Prevention Strategies against COVID-19

Three of the most important ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are handwashing, physical distancing and wearing a mask. Learn more about these methods below. COVID-19 can be spread through touching. The virus can spread from your hands to your eyes, nose or mouth when touching the face. Regular handwashing with soap and water OR using hand sanitizer kills any of the virus that may be on your hands and prevents it from entering your body.

All you need is soap🧼and water 🚰. Wet your hands with water, then use soap. Rub your hands to form a lather for 20 seconds. Make sure to rub your palms together, then rub the backs of your hands, between your fingers and then your fingertips. Then rinse the soap off your hands. Follow the eight steps in this picture to properly wash your hands.

1. Rub palms together
2. Rub the backs of both hands
3. Interlace fingers and rub hands together
4. Interlock fingers and rub the back of fingers of both hands
5. Rub thumb in a rotating manner followed by the area between index finger and thumb of both hands
6. Rub finger tips on palm for both hands
7. Rub both wrists in a rotating manner
8. Rinse and dry

Wash your hands several times during the day, especially:

• after caring for those who are sick
• after coughing or sneezing
• after touching surfaces that other people touch e.g. doorknobs,
• before preparing food, eating or feeding others 🍲
• after going to the toilet 🚽
• before touching the nose or face 😐
• after working with animals or animal waste.

If you don’t have soap and water, use sanitizer with at least 70% alcohol for 20 seconds. Rub your palms, the backs of your hands and in between your fingers.

REMEMBER to cover your cough! 🤧Using a tissue to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze can help stop COVID-19 from spreading! If you do not have a tissue, cough into the inside of your elbow to help stop the spread. It is up to each one of us to help slow down the spread of the virus.

Physical distancing prevents passing the disease from one person to another. Keep a distance of at least 6ft or 2 meters from others when outside your home. Avoid crowded places like markets, places of worship and public transport. When indoors or in public transport with other people, open windows to allow air to flow through.

Just because you need to be physically distanced to help stop the spread of COVID-19 does not mean you should stop being social! Encourage people to check up on each other by phone, or through social media.

When caring for a suspected COVID-19 patient, the two most important parts of your body to cover are the nose and mouth. Wearing the mask 😷 snug across your nose and mouth is an important way to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Make sure your mask 😷 is a good fit, covering your nose, mouth and chin, and that there are no gaps on the side where the virus can travel in or out.

Masks 😷 can help protect you and those around you from COVID-19, especially when you may not be able to keep 2 meters distance away from others in public places. Along with wearing your mask 😷, be sure to wash your hands with soap 🧼 before putting it on or taking it off.