What can I do to prevent coronavirus?

Last update: 6/9/2020. The newest coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to make news headlines throughout the world. Hearing how quickly the virus has spread from country to country and to different regions of the United States can provoke a lot of fear, especially in parents. While the news might seem scary, there are some simple steps that you can take to prevent your family from getting or spreading coronavirus.

Tips to prevent coronavirus

Wash your hands

Good hand washing, or hand hygiene, is your first line of defense against illnesses. Make sure you and your family wash your hands often and follow these simple steps:

Wash your hands with warm water.
Lather with soap.
Rub hands palm to palm, scrub between fingers, under nails, front and back of hands, rub thumbs and wrists for 20 seconds.
Rinse clean and dry well with a towel.

More tips about hand hygiene can be found here: Why is hand washing so important to prevent coronavirus?

Disinfect surfaces

“Any cleaning is better than no cleaning,” said Wendy Berg, infection preventionist at Children’s Minnesota. At home, you can use your favorite household cleaner to clean surfaces like kitchen and bathroom counters, faucets, doorknobs, and any other frequently used and touched surfaces. You do not need to buy any special cleaning products for COVID-19.

Social distancing

Social distancing is important to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. This simply means to try and distance yourself from others physically. Ways to social distance yourself include: standing 6 feet away from others, not shaking hands and avoiding crowds.

Take care of your body

You can take some over the counter medications to treat symptoms of the coronavirus as needed; but the best course of action is prevention. Make sure to get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated and wash your hands to keep your body healthy.

Cover your cough

Coronavirus and other viral illnesses like influenza can be spread through coughs and sneezes. When someone coughs or sneezes, respiratory droplets go into the air and spread the virus to surfaces and other people around you. To avoid this, cough or sneeze into your elbow or cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then wash your hands as soon as possible afterward.

Toss your tissues

When you do cough or sneeze into a tissue, be sure to toss it in the trash right away. It can be tempting to let them build up near your chair or bed when you feel really ill, but this can spread the virus to surfaces and people around you. You can keep a small garbage bin near you or your child to make tossing your tissues as easy as possible.