Essential Workers: How to Keep Your Family Healthy at Home

If you are an essential worker, you NEED to report to your job every day despite lockdown orders. Certainly, this puts both you and the people you live with at greater risk.

Follow these simple tips to help keep your family healthy at home. 

Change Your Clothes 

Although research suggests Coronavirus doesn’t survive long on soft surfaces, many essential workers feel more comfortable changing their clothes as soon as they get home. If you are taking this precaution, make sure you are placing potentially contaminated items in a separate location. Putting your clothing in the closet with everybody else’s things defeats the purpose.    

Leave Your Shoes Outside 

In a recent study from China, half of surveyed health care workers carried Coronavirus on their shoes. However, according to experts, “unless you work in a nursing home, hospital or other space that has lots of sick people,” you probably don’t need to worry about your footwear. (Today, 2020) Nevertheless, if you prefer to err on the side of caution, simply take off your shoes before coming in the house. 

Wash Your Hands 

Frequent handwashing is one of the best ways to protect everyone against COVID-19. For the most effective results, follow the handwashing guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Steps include scrubbing with soap for at least twenty seconds, rinsing and drying. 

Sanitize High-Touch Surfaces 

Unlike fabrics, metal, wood, plastic, stainless steel, glass and paper DO appear to host the Coronavirus for days! Therefore, have sanitizers and other cleaning supplies handy. Then, wipe down high-touch surfaces such as keys, phones, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures and toilets several times each day.   

Maintain Those Healthy Habits  

When you stay healthy, you protect those around you too. So, keep your immune system strong by making good habits a top priority. Stick to a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and manage your stress levels. 

Monitor Yourself for Symptoms 

If you do happen to contract Coronavirus, you’ll want to isolate yourself from your loved ones as quickly as possible. As a result, be on the lookout for common symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath. Some health care professionals even recommend taking your temperature once or twice a day to check for fevers. 

Social Distance If Possible 

Depending on your situation, you may decide to keep your family six feet away… at least for now. Of course, a variety of factors may influence your decision. For example, if you work in a high-risk setting (such as a factory with a number of confirmed cases) and you can easily shut yourself off in a part of your home, this may be a reasonable plan. Whereas, if you work in a low-risk setting and live in a small apartment, social distancing from your family might be more disruptive than useful.   

Are You an Essential Worker Who Is Looking for a Job? 

At Connectology, our recruiters place talented candidates with top manufacturing organizations throughout the upper Midwest. We know companies that are hiring! Check out our available job openings today.