Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live our lives, and it has also changed the way we use our kitchens. If you live with someone who has been infected with the virus, your kitchen may be a potential hotspot for the virus. This article will discuss the risks associated with using a kitchen when someone in the household has been infected with COVID-19, and how to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. We will also discuss the importance of proper hygiene and sanitation practices in the kitchen, and how to keep your kitchen safe and clean.
Your Kitchen May Be a COVID Hotspot If You Live With Someone Who’s Infected
If you live with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, your kitchen may be a hotspot for the virus. The virus can spread through contact with surfaces, and the kitchen is a place where people often touch and share items. It’s important to take extra precautions to protect yourself and your family from the virus.
Clean and Disinfect Surfaces
The first step is to clean and disinfect all surfaces in the kitchen. This includes countertops, tables, chairs, and any other surfaces that may have been touched by the infected person. Use a disinfectant that is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and follow the instructions on the label. Make sure to wear gloves and a face mask while cleaning.
Avoid Sharing Utensils and Dishes
It’s important to avoid sharing utensils and dishes with the infected person. This includes plates, cups, forks, spoons, and knives. If possible, use disposable utensils and dishes to avoid the risk of spreading the virus. If you must use reusable items, make sure to wash them thoroughly with hot, soapy water after each use.
Wash Your Hands Frequently
Washing your hands frequently is one of the best ways to protect yourself from the virus. Make sure to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food, and after using the restroom. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Wear a Mask
It’s also important to wear a face mask when in the kitchen. This will help to reduce the risk of spreading the virus if you are in close contact with the infected person. Make sure to wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth and fits snugly against your face.
Conclusion
If you live with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, it’s important to take extra precautions in the kitchen. Clean and disinfect all surfaces, avoid sharing utensils and dishes, wash your hands frequently, and wear a face mask. By following these steps, you can help to protect yourself and your family from the virus.
Proper now, public locations like eating places, grocery shops, and different indoor amenities are imposing strict security guidelines to assist cease the unfold of COVID-19. However latest research are displaying that your personal dwelling—together with your kitchen and different generally shared rooms—could be simply as vulnerable to the identical well being dangers if somebody in your family has been contaminated with the virus.
A model new evaluation printed Monday within the journal JAMA Community Open checked out 54 research with over 77,000 whole contributors and located that “provided that people with suspected or confirmed infections are being referred to isolate at dwelling, households will proceed to be a big venue for transmission of SARS-CoV-2.” (Associated: The One Vitamin Medical doctors Are Urging Everybody to Take Proper Now.)
As CNN studies, “Danger was greater if the member of the family confirmed signs of Covid-19—similar to cough, sneezing, physique aches, chills and fever—than if the particular person confirmed few or no indicators of the virus, the examine discovered. Danger was additionally greater between adults than between adults and youngsters.”
In different phrases, if somebody in your house is symptomatic (or not!) and within the kitchen or different frequent areas with no masks on and socially distancing, your danger of catching COVID can go up considerably.
So, what are some methods to remain secure in your personal dwelling? First, if somebody you are dwelling with believes they’ve been uncovered to COVID or have examined constructive, they need to quarantine away from others. The CDC web site recommends supporting them by ensuring they drink a whole lot of fluids and relaxation. “Assist them with grocery procuring, filling prescriptions, and getting different gadgets they might want,” the CDC suggests. You are able to do this in a contactless approach through the use of supply companies, then merely dropping these things outdoors their bed room or quarantine room door.
Dr. Tanya Altmann, a pediatrician and writer, advised CNN one other method to preserve your kitchen secure is to make use of gloves when touching and cleansing dishes somebody who has examined constructive has additionally touched.
“You may have a wholesome particular person depart the sick one meals and drinks on the door, after which go wash their arms,” she says of somebody quarantining. “Put on gloves to choose up the empty plates, take them again to the kitchen and wash them in sizzling water with cleaning soap, or ideally with a dishwasher, and wash your arms once more.”
Specialists additionally advised CNN it is key to disinfect generally touched surfaces in your kitchen, just like the handles of your fridge and microwave, and to maintain recent air flowing all through your private home by opening home windows or getting an air air purifier with a HEPA filter or a humidifier.
Basically, the CDC additionally recommends that everybody, no matter an infection standing, take the mandatory precautions by washing their arms ceaselessly, disinfecting frequent surfaces often, and when going out in public, carrying a masks and distancing themselves from others.
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