Ways to Keep You and Your Loved Ones Protected Amid Coivd-19

With the onset of COVID-19, the world has come to a sudden halt where countries across the globe our trying their best to save lives. At this point, it is not just about the duty of healthcare professionals to spread awareness, rather everyone needs to be responsible and adopt healthy hygiene practices to overcome this fatal battle.

Here are a few ways through which you can keep yourself and your loved ones safe and protected:

Give Your Personal Hygiene Utmost Importance

We are well aware that you have heard this a million times, but it still cannot be emphasized enough. At this point, there are a lot of things that still remain unknown pertaining to the virus, but we are well aware of the fact that it spreads in the form of respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs. Others can also get infected when they come in contact with any such surface that has active virus particles on it. Thereby, hand hygiene is pivotal to curb the spread of the infection.

Here are a few ways through which you can ensure hand hygiene:

1. Make sure to wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Scrub them for at least 20 seconds and use an alcohol based sanitizer.
2. While this is not as easy as it may sound, but don't touch your face. As per statistics, a person touches their face almost 23 times an hour, where half of the time, they touch their nose, eyes or mouth - the surfaces that get infected by COVID-19.
3. Use your upper arm or inside of your elbow when you cough or sneeze.
4. If you feel seek, do not got out and seek medical help.

Keep All Those Surfaces You Come In Regular Contact with Clean

One of the things that we don't exactly know about the Novel Coronavirus is its ability to survive outside the human body. However, we are aware of the fact that the virus is susceptible to disinfectants.

Here are a few cleaning tips that you can adopt for better hygiene:

1. Make use of the right products to disinfect. You can make use of EPA registered household disinfectants, diluted household bleach solutions or disinfectants with 70% alcohol to clean the surfaces.
2. It is important to use the products in the right manner for optimal results. To start off, clean any dirt or residue from the surface. Wipe off the surface using disinfectants. Leave the cleaner on the surface as long as the package instructs. People generally clean off the surface in haste, rather it should be given ample time for better results.
3. Clean all surfaces such as door handles, bathroom faucets, remote controls, switches and phones that you come in contact with daily. You cam disinfectant all horizontal surfaces like desktops, kitchen tables, countertop and any similar item where respiratory droplets could land.
4. While you may now know but your mobile phones are filthy. We generally don't wash our hands before touching it and keep on touching again and again causing re-contamination.
5. Don't reused your disinfectant wipes on multiple surface. The germs can transfer from the used wipes to other surface. Make use one disinfectant wipe on one surface and then immediately replace it.
6. Don't dry the surface before you wipe it off. The surface you disinfect needs to stay wet for the amount of time mentioned on the label. The contact time will eventually help kill the germs.

Maintain Social Distancing

The term social distancing is as simple as it sounds. It essentially means to keep distance from other people. Local governments are often using this term to describe various public health measures. These measures include closing of school, restricting public gathering and quarantining those who are sick. It is believed, that social distance, if done at the right time can curb the spread of the vireos and alternatively save lives.

As a responsible citizen, you don't need to wait for the government's order rather here are a few things that you can do:

1. Main distance at crowded places. It is important to keep a tab on the number of people at any location, along with the density. Respiratory droplets can easily travel up to six feet and be inhaled by the people in close proximity. Stay protected by being out of range.
2. Opt for virtual meetings to ensure safe spaces.
3. No hugs or handshakes. If there is a dire need to meet someone, opt for alternative ways of greetings.
4. Make an effort to avoid crowded places. For instance, instead of using public transportation, walk or ride a bike to your destination. This will not only help you in avoiding crowds but also limit the probability of touch contaminated surfaces.

It needs to be understood that the virus will be with us for some time, perhaps till the end of this year. Therefore, adopting these practices is a long term strategy that will bear fruit and keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy.