About the CDC Guidelines

According to these guidelines, social distancing means staying about 6 feet from other people, not gathering in groups, and staying away from crowded places. Accepting these guidelines is a no-brainer; however, we need to understand the reasoning behind it. First, here’s a hypothetical situation:

You decide that you need groceries from your local supermarket. You head in and the place is packed and before you know it, you’re shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow shoppers. Then it happens: a woman to your right sneezes, releasing droplets into the air or a healthy looking young man is talking and spittle is ejected from his mouth. The sprinkling or droplets head towards you. In most cases you will be none-the-wiser. Luckily, the droplets’ relatively large size, greater than 5 micrometres, make them arc downward and hit the floor or other surfaces.

How you become infected

Now, there are multiple ways you can become infected by these suspect COVID-19 droplets; if you are close enough, infected droplets can be inhaled directly into your lungs or by touching infected surfaces. If you come into contact with a contaminated surface, like a doorknob or a counter, and then touch your mouth, eyes, or nose, you can contract COVID-19. If infected, you may or may not have symptoms. This is what makes this virus so contagious. Asymptomatic, unconcerned individuals will spread it without knowing and those with compromised immune system and/or elderly will pay the heavy price. Although, cases showing healthy, young individuals, that end up dying after contracting COVID-19, do exist.

Social distancing and handwashing are key

This 6-foot distance outlined in the CDC Guidelines, gives enough distance for the airborne virus to travel and fall out of the air between people. COVID-19 can live for hours or days on a surface, depending on factors like sunlight, humidity, and surface type.

Now, what’s also key is washing your hands frequently throughout the day with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds. Happy birthday is a good song to sing (twice) or sing your favorite jam. Or simply count to 20. The trick is to give it enough time to have the soap breakdown and destroy the virus.

Social distancing helps limit contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces. It helps unknowing infected people from unwittingly passing this terrible virus to others.  Anyone can catch and spread the coronavirus, though the severity of the illness can be different for everyone. Think of the consequences if grandma or a family member catches COVID-19.

We’re in this together – at a distance

We all need to do our part to stop the spread and protect our neighbors, friends, families and our ourselves from this virus. Stay vigilant: maintain your distance, wash your hands, and keep surfaces clean.

The post The Why Behind Social Distancing – Stop the COVID-19 Spread appeared first on Quick Med Care.

While the telephone is excellent, sometimes it just isn’t enough. Thankfully, there are lots of programs and apps available that we can use to speak with each other and communicate via video.

Skype

One of the first significant services available to us was Skype. It has all the necessary features you need so you can video call anyone on your contact list.

It’s available on all platforms: Apple, Android, Mac, and Windows. Up to 25 people can join in on the Video calls, coming and going as they please.

Skype is free when both parties use it, though it does have a few premium features, like voicemail, SMS texting, or connecting with landlines or mobile phones outside of Skype.

Facebook Messenger Video

Facebook is the current standard for video calling. With its full availability and usage, this will be the most accessible form of communication to use.

Merely selecting the video option with Facebook’s messaging service, either on desktop or mobile, opens the video screen and sends a confirmation to the other party.

Facebook is a free social media platform that you’ll need to sign up to use this service, though it is likely that you already have one.

WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a free cross-platform messaging, calling, and video chatting app, using your internet connection. It gives you all the utility of Facebook Messenger without the need to have a Facebook account.

Discord

Discord was designed with the video game community in mind, so it’s a slightly different program than the others on this list. It allows users to create an account and then join in what they call a “Channel.”

To keep in touch during this time, you can create a channel reserved for your friends and family. It gives you the ability to message and voice chat easily and the ability to join in a video call with other people within the channel.

It’s available on all platforms: Android, Apple, Windows, Mac, Linux, and within web browsers.

Google Duo

Google throws its hat into the video chat game with Google Duo. It’s available on Android, Apple, Desktops, as well as Google’s Nest Hubs.

Duo has a couple of different features available. The Knock Knock feature allows you to see a preview of the person attempting to video call you and the ability to leave a video message if the person you are calling is not available.

If you have an internet connection and a decent electronic device, you can pass the time with friends and family worldwide. It allows you to use the technology available to us. Now, how’s that for six degrees of separation?

The post Use this Break to Reconnect with Friends and Family appeared first on Quick Med Care.