Staying Safe

Protecting your home and workplace from COVID-19

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has named the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV2 as COVID19. The name is derived from the Latin word “corona,” meaning crown. The acronym COVID19 stands for coronavirus disease of 2019.

 

 

The WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020. Other epidemics caused by this group of the virus are MERS-CoV or the Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2015 and 2018.

 

 

Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the virus’s fast-spread has been a significant cause of concern. The transmission is through droplets and infects if exposed within 1 meter of distance or by touching contaminated surfaces. 

As we move on with our everyday routine life, it is crucial to keep ourselves safe from this deadly virus. And equally critical to keep our homes and workplaces safe during the pandemic.

 

 

Personal hygiene is essential to safeguard oneself from getting infected. Wash your hands frequently for at least 20 seconds, following all the WHO certified procedures of hand washing, and dry your hands subsequently before touching any surfaces.

“Prevention is better than cure; this proverb holds true entirely in the case of the COVID-19 virus”

At home

Disinfect all the surfaces of your house using a proper disinfectant. If you have a patient at home with an illness, make sure s/he isolates in a separate room with an attached bathroom. In this case, reverse isolation can also be done. 

 

Suppose there is an immunocompromised patient at home. In that case, the patient and his/her caretaker should be isolated to prevent them from catching the infection.

 

On entering the house, ensure you leave your footwear outside and head to the washroom before meeting anyone. Especially avoid holding or touching children or any surfaces before washing yourself. Discard the clothes you have used and put it for washing with an antiseptic solution, clean all the exposed parts of your body, and then mingle with your family.

 

When you get groceries home, make sure you throw all the outer packaging immediately and keep the groceries in the storage area. Before using the groceries, wash them thoroughly before using, make sure you avoid raw vegetables or salads, cook your food well before consuming.

 

At work

In the office, ensure you maintain a social distance of 1 meter with your colleagues. Wear a mask most of the time; if you want to have a mask-free time, make sure you are in an isolated and secluded area.

 

Wearing a mask itself is not enough; it has to be well fitted. You can test this aspect by blowing into the mask after wearing clear glasses. If you see fogging over the glasses, the mask you are wearing does not fit you well.

 

Keep yourself well-hydrated and wash your hands frequently, at least for 20 seconds, following proper hand hygiene procedures. If you have a colleague who appears unwell, report to the higher authorities or the clinic to isolate him/her at the earliest.

 

You can have a secure home and office by following social distancing and surface decontamination with frequent hand washing.

 

Use the picture attached to follow the recommended hand washing procedures to keep your hands safe.

Dr. Haleema

About the Author

Dr. Haleema Yezdani is a general physician with 19 years of experience, with more than 5 years of award-winning experience in Telemedicine. She has strengthened her knowledge on managing COVID-19 through various courses from Stanford University and John Hopkins University. Dr. Haleema is presently volunteering with Project StepOne to triage and treat COVID-19 patients through free telemedicine.

Spread the love

Responses

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

+