As the Covid-19 cases continue to rise worldwide, we have to be very careful with regard to self-quarantine and social distance. If you are wondering on what measures to take at home to stay away from this deadly monster; then here are some of the important steps.
Hygiene and preventive measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19:
Practice routine preventive measures to help reduce risk of getting sick and advise everyone to follow the same. The below-mentioned tips for keeping your home ready to fight for COVID-19 might sound common, but they’re important for every member including senior citizens and people who have severe chronic medical conditions:
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- Remain at home if you are ill, except for medical treatment.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue and trash it after use.
- Wash your hands frequently with soap or hand wash for at least 20 seconds, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing; going to the bathroom; and before eating or preparing food.
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol if soap is not available.
- Frequently touched surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected regularly e.g., tables, mobiles, light switches, doorknobs, and cabinet handles.
- Wear disposable gloves when handling dirty clothes from a sick person. Clean your hands immediately after gloves are removed.
- Wear disposable gloves while washing and disinfecting the surfaces. Gloves should be discarded after each cleaning.
Should you make your own sanitizer if it’s out of stock?
It is recommended to wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Using alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol will also work. These actions are part of everyday preventive actions that individuals can take to slow the spread of respiratory diseases like COVID-19.
- When washing hands, you can use plain soap or anti-bacterial soap for removing germs.
- As a substitute, use liquid soap and water. Remember each time to wash or sanitize your hand; you kill a coronavirus. If using a sanitizer; you can check the product label for concentration of alcohol.
CDC does not encourage the production and use of homemade hand sanitizer and the need to work under sterile conditions to make the product.
The simplest and most-effective ways to kill coronavirus at your home
There are many effective home cleaning supplies to prepare Home for COVID-19(coronavirus). Scientists recommend using disinfectants that work against coronaviruses and each cleaning supply that you use. At first, let us differentiate between cleaning and disinfecting.
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Difference between cleaning and disinfecting
- Cleaning: It refers to the removal of germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces. Cleaning does not kill germs, but by removing them, it lowers the risk of spreading infection.
- Disinfecting: It refers to using chemicals to kill germs on surfaces. This method does not actually clean dirty surfaces or remove germs. But it kills germs on a surface only after cleaning and further lowers the risk of spreading infection.
How often should I clean?
The centers for disease control and prevention advice many tips for keeping your home clean and ready to get away the COVID-19. It includes the routine disinfection of surfaces that may be affected such as chairs, door keys, light switches, compact tops, handles, desks, telephones, keyboards, toilets, rockers and sinks. When anyone has flu-like symptoms inside your family, consider disinfecting items in your home daily.
What types of cleaning supplies work best?
Never use different cleaning agents simultaneously. When combined, some domestic chemicals can produce hazardous and toxic gasses.
- Bleach: Be sure to follow directions on the product label. Make the diluted bleach solution as needed to be used within 24 hours, as its disinfecting power fades with time. Plastic toys can be dipped in bleach for 30 seconds. Don’t use them as a substitute for hand-washing and/or hand sanitizer.
- Alcohol: All forms of alcohol can kill germs. You can dilute alcohol with water. Remember! Alcohol concentration of around 60%-70% is needed to kill coronaviruses. Solutions of 70% alcohol should be left on surfaces for 30 seconds to kill viruses.
- Hydrogen Peroxide: It is normally sold at concentrations of about 3%. For effective surface usage against coronaviruses, it can be diluted to 0.5% concentration.
What surfaces need to be cleaned and disinfected?
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces such as
- Tables
- Door knobs
- Light switches
- Countertops
- Handles
- Desks
- Phones
- Keyboards
- Toilets
- Faucets
- Sinks
How to Prepare Your Family in Home for COVID-19
Create a household plan of action to help protect your family’s health in the event of an outbreak of COVID-19:
- Talk about Covid-19: Talk with the family members about coronavirus and what to do if a COVID-19 outbreak occurs in your community.
- Patient in your family: Take care of family members, particularly older adults and those with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. Make sure they have several weeks of medications and supplies in case you need to stay home for prolonged period of time.
- Stay calm: It’s important for the public not to panic. People need to be taking the virus seriously. We should keep calm, follow the government rules and health advice, and put things into perspective about how these stats relate to other diseases.
- Regular cleaning: Cleaning regularly is important to minimize spread of the virus on a day-to-day basis. Keep your regular cleaning schedule, more often. Keep hand wash and sanitizers readily available at home. High-alcohol products are recommended to kill the most bacteria. It is also advice to keep your home sanitized.
- Educate younger family members: Everyone should be aware what to do, from the youngest to the oldest person in the house. Educate your kids to frequently wash their hands, keep tissues handy for sneezes and dump it.
- Do not stockpile: No need to panic buy. In fact, those who are doing so are causing more harm to others. Just make sure that you have enough essential food items available to feed your household in the same way you would normally.
- Avoid buying extra toilet roll, soaps and gels or bags of pasta and rice that simply is no need.
- Create an emergency contact list: Create a contact list of family, friends, neighbors, health care providers, the local public health department, and other community resources.
- Create a list of local organizations: Create a list of what you and your household can contact in the time of need such as healthcare services, support, and resources.
- Social distancing: Prohibit visitors who do not have an essential need to be in the home. Also learn some do’s and don’ts of social distancing.
- No sharing: Avoid sharing household items with the patient and other family members.
- Shared place: Make sure that shared spaces in the home have good airflow.