9 Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself from COVID-19
Standing in front of India currently is the double-mutant coronavirus variant with fierceness in its eyes. It is malicious, indomitable, unrelenting and cruel. India cannot afford to lose courage. She must get ready to fight back. It’s time for a WAR!
The second wave of COVID-19 has hit India. COVID-19 cases are proliferating like never before. This exponential surge in COVID-19 cases has already surpassed the peak that was witnessed in the first wave and is reaching new heights every day. 2.59 lakh cases were reported in the last 24 hours. Reportedly, our healthcare system is crumbling. The least we as individuals can do is save ourselves from falling ill.
Some of the following tips might look like what you have been already hearing/reading for the last one year (and conveniently ignoring).
1. Get vaccinated
India began the world’s largest vaccination drive in January. Around 10 crore Indians have been vaccinated (as of April 19, 2021) with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine manufacturing companies are striving to produce vaccine vials as rapidly and as many as possible. The government has approved advanced payments to both Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech to boost vaccine production. From May 1, everyone above the age of 18 will be administered a COVID-19 vaccine. Get vaccinated as soon as possible.
2. Wear a mask
Wear a mask, no matter how much you hate it. Even after getting vaccinated, it is utterly important to take precautions which include wearing a mask. Experts are advising that wearing two masks at this time of the dreadful second wave would be better and beneficial. Use a face shield for better protection.
3. Maintain social distancing
Persuading people to maintain social distancing in India is the hardest thing one can think of doing right now. It was only in the early days of the nationwide lockdown in 2020 when people actually did this. What is more important to people now than their health, you ask? Of course, celebrating festivals and attending election rallies and campaigns.
4. Avoid going to crowded places
10 states in India have been contributing the most to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. Many of them have declared mini-lockdowns and night curfews to curtail the number. The Bombay HC has said public health couldn’t be jeopardised by the right to observe a festival like Ramzan, and the Delhi HC has permitted only 50 devotees to pray at a mosque. On the contrary, the Uttarakhand HC didn’t think it was necessary to call off the Kumbh Mela.
Try to stay at your homes and refrain from visiting shopping malls, restaurants, huge political or religious gatherings and travelling by public transport for the sake of your own health and of your families.
5. Sanitise with an alcohol-based sanitiser
Bottles of what do we see more these days than water bottles? Right, sanitisers. Sanitisation of your hands and your belongings that you are likely to touch frequently can kill the virus and keep you safe.
6. Wash your hands
It is of paramount importance to maintain hand hygiene by cleaning your hands with soap and water properly. Do this frequently. Wash your clothes and masks after you return home. Maintaining personal hygiene can work wonders.
7. Avoid eating street food
As it is street food and junk food are unhealthy. To boost your immunity, you must eat nothing but healthy food. But street food can be perilous. No one can say for certain that the food sold on the streets are devoid of viruses and germs.
8. Take vitamin supplements
Nutritious food, sleep and exercises can bolster your immune system. Vitamin supplements can also contribute to the same. Vitamin D and vitamin C can prepare your body to fight the virus.
9. Do not panic and meditate
It is true that the pandemic has had adverse effects on our mental health more than our physical health. Major mental health issues that are being reported are stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, denial, anger and fear, especially in children, elderly people, frontline workers and people with existing mental illnesses. It is important to stay calm. Meditation can help you stay calm.
It is a gut-wrenching, horrific sight out there. No one wishes to die a painful death. With the rise in the spread of the infection, our healthcare system is finding it difficult to cope. People are dying like flies on the streets without treatment and medication. There is a shortage of oxygen, medicines, beds and healthcare workers. Can you imagine dying by not being able to breathe? Just the thought of it sends chills down our spines. There’s an old saying that goes like, ‘Prevention is better than cure.’ Kindly, stay safe and take necessary precautions.
