• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 to 30 seconds, especially before meals and after using the toilet.
• Cover your mouth and nose with the crook of your arm when coughing or sneezing, not with your hand
• No handshake
• Avoid touching your face
• Maintain at least 1,5 meter distance between you and other people

Risk factors are an age of 65 upwards with underlying conditions of the respiratory tract and the cardiovascular system, diabetes, overweight and high blood pressure. People of middle age can also become seriously ill, although this is rarer. Young people become ill only slightly in most of the cases; unfortunately, there are exceptions in which young people also have died.

According to the recommendations of the Robert Koch Institute, people with risk factors should first and foremost try to minimize the risk of infection as much as possible. So as for everyone else, the same applies here: Limit physical contact as much as possible, wash your hands often, keep your distance.

You should also be well informed about the clinical picture of COVID-19 in order to recognize the symptoms in time.

If you are ill, you should immediately contact your family doctor or General Practicioner (GP) - by telephone. You can also contact another advisory service such as the medical on-call service on tel. 116 117. You should clarify which individual measures you must now take or whether a COVID 19 test should be taken.

Even if cases of COVID-19 become known in your private or professional environment, this should be communicated accordingly in order to accelerate specific measures.

• The MHH Transplant Centre has compiled information for people with weakened immune systems.

• The HLTX e.V. - Verein für Herz-Lungen-Transplantation (association for heart-lung transplantation) has information especially for transplanted patients.

• For cancer patients, the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC Hannover) has put together a detailed overview here, which provides important information - including podcasts.

The main transmission path is droplet infection. These are the invisible, but still inhalable droplets that fall to the ground after about 1.5 meters. This is why the distance rule is so important. However, also possible as a contact infection and this means direct contact - when giving hands or hugging, for example, but the risk of infection is lower than when inhaling the droplets. Inhalation is the quickest way for the virus to get where it wants to go.

Recently, the virus could be detected on plastic and stainless steel surfaces even after more than a week - not viable, but at least capable of reproduction. However, this only applies under certain conditions: darkness and humidity. Of course it is possible to become infected via these indirect contacts - but the risk is comparatively very low. Washing hands and wiping surfaces is enough because the virus is extremely easy to denature or inactivate, and therefore quickly loses its biological functions.

If you show symptoms of a respiratory disease such as dry cough and fever (see Robert Koch Institute) or have had contact with possible infected persons, then there is a reasonable suspicion - and you should have this clarified. In Lower Saxony, medical care is provided by general practitioners (GP) or internal medicine specialist. In case of a suspected Sars-CoV2 infection, it is essential that you contact your GP by phone before your visit, as it should be avoided that Covid-19 suspected patients are at the regular patient’s registry desk or in waiting areas of their GP’s facility. The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians has also set up testing facilities. However,  they can only be used after referral by the GP. For further details ask your GP or the medical on-call service via phone 116117.

No. The “real” flu (influenza) is caused by the influenza virus, this is a completely different virus than the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 that is now circulating. Therefore, the influenza vaccination does not protect against an infection with SARS-CoV-2.

There is currently no indication that the new SARS-CoV-2 could be transmitted via breast milk. However, the pandemic started only about 3 months ago and our experience with nursing mothers and their children is therefore still somewhat limited. However, it is important to emphasize that the virus is mainly transmitted into the air we breathe by droplets excreted during coughing and sneezing, i.e. any form of close contact would be a risk here, even for example if the child is fed with the bottle or with the spoon. The good news is that children do not seem to become seriously ill with COVID-19, but our experience with toddlers is also somewhat limited yet. It is most important that you avoid getting infected by simply applying the current available measures such as the hygienic precautions and social distancing. MHH virologist Prof. Schulz on this topic:“ I would probably continue breastfeeding”.