Quote:
We are in stage 3 and community spread is happening as we speak. Can't be lackadaisical. Have my parents staying with me and a pre term 1 year old son who has lesser immunity compared to normal babies. So no complacency at any cost. Economy will bounce back in a few months or years but loved ones once gone won't.
|
Quote:
Question for doctors: what washing-machine temperature would be considered high enough? I'd say 60, but I'm not an authority.
|
Quote:
My whirlpool washing machine washes from 35 degrees to 55 degrees depending on "warm" "hot" and "allergen free" settings.
|
Quote:
When are people going to listen, only after getting affected themselves?
|
Sadly, a virus or a contagious micro-organism is an invisible enemy. The situation compounds further when majority of the infections are sub-clinical or asymptomatic (healthy looking infected people). We should avoid thinking too much about the factors that are not in our control and instead focus on what all we can do from our side. I have been reading the posts in this thread for the past 7-8 days and would like to share my perspectives here based on some of the posts in this thread.
With the rise in number of cases and it would be appropriate to take extra precautions. It is important to separate the elderly (>60 years old) in our families from the rest of the younger folks. Its just a matter of 15 days to few months depending upon the co-operation of the population and willingness of the Government to order a lockdown on a larger scale (my personal opinion based on recent events around the globe). The two files attached below detail some basic information on home quarantine that can be useful for others as well.
The idea is to adopt quarantine level precautions for those at higher risk in routine day to day life, till the number of cases reduce substantially. Quarantine should ideally be for those who are potentially exposed but in view of numerous examples where people have been breaking these protocols, it could be a good idea to quarantine (not as strict as that for an exposed person) the ones that are at risk till the number of cases start declining substantially.
Also consider the following:
1. Masks (especially N95) are not needed as long as people follow respiratory hygiene and not cough or sneeze without covering the face with the elbow or tissue etc.
2. Maintaining a distance of 6 feet while talking should be encouraged.
3. Give your elderly the inner rooms of your homes so that you can move within or out of the house, without having to frequently touch the doors etc. of their rooms. If your parents, grandparents are living at some other place, educate them regarding the importance of social distancing and potential of transmission through surfaces. Also, I am not saying that we should ask them not to leave the room or the house. The activities should be restricted as per individuals' comfort levels. The article cited below is relevant to an airplane but can also be applied to home setting in my personal opinion.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/s...ds-on-a-plane/
4. Disinfect frequently touched (high touch) surfaces in the house. Door knobs, electrical switches are classical examples.
5. Talk to them more often in a safe manner (refer point 1 and 2 above) so that they don't feel 'isolated' while 'separated'.
6. Consider changing shoes and clothes first thing after reaching home from work etc. though there are no specific guidelines regarding this.
7. Washing clothes is sufficient using whatever method you are comfortable with. When washing clothes in a washing machine, one may consider setting higher temperature such as 60 or even 90 degrees for additional safety but this is not mandatory and there is no need to worry if your machine doesn't have this feature or you wash clothes in some other manner including manual washing. The guidelines simply state using the highest temperature that the fabric allows to avoid damage to the garments. Being an enveloped virus, it is labile by nature and is likely to get killed easily using soap/detergent.
Have faith in God. Things will work out fine. We need not panic or fear and instead should carry on with happy and positive mindset.
P.S.- The infection prevention file can simply be read page 40 onward to save time and energy.
Apologies for the long post.
[ATTACH=Infection prevention and control COVID-19.pdf]1983014[/ATTACH]
Home Quarantine Guidelines GoI COVID 19.pdf