Wash Your Hands—And Your Phones Too!

With the outbreak of COVID-19 across the world, every adult is being reminded what they learned as kids on basic hygiene: cover your mouth when you cough, don’t sneeze in front of people, wash your hands, and be mindful where you put your hands before you put them on your face. You know–just simple, common decency and etiquette. (I call it “catiquette“.)

Just about everyone is doing their share of practicing personal hygiene, along with “social distancing” (that’s keeping your distance from others). But it doesn’t stop there. You need to practice hygiene with your computers and phones too!

My Human has a pet peeve (as well as a pet cat) when it comes to dirty keyboards, screens, and phones she sees as part of her job in IT. For years she’d wear rubber gloves anytime she had to work on a co-worker’s computer, because of the build up of grime—and Cheetos—on the mouse and keyboard.

According to The Journal of Hospital Infections, germs and viruses like SARS can live on the hard surfaces of glass touch screens, metals, and plastics for over a week. And your phone can have more bacteria on it than a toilet seat. With more people relying on their phones more than ever, the medical community says cleaning your phone is a more important way to prevent the spread of the corona virus than wearing a face mask.  So play it safe and clean your phones and computers regularly and often.

How to Clean Your Devices – Correctly

It doesn’t take expensive, fancy cleansers to keep your devices germ-free and clean. But it’s important that your cleaning doesn’t damage your gear either.

All that you’ll need are:

✓ 2 Lint-free cloths

✓ Water

✓ Soap

Don’t use:

X Rubbing Alcohol

X Disinfectant wipes

X Degreasing solvents

X Hand sanitizer

 

1. Unplug all cables and turn off your device.
2. Put one lint-free cloth in the soapy water, and wring it out thoroughly where it’s slightly damp.
3. Use the damp cloth to wipe your device, making sure to avoid getting water into switches and speakers and any cloth surfaces.
4. If your phone has a case, remove the case to clean both of them.
5. Use the second lint-free cloth to completely dry your device before turning them back on.

Q&A Time!

A can of sardines for the first cat who can answer them all!

Question: Why is it called COVID-19?

Answer: (https://who.int) According to The WHO (The health organization, not the rock band), “COVID” is short for COrona VIrus Disease. The “19” means it was discovered in 2019.

Question: I’ve also hear people talk about “SARS-CoV-2” too. Is it a different virus? Has the 2003 SARS virus came back??

Answer: No, this is not the 2003 SARs virus, but it’s from the same family. Think of it as a 2nd cousin in the coronavius family. The COVID-19 disease is the result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (The 2003 SARS virus caused a different disease). SARS-CoV-2 stands for “Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2”.

Question: Okay, I’m confused. What the difference between a virus and a disease?

Answer: A disease can be caused by a virus. For example, the disease Measles is called by the virus Rubella. AIDs is a disease caused by the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). COVID-19 is a disease caused by the SAR-CoV-2 virus.

Question: Is SAR-CoV-2 a new virus?

Answer: While new to us, this and other deadly viruses been around for over 10,000 years—but living in animals who are immune to it. Once humans started developing virgin land and trapping native animals that had the virus, the virus found a new home in humans.

Question: Where can I get more information?

Answer: Go to www.who.int and www.cdc.gov

~The Computer Cat