 to let the NHS know of your recent travel, or if you are in Northern Ireland, call your GP.

– If you have come back from anywhere else in mainland China in the last 14 days and develop symptoms of cough, fever or shortness of breath, you should self-isolate and call the NHS 111 line, or if you are in Northern Ireland, call your GP.