It has been nine weeks since the “Safer at Home” emergency order has been issued. The idea is to keep people in their homes to slow down the spread of coronavirus, so unless you absolutely need to step out of the house, you really shouldn’t go out. Grocery stores, health care providers, and restaurants for takeout remain open, but you need to maintain six feet from others as much as you can. Churches have been closed to the public, and retailers are open for curbside pick-up only. Companies have asked employees to work from home (if possible), but it is still uncertain when everyone can return to their offices. Nobody knows when everything will be back to normal, if it ever will.
Although you are probably at home a majority of the time, there is still a chance that you will step outside your house and have some interaction with others. How can you make sure you and your housemates are really safer at home?
Think Safe. Act Safe.
Stay young while staying home – live your childhood dream of unlimited screen time. With so many platforms to stay connected, you now have the perfect excuse to be on your phone and computer the whole day. If you want to see your friends, set up a video chat. If you only want to hear their voice, give them a call. There is no need to see them in person, and if you think about it, you can actually see them at a closer angle online than in person, depending on how they hold their camera!
It is ridiculous how many times I have heard about parents who are not taking the pandemic seriously. They leave the house to take on a new part-time job that involves being around others, even though they’ve been retired for ages. They leave the house to drop something off or pick something up at a friend’s house nearby, returning hours later. They leave the house to help out a friend with some housework, but it’s not like their house is falling apart. Let’s be real – these are all just excuses for parents to get out of the house and socialize with their friends. If it takes hours for them to come back, I’m pretty sure they had a few long conversations before they returned. Sounds like some of them may need a time-out!
In a closer-to-perfect world, you would only need to give out one time-out, but since so many parents like to be with their other half, you probably have to give out two. When you have both parents going out, if one happens to get coronavirus while out, the other will likely get it too, and now you have two people to care and worry about. Even if one is out and about while the other stays in the car, the one in the car can still be exposed. In fact, the one in the car might have an even higher chance of getting sick because he/she let his/her guard down. It usually does not take two people to complete a simple task, so why send two people out to danger when you can just send one?
If you have something to drop off, it really should only take a few seconds because all you have to do is leave it on their doorstep. I wouldn’t even message the friend until after you’re back in your car because if they see you right outside, they might run out to talk to you. Stepping into their house for housework would be a big no-no. There may not be good air circulation inside their house, and you don’t know if they disinfect their house regularly. I guess there’s this mutual trust that you and your friend will stay away from each other if either of you are sick, but with coronavirus, does anybody know if they have it if they don’t have any symptoms yet? It’s better to be safe than sorry, and even if you’re not worried about getting sick, you should consider the people you are living with.
Another thing would be to avoid going into the office as much as you can if you are already working from home. Meetings can be held online, along with weekly check-ins and other activities. Given the situation we are all in, companies should be able to accommodate and be understanding. To have to go into the office just for a meeting would be a pretty crazy idea, because even if you are seated six feet apart from your coworkers, the people you walk by, the spaces that you share, and the elevator button that you press could all be contaminated. Is it really worth the risk to go into the office just for a meeting? It’s a good time to use the amazing technology we have and be safe.
Simply put, don’t go out if you don’t need to. Take your conversations online. Designate one person to run any necessary errands. Don’t make decisions you will regret later on.
Know what you have and know what you need – go to the store, one time, no more. Whether it is going to the grocery store for more food or going to the retailer for some toilet paper, reduce your trips by planning ahead! Check what you are running low on and create a shopping list so you don’t spend more time than you need to at the store. Avoid going to the store if you just want to buy a toy or something non-essential, or if you don’t even have anything in mind that you need to buy – it’s not time to go shopping just for fun. Plan your meals ahead of time so that you only need to go to the grocery store once every one to two weeks. Look for foods that can be kept fresh for longer, but also don’t overstuff your fridge!
Even with social distancing and stores making you wait outside so that it’s not too crowded inside, it’s still a pretty dangerous place to be. There are so many people lining up to get into the store, and with all the items you are touching, you never know if your shopping cart or item packaging is carrying some germs. You can’t avoid the checkout counter too, and that’s where everybody walks by at some point and touches or leans on the surface. Save your time and money by making fewer trips to the store!
Ordered takeout? Take it out of the container! Whether you are having your food delivered to your door or going out to pick up your food, take the food out of the container and eat with your own dishes! It’s hard to say how many people have touched the container and bag before it reached you, plus the stranger who brushed past your order as it was waiting to get picked up. Grab a bowl, transfer the food to your bowl, wash your hands, and then eat your food. You’re going to have to wash your dishes afterward, but that’s another fun activity during quarantine right?
Call ahead to place your order and reduce the waiting time in person. Most restaurants take at least 15 minutes to make your food, so it’s better to wait at home than at the restaurant. This will also allow you to keep your conversation brief with the restaurant staff. Aim to get in and out of the restaurant as quickly as possible!
Be Safe.
Wear a face covering when you are going out (unless you are under age 2 or have trouble breathing). There are a lot of excuses you can probably come up with to not wear one – it’s uncomfortable, my glasses fog up, I’m not having any direct contact with people, etc. I wouldn’t say it’s the most comfortable thing to wear, but you should still be able to breathe through it! If you wear it long enough, you might even forget that you are wearing one – that happened to me when I kept trying to blow something off of my arm before I remembered I was wearing a face mask.
You can make your own face covering at home, and adjust it until it’s comfortable for you. Use your favorite design to create a stylish one or one that matches your outfit! If your glasses are fogging up, make one with a nose pinch so that the air isn’t blowing directly up towards your glasses. Even if you are just sitting in the car and not stepping out, wear one anyway (although at that point, you might as well not be out). If you are dropping something off or picking something up at a friend’s house, wear one because you never know if your friend is going to surprise you.
Basically, wear one whenever you are out of your house, just to be safe. Your face covering will also remind you not to touch your face and rub your eyes.
Back to the basics – wash your hands with soap and water. Wash your hands often and properly, especially when you return to your house. After going out, keep in mind that anything you touch in your house before you wash your hands can be contaminated, so make it a habit to wash your hands immediately! It is recommended that you scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds, and not just run your hands through the water for a few seconds. If you are out, carry a bottle of hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol with you – it’s not as effective, but it can reduce the germs on your hands until you have access to soap and water.
Your hands are not as clean as you think they are. Every day, you touch so many items it’s almost impossible to list them all. Here’s a question for you – how many minutes in a day are your hands not touching anything?
Stay clean and change into a new set of clothes when you return home. Wearing a fresh set of clothes feels almost as good as taking a nice shower. It makes you want to just jump into bed and throw a pillow fight! If you have the time, take a shower when you get home so you can be clean from head to toe. At the very least, change out of your clothes and throw your dirty clothes into the washing machine – you never know what you have clinging on to your clothes after going out. Do what you can to keep the germs outside of your house!
Sharing a dish? Use serving utensils, and maintain a good distance from the food. It’s pretty common to cook a few dishes and share the food between you and your housemates. It’s also a common idea to use serving utensils, even before this whole pandemic came along. Serving utensils protect you and your housemates from each other’s saliva.
Just imagine yourself using your chopsticks to eat from your bowl. With every bite, your chopsticks slides out of your mouth, almost like how a popsicle stick would slide out of your mouth. Your chopsticks are now either covered with your saliva, or wiped dry by your mouth. You reach for the shared dish to grab more food. Your chopsticks touch not only the piece you want, but other pieces nearby. Now, whoever takes the pieces nearby will be ingesting something that has your saliva on it.
If you and your housemates are not a fan of using serving utensils, split up the food, and take what you want before you all start eating. Don’t reach for more food after you’ve used your eating utensil.
As you eat, don’t crowd around the food. Your shared plates of food are probably in the center of the table or placed between you and your housemates. If you have a smaller table, the food might even be right in front of you, less than half a foot away. Take a step back to give the food some space. If you are having a conversation with your housemates as you guys eat, at least your spit has to travel a bit more before it lands in the food.
Enjoy your food in a safe way!
Coughing? Sneezing? A tissue can fix the issue. If you are coughing and sneezing, cover your mouth with a tissue, then throw it away. When you sneeze, there is this sudden and powerful explosion of droplets shooting out of your mouth and scattering everywhere. Your sneeze is like a powerful spray bottle – one squeeze produces so many droplets everywhere. Make sure to stay away from your housemates when you cough and sneeze, and maintain your distance.
It is important to be extra cautious during this time. If your coughing and sneezing does not stop, maybe it’s time to check out what’s causing it. Be courteous to the people you are living with, and do your part in keeping others safe – don’t wait for your housemate to scold you for not keeping your distance when you are coughing and sneezing!
Whether you are going out for groceries, your doctor’s appointment, your office, or to pick up food, make smart decisions to keep you and your housemates safe. Coronavirus has taken the lives of many, and should be taken seriously.