10 Simple Tips To Stay Safe During This Pandemic
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The coronavirus pandemic has brought us face to face with unique set of challenges. Here are a few simple yet powerful tips you can follow to stay safe during this pandemic.
1. Clean Your Hands Regularly
Keeping your hands clean is one of the crucial things you should be doing to stay safe during this pandemic. Surfaces inside and outside the house tend to get dusty, and touching them makes your hands dirty. Hence, it is not sufficient to have a quick rinse; scrub your hands for a few seconds.
Wash your hands with soap or hand wash for at least 20 to 30 seconds a few times a day, even if you stay at home. Do not forget to clean the wrist, between fingers, and below nails. If soap and water are not available, you can sanitize your hands with an alcohol-based (at least 90% alcohol) hand sanitizer.
2. Sterilize the Surfaces
Clean or sanitize the surfaces with a cloth or paper towel sprinkled with an alcohol-based disinfectant or surface sanitizer. Specifically, the surfaces we frequently touch, like phone screens, computer keyboards, and desktops, TV remotes, doorknobs, kitchen counters, etc., need to be cleaned. Also, make sure to clean or sanitize grocery packs and boxes as soon as you get them home. The coronavirus may live on the exterior surface of those items for few hours after lodging there.
3. Wear the Right Mask
Everyone above two years and older should wear a mask outdoors to stay safe during this pandemic. Masks must be worn in addition to maintaining social distancing of 6 feet, particularly around people who do not live with you.
If someone is infected at home, everyone at home should take precautions and wear masks to avoid spreading the virus. If you have to adjust your mask frequently because it does not fit right, you may need a different mask. Make sure the mask covers your nose, mouth, and chin, allowing you to breathe effortlessly. Place the mask on the clean surface. Wash it often if it is a fabric mask, or dispose of it in the trash if it is a medical mask.
4. Sanitize Your Hands Before You Touch Your Face 
If you are in a public place, do not touch your face till you sanitize or wash your hands thoroughly. This virus enters the human body through the mouth, nose, and eyes. Therefore, keeping your hands away from your face is highly advisable.
5. Avoid Crowds and Poorly Ventilated Spaces
Avoid gatherings and crowds like in restaurants, bars, fitness centers, movie theaters, mass transportation, occasions, or groups to stay safe during this pandemic. These scenarios put you at a higher risk of infection. Avoid indoor places that compromise fresh air. Bring in fresh air by opening windows and doors as much as possible.
6. Maintain Social Distance
Maintain a distance of at least 1 meter in public. If you are too close, you stand the risk of being infected by inhaling airborne germs from others when they sneeze or cough. Wearing a mask is a must to stay safe during this pandemic. Senior citizens or people suffering from medical conditions of diabetes, cardiovascular illness, and respiratory disease should try and avoid stepping out as contact with the virus may lead to severe infection.
7. Build Immunity Staying at Home
It is necessary to consume food rich in nutrients. Avoid outside food. Include leafy greens, vegetables, and pulses in your food. Additionally, spices and other immunity-boosting diets are supposed to enhance immunity levels in your body in the long run.
Add a pinch of turmeric and black pepper to your milk or water to prepare an immunity booster. Turmeric is rich in anti-inflammatory properties and has multiple health benefits, including increased immunity. Vitamin C and D and Zinc play a very vital role in boosting immunity, so try to include foods, such as green vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts.
8. Practice Respiratory Hygiene
Make sure that you and the people around you are following good respiratory hygiene. When you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue and dispose of it immediately. You can also use a handkerchief to cover your nose or mouth and wash it frequently.
9. Try To Go Cashless
Try to limit cash transactions as soiled currency notes are an easy factor of transmitting germs and pathogens. You have an abundance of cashless payment modes, such as credit/debit cards, e-wallets, and UPI payments. They are also more convenient than carrying cash around. Hence, try to use cashless options as much as possible to stay safe during this pandemic.
10.Opt for Online Purchases
Today, most products and commodities, such as groceries and household items, are available online or on mobile apps. Hence, you can use these channels to purchase things you need rather than standing in a queue and being at risk of getting infected by others.
The best we can do right now is stay safe to stay safe during this pandemic is by adhering to these safety measures against covid-19. Following these simple tips and encouraging others to do the same can safeguard the community from the spread of COVID-19. Stay safe and healthy!