Eat more fruits and vegetables

Fibre has many health benefits, including lowering the risk of some health issues. Eat more of vitamin C rich fruits such as orange, lemon or cauliflower. Eating healthy, nutritious foods is essential to living a healthy life, and it is crucial in wintertime. Eat a lot of vegetables – kales or brussels sprouts for example. These veggies are full of fibre, antioxidants and are exceptionally nutritious.

Drink more water

Staying hydrated during the winter days is a great way to boost your immune system and avoid getting sick. On a cold winter night, it is nice to have your favourite green tea, but don’t forget to drink at least 2 litres of water every day. Drink a glass of water every hour to maintain your energy levels and brain functions – and to avoid getting sick.

Work out

Regular physical exercise can improve your health in general and can affect your mood positively. Working out also reduces the risks of heart disease, stress, and respiratory infections. Get active for at least 30 minutes every day, and your body will thank you!

Get vaccinated

To protect against seasonal flu, the best thing you can do is to get vaccinated. Flu vaccines help the immune system producing antibodies that protect against the flu. The vaccine can prevent up to 60% of flu infections, so getting the flu shot and living a healthy life will save you from getting sick.

Practice good hygiene

Wash your hands often! Or carry around a pocket-sized hand sanitizer to clean your hands anywhere you are. Viruses can enter our system through our nose, mouth or even eyes. Don’t touch your face with your hands unless they are clean! Washing your hands regularly throughout the day, especially if you use public transport, or have physical contact with other people, can help to protect against viral infections.

Clean up

Other than our hands, viruses can also survive on other surfaces like metal, plastic or paper. During the day, we touch many objects, and our mobile phones, computer keyboards, and money are constantly in our hands. No wonder that these everyday items host many viruses and bacteria. Disinfect your desk and regularly used items with alcohol-based cleaning products to lower the risk of infections.

Keep the air clean

We all like to arrive at our warm home after a long day of work. Especially in winter, we can’t wait to finally get home and warm up our cold bodies. However, we often forget about changing the air in the house. Open the windows as soon as you arrive home, to clean the air! Common colds and the flu are respiratory infections. This means that they travel through the air that we breathe. Let fresh air in to reduce the risk of germs staying inside. 

Don’t get too close

During the flu season it is a good idea to stay two arms’ length away from each other. As viruses can travel through the air, they can be inhaled easily from a sick person’s exhale. If you use public transport, try to keep your distance from others. If you work in an office with many others, make sure to let fresh air in at least two or three times a day. When someone from your household got sick, try to avoid physical contact with them and boost your immune system with some vitamins and a lot of water.

by Kitti Bába

Hungarian national rail and bus companies, MÁV and Volánbusz, have announced stricter policies regarding wearing masks. Since 4 May, everyone riding public transport has been required to wear a face-covering such as a mask, scarf or shawl, and those who fail to comply receive warnings. From 15 September, the transgressions will not be forgiven: those not covering up will be asked to disembark immediately.

The railway, along with the Készenléti (Riot) Police Force and other security personnel have inspected more than 6,100 trains since August, says MÁV. Passengers and staff are both required to wear a protective face covering, and employees have so far been provided more than one million masks, 1.5 million gloves and 60,000 litres of hand sanitiser.

From 15 September, travel conditions will be tightened, and bus drivers will be obliged to refuse boarding if the passenger is not wearing a mask or other appropriate face covering. Throughout the trip, ticket inspectors will continue to check for compliance. Volánbusz is asking the police to take action if a passenger refuses to cover their mouth and nose, in which case fines may be imposed ranging from 10,000-50,000 forints. The police will also be checking bus stations to ensure passengers are wearing their masks.

source: WeLoveBudapest

A cikk elolvasása után egészítsd ki a 8 mondatot a három lehetőség közül a legmegfelelőbbel.

Businesses in Italy are reviving the tradition of selling wine and other drinks from tiny wall hatches known as wine windows. The tradition dates back to the 1600s when Italy was in the grip of another pandemic.

Wineries, gelaterias and bars in Tuscany have found a neat way to serve drinks and treats to customers while maintaining a safe physical distance by using wine windows or buchette del vino as they’re known in Italian. As the region comes out of lockdown, these windows have been serving contactless wine, Aperol Spritzes, gelato and coffee to customers in need of a pick-me-up.

There are about 150 of them in Tuscany, according to Buchette del Vino, a non-profit, cultural organisation that was set up by three friends — Matteo Faglia, Diletta Corsini and Mary Christine Forrest — in 2015 to promote, preserve and highlight these pint-sized windows. More than 100 of these architectural quirks can be found in Florence’s historical center alone.

The wine windows first came about in the 17th-century when quick-thinking wine merchants decided to carve little openings in the walls of their premises to continue serving drinks to the public during the Italian Plague of 1629–1631. These wine merchants understood the problem of contagion, say Buchette del Vino.

“They passed the flask of wine through the window to the client but did not receive payment directly into their hands. Instead, they passed a metal pallet to the client, who placed the coins on it, and then the seller disinfected them with vinegar before collecting them.”

Over time, as the demand for them diminished, the windows were bordered up. They’re often overlooked by tourists and even some locals as they go about their business. But today, as Italy grapples with a new pandemic and fresh fears of contagion, some Florentine businesses including Osteria delle Brache and Babae have opened their windows again to serve drinks, while the owners of the Vivoli ice cream parlor are serving coffee and gelato to passers-by.

source: Lonely Planet, CNN

Due to the ongoing pandemic, face masks have become mandatory for everyone using public transport in Budapest. As the number of passengers who comply with the regulations has started to recently drop, Budapest public transport authority BKK has issued a statement warning that those who are non-compliant will be removed from the vehicles.

Anyone who travels without wearing a mask or scarf covering their nose and mouth may be removed from public transport vehicles, BKK announced.

As the danger posed by the coronavirus has not passed, passengers in Budapest are still required to cover their faces with a mask, a scarf or kerchief on the vehicles and at stops as well.

While nearly every passenger complied with the rules when they were introduced, according to a non-representative survey by BKK, this number has dropped to around 85% by now.

One of the reasons according to the BKK, is the hot weather; however, they warn that it is just as important in the extreme heat as in more pleasant weather.

Mask usage is primarily monitored by inspectors as well as passenger coordinators at metro entrances and, if necessary, passengers are made aware of the rules. Anyone who ignores this, endangers the health of their fellow passengers, and according to the conditions for travel may be excluded from the service.

BKK notes that inspectors are also required to wear masks, however, drivers are exempt since most of them sit in a closed cab, which provides sufficient physical protection against the virus.

source: Hungary Today 

Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself and others from illnesses such as food poisoning and flu. But do yo know how to wash your hands properly?

You should wash your hands for the amount of time it takes to sing “Happy Birthday” twice (around 20 seconds):

1. Wet your hands with water.

2. Apply enough soap to cover your hands.

3. Rub your hands together.

4. Use one hand to rub the back of the other hand and clean in between the fingers. Do the same with the other hand.

5. Rub your hands together and clean in between your fingers.

6. Rub the back of your fingers against your palms.

7. Rub your thumb using your other hand. Do the same with the other thumb.

8. Rub the tips of your fingers on the palm of your other hand. Do the same with other hand.

9. Rinse your hands with water.

10. Dry your hands completely with a disposable towel.

11. Use the disposable towel to turn off the tap.

If you do not have immediate access to soap and water then use alcohol-based handrub if available.

When should you wash your hands?

You should wash your hands:

– after using the toilet or changing a nappy

– before and after handling raw foods like meat and vegetables

– before eating or handling food

– after blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing

– before and after treating a cut or wound

– after touching animals, including pets, their food and after cleaning their cages

– after using public transport vehicles

Washing your hands properly removes dirt, viruses and bacteria to stop them spreading to other people and objects, which can spread illnesses such as food poisoning, flu or diarrhoea.

It can help stop people picking up infections and spreading them to others.

It can also help stop spreading infections when you’re visiting someone in hospital or another healthcare setting.

As Coronavirus (officially called COVID-19) continues to dominate the news, it might be useful to look at some of the language to talk about it.

The first is that people contract a virus (= get it). When a disease passes very easily from one person to another, as this one does, we say that it is extremely infectious or highly contagious. People that have it and may pass it to others are known as carriers. Some people seem to be more infectious (= pass on the disease more) than others, and these people are known as super-spreaders.

The first person to get a new disease is known as patient zero. When a patient has signs that they are ill, we say that they show/display symptoms, in this case a fever (= high temperature), cough and respiratory difficulty (= problems with breathing). The period between catching the illness and showing symptoms is the incubation period.

We use the word cases to refer to people who have a disease, e.g. There have been several cases of COVID-19 in the UK. When doctors have done tests and are sure that people have it, we call them confirmed or diagnosed cases. If doctors find that someone has the disease, we say that they test positive for it. If there is an unusually high number, we say that there is a spike in cases, whereas if numbers seem as though they are continuing to fall, we say that they have peaked.

We often talk about the mortality rate of a disease to say what proportion of people die from it. The death toll is the number of people who have died. The start of a disease is called the outbreak. COVID-19 hasn’t yet been classified as a pandemic (= a disease that has spread all over the world), but it has the potential to become one.

Governments have to decide how to control/contain the spread of the virus. Towns and cities may be put/placed on/in lockdown so that nobody can enter or leave them, countries may close their borders (= stop letting people from other countries in) and airlines sometimes suspend flights (= stop flying) to certain places.

People who may have the disease are often put/placed in quarantine (= made to stay somewhere away from other people). Passengers returning from an area with coronavirus may be asked to self-quarantine (= stay away from other people voluntarily). Despite the fact that most experts don’t think they are effective, some countries have seen huge queues for face masks (= covers for your mouth and nose). Meanwhile, scientists are racing to develop a vaccine (= make medicine that will stop people getting the virus).

We hope you find these words and phrases useful – and please stay safe!

source: dictionaryblog.cambridge.org

Can you pair up the expressions with their definition?

 Key: 

1. j. 2. g. 3. o. 4. c. 5. i. 6. a. 7. k. 8. b. 9. e. 10. d. 11. n. 12. f. 13. l. 14. h. 15. m.