1st Edition 2020 | Page 90

The claims that hot weather and exposure to the sun can kill bacteria and virus such as COVID-19 is very popular as of recently. There are even allegations on Twitter that accuses UNICEF to advise people to drink more warm water and reduce ice cream consumption as it may help to prevent a person from being infected with COVID-19. The allegation was then rectified when UNICEF’s staff member, Charlotte Gornitzka issued a disclaimer. There is no solid evidence linking the properties of COVID-19 and its reaction to hot weather. However, this myth is surprisingly among many of those that are quite popular. WHO also stated that some of the countries with hot weather, like Malaysia, have also suffered the wrath of this virus. Having said so, this proves that exposure to the sun and hot weather does not prevent anyone from getting infected with COVID-19. Concerns over the spread of the virus have prompted many COVID-19 affected countries to make panic gel and disinfectant fluids purchases causing these items in pharmaceuticals to be out of stock. This has enabled the creative community to make their own sanitisers based on the examples from many hand sanitisers available. According to scientists, homemade sanitizer sometimes can have too much alcohol content for it to be used on the skin which can then lead to many skin issues such as irritation. The product recipe is best used as cleansing agents for the surface and tools, but it can be dangerous if it is used on the skin. Due to the higher percentage of alcohol in DIY hand sanitizer, a woman is currently hospitalised after her hands got burned off because of the DIY sanitiser that she applied to her hands prior to cooking. According to Sally Bloomfield, a professor of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, so far, no homemade sanitiser recipes have been successfully made at home or is even safe to be used. SASARAN EDISI 82 90