How to Protect Your Family From COVID19
Whether you or a member of your family is an essential worker or healthcare worker, or you are simply worried about bringing the novel coronavirus back home unwittingly after an essential shopping trip, you might be wondering what you can do to further protect your household from COVID19. Thankfully, there are several steps that you can take to make sure that even if the virus gets onto surfaces like your clothing or fixings in your home, it is dealt with before anybody becomes infected.
Personal Hygiene:
Good personal hygiene is still one of the most effective ways to combat the spread of COVID19. The virus is most commonly spread by touching. For example, if you touch a surface that is contaminated by the virus and then you eat a sandwich with your hands, you will catch it. Because there is no way to tell which surfaces are and aren’t contaminated, it’s a good idea to act as if everything is. Whenever you leave home, you should wash your hands thoroughly upon your return, especially before doing anything like eating or even touching your face.
Deep Cleaning:
A deep clean of your home can also help to ensure that any virus that might be lurking on surfaces is killed off and give you further peace of mind. Consider cleaning surfaces like floors with a strong disinfectant or bleach, and wipe down areas of your home like light switches, door handles, and stair rails with an antibacterial wipe or a bleach-based cleaning solution on a regular basis, particularly if you tend to use these before you get the chance to wash your hands at the sink.
Bringing Items Into Your Home:
The coronavirus can live on various surfaces like plastic, cloth, and cardboard for up to several days, so no matter how clean and hygienic you are at home, always bear in mind that something contaminated with the virus could be brought into your home, either in the post or when you go for essential shopping. For peace of mind, you might want to go over any groceries or other items that you buy with an antibacterial wipe or leave it for at least three days before touching it, to ensure that any potential virus is killed off.
Get Tested:
While COVID19 testing in an emergency room won’t prevent you from catching the virus, getting a test done if possible will help you protect your family and others close to you. You may also be able to get an antibody test to see if you or anybody in your household has already had it. If you have experienced any symptoms like a high fever or a new cough, a test will give you peace of mind and let you know whether it’s actually coronavirus symptoms or something less serious, like the common cold. If your test comes back positive, you can respond by quarantining yourself in order to minimize the risk of spreading the virus to anybody else in your home.
Even if you are staying at home as much as possible, there’s still a risk that you could contract COVID19 if you are leaving the house for essential supplies or going into work as an essential employee. Keep these tips in mind to keep the virus under control at home.