Stay at Home: Preparing Your Home & Protecting Others

We live in a hyper-connected world. While it has innumerable advantages, there is one drawback to our planet, the danger of the spread of diseases. Where an epidemic would be confined to a small region because of geographical restraints, it is almost impossible today. This is when a ‘stay at home’ order is issued by authorities. A situation like a pandemic requires an almost global lockdown. The idea is that by staying at home you are protected frominfections和the spread of the infection is controlled. Apart from pandemics, stay at home orders can also be issued during times of social unrest.

为什么呆在家里？

A stay at home is a mass quarantine strategy where people are confined to their home. Governments allow only essential and selected non-essential activities to take place. It is usually imposed through a formal government order. The severity of the order can vary from place to place. It can range from a full curfew to just curtailment of public gathering. The degree or severity is decided as per the risk associated. There are certain reasons behind such a strategy, such as:

It ensures that infected people are quarantined.
It can protect the vulnerable by keeping them isolated.
It gives authorities the time to prepare for adequate infrastructure should an outbreak occur.
It gives scientists valuable time to look forvaccinations。
在社会动荡的情况下，确保没有暴民动员。

Dices lined up to spell 'stay home stay safe

Staying at home can save lives. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Preparing Your Home

Stay at home orders are not easy to follow. While a brief period is manageable for most people, a long spell of isolation can take its toll. To make this easier, the CDCrecommends行动计划的家庭。英国政府现场has similar recommendations. Both of these guidelines were issued after a COVID-19 outbreak that called for national and global lockdowns.

Communication:你要从教育开始ar communication at home or in your community on the scope and implications of such an order. Young children must understand how their activities will be curtailed and older people should be informed of the reasons and manner of the lockdown.
识别脆弱：You must be extra vigilant if you have vulnerable people at home, such as the elderly or immunocompromised. Make sure they are kept strictly under segregation. Know the symptoms you must look out for. Talk to their healthcare providers to know what precautions you should take.
List emergency services:始终保持紧急服务的列表。这包括医疗服务提供者，本地测试/治疗中心，家庭成员和朋友谁可以快速到达。
List essential service providers:在大多数lockdowns，政府将允许必要的服务，以保持开放。还有一些援助机构能够在这种情况下帮助，特别是对老人，病人，或隔离的人。

Protecting Others at Home

You need to be extra diligent if you have vulnerable people at home. If you are involved in essential services that require you to leave home, you need to ensure that others at home are protected from any potential exposure from you. We have compiled a list that包括NHS and CDC recommendations you can take to protect others at home:

Practicing preventive action:Start off by insisting that everyone follows basic preventive practices at home. Cover your nose whilesneezing, wash your hands with soap and water frequently or anytime you touch any object from outside, and use a face mask if you have to step out. You should also follow the right procedure in sanitizing grocery bags and food.
Using separate bathrooms:If you or anyone in the house has to work outside, make sure that there is a separate bathroom for them to wash up. Do not share towels and other personal hygiene products.
尽量减少接触：If there are any chances of infection entering your home, it is best to follow segregation practices. It is always best to minimize contact with a sick person at home or anyone who has to step out to work. If possible, assign a separate room and minimize contact.
Staying at home:The best way to protect your loved ones is to stay at home. Use the phone orinternetchats to connect with others. Use deliveries for supplies as much as you can.
Living with vulnerable people:英国政府has detailed guidelines on how to live with a vulnerable person or people with lowimmunity。尽量减少接触,确保他们不有限公司me out in common areas and keeping these areas well-ventilated. Make sure common surface areas, such as kitchen counters are always kept clean.

Tips on Staying at Home:

Ask any parent who works from home or stays in to take care of kids, it’s not easy! It can be especially challenging if you have small children, pets, or vulnerable people like孕/哺乳women, and the elderly. Some of the tips you can follow to ease the situation are:

Dealing with children:即使在线课程，使儿童在室内占领可能是一个问题。一个可以让他们招待的方法之一是启动一个新的项目，如工艺活动。让他们参与做饭，gardening, and the general housekeeping tasks.
宠物：The good news is that not all human infections affect pets like cats and dogs. However, pets like dogs need some outdoor time. Check if you can take them out. If not, create a play area in your yard or balcony.
Creating workspace:Switching to work mode can be difficult when working from home. Creating a dedicated workspace can help in this. It can be a room or just a nook where you feel comfortable. Make a timetable that echoes your working day life and try to stick to it.
Be comfortable:做的事情，给你带来快乐和舒适性，无论是阅读，写作，烹饪，园艺，watchingthe TV or listening to radio. A good meal, lovingly prepared, can boost your spirits.
Do light exercises:A lockdown limits your outdoorexercises, including the gym. So, make sure that you do some lightexercises在家。我们的articleon at-home workouts gives you some simple exercises for your back.
Self-care:关爱您的幸福感也意味着照顾你mental health。Staying home for a prolonged period can be压力。Follow our tips for stressmanagement 和self-care.