Everything is Canceled: Surviving a Teenage Quarantine Life [Part 1]
Blog series offers advice to help teens understand COVID-19.
By Community Health Improvement Staff.
With the spread of COVID-19, we need to understand what it is, how to stay safe, how to practice self care, and how to adjust to life stuck inside. With a sudden loss of a routine and schedule, we know it can be hard to adapt to these changes. It’s important for teens to be part of the solution. The most important role for teens is to stay home to help keep the community safe and healthy. This two-part blog series offers answers to help you understand it all and manage.
The Basics
COVID-19 is a novel virus that is transferred from person to person via water-droplets from coughs or sneezes. We have pandemics every ten years or so that start all over the world. This one is the most serious we’ve faced in our history. It happened to start in China, which does not give anyone the right to discriminate against Chinese or other Asian people. The word novel means new -- and that’s important because none of us have any immunity to the virus. It also spreads really easily.
What to do
It’s important to follow the recommendations from the CDC. It may sound simple, but washing your hands a lot, for at least 20 seconds, with warm water is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Since the virus can be passed by water-droplets (from a sneeze or cough), others nearby can contract the germs from these droplets when touching surfaces and then touching our own faces through eyes, nose, and mouth.
Help flatten the curve
Health care professionals are working really hard to care for people during this epidemic. You can help them by staying away from each other. This will flatten the curve. That means that fewer people will get sick all at once. According to the WHO, social distancing is when we keep six feet apart. This helps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 since we can’t tell who has it. It’s best to act like everyone does.
Stay tuned for the next blog with helpful ways to manage and cope during this historic moment in time, and your life.
Disclaimer
This articles provide general information for educational purposes only. The information provided in this article, or through linkages to other sites, is not a substitute for medical or professional care, and you should not use the information in place of a visit, call consultation or the advice of your physician or other healthcare provider.