Along with social distancing and washing your hands periodically, there exist other methods by which you can protect yourself and your loved ones from Covid-19. Although the casualties from the pandemic is slowly decreasing in many parts of the world with less and less positive cases being reported which might seem like a possible end to the whole crisis situation, however, some scientists and researchers are of the notion that the pandemic is nowhere near its end and that we might have to witness the worst effects of it in the coming future.
Now that many countries as a way to revive the economy have started to open their borders for trade and business with which there is a great surge in the movement of people across borders. As a result of that, the cases of Covid-19 might see an increase in its number once again.
The health experts believe that the increase in the temperatures during summer may decrease the number of Covid-19 cases; however, just like the seasonal flu, they might reappear during the colder months, especially during fall and winter. In that case, various health organizations are predicting a dearth in the availability of enough resources to provide care for all those people that are either suffering from the flu or Covid-19.
There have been a lot of uncertainties regarding what the future holds for us, but if we look at the brighter side, there are so many things that we can do to bring the situation under control. Since the outbreak broke out, we have been able to amass enough knowledge regarding how Covid-19 works, what strata of the society are the most susceptible, and how we can prevent being infected.
The high-risk group who are the most susceptible to contracting the infection are those over the age of 65. Along with that, the infection seems to affect those that are already suffering from other underlying medical conditions like diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and such. The number of deaths due to Covid-19 has been less than 1 percent in those that were not suffering from any underlying issues like high blood pressure, kidney, lung or liver diseases, etc.
Apart from underlying health problems, another factor that particularly increases the risk of being vulnerable to Covid-19 is being overweight. According to a study published in the Wiley Online Library, those people that are infected with the coronavirus and are obese with a body mass index of 35 kilograms/m2 and higher are more susceptible to suffer serious complications because of the disease and may have to be kept on a ventilator as well. And among those that are kept on a ventilator, the death rate has been reported to be 80 percent or more.
And so we can deduce that the coronavirus targets those people that are more vulnerable due to their poor health conditions, but there are many ways in which we can protect ourselves from getting infected. The best way to protect yourself from Covid-19 would be to be healthy by leading a healthy lifestyle which includes staying active, eating a healthy diet which is full of nutritious meals including lots of green vegetables and fruits, along with that, keeping blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar under control is also highly imperative. In addition to that, staying away from bad habits like consuming alcohol and smoking is also of utmost importance.
These things are easy to follow for someone that has always been healthy, but if someone is already having issues with their health, then in that case, following these things becomes all the more important.
The pandemic has not only taken a toll on the economy but also on our mental health. As it is a well-known fact that almost every country has ordered its people to stay under home quarantine and avoid going out as much as possible a lot of people are finding it very difficult to cope up with this.
Staying in all the time has taken a huge toll on their physical as well as mental health, due to the high levels of stress, people are getting side-tracked and are ignoring their health. A lot of people, including those that were into leading a healthy lifestyle earlier, have reported gaining weight due to staying most of the time indoors.
In addition to the increasing concerns about the pandemic, a lot of people are facing huge amounts of stress due to financial and social issues. Therefore in difficult times like this leading a healthy lifestyle, getting enough sleep, and managing stress levels are very helpful in not letting things go out of control. Stress management needs to be of utmost importance especially now as if it is not controlled it can contribute to other serious issues like panic attacks, depression, and anxiety,
Every individual is different in the way they manage a difficult situation; in terms of health as well, there are many things that an individual can do, which might differ from person to person. Based on an individual’s preference, they can start a healthy diet plan, an exercise plan, meditate, visit a doctor, or try telemedicine. These things can help a great deal in managing stress, anxiety, and restlessness, which are natural as we are all battling a pandemic at the moment.
For the time being, the only way we can protect ourselves and our family from getting infected is by practicing social distancing and sanitizing or washing our hands from time to time because we still do not have a vaccine for the disease.
Along with that, in most countries of the world, the stay-at-home orders are slowly being lifted, but that does not mean that we no longer have to follow the social distancing and hand washing rules, in order to stop the spread of the infection we need to follow these rules diligently. It looks like hand washing and social distancing rules might have to be adhered to by everyone, even if the pandemic ends.
