6 Things You Can Do Right Now To Combat COVID-19
We know you’re sick of it. And honest to god we are too. We’d love nothing more than to move on from the COVID-19 and forget that 2020 ever happened. But sadly we can’t. And we also can’t bury our heads in the sand as we see another surge in the virus.
At missy.ie you know we’re not fond of preaching to you, but it’s important that we all reassess what we’re doing and double-down on our efforts to get rid of COVID-19.
This is not just an issue for young people, or a Dublin issue, or an older people issue…it’s an issue for all of us. We all need to work together again to flatten the curve and get rid of this awful virus.
So, here’s 6 simple steps that you can take right now to stop COVID-19.
1. Wear A Mask
Wearing a mask is now required in shops, public transport and in classrooms, unless you have a medical exemption.
It can be so easy to forget yourself when it comes to masks. We put together a little guide here, so we suggest you give it a read again just to remind yourself of the basics.
It’s a whole new world out there and we have been bombard with info over the past few months. It’s good for everyone to go back and remind themselves of the basics every now and again. We’re human, and it’s easy to let bad habits slip in.
2. Assume You Have The Virus
You should act as if you already have an active case of COVID. Obviously if you did have it you would be in complete isolation. But all movements and interactions that you have should be based under the assumption that you have it and that you could pass it on. That means you should do everything in your power to not spread it.
This is why it’s so important to remind yourself of the best practices around face coverings. Say you have the virus and you don’t know it yet, you then touch your face covering – which now has your infected droplets on it – and then you touch surfaces; you have now potentially transferred the virus for someone else to pick up.
The best rule is:
- sanitise your hands
- put your mask on
- leave it on for the duration of time that you need to wear it ie. if you’re going in and out of shops just leave it on until you’re finished, don’t put it on and remove it as you go in and out of each shop because this means you’re touching it
- when you’re ready to remove it sanitise your hands and then remove the mask and put it in a plastic bag.
- If a mask is not on your face it should be in a plastic bag. DO NOT put your mask in your bag to take it out later unless it is in a plastic bag as it can become contaminated and then you are putting it on your face.
3.Keep Washing And Sanitising Your Hands
Remember the singing Happy Birthday while you wash your hands days? Go back to that. Keep throughly washing your hands throughout the day.
Before you leave the house, wash your hands. When you come home ,wash your hands. Before you eat, wash your hands. Just keep washing.
Sanitise your hands when you’re out and about. We have to do this every-time we enter and exit a shop anyway, but don’t forget to do it in between classes or if you’re touching money or surfaces throughout the day.
We have some great hand sanitiser picks here.
4. Half Your Contacts
Yes, we all want to see our friends and have things go back to normal, but we can’t do that yet.
Keep your contacts low for the next few weeks. You should not be meeting different groups of people all the time. If you have the virus you are potentially spreading it to different groups, and then they pass it on, and on and on it goes….
A good rule is to half the amount of people you interacted with last week for this week.
5. Maintain Social Distance At All Times
It’s so easy to forget yourself and sit too close when having a small get together or to want to get a selfie with friends or do a drinks boomerang, or walk closely together leaving school or stand close while waiting for a bus.
Sorry, but we really can not be doing this at the moment.
This virus loves social gatherings and by doing this you are giving it a chance to spread.
Remember: a lot of people can be asymptomatic, which means they can have COVID without having any symptoms, but they can pass it on to others who can develop serious symptoms. We are still learning about the coronavirus and it effects everyone differently, no matter their age or medical history.
Don’t take the chance.
Still see a few friends, but keep the distance between you all. It keeps you and them safe as well as your extended families and people in the community.
6. Talk To Your Friends And Family
Check in with your family and friends to make sure that they know all the latest guidelines. This is especially important with older people.
A few times now I’ve chatted to my family and neighbours about the correct way to wear a mask (once more with feeling: sanitise before, don’t touch when wearing, sanitise before removing, place in a plastic bag to dispose or wash it) because they weren’t doing it correctly.
There’s also a lot of fake news and conspiracies out there about COVID, so just keep an eye on the older people around you and make sure that they’re ok.
We know how hard this situation is. And it’s especially frustrating and upsetting that we are facing into another surge in the virus, but the power is in our hands (literally!) to stop the spread of COVID-19. We’ve done it before and we can do it again.
You can get more information about COVID-19 on from hse.ie