Dr Phil Kieran: Reduce virus risk by going back to basics

Dr Phil Kieran says the expert advice on minimising the risk of contracting Covid-19 is simple — good hygiene, a healthy diet and exercise

Just before Christmas, I started to hear rumblings about an emerging new severe respiratory illness in China. That’s not too unusual as we get regular communication from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). You read them to see if it recommends changes to your daily practice and if not, you move on. Within a month, however, the whole world was talking about coronavirus.

Fast forward to now and about three patients per day will bring up the coronavirus (now with the new name of Covid-19). Some half-joking, some very serious but all are looking for some degree of reassurance.