Generic preventive measures for containing the spread of coronavirus

If COVID-19 is spreading in your community, stay safe by taking some simple precautions such as:

1. Physical distancing
2. Wearing a mask
3. Keeping rooms well ventilated
4. Avoiding crowds 
5. Cleaning your hands 
6. Coughing into a bent elbow or tissue 
7. Checking local advice where you live and work

What to do to keep yourself and others safe from COVID-19:

1. Maintain at least a 1-metre distance between yourself and others to reduce your risk of infection when they cough, sneeze or speak. Maintain an even greater distance between yourself and others when indoors. The further away, the better.
2. Make wearing a mask a normal part of being around other people. The appropriate use, storage and cleaning or disposal are essential to make masks as effective as possible.

Here are the basics of how to wear a mask:

1. Clean your hands before you put your mask on, as well as before and after you take it off, and after you touch it at any time.
2. Make sure it covers both your nose, mouth and chin.
3. When you take off a mask, store it in a clean plastic bag, and every day either wash it if it’s a fabric mask, or dispose of a medical mask in a trash bin.
4. Don’t use masks with valves.

Don’t forget the basics of good hygiene:

1. Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. This eliminates germs including viruses that may be on your hands.
2. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and infect you.
3. Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately into a closed bin and wash your hands. By following good ‘respiratory hygiene’, you protect the people around you from viruses, which cause colds, flu and COVID-19.
4. Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently especially those which are regularly touched, such as door handles, faucets and phone screens.

If you can’t avoid going out for groceries shopping:

1. Reduce your risk , go outside peak hours
2. Before you go out, always check in local regulations. Bring sanitiser and wear your mask. If you are in a high risk group, wear a medical mask
3. When inside stores, keep your shopping time short and make a list. Keep at least 1 metre distance from others.

What to do if you feel unwell:

1. Know the full range of symptoms of COVID-19. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are less common and may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell, aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes, diarrhoea, or a skin rash.
2. Stay home and self-isolate even if you have minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, until you recover. Call your healthcare provider or hotline for advice. Have someone bring you supplies. If you need to leave your house or have someone near you, wear a medical mask to avoid infecting others.
3. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention immediately. Call by telephone first, if you can and follow the directions of your local health authority.
4. Keep up to date on the latest information from trusted sources, such as WHO or your local and national health authorities. Local and national authorities and public health units are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19:

1. Stay in a separate room and away from others
2. Open windows frequently

What to do if someone is sick in your household:

Isolate the sick person

1. Prepare a separate or isolated space, and keep distance from others.
2. Keep the room well ventilated and open windows frequently

Reduce contact with the virus

1. Identify one household member to be the contact person who is not at high risk and has the fewest contacts with people outside.
2. Wear a medical mask if in the same room as the sick person
3. Use separate dishes, cups, eating utensils, and bedding from the sick person
4. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces

Take care of the sick person

1. Monitor the sick person’s symptoms regularly.
2. Pay special attention if the person is at high risk for serious illness.
3. Ensure the sick person rests and stays hydrated.

Call your doctor immediately if you see any of these danger signs

1. Difficulty breathing
2. Confusion
3. Loss of speech or mobility
4. Chest pain

Please share and follow these guidelines with as many people as you can. Stay at home and stay safe. 

Source: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public