Let Us Uphold The COVID-19 Habits

Throughout the years, science has by persistent and meticulous effort done so much to drive other pandemics to the point of extinction, but it has thus far stood powerless before the novel coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is a new strain of virus. Being of the respiratory type, it is believed that the virus leaves the body by way of the nose and mouth. It is supposed to enter the body by way of the nose, mouth or eyes.

The measures which have so far been recommended for the control of the coronavirus pandemic are personal precautions which demand we adopt some habits in our daily lives. These habits include regular washing of hands with soap under running water, carrying around a hand sanitizer, covering of mouth when sneezing or coughing, eating well and taking in specific food and supplements that boost the immune system.

The questions to ask ourselves are; shouldn’t we have been doing these basic habits already? And should it stop with the ending of COVID-19?

Below are some few habits that I believe should be upheld even after COVID-19 pandemic.

Wash Hands Regularly and Use Hand Sanitizers

Washing of hands is a habit that is taught from kindergarten but its importance has been greatly revealed. This habit stirred up by the coronavirus pandemic should not be seen as a temporal solution to a pandemic but should be maintained. All households and corporate bodies like banks, shopping malls and companies should still keep their ‘Veronica buckets’ and soaps for washing of hands, even if its position will be strategically placed so as not to interfere with normal operations.

In fighting COVID-19, all shopping malls, boutiques and offices have fixed hand sanitizers at their entrances; individuals also carry hand sanitizers on them wherever they go. This also should be upheld by institutions and persons. I believe these are things we ought to have been doing, now that COVID-19 has reminded us; we should not throw them away.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown among other things how widely and how quickly respiratory infections may spread. It has shown what an enormous interchange of germs takes place in the respiratory apparatus in our daily lives. We can safely infer that the medium by which coronavirus spreads is the same way we pick respiratory infections from others.

The difficulty in not touching your face can make one susceptible to infections. Touching of face is almost like a reflex action for some. Frequent use of hand sanitizers and washing of hands with soap will help reduce the risk of infections even if one touches the face. There are a lot of infections out there which are not pandemics and we can avoid being infected if we preserve these habits of regular washing of hands with soap and use of hand sanitizers.

Restrict Your Coughs and Sneezes
The coronavirus pandemic has also called our attention not only to the fact that there is an interchange of microbes from the mouth wherever people meet, but it illustrates how people frequently pass respiratory infections to others unconsciously and therefore little or no attention is given to people’s conduct in public.

People cough and sneeze recklessly without considering those in their immediate environ. The excreta of the nose and mouth from these people are projected into the air and allowed to pollute the hands, food, clothing, in fact, the entire environment where they are. These can gain entrance into the noses and mouths of other persons nearby and infect them with whatever disease the one coughing has.

Everybody should make it a matter of responsibility to always cover their nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing. This will reduce contaminating the environment and infecting others.

Don't use a napkin/hankies, cutlery or cup which has been used by another person and not washed.

There are certain things we took for granted prior to the coronavirus pandemic. People will even call you arrogant when you insist on not sharing cutlery or cup. The coronavirus pandemic has rather proved these actions to be prudent than arrogant. We should all endeavour to insist on not sharing some of these items, and in the event that we have to share, it must be well washed. It is also prudent for restaurants and ‘chop bars’ to resort to disposable cutlery if adequate washing is a problem.

One great lesson from the pandemic is calling our attention to the prevalence of respiratory diseases in ordinary times and the indifference with which they are usually regarded because their pandemic character is so mild. Common cold and other respiratory diseases are usually spread just like coronavirus and we must guard against being infected by exercising appropriate measures of self-protection.

Eat Foods and Supplements that Boost Immune System

The immune system is the body’s defence mechanism against diseases and foreign danger to our health. It is important at all times to have a strong immunity to fight all infections successfully.

There are a lot of food supplements that have been recommended to boost our immune system. These foods should still be in our diet even after the pandemic.

The body’s immunity is its primary defence and once it is weak, any infection can turn deadly.

We should still keep taking our vitamin C now and after COVID-19 even if not as frequent as we did during the pandemic. The immune system is not an emergency we call on to fight viral pandemics; we need it every day as long as we are in the world and are exposed to infections and pathogens.

It is clearly evident from the coronavirus pandemic that a lot of infections are transferred when certain personal hygiene measures are taken for granted because such infections do not ordinarily manifest as fatal. Let us keep to these personal hygiene measures to protect ourselves and others.

COVID-19 has not been defeated yet, we are still in the pandemic and cases keep adding up every day. It is important that we don’t become apathetic and drop our guard as it can already be seen with some people. Let us uphold these coronavirus habits to protect ourselves always from infections.