The new strain of Coronavirus has led to the declaration of public health emergency of international concern by the WHO. The illness, now being referred to as Coronavirus Disease 2019 or COVID-19 was earlier suspected to be an animal-to-person spread, the recent spread is being chalked as person-to-person.
In February this year, the CDC reported the community spread in California, Oregon, and Washington. The Washington outbreak claimed the first life in the country, the infection of a health care practitioner and even an outbreak in a health care facility. Although the country is not under the direct hit or one of the high alert regions, it is still essential to vigilantly practice preventative and safety measures and make sure this disease does not lead to a pandemic outbreak.
To ensure everyone is taking proper care and is vigilantly practicing good hygiene, we have listed some preventive measures that can help you and help you help others stay safe from this deadly virus.
Wash your hands regularly
Regular washing will help rid your hands of any germs present on the surface. It will also help contain the contamination and is a healthy practice.
Use sanitizers
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers come in handy when you’re traveling or in constant public contact. The alcohol in these sanitizers helps rid your hands of the viruses and other microbiota that can cause harm to you.
Maintain a safe distance
The WHO recommends that you maintain a minimum of 3 feet distance from anyone. The distance is essential from people who are coughing or sneezing as the virus can travel in the form of air-borne water droplets from the mouth and nose of the infected person. Maintaining such a distance will save you from inhaling the said droplets and falling prey to the corona or any other virus, for that matter.
Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth
Your hands are in constant contact with various surfaces that can have been infected by others. If these infected hands make contact with your eyes, nose, and mouth give infections multiple entry points into the body, making contacting infections easier.
Proper respiratory hygiene
Ensure good respiratory hygiene practices are being followed by you and those around you. The practices include covering your mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing. Make sure you clean your hands after coughing and sneezing. Do not leave used tissues lying around as they increase the risk of contamination.
Seek proper medical care
If you have recently fallen ill or are experiencing a deterioration in your health, it is advised that you seek proper and immediate medical care. Get tested if needed and follow all the directions suggested by your local medical practitioner. Seek immediate care if you are experiencing fever, cough, cold, or difficulty in breathing. If left unattended, the infection can fester and might lead others to be exposed to the illness.
Avoid physical contact
Another way of decreasing the risk of exposure is to avoid physical contact with other people, individually or in group settings. Maintaining acceptable distance is key to keeping yourself protected. In lieu of these precautions, multiple firms have been avoiding holding meetings and are suggesting employees stay at home if they are unwell.
Information is the key
As there is not much concrete information present about this dreaded illness currently, it is essential everyone follows advice provided by their healthcare providers. The CDC and WHO are providing relevant information to help understand what actions are to be taken on an individual level. It is also necessary that we do not blindly follow or believe or spread information that is provided by an unqualified or irrelevant source. This will only lead to problems and unnecessarily scare people.
Some other safety measures suggested by the WHO include food safety measures. For example, using different chopping boards for raw meat and cooked food can prevent probable exposure of the virus from an animal source. Similarly, it is smarter to wash hands in between handling raw or cooked food.
While wearing masks is a nice hygiene practice, it is only useful for people who have a respiratory infection. So, it’s safe to say that if you are suffering from even the common flu, it’s safer for you and for everyone else that you wear a mask at least while out in public.
The world is working together to prevent the massive outbreak and spread of this disease. Recent stats suggest that the recovery of infected patients is possible and the infection level is mild. However, people with low immunity, heart diseases, respiratory disease, and diabetes are at higher risk of serious infections. In such circumstances, prevention and safety measures are the best way to stay safe from a possible pandemic outbreak.
