Members are sweating and breathing hard over the equipment, only wiping it down quickly with a strip of paper towel — if they remember to wipe it down at all. To make sure you stay healthy every time you go for a workout, you should read these tips to protect yourself.
Wash Your Fitness Gear
Before you worry about the treadmills and locker rooms, you need to take a look at your gym bag. You could be harboring bacteria and germs in your athletic gear.
Moisture and bacteria will build up in your gym shoes, especially if you only wear one pair. This situation can lead to powerful foot odor, along with frustrating problems like foot fungus, toe fungus and blisters. Swap your shoes after every use to let them dry out. If you’ve been using the shoes for a while, you should replace the old dirty insoles. Click here to see where you can get custom orthotics in Toronto so that you can get the perfect fit for these supportive accessories.
Don’t re-wear clothes after a workout. Even if you think you didn’t sweat much, you should clean them. When you put those dirty clothes into the washing machine, toss your gym bag in there, too.
Wipe down Gym Equipment
If you think your equipment is dirty, just imagine what lies on the gym’s equipment. People have been touching it and sweating on it day-in and day-out, and you can’t be sure if they’ve been kind enough to clean up after themselves.
If you’re worried about getting sick, the microbiologist Jason Tetro recommends that anyone using gym equipment follows these simple rules to avoid bacteria and viruses:
Shower before and after the workout
Take 15 seconds to wipe down equipment before and after using it
Wash your hands often
Don’t touch your mouth or face
Don’t Go Barefoot
You need to wear shower shoes when you go into damp areas like the swimming pool deck, the locker room, the sauna, and, of course, the showers. These floors are covered with germs. The protective footwear will keep you from picking up an embarrassing infection like athlete’s foot or plantar warts.
You can get the same foot conditions from a borrowed yoga mat because people like to practice in their bare feet and they often forget to clean the material when they’re done using it. You should wipe down a borrowed mat before and after your yoga classes and use grippy socks as protective barriers. Better yet, buy your own mat and bring it from home.
Avoid gym mat germs.
These are all ways that you can protect yourself from germs at the gym. Luckily, they’re also ways that you can stop everyone else from catching a virus or bacterial infection. By cleaning up after yourself, you’ve given other members a better chance of staying healthy, too.
You should always avoid the gym when you’re not feeling well. Don’t push yourself to go for a jog or to do a round of sun salutations when you have the sniffles. Your determination to fight your illness and fit in a workout can make other members sick.
As people are looking for ways to unwind at home, the gaming industry has been one of the primary places people set their eyes on. Not only is it a way to entertain yourself for hours on end, but it is also a place for people to connect, which is otherwise hard to do during the pandemic.
According to data presented by the Atlas VPN team, 303,827 individuals’ devices were affected by gaming-related malware and unwanted software between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Mobile games are also a major threat for gamers.
As many as 50,644 users attempted to download 10,488 unique files disguised as the ten most-played mobile games, generating a total of 332,570 detections. Minecraft was by far the most popular game on both PC and mobile platforms for dangerous app distributors to hide behind. On PC, nearly 185 thousand users were affected with over 3 million malware and unwanted software detections.
On mobile, the number of victims exceeds 44 thousand for the period.
Unwanted software includes files like adware, spyware, and so on. There are various versions of Minecraft and a plethora of mods (modifications that may be placed on top of the basic game to diversify gameplay) may account for its enormous popularity. Because mods are unofficial and developed by users, they can be used to hide dangerous payloads or undesirable software.
Security tips for gamers
Protect your accounts with two-factor authentication (2-FA) whenever possible.
Use strong passwords for your accounts, with a different one for each. That way, even if one of your accounts is compromised, the remainder will remain unaffected.
Downloading games from official retailers such as Steam, Apple App Store, Google Play, or Amazon Appstore is safer. These marketplaces aren’t completely safe, but they are at least examined by store staff, and there is some sort of screening procedure in place: not every app is allowed into these stores.
If you want to buy a game that isn’t accessible in major stores, you should do it through the official website. Make sure to double-check the website’s URL to avoid impostor sites.
Be cautious of phishing campaigns and unfamiliar players. If you are unsure about the sender, do not open links you receive via email or in a gaming chat. Do not open files sent to you by strangers.
Another one of the most well-known game titles worldwide, The Sims 4, was the second most often used title to distribute unwanted files. Over 43 thousand users were impacted, with detections closing in on 1.3 million. For the Silo, Valentina Perez.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to over 910,000 deaths worldwide and unprecedented decimation of the global economy. Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support.
Censorship Of Alternative Theory
A recent Reddit page
The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus.
Dr. Li-Meng Yan, one of the key authors of the report has been labeled as a whistle blower by Western media.
In this report, the authors describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.
Our work emphasizes the need for an independent investigation into the relevant research laboratories. It also argues for a critical look into certain recently published data, which, albeit problematic, was used to support and claim a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.
From a public health perspective, these actions are necessary as knowledge of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and of how the virus entered the human population are of pivotal importance in the fundamental control of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in preventing similar, future pandemics.
Introduction
COVID-19 has caused a world-wide pandemic, the scale and severity of which are unprecedented. Despite the tremendous efforts taken by the global community, management and control of this pandemic remains difficult and challenging. As a coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 differs significantly from other respiratory and/or zoonotic viruses: it attacks multiple organs; it is capable of undergoing a long period of asymptomatic infection; it is highly transmissible and significantly lethal in high-risk populations; it is well-adapted to humans since the very start of its emergence ; it is highly efficient in binding the human ACE2 receptor (hACE2), the affinity of which is greater than that associated with the ACE2 of any other potential host.
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still the subject of much debate.
A widely cited Nature Medicine publication has claimed that SARS-CoV-2 most likely came from nature. However, the article and its central conclusion are now being challenged by scientists from all over the world.
February, 2020; Paris, France – A majority of people across eight large countries say the coronavirus poses a high or very high threat to the world and an additional one in three say the virus is a moderate threat to the world.
More than one in two people in Japan (66%), Australia (61%) and the United States (55%) are concerned about the threat of the outbreak on the world. Canada (42%) and Russia (42%), the United Kingdom (43%), and Germany (47%) have slightly lower levels of high or very high threat.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos survey conducted online from February 7 to 9, 2020 among 8,001 adults aged 16 (18) -74 in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Less Than One In Five Feel Coronavirus Outbreak Contained
On average, only one in five people (19%) agree the coronavirus outbreak has been contained and will soon be over, while more than twice as many disagree (46%). People in the U.K. (55%), Canada (51%), Australia (50%), and Japan (49%) were most likely to disagree the outbreak has been contained. One in three Russian respondents believe the coronavirus outbreak has been contained (33%).
Added to that, more than four in five (86%) people across these eight countries say they have seen, heard, or read a great deal or fair amount about the outbreak.
Together, this data shows that most people are closely tracking the coronavirus outbreak and are also worried the health epidemic will continue to worsen before it gets better.
In response, there is widespread support for significant actions to control the virus. On average, four in five (85%) people support mandatory screening of those traveling from infected countries, and there is a similar level of strong support for mandatory quarantine of those who could have the infection. Two-thirds (66%) of people agree the government should ban travel to and from impacted countries, and that airlines in their country should be restricted from flying to China.
Topline data follows:
Q. How much, if at all, have you seen, read or heard about the coronavirus outbreak?
US
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
Japan
Russia
Base: All respondents
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1001
1000
1000
A great deal
42%
40%
67%
39%
42%
27%
39%
29%
A fair amount
43%
45%
28%
54%
47%
49%
53%
48%
Not very much
12%
13%
4%
7%
9%
22%
5%
21%
Nothing at all
2%
1%
0%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
Don’t know
1%
1%
1%
0%
1%
1%
2%
1%
Summary
T2B: Great deal/fair amount
85%
86%
95%
92%
88%
76%
92%
77%
B2B: Nothing/Not much
14%
14%
4%
7%
10%
23%
6%
22%
Q. (The world) What level of threat do you think the coronavirus poses to each of the following?
US
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
Japan
Russia
Base: All respondents
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1001
1000
1000
Very high threat
23%
13%
16%
12%
28%
13%
26%
11%
High threat
31%
29%
33%
31%
33%
34%
40%
30%
Moderate threat
32%
38%
34%
42%
27%
35%
27%
36%
Low threat
9%
15%
10%
11%
7%
13%
4%
14%
Very low threat
3%
3%
4%
3%
2%
3%
2%
6%
Don’t know
2%
2%
3%
2%
2%
2%
1%
2%
Summary
T2B: High threat
55%
42%
49%
43%
61%
47%
66%
42%
B3B: Low threat
43%
55%
48%
56%
37%
51%
33%
57%
Q. (The coronavirus outbreak has been contained and will soon be over.) Do you agree or disagree with the following (is that strongly or somewhat?):
US
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
Japan
Russia
Base: All respondents
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1001
1000
1000
Strongly agree
6%
3%
2%
4%
5%
5%
2%
7%
Somewhat agree
15%
13%
14%
12%
15%
16%
13%
26%
Neither agree nor disagree
26%
26%
30%
22%
26%
33%
32%
28%
Somewhat disagree
27%
32%
29%
36%
29%
28%
31%
18%
Strongly disagree
19%
19%
13%
20%
21%
14%
18%
14%
Don’t know
7%
8%
12%
7%
5%
5%
5%
7%
Summary
T2B: Agree
21%
15%
16%
16%
19%
20%
15%
33%
B2B: Disagree
46%
51%
42%
55%
50%
42%
49%
33%
Q. (Total strongly & somewhat agree) To what extent, if at all, would you support or oppose each of the following measures?
US
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Australia
Germany
Japan
Russia
Base: All respondents
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1001
1000
1000
Anyone travelling to and from infected countries should undergo mandatory screening
83%
86%
87%
86%
88%
78%
78%
91%
Government should impose mandatory quarantine for those who could have the infection
79%
83%
84%
84%
87%
74%
80%
84%
Airlines from my country should stop flying to China
68%
67%
68%
70%
75%
59%
67%
61%
The government should ban any travel to and from affected countries
70%
66%
68%
66%
73%
50%
71%
64%
Public transit systems in my country, including buses, subways, and trains, should be taking precautions to prevent the further spread of coronavirus
73%
60%
56%
61%
70%
48%
76%
72%
The government should send doctors, materials, supplies abroad to help countries affected by the virus
61%
55%
52%
49%
52%
62%
56%
56%
Airlines from my country should stop flying to other infected countries besides China
62%
54%
59%
57%
59%
44%
46%
54%
About the Study
These are the results of an Ipsos survey conducted February 7-9, 2020 on the Global Advisor online platform among 8,001 adults aged 18-74 in Canada and the United States and 16-74 in Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.
The sample consists of approximately 1000+ individuals in each country. The samples in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. can be taken as representative of these countries’ general adult population under the age of 75. The sample in Russia is more urban, more educated and/or more affluent than the general population and should be viewed as reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of the population. The data is weighted so that each market’s sample composition best reflects the demographic profile of the adult population according to the most recent census data.
Where results do not sum to 100 or the ‘difference’ appears to be +/-1 more/less than the actual, this may be due to rounding, multiple responses or the exclusion of don’t knows or not stated responses.
The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 4.8 percentage points. For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website. For the Silo, by Dianne Bankay.
This study did not have any external sponsors or partners. It was initiated and run by Ipsos with the intention to share our understanding about the world we live in and how citizens around the globe think and feel about their world.
About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.
Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).
