As COVID-19 continues to infect people globally, it is important to practice good hygiene to contribute to slowing the spread of the virus; many people have used these practices for years, but they are more important now than ever.
One of the best ways that you can protect yourself from contracting the disease, and any other illness for that matter, is making sure to limit the amount of times that you touch your mouth, nose and eyes without clean hands. According to the New York Times, “Eyes, nose, mouth — all those mucous membranes are the portal into the body for a virus like Covid-19 or SARS,” and avoiding contact with these areas is crucial.
According to the Center for Disease Control, if you or a person in your household feels sick, you should have “clean disposable face masks to wear at home, if available, to help prevent spreading COVID-19 to others.” It is also suggested that you wear these masks in public to make sure that you are putting those around you at a reduced risk of contracting the virus from you if you happen to have it.
According to the CDC, everyone should “wash [their] hands often with soap and water; and clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily.” When you go out in public, it is important that you try not to touch an unnecessary amount of surfaces. In public, you should be applying hand sanitizer regularly and wash your hands as soon as you get home. While sanitary measures such as these do not eliminate the risk of infection, according to the CDC, if you have clean hands and resist the urge to touch your face, you make it more difficult for the virus to spread.
One of the most effective methods of reducing the spread of the virus is keeping social distance in public. CDC guidelines suggest that you should practice social distancing because “keeping space between you and others is one of the best tools we have to avoid being exposed to this virus and slowing its spread locally and across the country and world.”
Adopting these precautionary measures is critical. We are responsible for slowing the spread of the virus. If we cooperate, we can do it.