EMERGENCY ACTION PLANNING > Blog > Biological Threat > Pandemic Shelter in Place PT I
Pandemic Shelter in Place PT I
Living with the CORONAVIRUS
Like it or not, the Coronavirus will be with us for a long time.
Wait, we have already been dealing with it in one form or another for decades.
SARS-CoV-2 is the new and improved version.
There are massive amounts of information begging for your attention. Not all of it is worth reading.
The below links are the best I can find at the moment for those of you sheltering in place.
The information is fluid and may change. Trust but verify.
Think of this as a primer for your dedicated Shelter-in-Place planning process.
Thousands of people like you are recognizing the need to have an Emergency Action Plan for the next time.
7 Myths About Coronavirus You Need to Stop Believing Now
By Colby Hall March 16, 2020
Image by Daniel Kilburn
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a seemingly endless list of tips to follow to stay safe, but there are just as many mistruths and myths about coronavirus out there. Washing one’s hands and limiting contact with as many people as possible (a.k.a. social distancing) are still the best ways to both stay healthy and not spread the virus. But a stubborn amount of misinformation is spreading just as vast as COVID-19 itself.
To help you stay educated, the World Health Organization (WHO) and numerous other reputable medical institutions, such as Johns Hopkins Medicine, are debunking the myths surrounding COVID-19.
Coronavirus Health Myths, Fact Checked
By Sarah Mitroff March 19, 2020 1:15 pm PDT
Image by Gerd Altmann
https://www.cnet.com/news/coronavirus-health-myths-fact-checked/
Well before the coronavirus was named a pandemic by the WHO, people started sharing all sorts of questionable advice on how to protect yourself from getting infected, ranging from misguided (like making your own hand sanitizer) to outright dangerous (like drinking bleach). It’s reached the point where Facebook has moved to ban any ads promoting fake coronavirus cures.
In an effort to get the facts straight, we’re going to bust these common coronavirus myths that have taken over our feeds.
A one-page, printable guide for preparing to shelter at home
Our recommendations for surviving boredom, loneliness, and the coronavirus.
By Kelsey Piper Mar 19, 2020, 3:20pm EDT
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2020/3/19/21177527/coronavirus-guide-shelter-at-home-preparedness
Imagine, two weeks from now, the country is functionally in quarantine. Only groceries and pharmacies remain open, and there are limits on how many people can be inside them at once. Other stores are closed, and many delivery services have shut down.
If this sounds dire, it’s a description of where Italy is, right now, in the coronavirus pandemic. And by some measures, we look to be following Italy’s trajectory fairly closely, with about a two-week lag. So now isn‘t a time for panic, but it is a time for preparation — to be ready for weeks or even months when much is shut down. Even if you’re in a location where stores are staying open, many of us won’t want to go into the crowded public spaces we typically frequent without another thought.
“People should be prepared to hunker down,” Dr. Caitlin Rivers at the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University told Vox. “I don’t think we have turned the corner yet.”
How to Clean Your Home for Coronavirus
By Tara Parker-Pope March 18, 2020
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/world/clean-home-coronavirus.html
We asked the experts how best to clean our homes during a viral outbreak. After they taught us the proper technique, we had a few more questions:
It takes only a few minutes, but cleaning high-traffic surfaces once a day can make a difference in preventing the spread of infection.
Sanitize your home and car to help kill coronavirus after going out
By Katie Connor March 20, 2020, 7:00 am PDT
Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/sanitize-your-home-and-car-to-help-kill-coronavirus-after-going-out/
Coronavirus is putting countries and states on lockdown and keeping billions of people around the world indoors. In many places, you can still go out for essential errands, like buying food at the grocery store, grabbing take-out orders and picking up supplies from the pharmacy. This means you need to be cautious of surfaces you touch in public, like shopping carts, and cognizant of the germs you might bring home. Part of the best way to minimize your exposure to the disease known as COVID-19 is to keep your home disinfected and sanitized.
Washing your hands frequently is one of the best steps you can take, but the virus can still cling to surfaces you carry with you into your sanctuary, like your clothes, shoes, car and even your phone (here’s how to disinfect your phone). Fortunately, the EPA has released a list of products that are considered effective at killing the virus.
List N: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2
List N includes products that meet EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19.
When purchasing a product, check if its EPA registration number is included on this list. If it is, you have a match and the product can be used against SARS-CoV-2. You can find this number on the product label – just look for the EPA Reg. No. These products may be marketed and sold under different brand names, but if they have the same EPA registration number, they are the same product.
Pros and Cons of Using Antibacterial Cleaning Products
http://www.commercialofficecleaning.com/using-antibacterial-cleaning-products.html
Antibacterial cleaning products can be very helpful in environments where people’s immune systems are weak and susceptible to infection. For instance, hospitals often use antibacterial cleaning products to clean patients’ rooms, exam rooms, and many other areas. This helps to prevent patients with weak immune systems from picking up bacteria that could worsen their condition. Senior citizen centers, doctor’s offices, and public health clinics are other examples of places where antibacterial cleaning products are used. Convenience is another pro of antibacterial cleaning products. For example, if a person doesn’t have access to soap and hot water, he or she can use a hand sanitizer as a quick way to kill bacteria on the hands.
One of the most significant cons of antibacterial cleaning products is the likelihood of a negative change in people’s sanitary practices. For example, people who use hand sanitizer may not think that they need to wash their hands as often as people who don’t use hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer shouldn’t be used as a substitute for hand-washing with hot water and soap. A thorough hand-washing regimen has been shown to be effective in removing bacteria and germs. There are some types of bacteria that protect a person against infections. These good or healthy bacteria die right along with the bad bacteria when antibacterial products are used too often in a household.
The parents who use these antibacterial cleaners on a regular basis do so with the best of intentions. But a child who doesn’t encounter enough bacteria and germs doesn’t have a chance to build up immunity against them. Consequently, the child is more vulnerable when he or she begins school or goes to a place where bacteria are present in abundance.
Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/publications-data-stats.html
Antibacterial Soap
Handwashing has been clearly shown to prevent a variety of diseases and is one of the most important ways to protect oneself and others from infections. To date, studies have shown that there is no added health benefit for consumers (this does not include professionals in the healthcare setting) using soaps containing antibacterial ingredients compared with using plain soap. CDC looks forward to any future data about the safety and effectiveness of antibacterial consumer products and will continue to adjust recommendations based on the best available science.
What to buy at the grocery store during a pandemic?
By Lisa Drayer, CNN March 18, 2020
Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)
Whether you’re housebound for the next couple of weeks from a COVID-19 quarantine, or simply trying to survive a school or work shutdown, you’ll likely be limiting or avoiding trips to the grocery store.
So you may be wondering: What are the best foods to buy when you know you’re going to be stuck at home — and is it even possible to consume a nutritious diet?
Well, here’s some good news: You can make nutrition a priority, and it’s something that is all the more important if your immune system may be compromised.
“Though it might look a little different than normal, it’s possible to eat healthfully when stuck at home,” said Alyssa Pike, a registered dietitian and manager of nutrition communications at the International Food Information Council. “Choosing shelf-stable foods like canned goods, pastas, rice and legumes and utilizing your freezer — [where] you can store breads, meats, vegetables, fruits and more — are great ways to ensure you have a nice variety when your trips to the grocery store are limited.”
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The Grocery Store link below is a bare minimum three-day food plan used in the EOP Workshop. Simple math and you can figure out a 14-day food plan.
No, we are not done.
These are just a few of the tactics, techniques, and procedures for sheltering during a pandemic.
More to come.
Till next time
“Be Safe”
P.S
Email: info@emergencyactionplanning.com for the upcoming EAP Workshop.
Don’t let everything you have done up to now go to waste.