Well, this week brought proof that the threat posed by the coronavirus pandemic is not yet a thing of the past.

A consistent daily rise in cases– and numbers in their thousands once again – are an unwelcome echo of the awful experience of last Spring.

The main concentration of new cases seems to be among young adults aged 18 to 29 who, many fear, are not taking the risk seriously enough, largely because of the low perceived threat to their own health. In reality, we all have a responsibility to take the greatest care in order to protect those around us, and particularly the elderly and vulnerable in our society.

And, of course, we face the big unknown quantity of the nationwide return of our children to schools, and the re-opening of universities and college across the land.

Now that September is under way and winter fast approaching, we believe that we should all start to behave as though the pandemic is back in full swing. Every interaction we have, every place we visit and everything we touch as we go about our daily lives, needs careful consideration.

We’ve blogged a lot about how businesses, manufacturers, hospitality businesses as well as schools and other educational centres can give themselves the best possible chance of keeping their staff, customers and students safe.

However, we thought it would be useful to compile all our guidance into a simple list of ‘do’s’ we can all follow to take responsibility for our own safety and that of those around us.

10 small changes that make a big difference

 

1. Wash our hands regularly, and for at least 20 seconds, when we’ve been outside, to someone’s home, shopping, switched setting, interacted with someone new or done something different
2. Carry hand sanitiser that contains at least 70 per cent alcohol with us wherever we go, and use it regularly, in circumstances like the above, where hand washing facilities aren’t available
3. Be extra-aware of everything we touch and avoid, where possible, touching things many others will have touched before us. Where we do touch things like light switches, door handles, outside gates, equipment or even items of shopping, wipe them with antibactericidal and virucidal wipes where necessary and wash or sanitise our hands
4. Change our attitudes to workplace and school sickness – while the great British stiff upper lip is admirable, going into work with a temperature, cough or general feeling of being unwell is no longer an option because it there’s any chance we could have COVID-19, we could potentially infect many other people with it
5. Wear our face masks. Face masks are mandatory in places like shops, some schools and workplaces. We believe we should all use our own judgement and have our face masks at the ready whenever we’re in a place where close proximity to others could lead to us passing the virus on to them. We ought to also be careful not to touch our masks while wearing, as this can negate the benefit of having them on at all
6. Take responsibility for sharing the prevention message with others. Let’s face it, there are so many new rules to adhere to, we all forget from time to time. But if we all take ownership for pointing things out, with kindness, when needed, we spend a much better chance of beating this virus hands-down
7. Employ extra precautions at home and work, such as wiping touch points with antiviral chemicals on a regular basis. The nation’s cleaning staff have a real job on their hands as they strive to keep everything hygienic and safe, but if we all play our part, their roles will be much easier
8. Keep our distance. The overriding message since March has been to keep first two metres apart and then, more recently, one metre apart with precautions, and this remains the lynchpin of our approach to protecting against the coronavirus
9. Embrace change. It’s fantastic to see many companies continuing to explore the possibilities of home working, even though they are allowed to operate normally again. Again, the more we do that, the more those who do remain in the workplace can spread out and protect each other
10. If in doubt, shout. If we’re unsure whether symptoms we’re experiencing could be COVID-19, caution is king. We should isolate and arrange to take a coronavirus test, to make sure we’re clear before we interact with other people again.

If you would like more advice on managing your COVID-19 risks, get in touch with us via 01482 327580 or enquiries@elliotthygiene.com