4 Steps To Staying Safe and Preventing The Spread of COVID-19

With new cases of COVID-19 still on the rise, it’s important that we all continue to take whatever steps we can to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible.

Whilst this is a relatively new virus and we still have much to learn about it, we do know that it’s similar enough to other viruses in how it is spread from person to person.

This helps significantly when it comes to prevention, and it means that by following a few basic health and hygiene best practices, we can all do our part to help slow or stop the spread of COVID-19.

 

Step 1 – Keep Your Social Distance

Staying at home and limiting your contact with other people – both directly and indirectly – if the number one way to prevent the spread of the virus.

As with most viruses, COVID-19 is spread mainly by human-to-human contact.

Whilst the virus can live on surfaces for up to a couple of days, in most cases it’s lifespan outside of a human or animal “host” is limited.

Coming into direct contact with infected people, or indirect contact with surfaces that infected people have previously been in contact with, is how the virus spreads from person-to-person.

As we’ve seen here in Vancouver and throughout Canada, Social Distancing is the number one thing that individuals can do to help prevent the spread of the virus.

It’s for this reason, that we here at Pier Dental Centre have taken the unprecedented step of temporarily closing our dental practice to all non-emergency appointments.

We have cancelled and rescheduled all routine dental appointments at least until the end of March in order to keep our staff and our patients safe and to do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

For those requiring emergency dental appointments, our ever-stringent cleaning and disinfection procedures have been ramped up further to ensure that your visit is as safe as possible.

 

Step 2 – Cover Your Mouth Or Nose

Covering your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze is another vitally important part of stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Since the virus lives in your respiratory system, a cough or sneeze from an infected patient is very likely to contain tiny particles of the virus. If these particles are ingested by others, there’s a very good chance they will become infected too.

Cover your mouth and nose with your hand or, better yet, a tissue. Then wash with soap and sanitize your hands immediately to kill the virus and prevent its spread.

 

Step 3 – Stay Healthy

We’ve written before about how better oral health can help you to maintain better overall health too.

Although keeping your distance from others as much as possible is important, making sure you eat the right foods and continue to exercise regularly in order to maintain good overall health will also help you to prevent the worst effects of COVID-19.

Active and overall healthy people who catch the virus will likely be fairly sick for a week or two, but recovery rates are promising, and most people should be back to health again before too long.

Mental health during this time is also vitally important during this difficult time. Start a meditation practice or schedule regular video chats with family members and friends. Mental health plays a big role in physical health as well.

Stay active and stay healthy. Make sure you eat a good balanced diet. Plus, your teeth will thank you for it too!

 

Step 4 – Don’t Touch Your Face

Picking up some virus particles on your hands and clothes isn’t necessarily a problem.

Problems begin when those particles make their way into your body, and this usually happens via your mouth, nose, or eyes.

Most people naturally and subconsciously touch their face several times every hour without even realizing it.

Every time you do this, you’re giving those germs on your hands another opportunity to enter your body and make you sick.

Make a mental note to be conscious of what your hands are doing throughout the day and try your hardest to keep them away from your face as much as possible.

Following these 4 basic health and hygiene steps is a great start to keeping yourself safe from the COVID-19 virus and will also help to reduce its spread through our local North Vancouver community.

If you have any other tips or suggestions, share them in the comments below so we can all work together to keep our community healthy. If you have any questions about your dental health or upcoming appointments, please do not hesitate to call our office on 604-986-9161.