This is part 53 of our coronavirus FAQ. Click here to read other installments: #Coronavirus the facts. Find the latest information and answers from experts on everything COVID-19.
Expert handbook
A group of infectious disease experts, including Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University's Professor Kaku Mitsuo, has released a handbook online and in multiple languages, listing specific measures to help prevent infections: http://www.hosp.tohoku-mpu.ac.jp/info/information/2377/
Available in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Mongolian, it looks at pressing issues, such as what to do when a family member is infected.
What should we do if a family member is infected?
The handbook says only one person should take care of the sick family member. The caretaker should wear gloves, a mask and frequently wash their hands. They should take their own temperature twice a day and pay attention to whether they themselves exhibit any symptoms.
When it comes to meals, plates and utensils should not be shared and crockery should be soaked in disinfectant for at least five minutes and then washed. Clothes or bedding that may have bodily fluids on them should be soaked in hot water at 80 degrees Celsius for at least ten minutes before being washed.
The handbook also says it's important to ventilate rooms by opening windows for five to 10 minutes every one or two hours.
Kaku says many people may not know what to do if they or their families show symptoms, so he hopes the handbook will be useful in reducing the risk of infection and helping people feel safe in their everyday lives.
This information is accurate as of Sept. 28, 2020.