COVID-19
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
Stay Healthy, Stay Home,
Stay Safe
Coming together as one to fight against this pandemic is a pledge our Nation has taken and everyone is doing their bit to help themselves and others around them to stay safe. Monitoring the ongoing situation closely, we have come up with a set of guidelines that will help you and people around you to stay safe.
Simple steps for a safer tomorrow
- Since we already know how contagious the virus is, the first step to take would be social distancing. Staying at home and working has been seen as the most successful way to keep the virus from spreading. When we restrict ourselves inside our homes and step out only when necessary, we are saving ourselves from the risk of coming in contact with anyone who may be infected.
- Having said that, when you absolutely have to head out for medicines or groceries or say you have to visit the hospital for some reason, always wear a mask and keep a hand sanitizer in your pocket or handbag. Remember to sanitize your hands time to time and avoid shaking hands with others. You could also wear gloves when outside and dispose them once you are home.
- When sneezing and/or coughing, cover your mouth and then ensure you wash and sanitize your hands. Wash your hands every couple of hours and avoid touching your eyes, mouth or face as much as possible. According to the World Health Organization guidelines, you must stay at home and maintain proper hygiene which includes extensive use of sanitizers and soap.
What to do when you notice symptoms
- If you have a runny nose, sore throat, fever or feel fatigued, you might often confuse this with the common flu – this is not the case now. You must immediately isolate yourself from others. Given how the virus spreads through touch and air, it is very important to quarantine yourself. If at home, do not come close to anyone, cover your mouth and nose and separate your clothes, water bottles, glasses and other personal essentials and stay put in a room. Post this, if the symptoms persist or worsen, get yourself tested as soon as possible at a government authorised testing facility.
- Always note, people with asthma, diabetes and heart conditions are more vulnerable to Coronavirus. Also, in more severe cases, the infected person has difficulty breathing. Identifying the early symptoms and getting help right away is crucial. This way the chances of the virus spreading is reduced and you can recover sooner.
- If you are aware of someone in your vicinity showing signs of the virus, it is advisable to contact the government state helpline number or Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and ask people around them to distance themselves to avoid contracting the virus.
Educating domestic workers
- Presently India is in stage two of the COVID-19 pandemic. to avoid going to stage 3, which is the community transmission stage, it is important to educate economically weaker sections of the society about the deadly virus and the destruction it will cause if not checked at Stage 2.
- It is important for maids, servants, and other domestic help to understand how the virus spreads and more importantly how it affects the human body. They could be working in some other households and may have come in contact with a person from overseas who was visiting their relatives.. More often than not, one has no symptoms of the virus in the first few days but if your domestic worker is aware of this condition, they must instantly isolate themselves for 14 days from everyone else to stop the virus from spreading.
- To make them realize the draconian effects of this virus, you must make them aware of the need for sanitation and more importantly, adhering to the Government’s guidelines.
- Once they realize that it is not just their lives that they will safeguard but also their children and children’s children, they themselves will start practicing self-quarantining.
- You could use visual graphics to impart this knowledge or speak to them one on one making them understand how the virus multiplies inside a body, damages the immune system and how it spreads to anyone who comes in contact with it.
- Distributing pamphlets that have all the necessary information related to COVID-19 will be an ideal way to ensure maximum audience is reached.
- You can also use examples of countries who are already in stage 3 Like China, Italy, Spain, Germany to help them understand the concept of community transmission and why it is important to contain the situation at Stage 2.
- Sanitizers, soaps, masks are a few of the things that they can get from government run pharmacies at cheaper prices to ensure they have adequate access to all necessary items.