How to Properly Wash Your Hands

Washing your hands is likely the biggest preventative measure you can take. But there is a certain art to washing your hands that insures you are getting all the germs off. When washing your hands, you should be using soap and washing for about 20 seconds. That is about as long as twinkle twinkle little star, or happy birthday two times over. There are also specific steps you must follow during the 20 seconds of washing your hands. Those steps are explained in the video to the right.

Washing Hands vs. Hand Sanitizer

Though it is a commonly said that using hand sanitizer and washing your hands do the same thing, that is a common misconception. Hand sanitizer kills all bacteria on your hand. Although this is good if you don’t have an opportunity to wash your hands with soap and water, it is not always the best solution. There are both good and bad bacteria on your hands. The problem with hand sanitizer, is that it kills all bacteria. Washing your hand with soap and water on the other hand, kills microbes. This essentially means washing your hands, kills almost all the germs on your hands.

With COVID-19, washing your hands gives you the highest chance of staying healthy since COVID-19 is a virus. While both washing your hands and using hand sanitizer do not kill viruses, washing your hands kills more of the germs on your hands than hand sanitizer, therefore giving you a better chance of staying healthy.

What is Social Distancing?

Social distancing are measures taken to prevent the spread of a contagious disease by maintaining a physical distance between people and reducing the number of times people come into close contact with each other. Currently, about 96% of the United States is practicing social distancing.

Why do we Practice Social Distancing?

We practice social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus. With viruses such as COVID-19 there is a rapid spread of the disease. Without social distancing the disease will continue to spread rapidly, and soon infect a significant amount of people. What social distancing does, is keep people away from each other, therefore decreasing the rate at which the disease spreads. This results in fewer people getting infected with the disease over time. If you were to graph this situation, you will notice you get two parabolas (curves), and one of the curves is significantly shorter than the other. That is why this situation is referred to as flattening the curve.

How to Make Your Own Mask

Update April, 2020

If you ever go outside during this pandemic, it’s important that you have a mask, or something similar to a mask in order to cover your face. But, due to the recent shortage of masks, they may be hard to get your hands on or even too expensive. It is also crucial that all masks are saved for healthcare workers. Therefore to the right, there is a video showing you how to make your own mask with simply a cloth, and two elastic bands.

Updated July 30, 2021

In a stunning reversal, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that even vaccinated people should resume wearing masks in public indoor spaces in parts of the country where the virus is surging. They also called for universal masking for teachers, staff, students and visitors in schools, regardless of vaccination status and community transmission of the virus. 

A lot of this is in response to the Delta variant of the coronavirus. This variant is much more contagious and there are reports of affected people who are fully vaccinated.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE

Should You Clean Your Groceries?

During this trying time, going to the grocery store is still a necessity. For this reason it is important to clean your groceries upon bringing them home to eliminate any chance of a virus or bacteria living on your food. The video to the left demonstrates how to clean your groceries in packages, fruits and vegetables. With boxes, it is suggested that you let them sit in an area, not commonly used in your house for a few days. It is unclear how long COVID-19 can live on surfaces, but it’s estimated that the virus could persist anywhere from a few hours, to a few days.

Update: More information is available on the FDA website.

General Best Practices

The World Health Organization (WHO) has come up with a list of things to do (or not do) in order to stay healthy. Things to avoid include alcohol, sugary drinks and smoking. Alcohol and sugary drinks should be limited as it compromises the body’s immune system and increases the risk of adverse outcomes. Likewise, smoking can exacerbate COVID-19 symptoms and increase your risk of getting seriously sick.

Exercise and a healthy diet are important as they boost our immune system. Adults need to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and children for 60 minutes. If you’re allowed to go outside, go for a walk, run or bike ride while keeping a safe distance from others. People working from home shouldn’t sit too long in the same position. Finally, get your mind off the crisis. Listen to music, read a book or play a game.

Self Checker

Despite all these preventative measures, there is still a chance you do experience COVID-19 symptoms. If such is the case, the state of Massachusetts has rolled-out a self-checker accessible here.

Disclaimer: This tool is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate attention please call 911 or the number for your local emergency service.

Contact Tracing

Contact tracing is the act of tracking all those who have come into contact with an infected person. Ever since the coronavirus hit China, more than a billion people have downloaded one of the smartphone apps created by tech giants Alibaba and Tencent to track the virus. The apps generate color codes based on a person’s risk level of contracting the virus, and freely share GPS location and personal data with the police. A similar strategy is being used by Israeli telcos working with their national security agency. But in the West, privacy concerns and fears of governmental abuse have turned technologists toward Bluetooth instead. Smartphones generate short-range Bluetooth signals, which translate to random strings of numbers. These numbers, and not a person’s name or address or location, can be used to identify them. Bluetooth can be used to identify the person you sat next to on the train for an hour last Monday who later tested positive. They’ll have the cooperation of Google and Apple, the companies behind the two largest mobile platforms in the world, who are planning on releasing an API sometime in May 2020 that will allow such Bluetooth-based apps to easily access both the iOS and Android platforms. It’ll ensure that two people who have different contact tracing apps downloaded, and who happen to cross paths, can still receive alerts if one of them happens to test positive.

Updated June, 2021

The state of MA partnered with Apple and Google to develop a contact tracing app called MassNotify. Usage of the app is strictly voluntary. By opting in, your phone will share anonymous codes — which contain no personal or location information — with other MassNotify users. If another user you’ve been near tests positive within two weeks, you will receive a notification. If you test positive, you can let other MassNotify users know anonymously. The technology does not track users or divulge personal information, state officials said. This system is similar to the one used in 28 other states and 35 countries. Learn more about it HERE

For more information on how to enable the notification settings go to https://www.mass.gov/info-details/enable-massnotify-on-your-smartphone

Updated November 10, 2021

On Thursday, November. 4, 2021, President Biden announced that starting Jan. 4, 2022, that the government will enforce a mandate that companies with at least 100 employees will require to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly. If necessary, employees should be given paid time off in order to get vaccinated or recover from its side effects. Unvaccinated employees need to be masked. Within hours of the announcement, governors from Florida, Iowa, and Indiana had vowed to fight the new rule, arguing it infringes on individual freedom. More legal challenges are expected.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE.

Updated January 16, 2022

On Friday, January. 14, 2022 the White House said that US households can order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the website COVIDTests.gov starting on January 19, 2022. The shipping will be within 7-12 days of ordering. Each household is limited to four tests. All this is in response to the increased demand for testing for the surge of cases caused by the Omicron variant.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE

Updated March 7, 2022

Americans can order more free at-home COVID-19 tests from the U.S. government at COVIDtests.gov to be shipped to their homes.

Learn more about it HERE

Updated February 18, 2022

According to a study conducted by the CDC, the booster shots, from either Pfizer or Moderna, lose their effectiveness after four months. However, they still provide significant protection against the Omicron virus by keeping the symptoms relatively mild. The study suggested the need for additional boosters.

“Each time we are boosting with these vaccines, our immune responses may be getting broader and not narrower in protecting against the scope of variants we are encountering. Protection against the array of variants two years into the pandemic is pretty amazing, whether you’re getting the primary series or that boost,” says Albert Ko, an infectious-diseases physician, and epidemiologist at Yale’s School of Public Health. 

Learn more about it HERE

Updated February 26, 2022

On Friday, February. 25, 2022 the CDC announced changes to its masking guidelines which many health experts say maybe the first of many steps to shift the U.S. to an “endemic phase” of the pandemic. Previously, masks were recommended for people living in communities of substantial or high transmission. The new guidelines will consider hospitalizations, current beds occupied by COVID patients, and hospital capacity, in addition to caseloads.

That said, the new guidelines won’t immediately impact federal mask mandates and Americans will still be required to wear face coverings on public transportation until a decision is made closer to March 18, when the mandate is set to expire. The new policy comes as the Biden administration moves to shift its focus to preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, rather than all instances of infection.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE

Updated April 20, 2022

On April 18, 2022, a federal judge in Florida struck down the mask requirements on public transportation, which includes planes, trains, and buses. This was done in spite of the fact that the CDC had extended the mandate till May 3. The ruling left it up to individual airlines and local transit agencies to decide what to do regarding masks. The nation’s largest airlines had dropped their mask requirements for domestic flights as did the Amtrak rail system. One of the arguments in the ruling by the judge was that the CDC had exceeded its authority in issuing the mandate.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE

Updated June 11, 2022

Starting Sunday June 12, 2022, visitors coming into the US do not have to test negative for COVID-19 before departure. The CDD has determined that this requirement was no longer needed. However, it will reassess this decision after 90 days. Since December, travelers have had to present a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than a day before departure​, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days.

Learn more about it HERE and HERE