coronavirus

Worried about all the fake news and conflicting information when it comes to Covid-19? (Yes, we always sing it to the tune of Come On Eileen, too.) Us lot at Push are no doctors or virology experts, but we can remind you of a few fundamental things…
​

• Whether you want to bore yourself to death with dulcet tones of Happy Birthday, or you’d rather something more exotic like Bohemian Rhapsody or Britney’s Toxic, make sure you’re scrubbing those grubby digits. Around 20 seconds is recommended. 
• Keep in mind that washing your hands as regularly as you can is far more effective than bulk buying all the hand sanitiser in the world (and then flogging it on eBay).
• Take sensible precautions, like sneezing into tissues and binning them, coughing into the crook of your arm, and keeping general good hygiene.
• Avoid heading out if you feel a bit under the weather, even if you’re sure it’s just a cold or a sniffle.
• Call the dedicated NHS hotline, 111, if you’re worried about yourself or someone else.

Now the boring obligatory bit’s done with, what about the rest? Are school closures likely? What do they mean?

We sadly can’t see the future, so we can’t say whether or not schools will close, what this week’s lottery numbers will be, or whether your local will ever again have stock of toilet roll and baked beans.
​
But what we do know at the moment is that only a few schools in the UK with reported cases have been affected by temporary deep-clean closures.

Across the world in Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia, Japan and Kazakhstan, students are logging into digital classrooms and taking app-based courses, but for now at least, British government advice is that we’re to pretty much go about business as usual.

They’ll let us know if that changes.

And if it does? Most schools, colleges and universities have embraced the digital age, and have the capabilities to run video lectures and seminars, online courses, virtual meetings and computer-based exams.  

If you’re worried about your set up at home, missing exams or falling behind, now is a great time to chat to your tutors or welfare staff – planning in advance will get you well ahead of the game in case of school and college closures.

And if that’s not enough and you’re still not sure who or what to believe, make sure you head to the reputable organisations who can fill you in on all the facts. Go directly to the websites of the World Health Organisation, the NHS, the government’s own website or trusted news site like the BBC.

Try to check in daily for important updates and guidance, but don’t overwhelm yourself with a constant addictive refreshing of news feeds.

Author

LUCY HARDING is an English Literature grad and an MA Publishing student at UCL. She is passionate about international relations and cultural diversity, having worked closely with her university’s Erasmus society to support European students. She also spent a year abroad studying at California State University: Long Beach