No other country has been hit by the virus as devastatingly as the United States of America. More than three hundred thousand (300,000) people are dead and as many as sixteen million (16,000,000) people in total are infected or have been infected by COVID-19. In one of the most populous states, California, around thirty thousand confirmed cases are reported every day — at a whopping eighty-three (83) people for every one hundred thousand (100,000).
The spike resulting from gatherings over the Thanksgiving holidays, not to mention the lax restrictions imposed by some states, will reap the fallout in the next few months. In the long run, the work you do inside the comforts of your own home matters even more for the common good of your communities. While you stay at home to keep you and your family members healthy, you cannot help but wonder: what are the additional things you can do to keep yourself and your family guarded against this dangerous virus?
Continue Staying Inside
Limiting the number of times you need to go out will greatly reduce the risk of you contracting the virus. Only when you need to replenish your stock of groceries and other household items should you go outside your home. Most people are not too careful when they go outside. People are often careless when touching objects and not too conscious of what or whom they have touched. Transmission is often greater when you are nearer than six feet from other people.
Taking Baths Once You Get Home
Once you get home, you need to put your clothes in a separate and sealed bin. Immediately take a bath right after you come inside your house. It is a known fact that, even unconsciously, people touch their face around 23 times an hour. People must wash their body especially if they are coming from the outside.
Most germs, bacteria, and viruses cling to the body and the clothes for many hours. Washing them with just your basic soap and water will keep the germs off and your body hygienic.
Minimizing Contact with Others
Minimizing your contact with strangers and other people from the outside is a no-brainer. There is too much at risk right now to be too comfortable around other people. Maintaining your space away from others is a great way for the plague to stay away from your house.
Postponing Holiday Celebrations and Gatherings
While waiting to be vaccinated, postponing your holiday celebrations and gatherings are a must-do. News about superspreader events has for sure reached you. The possibility is always greater when people from different places come together and meet. When comfortable, most people let their guard down. If you are not careful, you might infect an elder member of the family.
Wearing Your Mask
Wearing a protective mask is one of the most considerate things you can do for other people. Most people with immune vulnerabilities are highly fragile in these times. Keeping a mask on just in case you are asymptomatic is a great way to show kindness to your neighbor. Wearing a mask is one of the few ways other first world countries have averted the spread of the virus. By wearing a mask outside, you minimize the particles you can spread.
Being Proactive
Dig up the garden soil and plant something edible. Exercise your heart out. To be proactive now is one of the greatest ways you can burn your time through the pandemic. Providing yourself a self-sustaining food source is an awesome way to keep your expenses down. It will also minimize the times you need to go out.
Truly, this year is one of the toughest our generation has had to go through. Through our collective efforts, however, we minimize the chances of us further prolonging the crisis. Being proactive and being considerate can go a long way. Together, as one nation, we will defeat this crisis one way or another.
