It’s the second year of the pandemic, and it seems like the coronavirus won’t be gone too soon. Cases have been rising in different regions all over the world, despite vaccine rollouts. That’s why every government has been implementing anti-COVID-19 measures to reduce transmission of the virus.
As a citizen, you must adhere to these measures to keep you and your loved ones safe. Some of these are as simple as wearing a face mask, washing your hands, maintaining social distancing, and the like. To do your part in stopping its spread, here are simple preventive measures to protect yourself and others from COVID-19:
1. Understand How The Coronavirus Spreads
Without understanding how the COVID-19 virus is spread, it may be difficult to follow simple guidelines set by your elected officials. Some people may not take the pandemic seriously, while others still think that they won’t be affected by it.
Hence, the first thing you need to know is how the virus is transmitted by people. By knowing the following ways the virus infects people, you’ll learn the proper steps to prevent endangering yourself and other people you care about:
Asymptomatic Spread: One of the reasons why some people don’t believe that the pandemic is real is due to not having coronavirus symptoms themselves. However, most of them are surprised that their relatives have become infected, only to find out that they’re the ones who passed the virus onto them. Being asymptomatic means that you don’t show COVID-19 symptoms but you can infect others.
Surface Transmission: Although you may have practiced socially distancing, coming into contact with infected surfaces like handrails or elevator buttons can be a way to contract the virus. Touching your eyes, mouth, or nose after touching a contaminated surface is a way to transmit the virus. Remember that the lifespan of the coronavirus on stainless steel and plastic is about two to three days but may be longer on other materials.
Airborne Transmission: This means you can get the virus through spores floating in the air because, which can live up to three hours. When you breathe in contaminated air, you may get infected.
Droplets Or Aerosols: As for this way of transmission, this happens when you breathe in the virus in the form of aerosols, tiny particles, or droplets from an infected person who recently sneezed or coughed.
This also occurs when you’re less than six feet from such a person. That’s why healthcare workers always wear proper personal protective equipment and clothing from reputable sites like keswi.com and other online retailers when attending to their patients.
2. Practice Basics Of Good Hygiene
Since there are many ways to contract the virus, it’s vital to practice proper hygiene. Thus, regular hand washing or sanitization is now a must, since there is a possibility of touching many items symptomatic or asymptomatic persons may have touched.
Restaurants and other establishments may have wash bins installed. Take advantage of this by washing your hands for at least 20 seconds. Or use a sanitizer or an alcohol-based rub to clean your hands after touching any surfaces that other people may have touched. That way, you can eliminate all kinds of viruses that you may have come across.
Most importantly, never touch your mouth, nose, or eyes if you haven’t sanitized or washed your hands. As mentioned, you can transmit the virus from your hands to these parts of your face. When you sneeze or cough, use a tissue or your bent elbow to cover your nose or mouth. By doing so, you can prevent spreading COVID-19, flu, colds, or other airborne viruses. You may not have COVID, but you can protect others from other illnesses.
3. Wear A Mask
Aside from keeping your hands clean, it’d be best if you also protect your nose and mouth by wearing a mask. Although this may seem uncomfortable, face masks can help you prevent contracting the coronavirus or stop its spread.
To keep others safe, it may be best to treat yourself as asymptomatic to ensure that you’re protecting other people, if ever you really are infected. Thus, wearing a face mask can make a difference. Although face masks aren’t new, the global pandemic has forced everyone to seriously consider wearing face masks wherever they go. There may be an abundance of face masks these days, and this is how each mask differs so you can choose which ones you need for every situation:
Cloth Mask
This type of mask may help trap droplets when you sneeze, cough, or talk. It may also help protect you from breathing in droplets from other people. However, you may want to use the ones with tightly woven fabric in multiple layers.
N95 Mask
This type of mask helps filter out both small and large particles so you won’t breathe them in or out.
Medical Mask
This disposable mask is also known as surgical masks that may also prevent you from coming in contact with droplets. No matter which mask you use, you must ensure that you follow these tips to get the most from wearing them:
Prevent air leakage on the top of your nose by using the mask’s bendable nose strip. Prevent air from going out around the edge of the mask by contouring the mask to your face.
To ensure that there’s no air leakage, you should feel your warm breath when exhaling. This means that there are no gaps over your chin, mouth, and nose, preventing the air from coming out.
4. Keep Your Distance
Most importantly, you should follow social distancing rules. Remember, there are asymptomatic persons out there. And take note that the virus can be transmitted from an infected person’s droplets when you breathe them in.
Thus, social distancing and the other preventive measures in this article may keep you safe from the virus. Additionally, the following are other social distancing measures you may want to follow:
Run errands like grocery shopping after peak hours. Work from home if your employer allows it. Stay in contact with loved ones through video calls or social media messaging. Reduce visitors. Go out only if necessary.
Use contactless payment when grocery shopping or paying bills to avoid touching surfaces or money that have passed through many people.
Conclusion
You may have a strong immune system, but imagine if you’re asymptomatic. If you have loved ones with weak immune systems and they contract the virus from you, can you imagine how much suffering they’ll experience?
That’s why following these simple rules can bring a significant impact to keeping you and other people safe from spreading or contracting the virus. You can help stop the spread of the coronavirus by starting with yourself.
