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How to Protect Yourself & Others

 Important Ways to Slow the Spread

• Wear a mask to protect yourself and others and stop the spread of COVID-19.
• Stay at least 6 feet (about 2 arm lengths) from others who don’t live with you.
• Avoid crowds. The more people you are in contact with, the more likely you are to be exposed to COVID-19.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• It’s especially important to wash:
  • Before eating or preparing food
  • Before touching your face
  • After using the restroom
  • After leaving a public place
  • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
  • After handling your mask
  • After changing a diaper
  • After caring for someone sick
  • After touching animals or pets
• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Always cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow and do not spit.
• Throw used tissues in the trash.
• Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Clean and disinfect

• Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
• If surfaces are dirty, clean them. Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
• Then, use a household disinfectant. Use products from EPA’s List N: Disinfectants for Coronavirus (COVID-19)external icon according to manufacturer’s labeled directions.

• Be alert for symptoms. Watch for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19. 
  • Especially important if you are running essential errands, going into the office or workplace, and in settings where it may be difficult to keep a physical distance of 6 feet.
• Take your temperature if symptoms develop.
  • Don’t take your temperature within 30 minutes of exercising or after taking medications that could lower your temperature, like acetaminophen.
• Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop.

• COVID-19 vaccination is especially important for people who may be more likely to get very sick from COVID-19, such as older adults and people with certain medical conditions.
• People with underlying medical conditions may get a COVID-19 vaccine as long as they have not had a severe or immediate allergic reaction to the first dose of aCOVID-19 vaccine or any of the ingredients in a COVID-19 vaccine. CDC has made recommendations on who should get vaccinated first.

It’s likely that flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 will both spread this fall and winter. Healthcare systems could be overwhelmed treating both patients with flu and patients with COVID-19. This means getting a flu vaccine during 2020-2021 is more important than ever.While getting a flu vaccine will not protect against COVID-19 there are many important benefits, such as:

1. Flu vaccines have been shown to reduce the risk of flu illness, hospitalization, and death.
2. Getting a flu vaccine can also save healthcare resources for the care of patients with COVID-19.