Expert's 'best single piece of advice' on coronavirus goes viral on Twitter

It's only an 18-second video clip but it is being hailed on social media as the best advice you can have for avoiding spreading the coronavirus.

Graham Medley, Professor of Infectious Disease Modelling, told BBC Newsnight people shouldn't act like someone who is avoiding contracting the virus but rather as someone who already has the virus and is trying not to pass it onto others.

This 18 seconds is probably the best single piece of advice I’ve heard about the #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/buDs1fhdwL

— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) March 13, 2020

The advice, hailed as "probably the best single piece of advice I've heard about the #coronavirus" by a Twitter user, has been shared thousands of times in just a few hours.

"Most people have a fear of acquiring the virus. I think a good way of doing it is to imagine that you do have the virus, and change your behaviour so that you're not transmitting it," he said.

"Don't think about changing your behaviour so you won't get it, think about changing your behaviour so you don't give it to somebody else."

The clip is part of a bigger interview the expert gave the BBC about herd immunity. The full interview can be watched below:

Twitter users have been sharing the advice with their followers, urging them to think about how the virus is transmitted.

“Act as if you’re infected and don’t want to pass it on. Not as if you’re trying to avoid being infected.”

Excellent advice from @GrahamMedley an expert on infectious diseases. Please pass it on!#Coronavirus #Covid_19

— Angela🛡3.5% Rebel with many causes #ToriesOut (@spaceangel1964) March 13, 2020

Worth catching the @GrahamMedley bit on Newsnight. Calm, clear and a good shorthand for how people should behave: “Act as if you’re infected and don’t want to pass it on. Not as if you’re trying to avoid being infected.”

— Tom Sutcliffe (@tds153) March 12, 2020

This is absolutely brilliant.

— David Krepps (@dnk900) March 13, 2020