COVID-19 AND FAMILY PROTECTION- HERE ARE SOME TIPS
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise, the best strategy for protecting yourself and your family is to follow the public health guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. These measures such as wearing a mask, washing your hands frequently, practicing physical distancing, and avoiding crowds will help prevent COVID-19 transmission.
If someone in your family has Coronavirus, has flu-like symptoms, or is waiting for their test results, it is best to take stringent measures at home. Even if you are not sure whether someone has the Coronavirus or not, they must stay at home or seek medical care immediately. This will ensure that the virus doesn’t spread to other people.
What can you do at home?
If someone at your home is sick, here is how you can protect others:
● Keep them isolated and away from other family members as well as pets as much as possible.
● When you are going near them, make sure that you cover your face with a mask. These masks are useful for people over 2 years old who don’t have any trouble breathing. You should not leave a child alone with the infected person even if the former is wearing a face mask.
● Cover your sneezes and coughs with a tissue and then throw it away. Wash your hands immediately. Use soap and water for 20 seconds. If you don’t have these, you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
● If possible, make the sick person stay in a separate bedroom and use a separate bathroom.
● Use separate glasses, cups, and dishes and make sure that these are not shared with other members. Once the sick person has eaten, wash the dishes with hot soapy water.
● Use separate towels and bedding for the sick person and do not share these with anyone else.
● If the sick person is unable to cover their face with a mask, you, as a caregiver, must wear one at all times while being in the same room.
● Make sure that there is good air flow in the shared spaces. You can either turn on an air conditioner or air filter or open a window.
● Don’t have visitors inside your house unless they need to be in your home.
● The clothing, towels, and bedding of the sick person must be washed at the highest possible temperature with detergent. Use gloves while handling their laundry and wash your hands afterward.
● Wipe the things in your house that get touched frequently such as doorknobs, phones, toys, sink handles, remote controls, and counters.
How to protect other people?
In order to ensure that the virus isn’t spread to other people, here are a few things that you can do:
● The sick person must stay at home at all times; the only exception being visiting a hospital.
● Other family members should stay at home as well. Make sure that you follow instructions about how long the sick person and other family members have to stay inside the home.
● If you have to go out of the house for some reason, keep your face covered with a face mask and maintain at least 2 meters or 6 feet distance between yourself and other people.
When should you call a doctor?
If the sick person isn’t getting better or is getting worse, you must contact the doctor immediately. You have to tell them about their symptoms as well as when they were tested for the virus. If you have to take them to the hospital, here are a few things to keep in mind:
● Make sure that their face is covered with a mask.
● Keep some tissues ready in case they want to sneeze or cough.
If they are feeling confused, drowsy, or have trouble breathing, you must take them to the ER immediately.
What else should you know about?
If you are taking care of someone who has been tested positive for the Coronavirus or is showing symptoms, you have to keep following precautions until your doctor says otherwise. However, this can get pretty boring and lonely for kids who are either sick or have sick family members. As they are separated from their friends, family, and classmates, there are certain things they can do to feel better:
● Make a video call to their friends
● Play online video games with other kids
● Use messaging apps to talk to their friends and family
● Play board games. Make sure that these toys are clean and far away from the sick person.
Apart from this, all you can do is keep yourself updated about the coronavirus from reliable websites like the World Health Organizationb> or Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
