Guide to Self-Quarantine and Tips to Stay Safe from Corona Virus

Have you recently come in contact with someone who is or is suspected to be infected by Coronavirus? Then you need to be immediately self-quarantine. This will save you, your family, and the community. Even if you are not one who has the possibility of Corona infection, you must practice self-isolation as a responsible citizen. This write-up will give you a complete idea of how you should practice self-quarantine and self-isolation. 

Let us see who should get into self-quarantine other than directly coming in contact with a COVID 19 patient knowingly. 

• You are back from a place where the disease is or had been spreading
• You have traveled on an airplane or a ship
• There had been the case of COVID 19 in your house
• You have come to know that the place you visited recently had a person in the community with the disease.

In all the above cases, you must put yourself to self-quarantine. This writes up will give you a complete guide of how to stay in self-quarantine and to what extent.

Ways to Self-Quarantine

One has to practice a routine of self- quarantine for fourteen days. The necessary steps to follow the quarantine methods are as follows:

• One is not to leave the house and stay indoors. One should shop for going to study or to work and using any public area or transport. Get the supplies of your groceries, baby food, medicines, etc. from the online stores. Take the delivery from a distance through a bag or a basket and avoid direct touch with the person who will provide the supply.
• Isolate yourself from the people at your home. Go to a room exclusively to be used by you for some time, if possible, if there are two or more toilets in the house, separate a toilet for your use, and do not let others use it for the time you are at quarantine.
• Avoid indulging with the pets of your home and stay away from them. If you have a dog or cat that is fond of you, chain it for the time being and avoid any contact with it to prevent the spread of the disease.
• Instruct others too and practice yourself thorough hand washing as many times of a day as possible. Washing hands effectively can stop the spreading of COVID 19. Every time there is sneezing, blowing of the nose or coughing, Hands should be washed or sanitized after that. One should avoid touching the face. 
• Common items should be prevented from sharing. For example, beds and beddings, utensils, drinking bottles, and glasses, towels, etc. should be separate from the others. 
• The surfaces that are touched every day should be disinfected. For example, the computer boards being used, the mobile phone, the bathroom, the doorknobs, the counters, etc. should be regularly disinfected. 
• It is important to monitor the symptoms of yourself and do the temperature checking. Every reading should be noted in the diary. Care should be taken to notice if there is a breathing problem or the symptoms of coughing. 
• Wear a mask to prevent the possible spread of the disease. This should be specially done when you use the space at home, shared by others. 
• While sneezing, always cover your mouth with your hand. Do not forget to rinse your hand and sanitize it afterward. 
• If you need medicines to depend on online stores. Ask them to deliver your required medicines to your door-step.

Those that have not got the symptoms of the disease yet or have not knowingly or unknowingly come in contact with the affected people should maintain social distancing. We tell here the process of social distancing and the dos and don’ts to be followed during the social distancing.

The Dos and Don’ts during the Social Distancing

Do Not Assume That People Are Not Infected If They Do Not Show The Symptoms.

People may not show the symptoms of the disease, but you are not to assume that they are not infectious. This is because the symptoms of the attack come on the surface almost after 10 days of the attack. So a carrier of the disease can further infect you before the disease gets detected in him or her. There are sometimes people who never show the symptoms but are affected by the disease in a major way. 

Do Keep At Least a Distance of Seven Feet From Others.

When a person speaks, the droplets that come out of the nose or mouth can travel up to a limit of six feet from the person. So maintaining a seven feet distance from any person while talking or communicating is the safe distance. As far as possible, avoid places where people crowd like the escalator. Avoid touching people or going in the proximity of seven feet as far as possible. 

To Avoid Public Places

Most of the public places are shut down now. Even if those are open, avoid going to places like restaurants, cafes, cinema halls, libraries, parks, museums, and other places where there is public gathering on a large scale. It has been proved that the COVID 19 virus remains in cardboards, plastics, steels, and even copper for a long time. So it is best to avoid the places which have the gathering of large mass and may come in contact with people who have an infection from the disease. 

Do a Thorough Hand-Wash and Disinfect Yourself and Your Belongings If You Have To Go Out

Suppose you had to go to the doctor or did not get your medicine from an e-commerce store and have to venture out to find the groceries or the medicines or some essential services. When you come back, thoroughly wash and disinfect your bags and baggage by a sanitizer. Use the disinfectant wipes to make the belongings infection-free and keep your environment out of the infections. Social distancing is not complete isolation or quarantine, you may go outside, but when needed and with proper precaution.

Do Not Take Yourself and Others For Granted

You may think that the disease has not infected you, or your close relations, while it may have infected any or some of you. To stop the spread, it is always advisable to maintain social distancing and practice a bit of isolation. At the same time oversee that everyone at the family is maintaining the health routine and is strictly following the washing of hands and other such instructions. 

Maintain a Distance from Even People Who Are Your Near Ones

A seven feet gap from everyone around would be good. Too much touching and showing affections to loved ones should be prevented. The more you keep the distance from others, the more you care for his or her protection. So to be affectionate now is to keep a safe distance from the near ones. Physical touch should be avoided as far as possible. This is especially to be followed if you have a kid at home. Stay away from kissing, cuddling, and touching too much. 

People with Weak Immunity Should Be Avoided By Contacting Them

Adults over 60 years of age or those with weaker immunity should be avoided from your contact. This is because, if you are in any way carrying the disease, which has not yet shown the symptoms in you, you may eventually infect them also. Adults have lower resistance to the disease and are prone to succumb to it. 

Do Use Mobile Phones or the Internet to Interact

You need to stop interacting physically with people, but that does not mean that you shall also create an emotional distance from them. You can use digital devices and the telephone to keep in touch and interact with them. Communication over the video can bridge the distance, which is created for physical gaps and help you communicate effectively.

Do Not Go to the Doctor’s Chamber Now If It Is Not Necessary

The health care sectors have many types of patients, and probability is they have got people who have the symptoms or are affected by the disease. So if there is an ailment that can have home remedies or is not burning and wait at the moment, avoid going to the doctors for the time being. Till the situation is under control, and the spread of the disease is arrested. 

Do Go To A Hospital That or Chamber That Maintains Daily Disinfecting If You Have To Do So

You have to maintain a distance of seven-foot from others where you have to wait. Avoid hospitals and chambers which have little spaces. Enquire about the cleaning regimen of the chamber and the hospital from before and get an idea if it is clean enough. Avoid going to the toilets and drinking water from the glasses. Carry water on a bottle so that you can have it in the hospital when thirsty. Take care that your doctor maintains a distance from you while listening to your ailments. Practice social distancing in every form in the hospital.

Do Not Go To a Parlor or a Salon or Such Places Which Come In Frequent Contact of Other

In most of the countries, such services are shut down; even if it is not, avoid going there. It is better to look a little shabby to get infected by the disease. 

Do Prevent Children from Playing Which Bring Them Close To Other Children

This is a challenging thing. Keep children safe and socially distanced. Prevent your child from getting close contact with others and other children as well. Indulge them in some hobbies like art, craft, painting, etc. in which they will take fun. Talk to them about the need for social distancing if they are grown up enough to understand. Keep your children at home as far as possible, ask the schools to send their assignments on the internet at home, and avoid sending them to day-care. Safety is first and essential than all other things. 

Do Use Cautions When You Are Availing Take Away Foods If Necessary

It is best now to prepare your food at home with some simple tips and get the nutritious cooking done at home, which will take care of your immunity. However, if you have to take the take-ways because of your absolute inability to cook, ask the person to drop it in a basket from a distance, and avoid physical contact. Instruct your food maker to wrap the food in a hot state with foil paper. Avoid having frozen foods and cold drinks because the virus attacks the tonsils, and if you already have a cold, you are prone to the disease more than others.

Do Think About the Community

You may be a very rich person and have the provisions for fighting the disease to some extent. Still, those who may come in contact with you may be from the different strata of the society where the community is more prone to spread, or their immunity may not permit them to recover. So as a responsible citizen, think of others as well as for yourself and stop spreading the virus in all possible ways. 

How to Check the Spread of COVID – 19

• Keep yourself informed about the spread of the disease. Be aware of the symptoms, the signs the ways of getting infected, about social distancing, and methods for prevention of the disease.  
• Get to know about the disease and its symptoms through the posts of the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.
• Do not believe in any fake news or so-called remedies unless it is medically proved. Do not circulate such news to others and stop spreading all kinds of rumors regarding the disease.
• If anyone is coughing or sneezing, not only maintain social distance from the person but get him or her tested with the Corona kit. 
• Keep indoors and avoid attending office. Rather request your employer to facilitate you in working from home and find ways to do a job online. If you are among those, who have to do manual labor, request your employer to give you a recess or paid holiday if your country has not yet started the lock-down. 
• Keep children away from the contacts of society and keep them at home. Request the school or colleges to send their subject assignments online and help your child with the studies. If you are unable to help, take the guidance of an online tutor.
• If your child shows the symptoms of fever or cough and cold, take him or her to the doctor immediately. 
• Teach everybody at home, including your kids, to practice social distancing and proper ways to hand-wash and disinfect themselves. Take measures to disinfect your children’s clothing and belongings as frequently as possible
• Disinfect all the touch areas of your house, including the toilets, the dining room, the bedroom, and the common space as frequently as possible.
• If you are outside for some work, stop using public lavatories unless it is necessary
• Avoid spitting on the ground as the virus can transmit through the droplets of your cough to other people and spread in the community. We never know who is carrying the disease when
• Avoid making the roads dirty with plastic packets or other disposable items. A clean area will keep the environment safe and stop spreading the virus. 
• Get daily nutrition through good food and keep your immunity system on the high. Take normal nutritious food which will help you to fight against the disease by building a strong immune system. 
• Take your daily dose of medicines which you have been taking earlier if you have any previous ailment and check your diseases under control. A healthy body can better fight the COVID 19 virus. 
• Take a supplement of vitamin C and D. Many doctors believe that since the vitamin C and D help in building natural immunity to the system, the intake of these supplements can help in preventing the onslaught of the disease and provide us with a better immunity system.
• Building immunity comes with the practice of daily fitness regimen also. People are now staying indoors. It is advisable to maintain the daily fitness regime like yoga or aerobics, which can be done at home without the hassle of going outside. If there is space on your courtyard or your roof, you can practice the daily walking routine and can maintain the fitness of your body. However, in every case, avoid contact with others and avoid group gathering.

The Time for Quarantine

You may like to know how long one may keep himself quarantine if there is any possibility of carrying the disease. Normally the symptoms show wide signs of development after ten days of contamination. So the quarantine period is safest to be fourteen days from the contact to any possible contamination with the diseased person or the possible carrier.

Time for Recovery of the Affected Person

If one gets the disease, it depends on his age, immunity system, etc. to recover from the disease. However, more than ninety percent of the affected people recover within a month of getting infected.

I hope you have got a complete guide on self-quarantine and isolation method. Stay Safe! Save yourself, save the world!