At the moment it is a bit of a scary time full of uncertainty, lock down and vulnerability. During our time at home there are a number of things that we must do to help the world recover and keep loved ones safe, and some things we can do to help prevent the spread of infection!

Things you MUST do!

Right now, from the 30th of March, the UK is in lock down along with a number of other countries.

This means you can only leave your home for limited purposes that are necessary!

These limited exceptions include:

• shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which still must be as infrequent as possible and does not count clothing or things that aren’t a necessity!
• one form of exercise a day, for example a walk – this must be alone or only with members of your household. This is still adviced to be for as limited a time as possible.
• any medical need, this is with the inclusion of donating blood, the avoid or escape risk of injury or harm (so if you need to leave due to emergency such as personal safety or fire etc.), or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. This can be for example buying groceries for your elderly or vulnerable family members or those dependent on you at this time.
• traveling for work purposes. This is under the condition that you cannot work from home and are a key worker.

These are of course subject to alter or change as the time passes by, but to keep yourself and others safe you must follow the lock-down. consequences can be a fine or worse.

Steps to stop infection spreading

The best way to help, is by making sure you protect yourself and others. The main way to do this is to stop the infection from spreading. This is a quick list of do’s and do not’s.

WASH YOUR HANDS!! Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap!  do this often and as soon as you get home.

Use hand sanitiser when out and about or when soap and water in not available.

Cover your mouth and noce with a tissue when you cough or sneeze! you can use your sleeve if need be but NOT YOUR HAND! put that tissue in the bin immediately and then wash your hands.

STOP TOUCHING YOUR FACE! Do not touch your eyes nose or mouth unless your hands have been recently cleaned and are clean!

Practice physical distancing. When leaving home, you must stay 6ft or 2 meters away from one another. This is to prevent the spread of infection as you may be contagious even if you are not showing symptoms.

Don’t stock pile. shops will restock and you do not need to save up for month and months of no access to shops. However, those who need food, those that can only shop at occasional basis or can only afford so much at a time are running low. With a fight for food and supplies, its harder for those vulnerable and those with limited funds or time to shop. So please, be mindful when buying essentials.

You must remember that even if you are healthy and strong, others may not be. If you are willing to risk the virus by going against the governments advice, just remember that these steps are not just to protect you, but everyone. Please be sensible and please stay safe.