Staying Protected against COVID-19 amidst Essential Errands!

29 Apr, 2020

• COVID-19 has left the world struggling in terms of economy and health. It has impacted human life to such a great extent that even fulfilling the essential needs is becoming challenging.
• Every community across the United States is taking preventive measures to stay protected against coronavirus. However, simply staying indoors is not solving the problems entirely as new challenges emerge.
• These include meeting basic household needs like grocery shopping, executing banking activities, and medicine buying.
• The following information will help you in completing these essential errands without contracting coronavirus. So, let’s get started.

Food and other Household Essentials’ Shopping

1. If sick, stay home!

• If you happen to be sick, or have any COVID-19 associated symptoms like breath shortness, fever, or cough; you must stay home and avoid going outside for shopping.

2. Use a curbside pickup or order online

• If possible, use a curbside pickup or place an order online for food and other important items.
• In case none of the above options is available for food delivery in your area, only then you step outside to shop for the same. Make sure you only visit the grocery store and not the stores that are of minimal value to you at this point in time to limit your potential exposure to the virus and others.

3. Take precautions while shopping

• It is recommended staying six feet away from other people while in lines and shopping.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth that covers your face completely whenever you need to go out in public.
• If you must go for an in-person visit, go during late night or early morning as fewer people are there during these times.
• This is especially important in case you are prone to severe illness. You must enquire with the store if they have special hours allocated for the same. If they do, you should shop during that time only, especially the ones who have underlying medical conditions or are above 65 years of age.
• You must use disinfecting wipes or something similar to disinfect the shopping cart.
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
• Try to go with a touchless payment method (via keypad or card). In any case, you must use a hand sanitizer after paying cash, using a keypad, or handing over a card or money.

4. Post protections

• Use a hand sanitizer as soon as you come out of the store and wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds after you reach home.
• At home, follow food safety guidelines: clean, set aside, cook, and freeze external icons. There exists no evidence that the food packaging or food linked to COVID-19 results in sickness.

Accepting Takeout Orders and Deliveries

1. If possible, keep in-person contact limited

• Pay on the phone or online when you place an order
• Whenever possible, accept deliveries that are not limited to in-person contact. Ask the delivery people to leave the deliveries at an outside place of your home like the lobby or front porch without any person-to-person interaction. If required, 6 feet social distancing should be maintained.

2. Use hand sanitizer or wash your hands after collecting mail or accepting deliveries

• After bringing your takeout food home or receiving your delivery, make sure to wash your hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based sanitizer (60%) in case the first option is not available.
• After collecting mail from the home mailbox or a post office, use the same safety procedure for your hands.

Banking

1. Whenever possible, bank online

• When it is absolutely necessary for you to visit the bank, consider using the drive-through ATM, if available. Before you use the ATM keyboard, clean it with a disinfecting wipe.
• After you are done, use an alcohol-based sanitizer (60%) and wash your hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds upon reaching home.

Getting Gasoline

• Use disinfecting wipes or gloves on buttons/handles prior to touching them.
• After you are done with fueling, use an alcohol-based sanitizer (60%) and wash your hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds upon reaching home.

Getting Medicine or Going to the Doctor

1. Communicate with your doctor online, by email, or phone

• If available, use telemedicine, or talk to your nurse or doctor by email or phone.
• Get your procedures rescheduled that are not urgent care by talking to your doctor.

2. In the case of an in-person visit

• If you feel you have contracted coronavirus, you must make the office know and guide you accordingly.
• It is recommended to stay six feet away from other people while in lines and inside.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth that covers your face completely.
• You must use disinfecting wipes or something similar to disinfect the touchpads, knobs, handles, etc. 
• Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
• Try to go with a touchless payment method (via keypad or card). In any case, you must use a hand sanitizer after paying cash, using a keypad, or handing over a card or money.
• When you reach home, wash your hands with water and soap for at least 20 seconds.

3. Limit in-person pharmacy visits

• Make a plan for your prescriptions to be ordered and picked up simultaneously.
• It is recommended to order prescriptions in advance. Make use of the delivery services, drive-thru windows, mail-orders, curbside services (until your prescription is ready, you must wait in the car), mail-order, or other delivery services. Follow the same when buying pet medicine as well.
• Coordinate with your pharmacist and doctor to enquire if you can receive a large medicine supply to avoid stepping out often.

Upon Contracting the Virus

• If any of your family members (including you) show COVID-19 symptoms, right away call your doctor before you visit an urgent care center.
• However, Call 911 if you think it is actually an emergency.

Conclusion

There is no denying coronavirus has impacted human life., We need essential items for our sustenance and for that; we might need to step outside our homes. However, we must follow the safety guidelines as described above to avoid contracting the virus through any medium and stay strong in our fight to win this COVID-19 battle!