Reading Task: Prevention on Severe Respiratory Disease
Suggested Level: S2-3
Task Description
You will read an article about how to prevent severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent for the general public and answer the related questions.
Guidelines on Prevention of Severe Respiratory Disease Associated with a Novel Infectious Agent for the General Public
The Department of Health advises the general public to take the following precautionary measures to minimise the risk of contracting and spreading Severe Respiratory Disease associated with a Novel Infectious Agent.
Health advice for the general public
Do not travel to Hubei Province where community transmission of novel coronavirus is occurring.
Avoid close contact with persons with fever or respiratory symptoms in countries/areas with possible community transmission of novel coronavirus infection. If it is unavoidable to come into contact with them, put on a surgical mask and continue to do so until 14 days after returning to Hong Kong.
After returning to Hong Kong, consult a doctor promptly if experiencing a fever or other symptoms, take the initiative to inform the doctor of any recent travel history and any exposure to animals, and wear a surgical mask to help prevent spread of the disease.
Avoid touching animals (including game), poultry / birds or their droppings.
Avoid visiting wet markets, live poultry markets or farms.
Do not consume game meat and do not patronise food premises where game meat is served.
Maintain good personal hygiene
Wear a surgical mask when taking public transport or staying in crowded places. It is important to wear a mask properly, including hand hygiene before wearing and after removing a mask.
Avoid touching your eyes, mouth and nose.
Keep hands clean at all times. Perform hand hygiene frequently, especially before touching your eyes, mouth or nose, before handling food or eating, after going to the toilet, after touching public installations such as escalator handrails, elevator control panels or door knobs, or when hands are contaminated by respiratory secretion after coughing or sneezing.
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Wash hands with liquid soap and water, and rub for at least 20 seconds. Then rinse with water and dry with a disposable paper towel.
If hand washing facilities are not available, or when hands are not visibly soiled, performing hand hygiene with 70 to 80% alcohol-based handrub is an effective alternative.
Cover your nose and mouth with tissue paper when sneezing or coughing. Do not spit or litter. Use tissue paper to hold your spit. Dispose of the soiled tissues into a lidded rubbish bin, and then wash hands thoroughly.
After using the toilet, put the toilet lid down before flushing to avoid spreading germs.
When having respiratory symptoms, wear a surgical mask, refrain from work or attending class at school, avoid going to crowded places and seek medical advice promptly.
N95 respirators are generally not recommended for use by the general public in community settings because special training is required for proper wearing and removal of the mask. Otherwise the infective risk due to inadequate protection and contamination may be ironically increased.
Avoid going to crowded places with poor ventilation if you are feeling unwell.
Maintain good environmental hygiene
Maintain good indoor ventilation.
Home should be cleaned thoroughly at least once per week with 1 in 99 diluted household bleach (mixing 10 ml of bleach containing 5.25% sodium hypochlorite with 990 ml of water), leave for 15-30 minutes and then rinse with water. For metallic surface, disinfect with 70% alcohol.
If places are contaminated by respiratory secretions, vomitus or excreta, use strong absorbent disposable towels to clean up the visible matter. Then disinfect the surface and the neighbouring area with appropriate disinfectant. For non-metallic surface, disinfect with 1 in 49 diluted household bleach (mixture of 10ml of household bleach containing 5.25% hypochlorite solution with 490ml of water), leave for 15 - 30 minutes, and then rinse with water. For metallic surface, disinfect with 70% alcohol.
Maintain drainage pipes properly and regularly (about once a week) pour about half a litre of water into each drain outlet (U-traps) to ensure environmental hygiene. For details, please refer to https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/make_sure_the_trap_is_not_dry.pdf.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle
Build up a good body resistance and maintain a healthy lifestyle. This can be achieved through balanced diet, regular exercise and adequate rest.
Do not smoke and avoid alcohol consumption.
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(Adapted from an article on the website of the Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health:
https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102465.html.)
Refer to the text and answer the following questions.
1. What is the main purpose of this article?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Based on the guidelines, decide whether the following statements are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG) by putting a tick “” in the appropriate boxes.
T F NG
a) There is a wide community transmission of severe respiratory disease associated with a Novel Infectious Agent in Hong Kong.
b) We should go to see the doctor after travelling to other countries.
c) We should perform hand hygiene before wearing and after removing masks.
d) N95 respirators provide better protection than surgical masks.
e) Diluted household bleach should be used to disinfect metallic surfaces with respiratory secretions, vomitus, etc.
3. You are Chris. Your mother has drafted a message advising your brother, Tom, to maintain better personal hygiene. Help her complete the message by filling in the blanks. Use ONE word for each blank. The words may or may not appear in the text.
Dear Tom,
I think you should learn to maintain better personal hygiene. You should ensure that your hands are not (a). ___________ so wash your hands frequently. I understand you might feel a bit uncomfortable when wearing a mask. However, it is important to do so especially when you are at places (b). ___________ with a lot of people. Remember to dispose of the tissue paper into a rubbish bin with a (c). ___________ after coughing and sneezing to avoid spreading germs. Equally important, you should maintain a strong body (d).
____________ by eating more healthy food and sleeping early.
Love, Mum
4. In line 33, what does “dispose of” mean?
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. In which section of the website of the Centre of Health Protection would you find the guidelines?
Choose the best answer.
A. Health Topics B. Press Release C. Contact
D. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Speaking Task: Class Suspension
Task Description
All schools have been suspended because of the outbreak of COVID-19. Prepare a two-minute video presentation suggesting ways on how students can spend their time meaningfully at home during class suspension.
Situation
You are Chris, a secondary three student. Your English teacher has asked you to prepare a two-minute video presentation providing suggestions on how your classmates can spend their time meaningfully at home due to the current outbreak of the COVID-19. You can use some of the ideas from the following mind map and/or your own ideas in your presentation.
Interesting
books News to keep
yourself
updated
?
Reading
Online learning Spending time meaningfully
at home
Looking after younger brothers/
sisters
Online homework assigned by
teachers Helping
parents
Doing housework
Reading Task: Prevention on Severe Respiratory Disease
Answer Key
1. To provide the general public with guidelines on the prevention of severe respiratory disease associated with a novel infectious agent
2. a) NG b) F c) T d) NG e) F
(For questions 3(a) - 3(d), accept other correct answers) 3. (a) soiled/dirty
(b) packed/crowded/filled (c) lid
(d) resistance 4. get rid of 5. A
