The growing number of coronavirus cases reported in the UK suggests that it won’t be long before workplaces and any sort of public gatherings are shut down – but how can a conference call help to beat the spread of coronavirus?
How is coronavirus spread?
To work out how working from home can help stop the spread of coronavirus, we first need to take a look at exactly how it’s transmitted in the first place – the trouble is, because it’s a new illness, no one knows exactly how it spreads from person to person.
It’s thought it spreads mostly through person-to-person contact within about a 6-foot (1.8 meters) radius, and COVID-19 – the disease which is caused by the coronavirus – spreads viral particles through coughing and sneezing.
Some coronaviruses can live on surfaces for days, and so it might also be possible to catch SARS-CoV-2 – another strain of the virus – by touching a surface where the virus has recently landed and then touching one’s mouth, nose or eyes, but CDC officials believe this method of transmission is less common.
It’s very unlikely it can be spread through things like packages or food.
How can conference calling help stop the spread of coronavirus?
If, as expected, the suggestion comes from the government to shut workplaces and public gatherings to help stop the spread of coronavirus – Deloitte, Sony and Nike have all closed London offices as panic about the coronavirus builds in the UK – so more and more of us might be asked to work from home.
The thinking behind this is that if people don’t come into contact with each other, then the virus can’t spread – which is a pretty solid plan, but how can business continue with no-one meeting up in the office?
If you have the right work from home tech, then you should be able to do your job effectively from anywhere that has power and an internet connection, and if you need to catch up with clients or colleagues, you can do so via conference call.
Our service enables you to connect to up to 100 participants on the one call, and we even have dial-in numbers for over 70 countries worldwide, to make international conference calling a piece of cake.
To get started, check out How to make a conference call – a complete guide to teleconferencing.
That’s how a conference call can help, but what are you meant to do if you think you may have coronavirus?
What to do if you think you might have coronavirus
If you show symptoms of coronavirus, which includes a cough, a high temperature, and shortness of breath, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have the virus.
But if you think you might have coronavirus, you’ve been in contact with someone who has it, or you’ve been to a country or area with a high risk of coronavirus in the last 14 days, then dial NHS 111 and someone will be able tell you if you need medical help and advise you what to do.
If there’s a chance you have coronavirus, you might be asked to self-isolate, which basically means avoid contact with other people as much as possible. If so, then you should do the following for up to 14 days, to help stop the spread of infection:
- stay at home
- not go to work, school or public places
- not use public transport or taxis
- ask friends, family members or delivery services to do errands for you
- try to avoid visitors to your home (apart from family or delivery drivers to drop off food).
For more information, check out NHS.UK
