Shutterstock
Sure, wearing glasses may be annoying, but did you know they could be preventing you from catching COVID-19?
According to a study of 304 patients that was published in medRxiv, people who wear glasses are two-to-three times less likely to be infected with the coronavirus.
Considering goggles have been mentioned along with masks and face shields as potential deterrents to catching the virus, it makes sense.
Per the study, those who wear glasses are less likely to catch the virus because they are less likely to rub their eyes.
“This present study showed that the risk of COVID was two to three times less in spectacles-wearing population than the population not using spectacles,” Amit Kumar Saxena said, via the UK’s Mirror.
“Protective role of the spectacles was found statistically significant, if those were used for (a) long period of the day. Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection.”
The study notes people touch their face on average 23 times an hour and the eyes on average three times per hour.
So keep those glasses on, folks.
Shutterstock
The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 28.2 million confirmed cases and 500,000 deaths in the United States — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
