Ways To Protect Yourself and Others from Coronavirus

[Yppej]

Here is a list I came up with:

If you must be near sick people, e.g. if you are a healthcare provider, wear full PPE.

Everyone else:

1. Do not travel by air.
2. Stay home in general.
3. If you venture out stay 6 feet or more away from other people.
4. If other people get in your space keep your mouth shut and do not talk to them.
5. If others approach you get away. If you are around them less than 15 contiguous minutes that is best.
6. Use contactless forms of payment.
7. If you are sick do not go out even for essentials.
8. Especially if you are at high risk have things delivered to you.
9. Improve your lifestyle. Stop smoking. If you are obese lose weight. Diet and exercise to lower your blood pressure. Do not let yourself become stressed and work yourself into a tizzy because of what other forum posters say. Meditate or do whatever else is necessary to stay calm.
10. Breathe deeply of fresh, clean air, not air filtered through a mask for hours and contaminated on the inside with whatever germs have been in your mouth.

[dado potato]

Yppej,

That list looks good, but I would add a couple of points:
Wash hands with soap and warm water for a 20 second scrub.
Use telephone/internet for frequent contact with people, to reduce the sense of isolation.
Wear a mask and gloves when away from home.

[Gardnr]

Here is a list I came up with:

If you must be near sick people, e.g. if you are a healthcare provider, wear full PPE.

Everyone else:

1. Do not travel by air.
2. Stay home in general.
3. If you venture out stay 6 feet or more away from other people.
4. If other people get in your space keep your mouth shut and do not talk to them.
5. If others approach you get away. If you are around them less than 15 contiguous minutes that is best.
6. Use contactless forms of payment.
7. If you are sick do not go out even for essentials.
8. Especially if you are at high risk have things delivered to you.
9. Improve your lifestyle. Stop smoking. If you are obese lose weight. Diet and exercise to lower your blood pressure. Do not let yourself become stressed and work yourself into a tizzy because of what other forum posters say. Meditate or do whatever else is necessary to stay calm.
10. Breathe deeply of fresh, clean air, not air filtered through a mask for hours and contaminated on the inside with whatever germs have been in your mouth.

Got it. No handwashing or masks as these are ineffective. I see you're refusing to listen to science......still:(

[iris lilies]

Got it. No handwashing or masks as these are ineffective. I see you're refusing to listen to science......still:(

My parents were in healthcare services. I used to tell them “I don’t believe in the germ theory” just to poke them. It always got a rise.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Do not let yourself become stressed and work yourself into a tizzy because of what other forum posters say.

you could just do us all a favor and stop posting instead.

What even was the point of this tread? It's useful when people who know something we may not have heard about coronavirus post, it really is. But this ain't it.

[Tybee]

Thank you for the list, Yppej. I think number 10 is especially important, and doable now that we are into summer where we live. We seemed to skip spring entirely, although it is supposed to get down to 35 tomorrow night. But we are out in the fresh air as much as we can be now.

[bae]

Good old-fashioned ice cream social time.

[iris lilies]

Good old-fashioned ice cream social time.
or, a newfangled tech device:” ignore” settings

[ApatheticNoMore]

breathing clean air struck me as radically undoable. The economy is nowhere near shut down enough for that. I'd have to move to Vermont. Clean air .... pfft.

[pinkytoe]

I do most of the things on the list as habit now. However, DH and I were walking through our neighborhood park when out of nowhere a man approached us and asked DH to take a photo of him and his family. I hate to admit it but I was not comfortable with that but DH happily grabbed the guy's phone and snapped a pic. So bizarre to have to think through simple actions these days.

[Tradd]

You can visit people by sitting outside and staying minimum 6ft away.

The weather here has finally gotten good enough to regularly do this. When I dropped off groceries for the senior lady from church I've been shopping for earlier in the week, I went around the back to her patio and we sat at least 10ft apart for about 20 minutes and visited. She has been staying home since mid-February and has been very lonely.

I'm going to do this with other seniors from church. I told them to just let me know when they'd like me to come visit.

[Teacher Terry]

Tradd, that’s nice of you. It would be hard to be home by yourself.

[Gardnr]

You can visit people by sitting outside and staying minimum 6ft away.

Yes. A dear friend of mine is a RN working in our local big hospital and she lives alone. She's doing 5 12s/week. She's come over twice to visit. We sit 10+ feet apart. I make her a cocktail and put it on the sidetable when she's getting out of her car. 2 weeks ago, we talked for 5 hours!!!!! Yup, 2nd and 3rd cocktails:) It was a wonderful and safe visit. She literally spends no time with any human outside of work.

[Tradd]

Yes. A dear friend of mine is a RN working in our local big hospital and she lives alone. She's doing 5 12s/week. She's come over twice to visit. We sit 10+ feet apart. I make her a cocktail and put it on the sidetable when she's getting out of her car. 2 weeks ago, we talked for 5 hours!!!!! Yup, 2nd and 3rd cocktails:) It was a wonderful and safe visit. She literally spends no time with any human outside of work.

Sounds fab! :D

[Tradd]

Tradd, that’s nice of you. It would be hard to be home by yourself.

Don't forget that I'm also home by myself! I go grocery shopping once a week and then down to the dive shop once a week to get my tanks filled. I've been diving two of the past three weekends. Our local quarry opens next Monday. I have several friends who are available during the week, so we will likely go diving during the weekend, when it's less crowded than on weekends. Although, we're not sure how busy it's going to be even on weekends.

[Tybee]

Good on you, Tradd! How nice for those ladies, to finally get some company.

[Yppej]

Yppej,

That list looks good, but I would add a couple of points:
Wash hands with soap and warm water for a 20 second scrub.
Use telephone/internet for frequent contact with people, to reduce the sense of isolation.
Wear a mask and gloves when away from home.

I have no issue with handwashing. Just be careful about using a lot of antibacterial soaps if you are on a septic system.

Gloves I gave up on in part based on advice I got here. It is going to be hard for most people to use them correctly. I believe the same is true of face coverings, and even if used correctly they do not block miniscule covid particles, a million of which can fit on the head of a pin.

I do visit some people from about 10 feet away outdoors. Others are too scared at even that distance and I keep in touch with them other ways as you suggest.

Some good additions to the list Dado.

[dado potato]

I am somewhat skeptical about masks and gloves, but in a store or in a social interaction with a stranger, my mask and gloves are a sign that I am taking precautions. So maybe people will respect that, and stay 6 feet away from me. In various other ways I communicate that I am not there for a long time, or a good time. I am task-oriented, in-and-out. My eyes may (I hope) express cordiality, compassion and gratitude. But... like Groucho Marx in the role of Captain Spaulding, "I really must be going!"

In my state (WI) the number of new cases reported today = 600 ... the highest ever. The 14-day moving average of new cases is about 400 now, also the highest number ever.

The NY Times reported the new COVID-19 cases are increasing 14 states and Puerto Rico. As a resident of one of those states, I commiserate with the good people of
CA
FL
VA
NC
TN
WI
AL
MS
SC
NV
AR
PR
ND
ME
WV.

[KayLR]

Tradd, won't you be my neighbor? ;)

[Tradd]

Tradd, won't you be my neighbor? ;)

:D

[Gardnr]

Don't forget that I'm also home by myself!

I didn't forget. I wish for you, a pal who will have you over for a 5 hour chat! I felt so bad for my friend. Hub works long days but I'm grateful for 2-3h each night when we can visit or do something together.

[Tradd]

I didn't forget. I wish for you, a pal who will have you over for a 5 hour chat! I felt so bad for my friend. Hub works long days but I'm grateful for 2-3h each night when we can visit or do something together.

I get to chat with people when I'm diving, in between dives. We social distance and just sit with our snacks, etc. between dives while we yak.

[Teacher Terry]

I remembered too Tradd. I just think it’s harder on really old people.

[JaneV2.0]

I remembered too Tradd. I just think it’s harder on really old people.

I'm glad I'm not that old yet! ;)

[Yppej]

Lower your blood pressure. A study out of Wuhan reported on today shows those with high blood pressure have twice the risk of dying of covid. Most people can make lifestyle changes and/or take medications to control HBP. The study showed the meds do help despite earlier concerns they would act as a pathway for corona particles.

[Tammy]

Vitamin D supplementation is also a good idea. Research is supporting that also.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Change your blood type. For instance I have a good blood type, but some have type A blood types that are more likely to catch it and more likely to end up on oxygen and ventilators. They choose the wrong DNA. Sucks to be them.

Also don't be poor. Don't be a minority. Sucks to be them.

Yea I think this thread is about the most ridiculous ever (okay there is a lot of competition in the covid category). More nonsense so people can pretend there aren't people who just die from this thing out of pure bad luck. So people can continue with some just world hypothesis in the middle of a pandemic that doesn't care about their just world.

-----

I've bought a blood pressure device, fairly normal (the thing is oftentimes doctors only real worry at 140/90 and up, but they keep adjusting normal down just to get everyone on pills, and the reality about blood pressure is it jumps around a great deal - there are times it's in the 130s over 80s so I could worry if I wanted, there are times it's 108 over 60 something, way low, and yes I believe I have a decent device).

I bought a blood sugar device - normal, not remotely high, well within normal range. every-time I've tested so far, fasting or eating. I don't have blood sugar problems to begin with, just we're supposed to be paranoid that some health problem we didn't even know we had could kill us, when combined with covid apparently. So I test this and that and run a regular doctors office out of my living room or something. And of course I have an oximeter too. If I ever meet the virus I will present it my certificate of good health and it will know not to trouble me. Oh wait you mean it doesn't actually work like that? :0!

I don't take vitamin D because I go out in the sun instead. I sunbathe sometimes (not excessively, I'm after vitamin D, not skin cancer).

[Yppej]

Thank you for the tip on vitamin D Tammy. I've been doing a lot of yard work (not much else I can do) so I have that covered. I am also working on modifying my diet so I can lose weight since obesity is a risk factor for covid, even though I'm not obese only overweight. Many people myself included now have the time we previously may not have had to work on lifestyle changes. I do feel badly for those like many nursing home residents who can't and are sitting or lying down bedridden ducks.

[Tybee]

I think there are always some changes we can make to help us be more resistant to disease. In gardening, it is the weaker, sicker plants that the bugs attack. So in organic gardening, you concentrate on building up the health of the soil and the plant instead of killing the invader pest.

I was doing well with my blood pressure but took it last night and it was up a little, so back to the drawing board on that. We have pulse oximeter and blood pressure cuff and use them to monitor our bodies. Both of us have COPD and husband fights against high blood pressure. I love having tools that tell us where we are at, and give us something to work with. Was taking Vitamin D but am out in the sun all the time now but will start taking it again.

As far as protecting other people, we follow the law and do what we are supposed to do and we are very solitary anyway so that isn't an issue.

For my own mental health, I have stopped worrying about the current coronavirus and stopped reading about it and stopped caring what people say on the boards--it has brought out so much unpleasantness and so much high school mentality bullying. I sure don't need to take that kind of bad energy into my mind or my heart.

[happystuff]

For my own mental health, I have stopped worrying about the current coronavirus and stopped reading about it and stopped caring what people say on the boards--it has brought out so much unpleasantness and so much high school mentality bullying. I sure don't need to take that kind of bad energy into my mind or my heart.

I agree. I wonder why it seems to be bringing the nastiness, meanness, and selfishness out in some people? So sad.

Still hoping everyone stays safe and healthy.

[JaneV2.0]

Dateline NBC last night had a report on COVID19 in this country--pretty eye-opening on our many failures to meet this challenge. I would urge you to watch it On Demand or however you can.

[frugal-one]

Dateline NBC last night had a report on COVID19 in this country--pretty eye-opening on our many failures to meet this challenge. I would urge you to watch it On Demand or however you can.

I watched it too. It was shocking actually.