3 Unlikely Ways to Catch COVID-19
As an assisted living community in Gloucester County, we know exactly how much everyone is being inundated with COVID-19 information, tips, and news. While it’s important to stay safe and sanitize, there are also some myths and exaggerations making the rounds that have made folks a bit panicky.
It’s important to know what’s real and what is not when it comes to how this disease is spread and how it is not spread. Here are a few ways that you are unlikely to catch COVID-19, as backed up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO):
1. You can NOT contract the virus by sharing a washing machine with a coronavirus-infected person.
It is recommended that when you handle the dirty laundry of someone who is sick or has been exposed to the coronavirus, you wear gloves. Keep the gloves you use for sorting laundry in a separate bag and make sure to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after removing your gloves or if you handled the laundry with your bare hands.
It is okay to wash the laundry of someone who is ill along with the laundry of other members of the household. As long as you take measures to safely handle contaminated items, there’s no need to do a separate load for those linens and clothes, according to the CDC.
2. Because I used a homemade disinfectant, I’m not getting rid of the virus, I have to buy store disinfectant, or I might catch it.
Brand-name disinfectants are flying off store shelves; shoppers all around the world are looking for effective ways to combat the COVID-19 viruses. If you cannot find disinfectant in your store, homemade disinfectant is just as good as store bought in killing the virus as long as the right ingredients are used for making it. Combining one-third of a cup of non-expired bleach with a gallon of water is a highly effective disinfectant, says the CDC. Bleach is highly reactive, so make sure you have plenty of ventilation while you are cleaning. Improper use or accidental ingestion can cause other health problems.
3. New coronavirus CANNOT be transmitted through mosquito bites.
Mosquitoes cause over half a million deaths each year and hundreds of millions of cases of severe illness by transmitting diseases. But there is no scientific evidence to suggest mosquitoes are transmitting the virus that causes COVID-19. “To date, there has been no information nor evidence to suggest that the new coronavirus could be transmitted by mosquitoes,” says the World Health Organization. The coronavirus is a respiratory virus, which can be transmitted through droplets created when an infected person coughs or sneezes, or through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose.
There is still much more to learn about the coronavirus but based on current research available, it’s highly unlikely a mosquito will pick up the virus by biting an infected person, let alone be able to pass it on.
If you get the Coronavirus or think you have been exposed to it, you cannot kill the virus by drinking, injecting, or ingesting bleach mixtures or antiseptic liquids into your body.
Ingesting these items in any way could make you very ill or even kill you. While this is common sense to most people, misinformation presented in public discourse has led to confusion and misunderstanding on this point. Antiseptics like this that “kill” the virus can only do it on surfaces, not inside your body.
Stay Safe, Stay Home, But Stay Informed
With such a dynamic situation evolving around this disease, it is easy to get confused about what is true and what isn’t. United Methodist Communities has a corporate team that is entirely at the forefront of this pandemic. Our clinical staff meets regularly to discuss management of the pandemic and to ensure that the very latest science informs our decision making and resident management.
Throughout the crisis, we remain in awe of the bravery, can-do-spirit, and sacrifices being made by our associates. We are further humbled by the support and encouragement of our residents and families.
Our communities remain open, well-staffed, and supplied, and focused on the health and emotional needs of our residents and families.
For more information on what United Methodist Communities at Pitman is doing to continue to provide safe assisted living in Gloucester county, please contact us for more information.
