Recommendations on the coronavirus COVID-19 if you are in an affected country

Many countries are affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus and many people do not know how to act in order to avoid its consequences. For this reason, throughout this article we will offer recommendations on the COVID-19 coronavirus .

Recommendations on the coronavirus COVID-19

Many people are afraid of being in a country affected by coronavirus. For this reason, it is important to follow the recommendations on the COVID-19 coronavirus that health experts have offered and that will help us prevent it. Here are the most important tips.

How can I prevent contagion?

Wash your hands often with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer or soap and water. Cough or sneeze, covering your mouth and nose with a bent elbow or a tissue. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Keep at least one meter away from other people, especially those who cough, sneeze and have a fever. Keep large gatherings as low as possible.

What do I do if I think I am infected?

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If you suspect that you may have caught the COVID-19 coronavirus , we explain the steps you should take. If you think you have its symptoms but have not been in contact with infected people, go to the doctor for a regular consultation . Now, if you have been in risk areas or have been in contact with a person affected by the virus, it is best to isolate yourself . Depending on the country where you are, you will have to call one phone or another so that they can go to your home to take the test or, if the symptoms are very serious, such as respiratory distress, they recommend you go to a hospital to be treated urgently. This last fact is indicated for the elderly or people with a serious pathology, such as cancer. The important thing is not to saturate the hospitals if you only have a slight cough or fever. Health has a limit, therefore, only extreme cases should be treated by emergencies.

The most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness, and a dry cough. Some patients also experience pain, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, or diarrhea.

How do I know if I have been in close contact with a positive case?

It is considered “close contact” when it has remained at a distance of less than two meters from a probable or confirmed case for a continuous time (it will depend on each case and the criteria of the authorities or doctors). In this way, in a car all the occupants can be exposed to the virus. In a 55-seater bus, between 14 and 21 occupants can be exposed. On the other hand, in the economy class cabin of a conventional plane, it could be between 12 and 25 people.

Living with someone infected with coronavirus

To isolate a person infected with coronavirus in their own home, it is convenient that they have a room for the exclusive use of them. It is also advisable not to share a bathroom with the infected person and to avoid, as far as possible, coinciding with the patient in other rooms of the home to comply with the protocol of keeping at least one meter away with any positive case.

Likewise, it is important to ensure good ventilation and a window with access to the street. A garbage can with an automatic lid and a bag inside with a hermetic seal for the patient’s waste is also advisable. If the infected person leaves the room, the use of a mask and proper hand hygiene with soap and water or an alcohol-based disinfectant is recommended.

Thorough cleaning

Another recommendation about the COVID-19 coronavirus is that when living with someone infected, a thorough daily cleaning is essential to avoid new infections. Special attention should be paid to the surfaces that the infected person may have touched.

Contaminated waste from someone infected with the coronavirus can be dangerous for the safety of other people who live with it. Therefore, a correct treatment of the generated remains can avoid possible infections. The use of disposable cleaning elements, proper isolation and thorough personal hygiene after treating these residues is essential.

What is the coronavirus test?

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The test is based on taking samples from the respiratory tract . It is performed by a health worker at home, generally when the case study is asymptomatic or the symptoms are mild. It is also performed in a health center if the patient is admitted for a serious condition.

If the test is negative, the case is discarded. Only if it is positive or inconclusive are new samples taken, which must be sent to the National Center for Microbiology (CNM).

What if I have the COVID-19 coronavirus?

If you do not present symptoms or the symptoms are mild, the health authorities will prescribe home isolation and that you take extreme hygiene measures so as not to infect caregivers. Some of them are the use of masks and hand washing with soap and water or an alcohol-based disinfectant. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without the need for any special treatment .

If the symptoms are severe, they will recommend hospital admission . There is no specific antiviral drug to treat Covid-19. Most patients recover with the help of supportive measures to relieve symptoms.

How do I know that I have overcome the virus?

Two respiratory samples will be required separated by at least 24 hours. Both must be negative.

Once overcome, can I be infected again?

There is no scientific evidence to show that a person who has been infected can be re-infected once the disease is over.

Traveling from an infected country

If you live in an infected country, the government may not allow you to leave your place of residence in order to avoid contagion. Now, if free movement is still allowed, you may be quarantined upon arrival at your destination. For example, Israel has stated that all those travelers from Spanish territory and other European countries must spend two weeks in isolation to stop the spread of Covid-19. Now, those who do not have an address to confine themselves will be returned at the border. The same is true in other countries, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia.