‘Stop Hugging and Kissing’ – Scientists Warn Ahead of Valentine’s Day

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In order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus, commonly known as COVID-19, scientists from Queen Mary University have warned people to avoid hugging and kissing ahead of Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day, is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honouring Saint Valentine and a few others, Valentine’s Day is recognised as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world.

Most people however, celebrate this day by kissing and hugging each other, Professor John Oxford, from the university said people could protect themselves from the deadly virus by employing a bit of standoffishness.

Speaking ahead of Valentine’s Day, Professor Oxford described the illness as a ‘social virus’ that could infect people by close contact and want people cut contact off.

During the BBC Radio 4’s programme, Professor Oxford said: ‘I think we have to galvanise ourselves in our social actions – how we interact with people. I think that is extremely important; more so than wearing a mask. I think that’s a total diversion.

“What we need to do is less of the handshaking, hugging, kissing, that sort of thing, because this virus looks like its spread by ordinary tidal breathing, not necessarily colds and coughing.”

Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London in a statement said that 60 percent of the entire population could become infected.

He told The Telegraph: ‘Surveillance has started in hospitals across the UK of pneumonia cases that will give us a proper picture.

“Our best estimate is that transmission in the UK will get going in the next few weeks; unless we are very lucky probably peaking two to three months after that.

‘If it truly establishes itself in terms of true person to person transmission, it will behave like a flu pandemic may be up to 60 percent of the population being affected but most of those people having very mild symptoms.”

The Coronavirus spreads via droplets in someone’s breath and it has killed more than 1,100 people with almost 46,000 cases confirmed worldwide.

Although, the virus is yet to be announced in Nigeria, however the message is for our readers who are in the following countries Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, The Phillipines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, U.K, U.S.A, and Vietnam.