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  • - Walk through cough droplets that are still

  • vaulting through the air either on a crowded street,

  • or on a beach, Florida.

  • Hi everyone, I'm Mark Keim, founder of DisasterDoc.

  • We help people all over the world

  • to better understand disasters

  • so they can protect themselves and others.

  • So today I'd like to help you

  • better understand the COVID-19 pandemic

  • and to share with you a few tips

  • for staying well during social distancing

  • and why this is so critical and important for all of us.

  • The first step to protecting ourselves

  • is understanding how COVID infection occurs.

  • This virus needs to float in a warm bath.

  • This warm bath is actually body fluid

  • and it needs this in order to survive.

  • So it's more likely to travel to you

  • as in the form of a droplet.

  • So people are said to be exposed

  • when they come in contact with the droplet.

  • So where do these droplets come from?

  • They come from inside infected people's lungs.

  • People come in contact with these droplets

  • either by direct exposure or indirect exposure.

  • But how do we stop the pandemic?

  • We need to stop people from touching

  • and breathing these droplets.

  • Tip number one, stay the F home.

  • Like the science shows avoiding exposure

  • is the single most effective way

  • to avoid infections and end this pandemic.

  • Even if you have no consideration

  • for your own health or that of others

  • the longer that you decide to socialize in public

  • the longer every one of us will have to shelter in place

  • and wait for this pandemic to end.

  • And if you do need to go out, avoid exposing yourself.

  • Some of us can't stay home, right?

  • Some of us have to work in public

  • and some of us even work directly with the public.

  • So what can we do to protect ourselves

  • and to protect our loved ones at home who are depending

  • upon us to not to bring home this infection.

  • We avoid those direct and indirect exposures

  • that I mentioned earlier.

  • For a moment I want you to close your eyes

  • and picture this six foot bubble around your body.

  • Your skin is clean, your breath,

  • even your cough is virus free.

  • Our bubbles change shape as we walk through the air

  • extending behind us a little bit as we move in the air.

  • And when our bubbles cross each other

  • we share the same air and the same droplets.

  • So when we share our six foot bubble with someone else

  • droplets from their cough are more likely

  • to reach our lungs unless we try to block it in some way.

  • Think of the world as being made up of three zones.

  • The hot zone, the warm zone, and the cold zone.

  • The cold zone is your home where everyone is healthy

  • and virus free.

  • It's less work to keep your bubble clean

  • and virus free when you're in your cold zone.

  • You don't have to worry so much about touching your family

  • or your face as long as everyone stays healthy.

  • The warm zone is the world outside your door.

  • The warm zone consists of those places

  • outside your home where it becomes more likely

  • that others may step inside or perhaps even cough into

  • your six-foot bubble.

  • This could be your workplace, it could be standing

  • in line at the grocery store, could be inside an elevator.

  • These are the places where we should protect our bubble.

  • These are the places we should also be respecting

  • and staying out of other people's bubbles.

  • So finally there's a hot zone.

  • The hot zone are environments

  • that by their very nature cause people to come in contact

  • with each other to share bubbles or to even touch.

  • These can occur at the cash register,

  • they can occur during a cough in the subway

  • or the elevator or bus or a taxi.

  • They can also occur when we inadvertently

  • walk through cough droplets that are still

  • vaulting through the air either on a crowded street

  • or on a beach, Florida.

  • In these high risk zones you should protect your skin,

  • you should protect your mouth, your eyes, and your nose

  • with the best barrier that you can find.

  • When I return home I immediately disinfect these things

  • that I used in the hot zone.

  • Also including my credit card and my cell phone.

  • And now I'm back in my clean little bubble

  • in my cold zone.

  • So mistake number one, people are still shaking hands?

  • Two weeks ago I attended a business meeting,

  • a public-health meeting where people were still

  • shaking hands and hugging.

  • Touching elbows in some sort of odd elbow wing dance

  • simply increases your likelihood,

  • not only of looking like an idiot,

  • but also being a spreader.

  • Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't we supposed to be

  • sneezing into these same elbows

  • that we're now sharing and touching each other?

  • That doesn't make sense with me.

  • How about this?

  • Smile, wink, nod, touch your heart.

  • Don't touch each other.

  • Mistake number two, people aren't careful

  • when handling contaminated things like sunglasses

  • and facemasks and cards and phones and cigarettes and vapes.

  • I also encourage you to avoid eating

  • when you're in the hot zone.

  • Those things can come directly into your mouth that way.

  • So mistake number three, people aren't using masks.

  • I know that the Surgeon General said that facemasks

  • are not necessary for the general public.

  • I'm not saying go out and purchase a mask

  • in the current market and please don't.

  • I recommend that any type of facial covering

  • to protect your eyes and mouth and nose.

  • Even a handkerchief over your mouth

  • is better than receiving that full viral load

  • of a cough directly in your face.

  • Dr. Julie Gerberding, the former director of CDC,

  • has said that even a T-shirt over your mouth and nose

  • would be better than nothing.

  • Now mistake number four, people of privilege

  • are being insensitive to a minority.

  • In today's world of pandemic, the people of privilege

  • are those that have their youth to protect them.

  • How can we justify behavior that hurts the most vulnerable?

  • We can't.

  • We are in a crisis and if you can reach out

  • you can literally save the lives

  • of vulnerable populations by protecting them

  • and preventing them from ever contracting this illness.

  • And finally I just wanna say

  • it's been a long scary road to get here.

  • And we're not home yet.

  • But I can tell you that our homes

  • will return to normal.

  • This pandemic will end and when it does

  • we will all have a deeper understanding

  • of ourselves and others.

  • We will have joined together across parties

  • and across borders to fight a common threat.

  • We will have learned the stories of the heroes

  • from the streets of Wuhan.

  • As well as heard the songs of resilience

  • sing from the rooftops of Assisi.

  • Join together in a common bond of human spirit.

  • Be well.

  • (inspirational music)

- Walk through cough droplets that are still

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