If COVID-19 is spreading in your
community, stay safe by taking some simple precautions, such as physical
distancing, wearing a mask, keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds,
cleaning your hands, and coughing into a bent elbow or tissue. Check local
advice where you live and work. Do it all!
What to do to keep yourself and
others safe from COVID-19
- Maintain at least a 1-metre distance between
yourself and others to
reduce your risk of infection when they cough, sneeze or speak. Maintain
an even greater distance between yourself and others when indoors. The
further away, the better.
- Make wearing a mask a normal part of being
around other people. The appropriate use, storage and cleaning or
disposal are essential to make masks as effective as possible.
Here are the basics of how to wear a mask:
- Clean
your hands before you put your mask on, as well as before and after you
take it off, and after you touch it at any time.
- Make
sure it covers both your nose, mouth and chin.
- When
you take off a mask, store it in a clean plastic bag, and every day either
wash it if it’s a fabric mask, or dispose of a medical mask in a trash
bin.
- Don’t
use masks with valves.
Don’t forget the basics of good
hygiene
- Regularly and thoroughly clean your hands with
an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. This eliminates germs
including viruses that may be on your hands.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Hands touch many surfaces
and can pick up viruses. Once contaminated, hands can transfer the virus
to your eyes, nose or mouth. From there, the virus can enter your body and
infect you.
- Cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow
or tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Then dispose of the used tissue immediately into a closed bin and wash
your hands. By following good ‘respiratory hygiene’, you protect the
people around you from viruses, which cause colds, flu and COVID-19.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently
especially those which are regularly touched, such as door
handles, faucets and phone screens.
What to do if you feel unwell
- Know the full range of symptoms of COVID-19. The most common symptoms
of COVID-19 are fever, dry cough, and tiredness. Other symptoms that are
less common and may affect some patients include loss of taste or smell,
aches and pains, headache, sore throat, nasal congestion, red eyes,
diarrhoea, or a skin rash.
- Stay home and self-isolate even if you have
minor symptoms such as cough, headache, mild fever, until you recover. Call your
health care provider or hotline for advice. Have someone bring you
supplies. If you need to leave your house or have someone near you, wear a
medical mask to avoid infecting others.
- If you have a fever, cough and difficulty
breathing, seek medical attention immediately. Call by telephone first, if
you can and
follow the directions of your local health authority.
- Keep up to date on the latest information from trusted sources, such as your local and national health authorities. Local and national authorities and public health units are best placed to advise on what people in your area should be doing to protect themselves.
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