Tips on how to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the home.
If you have or think you may have COVID-19, follow these tips provided by the CDC to help protect others in your home. Even if a person has mild or no symptoms, the virus can be spread to others.
SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM OTHERS IN YOUR HOME.
Stay is a specific room (sick room) as much as possible away from other people. Use a separate bathroom, if possible.
HOUSEHOLDS WITH LIMITED SPACE
Keep 6 feet or more between the person who is sick and other household members.
Have the person who is sick wear a face covering when around other people in the home. The person who is sick should not wear a face covering if they are experiencing difficulty breathing or if the person is under 2 years of age.
Have only one person in the household take care of the person who is sick. The care giver should minimize contact with others in the household.
If you need to share a bedroom with someone who is sick; Make sure the room has good air flow, open a window and turn on a fan. Place beds at least 6 feet apart, if possible. Put a curtain around or place another type of physical divider to separate the bed of the person who is sick from others. For example, a shower curtain. Sleep head to toe if a bed needs to be shared.
CLEANING THE HOME AND HYGIENE
If you are sick, clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in your “sick room” and bathroom regularly. Provide the person who is sick with needed cleaning supplies to keep in their “sick room”. High touch surfaces include phones, remote controls, counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, bedside tables.
High touch surfaces in all areas of the home should be cleaned and disinfected regularly.
If the caregiver needs to clean and disinfect for the person who is sick, do so on as needed basis. The caregiver and sick person should wear a face covering when caregiver is in the room. The caregiver should allow some time to pass after the sick person has used the bathroom to clean it. The person who is sick should not wear a face covering if they are experiencing difficulty breathing or if the person is under 2 years of age.
If a bathroom is shared with others, the person who is sick should clean and disinfect after each use. Others in the household should allow some time to pass before entering after the person who is sick has used it. Make sure the bathroom has good air flow by opening a window or turning the fan on.
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use alcohol -based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not easily available.
Have the caregiver bring meals to the person who is sick. The meals can be left at the doorway of the “sick room” for the person who is sick to retrieve if they are able to. If the meals need to be taken into the room, the person who is sick and the caregiver should both wear a face covering. The person who is sick should not wear a face covering if they are experiencing difficulty breathing or if the person is under 2 years of age.
Drinking glasses, dishes and eating utensils should not be shared and should be washed after the person who is sick has used them with soap and water or put in the dishwasher. The caregiver should wash hands thoroughly after handling.
Towels and bed linens should not be shared. If the caregiver needs to wash these items for the person who is sick, a face covering should be worn when handling these items and wash hands thoroughly after handling them.