Guidance for Coronavirus to Stay at Home and Avoid Being Infected

If you are staying at home since the outbreak of this deadly disease, then testing for coronavirus is not needed. By staying home, you can control spreading this virus to friends, neighbors and your wider community. In case you detect any symptoms, then you should live alone for the next 7 days to lessen the risk of infecting others. If required, use COVID 19 home testing kits to know if you have been infected with this deadly disease.  

Staying at home might be quite frustrating, but there are certain things you can do to make it easier. These include the following:

• Plan in advance and think what you need to stay at home for the next 7 or 14 days
• Speak with your employer, family and friends for help to access things you require and make your stay at home a success
• Think how you will be able to get access to food and other supplies like medications during this period
• Ask friends or family to drop off anything you require or order for your supplies online
• Stay in touch with family and friends over the phone or through social media
• Consider things you can do at home such as – cooking, reading, online learning and watching films
• Many people can plan out the full 14 days and make the most out of this time
• When you feel better, remember physical exercise can be good for your overall well-being. Search for online classes that can help you to do light exercise in your home

Who this guidance is for

This advice has been intended for:

• People who have symptoms that might be caused due to coronavirus, and do not require hospital treatment, who must stay at home till they are fit
• Those living in the households with someone who has the symptoms that may be caused by coronavirus

When you are at home, do the following things

If you are living with children

Children who are suffering from coronavirus seem to be less severely affected. It is important to do your best for following this guidance.

If a vulnerable person is staying with you

Try to stay at least 2 metres away from vulnerable people you live with and ask them to sleep in a different bed. If possible, use a separate bathroom and separate towels after bathing, showering and for hand-hygiene purposes.

Laundry

Avoid shaking dirty laundry in order to lessen the chances of dispersing virus through the air.

Wash items according to the instructions of the manufacturer as all dirty laundry can be washed in the same load.

If you don’t use a washing machine, wait for 72 hours after your 7-day or 14-day isolation period has ended when you can take laundry to a public launderette.

If you or your family require medical help

Ask for medical attention if you or any of your family members is sick. You may contact NHS 111 online when it is not an emergency. In case of any Internet access, call NHS 111. If there is an emergency, dial 999 and inform the operator you or your relative have coronavirus symptoms.

Wash your hands frequently

Clean hands properly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using hand sanitiser. This will protect you and the people you live with to prevent from getting infected. This is one of the effective ways to lessen the risk of passing this infection to others.

Cover your coughs and sneezes

Cover your mouth and nose with tissues when you are coughing or sneezing. In case you do not have one in hand, sneeze into the crook of your elbow and not in your hand.

Facemasks

Using facemasks is not recommended as an effective way for preventing the spread of this infection. Facemasks have an important role in the clinical settings like hospitals, but there is little evidence of getting benefited from their use outside these settings.

Do not allow visitors in your home

You should not allow or invite visitors to visit your house during this time. If you want to talk to someone, use your phone or social media.

If you have pets in your house

Presently, there isn’t any evidence that pets like dogs and cats may be infected with this deadly coronavirus.

Take care of yourself by staying at home

It is important to take care of your mind and body while you remain at home for several days. Keep in touch with your family and friends over the phone or through social media. Think about different things you can do at home during this time. There are COVID 19 home testing kits in London that allow you to conduct necessary tests and know if you are suffering from this disease. This way, you can stay protected, lessen the risks of passing it to others and prevent unwanted problems in future.

End self-isolation and household-isolation

Self-isolation

If you are symptomatic, then you might end your self-isolation after 7 days. This 7-day period starts from the day when you became sick, at first

Household isolation

If you are staying with others, then all members who are well may end household-isolation after 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day your illness had started. Fourteen days is the incubation period for coronavirus and people stay well after 14 days will probably not get infected.

After the 7 days, if the person feels better and do not have high temperature, then they can get back to their normal activities. If other family members become unwell during this 14-day household-isolation period, then they have to follow the same advice - that is, after 7 days of their symptoms developing, if they feel better and no longer have high temperature, then they too can return to their normal routine.

If any member in your family develops the symptoms of coronavirus late in the 14-day household-isolation period, then the isolation period does not need to be extended, but the person with new symptoms will have to stay at home for 7 days. This 14-day household-isolation period will lessen the overall amount of infection for the rest of the household and it is not at all needed to restart 14 days of isolation for the entire family. This will provide high level of community protection and further isolation of members of this household provides less additional community protection.

After the 14-day period ends, any family member who has not been sick can leave household isolation.

If any sick person in the household did not show any signs of improvement and have not taken medical advice, then they need to contact NHS 111 online. If your home does not have internet access, then you need to call NHS 111.

The cough might persist for several weeks in case of some people, despite the coronavirus infection already being cleared. A persistent cough does not mean that someone must continue to self-isolate for more than 7 days.

Thus, it is advised you take necessary precautions so that you do not get affected with this disease. Only then, you will be able to your near and dear ones in every possible way and take proper care of them.