Be careful of a Facebook status post that is supposed to be information from the Vienna City Council - it is a chain letter.
Chain letter in circulation in the name of the Vienna Magistrate
The text contains recommendations or advice about the new coronavirus.
It is a chain letter based on half-truths, truisms and untested claims.
And supposed recommendations are circulating again, this time supposedly coming directly from the Vienna magistrate:

Info from the Vienna City Council
Copied because it is important:
———————————Because somehow nobody knows what the symptoms are and what you can actually do to prevent them. Information directly from a hospital chief physician & ward manager I know:
- Snotty nose and/or sniffly nose = cold!
- COVID-19 is a dry cough without a runny nose.
- The virus is not heat-resistant and is killed at a temperature of only 26/27 degrees. It hates the sun.
- When someone who has it sneezes, it travels about 2-3 meters in the air before falling to the ground.
- If it gets onto a metal surface, it can survive for at least 12 hours. So if you come into contact with a metal surface: wash your hands thoroughly with soap as soon as possible.
- It can survive on fabric for up to 9 hours. Immediately wash items that have been sneezed on or may have otherwise come into contact with a source of infection. Regular detergent kills the virus.
- Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. If possible, avoid drinking liquids with ice or from the refrigerator. To prevent this, you can also gargle with salt dissolved in warm water. Protects the neck for 6-12 hours.
- You can't hear it anymore, but: wash your paws! The virus can only survive on the hands for 5-10 minutes. However, a lot can happen during this time. You rub your eyes, grab your nose, etc. blah blah.
- Can’t emphasize enough – drink lots of water!
THE SYMPTOMS
- It will affect the throat first, leaving one with a sore throat for 3-4 days.
- The virus then combines with nasal fluid, which travels into the windpipe and then into the lungs, causing pneumonia. This happens after about 5-6 days.
- Pneumonia is accompanied by high fever and difficulty breathing.
- The stuffy nose is not like the normal one. You feel like you're drowning. Be sure to seek medical help now (health department!)
Excellent advice from Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases:
Make sure your mouth and throat stay moist and never dry. Drink a few sips of water every 15 minutes. Why? Even if the virus enters the mouth, drinking water or other liquids will flush it down the throat and into the stomach. There the stomach acid kills the entire virus. If you don't drink enough regularly, the virus can get into the trachea and lungs.
Sharing desired!
The fact check
many different versions of these chain letters circulating . Even if the advice and supposed recommendations are well-intentioned, it is important to examine such statements. We have already examined all :
The runny nose
- Snotty nose and/or sniffly nose = cold!
- COVID-19 is a dry cough without a runny nose.
If you have a runny nose, you most likely have a cold. However, this does not mean that you cannot be infected with SARS-CoV-2! be a symptom , especially in children. Some studies have also found that the symptoms of flu, including a runny nose, can be a sign of a COVID-19 illness, but does not necessarily have to be.
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SARS-CoV-2 is not heat-resistant
3. The virus is not heat-resistant and is killed at a temperature of only 26/27 degrees. It hates the sun.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. If possible, avoid drinking liquids with ice or from the refrigerator. To prevent this, you can also gargle with salt dissolved in warm water. Protects the neck for 6-12 hours.
It is still entirely unclear whether warmer weather could curb the spread of the new coronavirus. However, the hot water tip is completely outrageous!
The human body already has an average body temperature of around 37 degrees, so it should die as soon as it is inside the body for a few minutes. Drinking hot water doesn't help; it cools down the inside of the stomach briefly if it's colder than 37 degrees.
The size and the sneezing
4. When someone who has it sneezes, it travels about 2-3 meters in the air before falling to the ground.
The most misinformation circulating is about protective masks. Conventional protective masks do not really protect against SARS-CoV-2 (as is wrongly thought), but only to a certain extent prevent you from infecting others if you are already sick yourself.
Quite apart from the fact that the cell diameter is 50-200 nm (not 400-500 nm, as is often claimed), the claim creates a false sense of security and thus possibly leads to leniency (after all, you are now protected) and endangers yourself and other people even more.
Misinformation is also being spread when it comes to sneezing, because depending on the person, the strength of the sneeze and the humidity, viruses can fly 1.5 meters to 60 meters
metal and fabric
5. If it gets on a metal surface, it can survive for at least 12 hours. So if you come into contact with a metal surface: wash your hands thoroughly with soap as soon as possible.
6. It can survive on fabric for up to 9 hours. Immediately wash items that have been sneezed on or may have otherwise come into contact with a source of infection. Regular detergent kills the virus.
There are still no definitive studies on how long SARS-CoV-2 survives on surfaces. However, HCoV (Human Coronavirus) and SARS can be used as a first comparison, as the new coronavirus is likely to behave similarly.
According to the latest research, surfaces that are smooth and not too porous allow the virus to survive longer. HCoV survives on aluminum for 2-8 hours at room temperature; on metal and steel, SARS and HCoV even survive for up to 5 days at room temperature.
according to Rachel Graham , an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, viruses cannot survive on porous surfaces - banknotes, hair, fabrics - for very long; they "get caught" in the tiny spaces and are difficult to transmit.
In general, you should stick to the rule of thumb: wash your hands regularly and thoroughly after touching things that have previously been touched by many other people.
wash your hands
8. You can't hear it anymore, but: wash your paws! The virus can only survive on the hands for 5-10 minutes. However, a lot can happen during this time. You rub your eyes, grab your nose, etc. blah blah.
Washing your hands with soap is always a good idea. The Federal Center for Health Education advises the following:
As with influenza and other respiratory diseases, compliance with coughing and sneezing rules , good hand hygiene and keeping a distance from sick people (around 1 to 2 meters) also protect against transmission of the novel coronavirus. Shaking hands should also be avoided.
In general, people who have respiratory symptoms, ie signs of illness in the respiratory tract, should stay at home if possible. The virus is one of the enveloped viruses and is therefore very sensitive to soap, alcohol and chlorine.
As mentioned above, there are still no specific studies on SARS-CoV-2 and its survival time.
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The list of symptoms
THE SYMPTOMS
It will affect the throat first, leaving one with a sore throat for 3-4 days.
The virus then combines with nasal fluid, which travels into the windpipe and then into the lungs, causing pneumonia. This happens after about 5-6 days.
Pneumonia is accompanied by high fever and difficulty breathing.
The stuffy nose is not like the normal one. You feel like you're drowning. Be sure to seek medical help now (health department!)
The list above only describes one possible scenario of a COVID-19 illness!
The specific symptoms in individuals, the duration and the prevalence vary greatly from person to person. Many infected people show none of the symptoms, other infected people only show very mild symptoms, and others show very severe, acute symptoms.
According to the Natural Healthcare System (NHS), the most common symptoms are cough , high fever and shortness of breath . The symptoms do not necessarily indicate COVID-19; they also occur with a common cold and flu, but they can be a warning signal.
Last but not least: The excellent advice from a Japanese doctor
Excellent advice from Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases:
Make sure your mouth and throat stay moist and never dry. Drink a few sips of water every 15 minutes. Why? Even if the virus enters the mouth, drinking water or other liquids will flush it down the throat and into the stomach. There the stomach acid kills the entire virus. If you don't drink enough regularly, the virus can get into the trachea and lungs.
AFP Fact Check already dispelled the “drink water every 15 minutes” rumor Again, there is no evidence that health authorities recommend that drinking water every 15 minutes prevents infection with the new coronavirus.
Article image: Shutterstock / By Aleksandra Suzi
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