Corona Virus News.

During the pandemic and lock-down your well-being is our absolute priority. Rest assured our staff are well equipped with personal protective equipment to ensure your safety. Our teams are working in safe ways to protect you from COVID 19. We closely follow government guidelines and ensure staff are kept informed of any new developments and implement any recommendations. We are proud of our teams, the work they do and thank them for their dedication.      

We will continue to work hard to maintain the service throughout lock-down, also when it eases up, and hopefully in the not to distance future in a time of normality.

If you need advice specific to you service, please call our offices on 01253 899982 ask for a manager or supervisor who will be pleased to help

For most people catching the virus symptoms will be mild such as a fever a cough and shortness of breath. For older people and those with existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes the virus can be more serious, it can progress to a severe pneumonia causing shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Fatalities worldwide have been around 3.4% to date, affecting mainly people with underlying health conditions.

So, what steps should you take to protect yourself during a local outbreak.

The first line of defence is to understand how people get infected by the virus and how it is spread. It is thought people are infected when the virus enters their body through either the mouth, nose or eyes.

This occurs in two ways:

1. When someone coughs or sneezes the virus is spread through small droplets of mucus ejected into the air, people in close proximity breath in the droplets and become contaminated.
2. Other Droplets from a sneeze or cough land on furniture, your ornaments, your clothes etc., all become host to the virus, according to latest research from Germany that can live 9 days outside of the body. Touch a contaminated surface and the virus will transfers to your hands, it’s a certainty you will contaminate yourself by touching your mouth, nose or eyes within a few minutes.

I hear you say “I won’t touch my face” easier said than done, just take a few minutes to try. Contact with anyone infected will pass the virus onto you, simply touching, shaking hands, a kiss or hug is all it takes.

So, what should I do? After listening to the experts and reading articles issued by the government, NHS and other reliable sources here are my top 10 tips for keeping safe:

• Washing your hand frequently with soap and water, especially after using the toilet and before eating. Not a splash under the tap, a good 20 seconds or more, taking care to wash in between your fingers and backs of your hands. I would also recommend the using sanitiser hand gel (60% alcohol) but at the time of writing this item is as rare as hen’s teeth.
• Not easy, but if your hands are not clean, do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth, use a tissue to satisfy that itchy nose or wipe a running eye. Be sure to bin the tissue after use.
• Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily with a regular household detergent, think about door handles, toilet flush handles, light switches kitchen work surfaces. In fact, all the things a visitor to your home may have touched.
• Ignore traditional greeting, don’t shake hands, giving and receive hugs and kisses are strictly off limits.
• Keep your distance, six feet away from others is good, friends will respect your wishes. Distancing yourself greatly reduces your chances of breathing in any droplets of infected mucus if someone happens to sneeze or cough.
• When you have a visitor calling ask them to wash their hands as soon as they arrive, after all they may be unaware and already have coronavirus and bring it int your home.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve when coughing or sneezing, bin the tissue straight away, immediately wash your hands.
• Don’t make the cat suffer, the World Health Organisation says there is no evidence that pets can get and spread COVID-19.
• Keep up to date look for and follow the latest advice from the NHS, local authorities, the government and the World Health Organisation.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

I hope you have found my top 10 tips useful, keep yourself safe, don’t panic. We are all in this together.

John Lee

Director and Health and Safety Officer

All About You Care Services limited.