Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:

• new continuous cough, and/or high temperature
• high temperature
• altered or lost sense of taste and/or smell 

For most people, COVID-19 will be a mild infection

Please postpone your dental appointment if you have the above symptoms or your household is in self-isolation due to another having symptoms.  Please seek further information from the NHS Coronavirus website and self-isolate following NHS guidance.

If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111.  For a medical emergency dial 999.

Like the common cold, coronavirus infection usually occurs through close contact with a person with novel coronavirus via cough and sneezes or hand contact. A person can also be infected by touching contaminated surfaces if they do not wash their hands.  Everyone is reminded to follow Public Health England advice:

• Always carry tissues with you and use them to catch your cough or sneeze.  Then bin the tissue, and wash your hands, or use a sanitiser gel.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, expecially after using public transportation.  Use a sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are unwell.

Sources:

NHS England and NHS Improvement, 18 February 2020 and 18 September 2020.

NHS Overview - Coronavirus

The government uses a Covid-19 alert level to inform decisions and to explain the level of disease risk to the public. There are five levels:

• Level 1: Covid-19 is not known to be present in the UK
• Level 2: Covid-19 is present in the UK, but the number of cases and transmission is low
• Level 3: a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation
• Level 4: a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially
• Level 5: as level 4 and there is a material risk of healthcare services being overwhelmed.

The government has said that it is for the UK chief medical officers to set the alert level, informed by the data collected and analysed by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC). The UK is currently at level 3 [as of 13/7/2020 10am].

Source: JBC