By Emma Sporleder, Student Reporter
With almost 75,000 cases of COVID-19 in the United States and because citizens have been told to prepare for the worst, here is what to do if you live with someone who may have the coronavirus.
If you think that you might be stuck at home self-quarantining with a spouse, roommate or sick kid who shows symptoms of COVID-19, plenty of online resources explain how to take care of yourself and someone who might be sick.
If someone you live with is showing mild symptoms, plan to fight the virus at home alongside him or her. With the limited test kits, people who only experience small symptoms won’t qualify to become tested unless he or she have been in contact with someone who has the virus or visited the areas under high risk.
The Center for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) announced most people who get mild symptoms related to COVID-19 recover at home, (mild symptoms include: fever, sore throat, dry cough, chills, aches, fatigue, diarrhea or runny nose). If you know someone is experiencing severe symptoms, shortness of breath, chest pain or pneumonia, call 911 or get medical help immediately.
How to protect yourself and take care of someone who is sick:
- Distance yourself as much as possible
- Sleep in separate bedrooms
- Try to use separate bathrooms
- If you must come in contact with them, practice good hygiene.
- Keep the house sanitized
- Provide symptom treatment
- Don’t let the sick person feel isolated (video call, phone call, text message)
- Monitor the person for worsening symptoms
- Take care of yourself and manage your own anxiety
A situation like this can be stressful, especially caring for someone who is sick during times like these. If you start to feel anxious about caring for the sick, try to identify exactly what triggers the anxiety and practice safety precautions. Try to identify the things you are doing to help the individual and maybe can help release some of the anxiety.