Six months into the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, people have shifted their way of life. Most adults work remotely if possible, class meetings are done virtually, and people stay quarantined at home. As governing bodies and other organizations continually make efforts in rebuilding communities, strict restrictions are being implemented for the “new normal.”
With the virus present, safety is not guaranteed. The “new normal” discourages social gatherings, which means Church masses are halted and schools have temporarily shifted to online classes instead of face-to-face ones. People are restricted to merely buying daily essentials when leaving their houses. Meanwhile, social distancing, or maintaining at least one meter from another individual, is advised by the World Health Organization (WHO).
In every establishment, restriction guidelines, medical protocols and procedures are displayed and implemented, where most welcome customers and workers with infrared thermometers and alcohol-based sanitizers.
Prevention is better than cure
Wearing a face mask is currently a protocol when going outside because it can suppress the transmission of the virus entirely and lessen the severity of its symptoms. However, wearing top-grade masks can prevent COVID-19 transmission by blocking droplets coming from infected patients while social distancing alone helps prevent infection by 82%.
Furthermore, Dr. Derek Chu, a lead author for The Lancet medical journal, proved that wearing face masks and eye protection such as face shields and goggles increases its prevention by three percent.
There are varieties of face masks advised for the public but their effectiveness is not on the same level. Usually, medical masks are for health workers and anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 while non-medical or fabric masks are for the general public.
At present, everyone is expected to adhere to a higher standard of personal hygiene. As advised by the WHO, everyone should clean their hands frequently and thoroughly. One can wash hands with soap and water or use alcohol-based hand rub with 70% solution to effectively fight the virus.
Discipline against COVID-19
By following simple health protocols by WHO, everyone can help to flatten the curve, even without the vaccine. Discipline should start in everyone’s household by keeping everything sanitized. If one doesn’t cooperate, it can affect the lives of many including medical frontliners.
In addition, being updated through reliable sources helps to keep track of current health protocols from the health experts and governing bodies. Health experts tell people to be vigilant at all times while taking responsible actions for their own health and of those around them.
In strictly following protocols from the health experts, curbing the pandemic can possibly happen while waiting for the vaccine. With this, medical frontliners will no longer take risks exposing themselves from the virus and communities can slowly reopen and go back to the way people used to live.
The article is also published in The Benildean Volume 6 Issue No. 3: Translate
