COVID-19: Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Family Now
COVID-19 and the global pandemic that it has invoked is not something most people were prepared for. Between the lockdowns, the stringent regulations, and the rapid rise and fall of cases, there’s no denying it’s a frightening time. And it’s even more so for families who wish to maintain some semblance of everyday life as they try their best to navigate through these unfamiliar waters. Below we’ve gathered a list of ways you can begin to proactively look to protect your family in this time of uncertainty.
Make a Plan
The first step in preparedness for any emergency is to start by making a plan. Important factors to take into consideration before coming up with your finalized plan include making a note of anyone in the family who may be considered high risk. The medical community has defined high risk as those with heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, and older adults. Next, come up with a general protocol for how you and your family will work to keep from spreading illness within a shared family home. Steps to take should include precautions such as washing hands frequently, avoiding contact with anyone who is sick, having food or groceries dropped off to your home, and cleaning and disinfecting your home often.
Take Precautionary Steps But Don’t Go Overboard
The best way to look at what preventive steps you should be taking against COVID-19 is to use common sense. When interacting with your family, make sure everyone uses their own utensils, bowls, plates, and cups when eating or drinking or sharing a meal together. Also, make sure things like toothbrushes stay separate for each member of the family. As far as anything more drastic such as dousing yourself with disinfectant each time you come home, medical experts say it’s not really necessary.
Social distancing has become one of the more amplified rules during this pandemic. While you don’t have to move out entirely or stop seeing family necessarily, you should make safety a priority. Do this by practicing social distancing within your home if you feel you’ve been in any high-risk situations, such as spending an extended amount of time in a poorly ventilated area with a large group of people. It also makes sense to practice distancing from loved ones include if you begin to experience any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19 such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Contacting a medical professional is also advised.
Make Sure You and Your Loved Ones Are Covered
During this time of heightened illness and hospitalizations, making sure you have the proper medical insurance is crucial to your family’s health and preparedness. If you’re turning 65 or planning on retiring soon, now is the perfect time to conduct a Medicare Advantage plan comparison session. Take the time to think about whether you have dependents on your current health insurance plan as well. If you’re the primary insurance holder on your plan, when you sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan, your dependents will no longer be eligible for coverage under your new Medicare plan. However, your loved ones can still be provided for by purchasing individual or family health policies through a private insurer like Anthem.
Be Proactive, Protect Yourself And Your Family
While no one can claim to be 100 percent prepared in this time, you can give yourself and your family the best chance at staying healthy through this global health scare by putting a plan in place and making sure a fear of medical costs won’t stop you from seeking the treatment you or they may need. Getting the right healthcare coverage is a great first step. You may also want to see if you or a loved one is eligible for monoclonal IV COVID therapy. This treatment can help prevent hospitalization or severe complications, which is especially valuable for people in high risk groups.
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We wear our masks and constantly wash our hands
I have been quarantined since March, I can’t risk it.
This is great information, thanks for sharing
Great advice. So worried about kids returning to school and colleges. Worried about my kiddo starting in the work force~!
This is excellent advice. Thank you so much!
Thank you for the information.
Thank you so much for posting!!
sounds good
good advice, thank you.
Great information! Thanks for the help!
If only everybody followed the recommendations maybe then things would get back to some kind of normal.
these are great tips, thanks
There’s some very good information and advice in this article. Thanks for sharing.
Thank You!
These are some good tips to follow right now. Thank you, I am sure these will come in handy.
Useful information during these scary times right now that we are living in.
Very good advice. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for most useful info.
Very good tips. Since I’m in the high risk category, I’m just staying out of stores, etc.
We are very proactive. We wear masks everywhere and wash our hands frequently. I’m a people person and need to remind myself to stay 6 feet away. But we try to stay safe and keep others safe!
These are great, thank you!! Can’t be too careful right now.
Thank you for sharing this great and helpful information.
Thanks for the awesome info! I have been staying to myself as much as possible.
Good information! We hunker down.
This is ever so important.. It’s scary how many have died.
Such an awesome post! Being an old retired lady, my routine hasn’t changed all that much. I have a phobia about having my mouth and nose covered so wearing a mask is difficult for me. Other than taking the fur baby to the park (where social distancing is easy) I don’t really go anywhere. I have my groceries delivered and bought a wig for the rare occasions when I need my hair to look nice so I don’t have to go to the beauty shop. Had my prescriptions switched to PillPack so I don’t have to go to the pharmacy. The only place I have been where I had to wear a mask was when I went to have blood tests done and then I put it on right before I walked through the door and pulled it off as soon as I had one foot out the door when I left. Fortunately, I am solitary by nature so the isolation doesn’t really bother me. I do visit my sister and we have pizza delivered for lunch but she never goes anywhere either so it is unlikely that we will give it to each other.
Such a great post for this time!
thank you for the info
Thank you for this tips!
Thank you for the informative post that everyone should review.
My God daughter died on 4/30 and this is such importance right now.
You have to protect your selves and you loved ones. It is great that this info is out there.
Thank you for such helpful information.
great info to have thanks
Thank you for this calm and voice of reason. These are great tips!
Great advice!
The tip saying toothbrushes stay separate is a good one. I try to do that anyway. It doesn’t matter if its blood relatives or a partner, the toothbrush must not touch others
It is great advice for all.
If you can’t have groceries delivered, wear a mask at the supermarket!
These are good things to consider.
Good info. We have been careful and hunkering down.
always good to have a plan. thanks
This is a very sensible approach, and my family has been doing it’s best to adhere to this.
useful tips
So important to do everything you can to be safe and keep well.
thanks great information
Good insight. 🙂
thanks for this good info
Thanks for the great info.