The ultimate question in 2020 is, “How to beat COVID-19, or Coronavirus. There is hardly a corner on earth that this insidious alien has not yet reached. Every one has been affected by the COVID-19 virus in one way or another. But there is ways to beat the COVID-19 coronavirus. All it takes is a conscious change in lifestyle and habits.

If you follow these steps you stand a chance of coming out the other end of all this in one piece.

Wash Hands Regularly.

Nothing beats hot soap and water, as everything is washed of your hands and down the sink. Always make sure your hands are thoroughly washed and clean. Use warm to hot water and liquid soap. Sharing bars of soap is not such a good idea, given the circumstances. Our hands are one of the biggest broadcasters of germs, viruses and bacteria. Without even thinking our hands reach out and touch one thing or another hundreds of times a day. We touch things, people, and ourselves. Whatever is on our hands is immediately transferred elsewhere. Given that the, COVID-19 or Coronavirus has such a resilient lifespan, the risk of receiving and transmitting this bug is extremely high. When washing hands, do it thoroughly, spending at least 20 second scrubbing. Get under those fingernails, as they are virtual bug traps. Teach kids to sing a twenty second nursery rhyme, such as, “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” while scrubbing.

2. Carry Hand Sanitiser As Backup

Where soap and water is unavailable, hand sanitiser is a great secondary measure. Make a habit of placing containers in your bag, car glove box, backpacks and so on. Hand sanitiser gels are okay for hands, but a hand sanitiser spray liquid is also great for both hands and hard surfaces. The more you spray the more you kill. After handling unknown entities, such as supermarket products and so on, sanitise hands immediately. You just cannot be too sure who last handle that product and what is on it.

3. Wash All Fruits And Vegetables Thoroughly.

Before eating or serving any fruits or vegetables, wash them thoroughly. Use soap if you must. But handle as little as possible and do not ingest until they have been washed. Teach kids not to pick up and eat fruit unless it has been washed. Remember, COVID-19, or Coronavirus bugs have a long life span.

4. Refrain From All Forms Of Physical Contact.

Things like, shaking hands, hugging, kissing and cuddling must be avoided. Particularly so when you don’t know what environment the person has been in over the last 48 hours. Stay at home close family members are obviously free of this restriction.

6. Keep Outings To A Minimum.

The safest time to be during this Coronavirus outbreak, is in your own home. Try to remain indoors as much as possible. Although boring and frustrating, the ugly alternative is to risk contracting the COVID-19, or Corona virus. When out shopping, try to stock up on necessities as much as possible to avoid multiple shopping trips.

7. Delegate One Family Member To Do Shopping

Refrain from taking family or friends on shopping trips. Go alone. This helps minimise the formation of large crowds and close personal contact with too many people.

8. Wear Gloves And Face Masks

If you are in supermarkets or public places, such as getting fuel from service stations, handling money or receiving property such as receipts/invoices and products from others, don a pair of gloves. Remove these and place them in a plastic bag, a ziplock bag would be ideal, before returning to your vehicle or home. Either wash or dispose of these gloves as soon as possible. Wear a disposable face mask when in public, particularly when conversing with someone. Disposable face masks are better than re-usable face masks, as these tend to get handled more than the should. We take them off then put them back on again, with the possibility of transferring bacteria inside and out of the face mask. It kind of defeats the purpose.

9. Keep To A Safe Distance From Other.

Unheralded coughs and sneezes are often hard to avoid, and thus a great candidate for the spread of COVID-19 or Coronavirus. Try to create a “caution space,” around yourself. About 1.5 metres should suffice. Remind others, particularly children, to do the same.

There are dozens of other things you can do to minimise the risk of spreading or contracting the COVID-19 or Coronavirus.

• Sanitise or wash door handles and doorknobs regularly.

• Sanitise and disinfect high traffic areas such as chairs, kitchen tables and kitchen benches. Bathrooms

• Sanitise and disinfect your car’s interior. Seat belts and steering wheel in particular.

We are at war with a savage enemy. Thus far all we have are defences, or ideas to protect ourselves from being infected with the Coronavirus. Yes, it is a pandemic. World changing. Life changing. New rules, new ways of life and a whole new order of things is upon us.

Everything else that once mattered, the news of yesterday, has either taken a back seat or disappeared altogether. Stories about wars, terrorism, poverty, economies of the world, housing prices, the Holden factory closing down, stories about the Royal family. These have been relegated to “page 5” of most media outlets. No one is interested any longer. We now face the biggest challenge of all time. The COVID-19, or Coronavirus placed all of humanity, the good, the bad, and the ugly, on an equal playing field.