Covid-19: Tips to protect yourself and your family
With the recent coronavirus outbreak, it is important that you take care of your health and protect your family and others around you. At CLCRF, we are taking the situation very seriously and have been focusing on the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff, members, volunteers and visitors. We would therefore like to share a list of tips to protect yourself and your family from spreading and contracting COVID-19.
Wash your hands frequently
By regularly and thoroughly cleaning your hands for at least 20 seconds, you can help kill any viruses that might be on your hands. If you can’t get your hands on an alcohol-based hand rub, don’t worry! Simply washing them with soap and water works just fine.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
Our hands touch many surfaces and can pick up viruses. Touching your eyes, nose or mouth with contaminated hands can cause a virus to enter your body and make you sick. You can protect yourself and your family by simply avoiding touching your face!
Maintain social distancing
You can help protect yourself from contracting a virus by maintaining at least 1-metre distance between yourself and anyone else, especially those who are coughing or sneezing. When someone coughs or sneezes, they spray small liquid droplets from their nose or mouth which may contain a virus and if you are too close you may breathe in these droplets.
Practice respiratory hygiene
It’s important to make sure you and your family follow good respiratory hygiene to protect the people around you from viruses such as COVID-19. According to the World Health Organisation, the right way to sneeze or cough is to cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue. If you are using a tissue, it is recommended that you dispose of it immediately.
Only wear a face mask if it’s absolutely necessary
It is recommended that you only wear a face mask if you have symptoms of COVID-19 (especially coughing) or if you are looking after someone who may have the virus. Masks make very little difference if you are just walking around town and going about your daily life. There is currently a shortage on face masks, so to avoid wasting precious resources and reducing the availability for those who actually need it, people are urged to use them wisely.
Seek medical care early if you have symptoms of COVID-19
If you feel unwell, it is important that you stay home to reduce the change of spreading any viruses. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, you should seek medical attention and call in advance. Calling in advance will allow your health care provider to quickly direct you to the right health facility and will help prevent the spread of viruses and other infections.
Stay informed
The COVID-19 situation is changing daily so it is important to stay informed on the latest developments. We have been following the guidance of the World Health Organisation and Australian Government Department of Health. We encourage all of our supporters do the same to stay up to date with the spread of the virus and how to best protect ourselves.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook, where we have been sharing tips, news and other information about COVID-19 as it unfolds. To see CLCRF’s response to COVID-19, including what this means for our office and upcoming events, head to our COVID-19 page.