What should I do if someone in my home has Covid 19?
What should I do if someone in my home has Covid 19?
If someone in your home has Covid 19 , there are certain steps you can take to protect yourself and others:
- Keep the sick person away from others. If possible, the sick person should stay in a separate room, and use a different bathroom. They should also eat in their own room. And to be extra safe, experts are recommending that the person stay away from the pets in the house until they’re better.
- Have them cover their face. The sick person should cover their nose and mouth with a cloth mask when they’re in the same room as other people. If they can’t use a face cover, you can help protect yourself by covering your face when you’re in the room with them.
- Make sure everyone washes their hands with soap and water often, that includes both the sick person and everyone else in the house.
- Clean often. Here are some specific things that can help:
- Wear disposable gloves when you clean. It’s also a good idea to wear gloves when you have to touch the sick person’s laundry, dishes, utensils, or trash.
- Do the sick person’s laundry separately from everyone else’s in the house, and be careful to avoid contact. Wear gloves and cover your face when doing the laundry, and be sure to wash your hands before and after. Wash or wipe down the outside of the washing machine and dryer after putting in each load.
- Regularly clean things that are touched a lot. This includes counters, bedside tables, doorknobs, computers, phones, and bathroom surfaces.
- Use a disinfectant on surfaces. Soap and water are effective, but disinfectants on surfaces is best. Check your cleaning product labels to make sure they’re effective on viruses, since some products are only effective for bacteria. The EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, has a list of products on their website that are effective disinfectants for covid 19.