Tips on social distancing

“Social distancing” is bound to go down in history as the phrase of the year for 2020 but what does it actually mean? Why is it so important? And how do you do it properly?

Why practise social distancing?

COVID-19 (caused by the coronavirus) is a viral infection that is pretty contagious and is spread through close contact with an infected person. Droplets released during a cough or sneeze can be inhaled by another person, or land on surfaces that others may touch, and so the illness spreads.

The reason that social distancing is so important is because infected people don’t always know they have coronavirus. Not only does the illness have up to a 14 day incubation period (which means you can have it and pass it on for a 14 day window where you have no symptoms), but some people don’t experience symptoms at all.

These two factors are why it’s so important to practise social distancing, to minimise the spread of coronavirus. Anyone can catch and spread coronavirus, and the risk of severe illness differs for everyone, making it even more vital to protect yourself and your loved ones from infection.

These two factors are why it’s so important to practise social distancing, to minimise the spread of coronavirus. Anyone can catch and spread coronavirus, and the risk of severe illness differs for everyone, making it even more vital to protect yourself and your loved ones from infection.

Tips on social distancing

So now you understand the why, you need to know the how. Here’s how to practise social distancing...

Get the essentials delivered

With most non-essential businesses now closed (as per the government announcements), that still leaves a number of essential goods and services that people need to leave their houses for. This includes food, medicine and other vital services.

Get them delivered! Here at UK Meds, we’re on hand and ready to help you to stay at home, by delivering prescription medicines straight to your door. Simply fill out an online consultation, a prescriber will review it and then your chosen medicine will be shipped out to you. No hassle, no complications, and no need to leave your house.

Work from home

For the majority of people, the main place that they’d see people on a daily basis is at work. As per government guidance, everyone who can work from home, now should, with only the key workers or people unable to do their jobs from home still going out to work.

It can be hard to do this productively so try and set up a designated area in your home to work from, get up and ready on time (as if you were still going to work) and eat nutritious meals to help your brain function optimally.

Avoid public transport

One of the main breeding grounds for germs is arguably public transport. It’s virtually impossible to catch a train or a bus without touching surfaces, handles and buttons that hundreds of other people have touched and coronavirus can live on surfaces for hours (or maybe even days).

If you can avoid catching public transport then you should, but if you have no other option then make sure to carry a hand sanitiser with you to cleanse your hands at regular intervals. An alcohol gel is the most popular choice, but the SurSol alcohol-free hand sanitiser is less drying on the hands.

Don’t meet friends or family

The key is in the name - this is a social practise, which means that socialising has to go out the window for now. That means not meeting friends and not meeting family members (outside of your household), even if you think it won’t make that much difference.

When you consider how many people you’re likely to cross paths with, even just going to the supermarket, you’re exposing yourself to potentially double that number by meeting up with only one person from outside your household. That’s double the risk! Stay safe and stay at home.

Maintain a 2 metre distance

Of course, contact of some kind with other people can’t be completely avoided, as people still need to go out to get food, deliver things to vulnerable relatives and get their daily exercise. It’s important that during any of these activities, you maintain a safe distance. At least 2 metres is the government recommendation, although you should always leave a wider birth than this where you can.

Everyone has their part to play in slowing (and eventually stopping) the spread of COVID-19 and we can beat this virus if we all do our bit. Practise social distancing to save lives.