The rapid spread of the coronavirus prompts Russians to take the most careful measures to protect themselves, their loved ones and their homes from this most dangerous infection. Alas, it is simply impossible to wall yourself up in your apartment for a month. Sometimes you have to go out to the store or go to the hypermarket for groceries, visit the clinic or buy medicine at the pharmacy.
Advice from experts on how to keep yourself and your family safe from COVID-19 in quarantine and self-isolation.
LEGION-MEDIA
The rapid spread of the coronavirus prompts Russians to take the most careful measures to protect themselves, their loved ones and their homes from this most dangerous infection. Alas, it is simply impossible to wall yourself up in your apartment for a month. Sometimes you have to go out to the store or go to the hypermarket for groceries, go to the clinic or buy medicine at the pharmacy.
Yes, and online shopping is absolutely no guarantee that the packages brought by courier with the products is not lurking insidious virus. How can you protect yourself from COVID-19? We've put together the top recommendations that, if followed, will significantly reduce your risk of contracting the coronavirus.
1. How and when it is safer to buy food
According to experts, one of the most dangerous places in terms of the probability of contracting COVID-19 is the store. You should go grocery shopping outside of the most popular daytime hours to avoid crowds. The best time to visit hypermarkets is early morning (before 9:00) or late evening (after 11:00), and the period from 15:00 to 21:00 is considered the most "unlucky" time for shopping.
For the trip, it is worth choosing clothes that are less likely to retain dust and adsorb aerosols, and it is better to cover your hair. In the store, it is preferable to take a cart, immediately wipe the handle with an alcohol wipe, and while shopping do not approach anyone within a distance of two meters and in no case touch the face with your hands.
It will not be superfluous to wear rubber gloves and a medical mask, although epidemiologists say it is of low effectiveness in protecting against COVID-19. After paying at the checkout, you need to treat your hands with antibacterial gel.
2. What to do when you get home
After coming back from the street, the first thing to do is to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Then wash your face, rinse your nose, you can also rinse your throat. If the hair was left exposed, it is better to wash it. Since the coronavirus can live on fabrics for some time, street clothes should be left in the hallway and touched with caution, never touching your face until you wash your hands, or better yet, not touching them at all until the next time you go outdoors.
3. How to disinfect your purchases
Groceries brought from the store during a pandemic must be disinfected. Before putting the food into the refrigerator, wipe all packages with a damp cloth. Products that will be further thermally processed or washed before consumption can not be wiped.
But objects that you have touched with your hands outside the house (wallet, keys, cell phone, etc.) should be disinfected. Bags with purchases in them can be thoroughly washed or simply thrown away. Also need to wipe all food packages delivered to your home by couriers online stores.
By the way, cases of infection with coronavirus through food has not yet officially revealed, the main route of transmission COVID-19 is still airborne - through the droplets that are formed when sneezing and coughing. However, this fact does not cancel all the necessary precautions.
4. What to disinfect surfaces with and what to wipe most often
The best means for disinfecting surfaces from coronavirus, according to experts, are chlorine-containing preparations. However, these means are highly toxic and their use in the apartment can be dangerous to health.
Therefore, you should use more gentle disinfectants, such as cloths with alcohol-based antiseptic, or simply conduct regular wet cleaning with the usual household chemicals. If everyone in the family is healthy, it is enough to clean two or three times a week, but if there is a sick person - as often as possible.
Particular attention when disinfecting should be paid to the objects that we most often touch - switches, handles, chair backs, tables and gadgets. It is also recommended to clean the floor in front of the front door particularly carefully.
5. What habits increase the chance of infection
Greeting kisses, cheek-to-cheek hugs and male handshakes - these habits popular among Russians can now lead to infection with the coronavirus. Until the pandemic is over, it's best to give it all up.
Another common habit that significantly increases the risk of infection is sneezing into the palm of your hand. It is better to sneeze into the elbow instead of the palm of the hand, so the infection has less chance of getting into the mouth or nasal cavity. The ideal is to sneeze into a disposable handkerchief, which should be thrown away immediately.
Recent observations by doctors show that bad habits like smoking and alcohol also affect the body's vulnerability to COVID-19. According to experts, drinking alcohol and inhaling tobacco smoke leads to damage of cell membranes which subsequently makes it easier for a person to become infected with the coronavirus.
6. What are the dangers of dry room air?
Air in the apartment is too dry with radiators.respiratory infections, including coronavirus, because it leads to drying of the nasopharyngeal mucosa, which is normally able to resist viruses.
Constant dryness in the home inevitably leads to the appearance of microcracks in the nasopharynx mucosa, through which viruses and bacteria can enter the body almost unimpeded. In addition, air with a humidity of less than 20% is comfortable for the reproduction of germs.
Regular airing of the rooms - up to three times a day for 10-15 minutes, wet cleaning and a humidifier can help to maintain normal humidity in the apartment. The presence of this device in your home is important for children, because their mucous membranes are very delicate and vulnerable.
7. How to strengthen immunity in quarantine and during self-isolation
With the introduction of restrictions on leaving the house, necessary to prevent the total spread of the coronavirus, we are all faced with a catastrophic lack of physical activity.
As we know, hypodynamia, along with constant nerves due to anxious news, poor sleep and fears for loved ones, leads to a decrease in immunity, which drastically weakens the body's defenses. And a weakened body is the main target for the virus.
To improve immunity in quarantine and self-isolation, experts recommend doing daily warm-ups in the morning, and during the day - physical activity on different muscle groups, as well as eating as varied as possible, excluding fast food and heavy fatty foods.
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