ANYONE self-isolating or suffering from symptoms of coronavirus are being told to double bag their waste to avoid contaminating others.
All household rubbish needs to be stored for 72 hours before taking it out, Public Health England has urged.
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Brits who are in self-isolation have to be extra careful with virus waste
The PM last night announced sweeping emergency measures to protect lives, including telling Brits to work from home.
PHE has issued new advice telling people to “put aside” all household rubbish for 72 hours if anyone in their house is suspected of having the deadly virus.
Traces of the virus on garbage after 72 hours are significantly less, according to PHE.
The new precautions follow urgent advice from Boris Johnson telling everyone to avoid unnecessary social contact, and advising extra-vulnerable Brits to self-isolate for as long as 12 weeks.
Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have spiralled to 1543 in the UK, with 55 deaths.
All household waste should also be double bagged to avoid allowing the virus to spread even further.
People have been told to give their homes an extra clean as well to scrub any trace of the virus off surfaces – particularly door handles, table tops and remote controls.
The advice says: “Waste from possible cases… should be put in a plastic rubbish bag and tied when full, the plastic bag should then be placed in a second bin bag and tied.”
PHE said households need to focus especially on tissues and disposable cleaning cloths.
If the person with symptoms of COVID-19 is able to be tested and tests negative then all rubbish can be stored in a normal way.
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