How to stay safe from COVID-19?

​Hello city of Sacramento. I hope this message finds you well, or at least as well as you can be during these very scary times. We, the people of this world, are in a tumultuous state. Fear is running rampant along with COVID-19, and even more so now. Hospitals in Sacramento are reporting record numbers of patient admissions related to the Corona Virus. Healthcare workers are testing positive at alarming rates. Some epidemiologists believe this is just the beginning of the virus spread for us here on the west coast. If that is the case, we all need to be prepared on how to avoid the virus, decontaminate if we believe we have been exposed, and know when to go to the hospital. There is still so much unknown about it. For example, do we have lasting immunity once infected? How long is that immunity? What people are at a greater risk of becoming hospitalized? What are the risk factors? These are just a few of the questions that research is attempting to uncover now. Sadly, there have been very few medical breakthroughs thus far.
We here at In Home Care Sacramento would like to try to answer some of these questions in our blog. What can you do to mitigate or minimize the chance of virus transmission to you, and your family?

​A lot of what I am about to tell you, you already know. It has most likely been infused in to you from new stations, the CDC, friends in healthcare, friends not in healthcare, etc. But maybe there will be something in here that you have not heard, so please read on.

1. Wash your hands and wash them often. The magic number for handwashing duration is 20 seconds, and it does not hurt to go a little longer. Some like to sing the Happy Birthday Song, and that usually ends up being right around the 20-second mark. But beside duration, technique is also extremely important. Several studies have indicated that there is a large amount of the population that is not washing their hands effectively. Certain areas of the hand gets missed or insufficient amount of soap used, are two of the main reasons. Check out this video demonstrating proper technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seA1wbXUQTs
2. Avoid touching areas where the virus can enter your body, eyes, nose, mouth. This can be difficult to do, especially when you think, “I can’t touch my face, my eye is now itching.”
3. Keep your distance from those that you have not quarantined with. The CDC recommends staying 6 feet apart. I would strongly recommend staying much farther than that. Some studies have demonstrated the virus can travel up to 14 feet in the air. 6 feet just does not cut it in some situations.
4. This is self-explanatory but wear a face mask. Put away your pride, it is not about taking your rights away. It is about keeping my immunocompromised uncle safe, your mom with cancer safe, his or her child safe. It is not about you, so stop being selfish, and making it about you.
5. Cover your cough and sneezes every time. Also, stop using your hand! Hands touch things and when you cough in your hands, you are increasing the likelihood that you will transmit the virus to someone else, if you are infected. See this video on how to perform a proper cough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2jbEetZ8G4 Have you ever seen a video that demonstrates the amount of fluid aerosolized from a cough? It is crazy! Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eQdCvHMY-U
6. Be sure to clean and disinfect often. Always carry hand sanitizer with you. Every time you get back in your car, sanitize. Sanitize before you enter your home. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!

These suggestions are extremely important for your safety and the safety of others. I hope you found some of this information useful. We here at In Home Care Sacramento suggest you get well acquainted with the CDCs website and the information on COVID. See this link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
In Home Care Sacramento is still actively providing home healthcare, in home care, and caregiver services to our customers in Sacramento. We are well trained on proper PPE usage as well as mitigating and minimizing the risk of virus transmission. If you need home care assistance, we are here and ready to support you in any way we can. Next week we will be talking about what to do if you think you have COVID-19. You can also visit us at http://inhomecaresacramento.com. Stay tuned and stay safe out there!