Coronavirus has become a threat to many countries. There are a few ways that can help stop the virus from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community. Help promote handwashing and other precautionary measures to be followed to protect the community from getting infected with the coronavirus. These practices can help you stay healthy, especially during this key time when this virus is spreading. Read on to know these preventive measures.

Washing hands with soap and clean running water is the best way to get rid of germs in most situations.

Follow the correct steps to wash your hands:

• Wet your hands with running water. Turn off the tap
• Apply soap
• Rub your hands to lather them with soap. Rub the front as well as back sides of your hands, nails, area under the nails and between the fingers properly. Keep rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds
• Rinse your hands with clean running water
• Wipe your hands with a clean towel

If you are not able to wash your hands with soap and water, use an alcohol-based sanitizer. Although a sanitizer is not that effective as washing your hands with soap and water but it can eliminate germs to a large extent when water and soap are not available. However, a sanitizer cannot eliminate dust, dirt and chemicals. The sanitizer should contain 60 percent alcohol.

Follow the correct steps to use a hand sanitizer:

• Put few drops of sanitizer on the palm of one hand
• Rub both hands with each other for at least 20 seconds. Rub between your fingers. The sanitizer would dry away
• Put few drops on the backsides of each hand and rub until it dries away

Few other precautions:

• Coronavirus germs can live on hard surfaces for several hours. It is important to disinfect the high-touch surfaces quite often which can come in contact with the virus especially at public places
• Do not bite your nails or touch your face, eyes, mouth and nose with dirty hands. These practices may put that virus on a direct route to your mouth and nose, giving it the ability to start making you sick. Keep your hands away from your face. When you touch any contaminated surface, you get sick after touching your face with the same contaminated hands by transferring the virus to in your mouth or nose to cause the infection
• Do not share things at public places like utensils, food, water etc. Avoid sharing tiffin in the school or office or other such places. Although food does not spread the infection, sharing a plate or eating utensils with someone who is infected can potentially make you sick
• Try to avoid going to crowded places because infected people may not show any symptoms. There is no practical way to assess whether someone is suffering from coronavirus or not. So anyone can get infected unknowingly after coming in contact with an infected person
• Wash your clothes in hot water. After handling dirty laundry, wash your hands thoroughly
• Boost your immune system by adding the right vitamins and other nutrients to your diet
• Stay away from people who have symptoms of cold, flu and sickness. If you see someone sneezing or coughing, keep a distance of at least three feet from him to keep yourself safe
• If you are sick, stay home. Cover your mouth when you cough with a disposable tissue. Dispose of the used tissues immediately after use in a closed dustbin. Use a mask to help prevent spreading of the virus. Discard the mask after using it for a day. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or a folded elbow when you cough or sneeze. Consult your doctor immediately when you are sick

Prevention is always better than cure. You must take extra precautions for prevention from coronavirus.