C is also for Closed Spaces, Crowds, Close Contact, and Clean Hands – things we all have incorporated into our living style since March to combat that little virus.
We are encouraged to remember three things: 1.) stay home and stay safe, 2.) mask up when you do have to go out, and 3.) wash your hands often. To help remember this, think “C is for Coronavirus.”
Closed Spaces
When you must be inside (outside of your home), try to have it be in a large room with open windows and doors, and fans (dress for winter!) or upgraded ventilation (continual exchange of air from the outside at a minimum). Remain in this environment for as few minutes as possible.
And, mask up!
Crowds (Party or Protest – or Business Meeting)
Crowds can form indoors or outdoors.
Avoid indoor crowds.
Plan your grocery shopping for early (or late) hours and don’t go twice a week like you used to – try to shop once a week or even less often. Make out your grocery list at home and arrange the items in one route around the store, up and down the aisles. Be efficient.
When ‘caught’ in a crowd outdoors, ensure you can keep at least six feet from people you do not live with and limit your time being exposed to this situation.
And, mask up!
Close Contact
We miss our friends but if they do stop by, put your mask on before opening the door (keep clean masks in a drawer by the door, or on a hook so they are handy to grab when opening the door and so you don’t forget when you open the door or go out – you don’t want to be caught somewhere without a mask and have to return home or ask someone if they have an extra clean one).
And, since so many more items are now being delivered (groceries, packages, pizza, etc.), having an extra mask handy is only being polite to the other person, too.
Carry an extra mask in your purse and in your car – even a child-sized mask.
Stay at least six feet away (some studies say the virus can ‘travel’ 20 feet!).
And, mask up!
Clean Hands
Wash your hands – when you get up, before making breakfast (and after), before brushing your teeth, whenever you think of it, whenever you walk past the kitchen or bathroom.
And, if washing our hands with warm water, isn’t using hot water even better? Nope. If you can’t wait for warm water, cold water is fine. Hot water can open pores or little scratches to let in bacterial or viruses.
And, mask up!
MOM
Finally, if you live in Maryland (or Maine or Massachusetts or Mississippi or Montana or Missouri or Minnesota or Michigan), don’t forget your mother – MOM: Mask up, Maryland! Mask up, Maine! Mask up, Massachusetts! etc.)
Read More About It:
How to Determine if You Will Contact COVID-19 (a light-hearted look with some seriousness)
