Essential Things to do During COVID-19 Enhanced Community Quarantine

What to do when going out?
Things to remember when you’re out for errands

Stay at home. Plan and get your groceries once a week.

Keep your surroundings clean and well-sanitized. Keep your homes and surroundings clean to stop the spread of COVID-19. Sanitize the things you often touch, such as hand rails, door knobs, and mobile phones. Renovate your home when needed.

Do general cleaning. This is the best time to declutter and organize your stuff the Mari Kondo way, perhaps you can start with your closet, bedroom all the way to your kitchen. Surely you will realize that 50% of your things from your house are worth separating from donating to others or in the junkyard.

Meditate and be stress-free. Read, pray, and sleep. During an emergency health crisis, it is okay not to be okay. Fear, sadness or anxiety are normal for most people. To overcome this kind of stress, talk and stay connected with families and friends.

Practice minimalism. The best time to start with a clean slate after going through spring cleaning. Avoid buying things that will end up gathering dust and space.
Be productive – mentally and physically. Exercise your mind and body by doing what will make you happy, boost your interest, and eventually will give you peace of mind. If you’re tired tinkering with your phone, try some other things:

Keep your mind sharp. Listen to music – explore new, feel-good music; Read all-genre books, or try re-read your fave old books. Since bookstores these days are closed, install a reading app where you can access a plethora of free e-books; Play board games such as crossword puzzles or Rubik cubes, or maybe try basic painting, calligraphy. If you’re into online work, try honing your skills in the form of digital art, learn basic coding, explore the concept of artificial intelligence, and READ to enrich your mind.

Keep yourself busy. Watch TV/movies but never binge unless it’s anime or Kdrama or any informative shows; Cook your favorite food; Green thumb or not, this is the right time to dwell your time to do planting; Take care of your pets; Again, clean and disinfect your house, always practice cleanliness.

Time with the family. An opportunity to develop good traits in your children. Teach them life lessons like do the household chores, learn how to cook, care for the pets, dispose of garbage, and so on.

Take care of your immune system. As much as possible, stay away from processed and canned goods, buying them doesn’t save you money and time (since you have all the TIME now to prepare your family’s meal due to home quarantine, so why buy canned goods?). A wise shopper buys fresh food (fruits, vegetables, meat, and poultry products) from the wet market. It’s way cheaper, not frozen, and goods are replenished in a timely manner; Drink your daily dose of Vitamin C and consume Vit. C enriched food. Minimize sweets and frozen desserts to keep sore throat away.

Disinfect. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been practicing OC cleaning when a family member came from school, work, errands, or somewhere else. Be extremely particular about the pair of shoes used from going outside. Never enter the house with dirty shoes. From the gate, we have a wash area to clean the soles of the shoes, then we take it off and leave outside. In most cases, after washing the sole with (running) water, we wipe the shoe’s exterior with anti-bacterial disinfectant solution like the Virkon S (Bayer), or maybe mild bleach solution, and have it air dry overnight outside the house. Until then, keep the shoes inside your shoe storage.

Here is the rundown of the steps to do when entering your home in the time of COVID-19:

Things to remember when you’re out for errands

Assign one (1) person to do the errands. If you’re leaving the house to do grocery, wear simple clothes, sandals and bring only your coin purse and eco-bag. Minimize bringing unnecessary items. As much as possible leave your bag at home as this will also (possibly) accumulate/hold the virus. Wear protective gear such as a mask, eye glasses/goggles, disposable gloves, errand list, and designated outdoor shoes. It’s also suggested to keep your grocery money in a plastic zip lock. Try not to bring your mobile phones to avoid contaminating it further, since you will be touching all sorts of things outside. Focus on your list and try to accomplish them quickly. Always practice social distancing. Avoid crowds or small talks if possible.
Know the rules when making a disinfectant solution. Anti-bacterial disinfectant powder is safer to use at home and for your pets. You may also DIY your own solution with vinegar and baking soda as an alternative cleaning solution. For some bleach is the common available: 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) of bleach in 1 gallon water.
Once your mixture is ready, have a spray bottle ready.
As a protocol, upon arriving home – leave your bag, purse, groceries, keys, etc. in a box or in a table/chair located outside your main door.
Equipped your front yard with a wash area with hand soaps and running water. If a water hose is not available, a pail of water or basin will suffice. Decontaminate your hands, arms thoroughly, followed by shoes (primarily wash soles and wipe the shoe’s exterior) and feet.
All items brought outside should be disinfected before bringing inside the house. From the box or table where your things are placed, be ready with clean wet wipes/towel with disinfectant like alcohol or solution. With your clean hands, wipe the surface of what you have brought outside.
Sanitize your remaining grocery money (placed in a plastic). Wash the coins thoroughly and wipe your paper money and let it dry before placing them in a new zip lock or purse. Reuse the zip lock plastic by washing it with disinfectant.
If you can’t resist bringing your mobile phone with you, disinfect the surfaces with a clean wet wipes or wet towel with minimal alcohol.
Go straight to the shower room. Take a bath instantly to clean all the exposed areas. Take your soiled clothes to the laundry area, placing it in a separate box/basin. Leave it there and have it wash immediately after you’re done with your groceries and meal preparation. Again, do the protocols in washing hands properly.
No hugs or kisses until you’re CLEAN.
These are just the simple, essential methods of disinfection we should practice at home and teach our children to reduce the risk of getting the virus.

Keep updated. Watch your local news updates. Get information from trusted sources.

Share information from verified sources (website and social media accounts):
Department of Health (DOH) www.doh.gov.ph
Philippine Information Agency (PIA) www.covid19.gov.ph
Presidential Communications/PCOO www.pcoo.gov.ph

Stay at home and stay safe. When things are back to normal, don’t forget the essential things you did within that home quarantine period. Practice good habits.

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