Coronavirus is upon us. Already, more than 1,100 lives have been lost worldwide and the virus now officially known as Covid-19 is rippling out from England’s south-coast bringing the current number of infected cases to eight, at the time of writing. On Wednesday, the first case of the coronavirus was confirmed in London. But while we wait to discover its true impact, there are things we can do - to protect ourselves, identify which of our family members may be most at risk, and soothe some of their worries. We asked the experts... Infants and children In playgrounds in Brighton - the epicentre of Britain’s coronavirus outbreak - instead of playing ‘it’, children have invented a version called ‘coronavirus tag’, and there have been reports of worried parents pulling youngsters out of lessons. One school in Southampton sent pupils home this week after a student who had visited south east Asia started to display symptoms. And schools with Chinese students are being told that they should encourage their pupils to stay in the UK for the half-term holiday. How worried should we be? According to Dr Nathalie MacDermott, a clinical lecturer at King’s College London and specialist in outbreak diseases, there is not yet enough data available to show the susceptibility of children to the disease. But, she says, based on previous outbreaks, children under the age of five and particularly infants under the age of one are more likely to suffer a severe infection due to an immature immune system. While the coronavirus seems to mainly affect middle-aged and older people, some children have contracted it –including a nine year old British boy. Understandably, there have been reports of young people growing increasingly anxious about the spread of what may seem to them like an apocalyptic disease. Some Brighton schools have shown pupils child-friendly explainer videos about coronavirus and issued advice on washing hands. Others are leaving it more to the parents to educate their child. Experts urge doing so in measured tones. “We need to modulate our language and provide advice and information to what children understand,” says Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at Exeter University. “Good communication, especially when people are anxious, is very important.” Young adults The presence of a large number of foreign students has stoked fears about the spread of coronavirus on university campuses. On Tuesday, a University of Sussex student was admitted to hospital for tests after falling unwell following an overseas trip to an undisclosed location. There have also been unpleasant reports in Brighton of south east Asian students having eggs thrown at them while wearing masks. Dr Pankhania stresses again, information is key – and urges parents to warn young people to be careful about mistruths about the virus on social media. One such example is the idea that the virus can be spread through packaged food imported from overseas - when all the evidence points to it being transmitted through cough and sneeze droplets. Another worry for parents could be the close proximity in which many students find themselves, and which is usually responsible for the spread of the notorious ‘freshers’ flu’. Indeed, experts say, social butterflies - who flit from pubs to parties and lectures, air kissing and shaking hands - have the potential to become super spreaders. Public Health England has said that ‘close contact’ can be defined by having spent at least 15 minutes within two metres of an infected person - easily done at a party - and this represents those most at risk of catching the disease. Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, has advised anyone who’s socialised with an infected person to self-quarantine. “If it was me and if I knew [infected people] and had mixed socially with them I would certainly self isolate,” he says. Travel advice For parents preparing to wave their teenage children goodbye at the departure gates over half term, or who are planning to take younger children away themselves, Mark Harris, a professor of virology at Leeds University say as long as people are not travelling to the Far East he would probably still go ahead with holiday plans. “The concern is if you get on plane and the person next to you is infected, there’s a good chance you might get infected during flight,” says Professor Harris. “But you have to balance all this out.” Your fellow travellers might not pose the greatest risk. A study published two years ago by Emory University in Atlanta, found that the person most likely to spread disease on a flight was actually a member of cabin crew, with those sitting in the middle or aisle seats at the highest risk - although they were most likely to infect one another. For plane protection, wearing a mask – the likes of which have been flying off pharmacy shelves in Brighton this week - will have little impact. Typically, experts say, these are flimsy surgical masks of the wrong quality, ill-fitting and after 15 minutes of wearing tend to become so damp through breathing that they are rendered useless. If someone is insistent on wearing a mask, the FFP3 variant typically worn by healthcare workers is best, as it is equipped with finer filters and a valve to release humid air. The best thing we can do to prevent infection, experts agree, is to wash our hands regularly with soap and water, and carry antibacterial gel and tissues. Touching your face after contact with an infected area is a particularly easy way of spreading the disease. Most of us unconsciously touch our faces with unwashed hands about 15 times every hour. An observational study of students in 2015 found they touched their face an average of 23 times per hour. When travelling Prof Harris adds that it might also be a good idea to steer clear of busy waiting areas to minimise contact with international travellers. “You can’t reduce the risk completely, he adds” Pregnant women According to a Lancet paper published last week, two previous coronavirus outbreaks – Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) – were found to cause severe complications during pregnancy. The paper analysed 12 pregnant women infected with Sars during the 2002–2003 pandemic and found that four had miscarried, while three died during pregnancy. Earlier this month, a baby was diagnosed with the latest strain of coronavirus just 36 hours after birth at Wuhan Children Hospital in Hubei Province, stoking fears the disease could be passed on during pregnancy. However, a small observational study published by the Lancet on Wednesday into nine pregnancies in Wuhan province – the source of the outbreak - found there is currently no evidence that the latest coronavirus causes severe adverse outcomes in newly-born babies or that it can pass to a foetus while in the womb. The study also found that symptoms in infected pregnant women were similar to those reported in non-pregnant adults, and no women in the study developed severe pneumonia or died. Dr Nathalie MacDermott says the true impact of coronavirus on pregnant women remains unclear. “Pregnant women can be more susceptible to infections as a whole, so it’s possible they might experience a more severe illness than women of same age who are not pregnant,” she says. “But we don’t have any clear data at the moment.” Older relatives