We're all worried about COVID19. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has 5 recommendations to help protect you and others during the corona virus pandemic.
The first is to wash your hands with soap for 20 seconds each time you wash them! You can sing a
song through one verse as you wash and that should do it. Some people recommend
Happy Birthday, although people of my acquaintance like to sing sea shanties,
with words that would make a sailor blush! Each time you wash your hands you can sing
the next verse in the song. To remember
this: soap up to wash away corona virus!
The second is to maintain social distancing while completing essential errands such as grocery shopping, picking up
prescription medicine, and exercising outside. My friends and family call this “physical
distancing” instead because we don’t want to isolate ourselves socially, just
physically. This doesn’t mean inviting
your family and friends to an event and standing 6 feet apart while socializing
for hours. It means limiting all
contacts outside your household contacts by brief interactions that are made 6
feet apart. To remember this: if the virus you would defeat, keep a distance of 6 feet!
Third and very recently announced, you should wear a fabric face mask while outside your home on essential errands, such as shopping for food or
medicine or getting exercise outdoors. You
should not be wearing masks of the type made for health care workers, because
those are needed in health care situations. You can make your own mask by
sewing or by folding fabric, and the folding-fabric technique demonstrated here by the
U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams (found here, scroll to video). Anyone 2 years old or older who is able to remove the mask themselves in the event of trouble breathing should wear a mask. Remember this: it's not too much to ask; protect others by wearing your mask!
The fourth recommendation is pretty standard for preventing transmission
of respiratory diseases and that is to cover your coughs and sneezes. You can sneeze or cough into a tissue and then
throw it away and wash your hands.
Alternatively, you can sneeze or cough into the inside of your
elbow. If you are wearing a mask you can
cough and sneeze into your mask. You’re
washing and drying that mask, aren’t you? To remember this hint: cough or sneeze; cover it, please!
The final recommendation is to clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces, like light switches, door handles, keys, tables, counter tops,
toilets, sinks, and cell phones. When you clean, you use soap and water to
remove dirt and debris (gloves needed during a pandemic). When you
disinfect, you use EPA-certified disinfectants (the list is here )
on surfaces but not on humans (gloves required). For example, 4 teaspoons of bleach can be diluted
in 1 quart of water or 5 Tablespoons of bleach in a gallon of water (wear
gloves when using, because, once again, disinfectants are not for use on
humans.) To remember, try: During the pandemic, I'm prioritizing sanitizing!
The CDC has great advice for how to do your best to keep
from getting the corona virus during this pandemic. So everyone, just stay calm and follow the CDC
recommendations!
This blogpost was written for the benefit of the learning community at Washtenaw Community College and beyond as part of my sabbatical activities for Winter 2020. I am solely responsible for the content and hold the copyright for the work. Feel free to use the information in this blog; just credit me with a link back to my blog! -Emily Thompson, Ph.D.
This blogpost was written for the benefit of the learning community at Washtenaw Community College and beyond as part of my sabbatical activities for Winter 2020. I am solely responsible for the content and hold the copyright for the work. Feel free to use the information in this blog; just credit me with a link back to my blog! -Emily Thompson, Ph.D.
