https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.readyscotland.org/coronavirus/

This page was started on 21.3.20 the day after pubs, cafes etc. were ordered to shut.

The idea is to have some news, advice and help for people in (not only) Burntisland.

Wash your hands after touching surfaces or items that could be contaminated (even boxes and packets you have bought or had delivered recently).

“How long does the coronavirus last on surfaces” BBC story

“Can a face mask protect me from coronavirus? Covid-19 myths busted” Guardian story

The next few weeks and months are going to be difficult for people – even for people who don’t catch the virus. Physical and mental health are threatened by changes to routine and, much less close, contact with other people.

No one really knows what’s going to happen. Governments are sending out mixed messages – stay in, but shop ‘normally’. ‘Panic buying is bad’ but maybe doing a monthly shop is sensible – less travelling and mixing with people?

Also there is a ‘don’t go out’ idea, but fresh air and exercise are vital to physical and mental health. Now is a good time to explore Burntisland and the surrounding area on foot or by bike. (STAY IN IF YOU HAVE A FEVER OR PERSISTENT COUGH.)

So many difficult questions and not enough answers.

Please understand it’s not about you. Think about the people who are still working, especially food shop staff who will be dealing with hundreds of people, some may have the virus, and, of course NHS staff and delivery drivers.

IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS, SELF ISOLATE – STAY AT HOME

Burntisland is planning to set up a system for helping people in the town.

20.3.20

Burntisland and Coronavirus MAJOR Update

Article in The Guardian (extract below) by a Fife born Edinburgh GP. His new book (to be published in May) is titled Island Dreams.

One review –

“In this charming and beautifully illustrated book, Gavin Francis asks important questions about isolation and connection, and considers the ways in which islands have been imagined and experienced by travellers through the ages” (MALACHY TALLACK)

Guardian article by Gavin Francis –

On 13 January, a bulletin from Health Protection Scotland was sent to all GP practices in the country describing a “novel Wuhan coronavirus”. I work in a small clinic in central Edinburgh with four doctors, two nurses and six admin staff. It was the first time I’d heard of the virus. “Current reports describe no evidence of significant human to human transmission, including no infections of healthcare workers,” it said reassuringly.

I cast my mind back to the Sars coronavirus of almost two decades ago, and briefly wondered how quickly the spread of this coronavirus would be stopped, as Sars was. A seafood market had been closed and sanitised. The bulletin said that although Wuhan was a city of 19 million people, there were only three flights per week from there to the UK, and the likely impact was “very low”. I shrugged, and carried on with my work.

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