Can Covid 19 be prevented?

Can Covid 19 be prevented?

While there isn’t yet a vaccine to prevent Covid 19, there are things you can do to reduce your chances of getting it. These steps are good for everyone, but are especially important for those at higher risk, such as older people or those with other health conditions that could make them more prone to get the disease if exposed.

Practice social distancing.

This is to avoid contact with people who are sick, whether they have symptoms or not, since you can have the disease without knowing it.

Social distancing means avoiding close contact with those who you don’t already live with. It’s also called physical distancing.

Social distancing means avoiding crowds, even small ones, as much as you can. The best way to do this is to stay at home, but if you need to go out, try your best to keep your physical distance from others. Stay at least 6 feet, or 2 meters, apart, and wear a face mask or covering if you can.

Wash your hands with soap and water often.

Washing your hands is especially important if you’ve been out in public or touching items that others have touched. This includes getting your mail or deliveries.

Use soap and water, rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds, and be sure to wash your wrists, fingernails, and between your fingers. When you’ve done this for at least 20 seconds, rinse them and dry them with a paper towel that you can throw away.

If you aren’t near a sink you can use hand sanitizer to clean your hands. You’ll want a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol in it to be effective, but whenever possible, soap and water works best.

 Avoid touching your face, especially your mouth, nose, and eyes.

Covid 19 and other viruses enter your body most easily through your mouth, nose, and eyes, so if you’ve been in contact with the virus, touching your face increases the chance that you can become infected.

Avoid traveling if you can.

Obviously you’ll want to avoid traveling to known hot spots, where there are large outbreaks of the virus, but any form of travel increases your risk of exposure, especially if you have to be in crowded places like airports. Traveling also spreads the virus around the country and the world. This makes it harder to contain.