Keeping your home clean is always important, but these days it has gone from a want to a need. The reality is, COVID-19 is still very much present in the City of Calgary. Anytime you leave your home or interact with others you risk being exposed to this virus, which you could in turn bring into your household. At the same time, life must go on. People are returning back to work, schools are open, and it's impossible to completely bubble yourself off from the world.
Health Essentials writes, "the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes the 2019 novel coronavirus is spread primarily when healthy people come in close personal contact with a person who has COVID-19 who is coughing or sneezing (hence, why social distancing is so important). But, they haven’t ruled out the possibility that someone could get the virus from touching something that’s been contaminated and then touching their own mouth, nose or eyes (hence all the hand washing advice)."In light of this, here are some practical ways to keep your home pandemic-era friendly; to avoid bringing COVID-19 through the door and stopping the spread of it if it does manage to sneak in:
First, high touch surfaces around your home need to be addressed. UNICEF writes, "cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces in your home regularly is an important precaution to lower the risk of infection. Follow cleaning product instructions for safe and effective use, including precautions you should take when applying the product, such as wearing gloves and making sure you have good ventilation. Every home is different, but common high-touch surfaces include: Door handles, tables, chairs, handrails, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, taps, toilets, light switches, mobile phones, computers, tablets, keyboards, remote controls, game controllers and favourite toys."
When it comes to items you bring into your home, you also need to be careful. When asked how to handle incoming packages and groceries, a Microbiologist from The University of Nevada responds, "The outside packaging could certainly have come into contact with microorganisms, and I’d advise at minimum washing your hands after opening a package and to treat the packaging itself with care by wiping down the package or the surfaces it comes in contact with. Since we don't think SARS-CoV-2 survives very long away from a host, the internal contents are probably generally safe, but again hand washing is always a good idea for high-risk individuals."
At the end of the day, experts advise being extra safe still by hand washing and wiping down surfaces whenever possible. By everyone doing their part and remaining diligent, we can help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
(Photo via Canva)
Posted by Ken Richter on
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