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Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that handling food or consuming food is associated with COVID-19.

Coronaviruses, like the one that causes COVID-19, are thought to spread mostly person-to-person through respiratory droplets when someone coughs, sneezes, or talks. It is possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object, including food or food packaging, that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. However, this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.

After shopping, handling food packages, or before preparing or eating food, it is important to always wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry. Remember, it is always important to follow good food safety practices to reduce the risk of illness from common foodborne pathogens.

Content Source: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Viral tests check samples from your respiratory system, such as a swab from the inside of your nose, to tell you if you currently have an infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Some tests are point-of-care tests, meaning results may be available at the testing site in less than an hour. Other tests must be sent to a laboratory to analyze, a process that takes 1–2 days once received by the lab.

How to get a Viral Test
Here is some information that may help you make decisions about getting a viral test:

• Most people have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. Contact your healthcare provider if your symptoms are getting worse or if you have questions about your health.
• Decisions about testing are made by state and local health departments or healthcare providers.
• If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and are not tested, it is important to stay home.

What to do After a Viral Test
• If you test positive for COVID-19, know what protective steps to take if you are sick or caring for someone.
• If you test negative for COVID-19, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. However, that does not mean you will not get sick. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing. You may test negative if the sample was collected early in your infection and test positive later during your illness. You could also be exposed to COVID-19 after the test and get infected then. This means you could still spread the virus. If you develop symptoms later, you may need another test to determine if you are infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.

COVID-19 testing differs by location. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and want to get tested, call your healthcare provider first. You can also visit your state or local health department’s website to look for the latest local information on testing.

When cleaning and disinfecting a public space, workplace, business, school or even your home, you have to put together a plan. Cleaning with soap and water removes germs, dirt, and impurities from surfaces while disinfecting actually kills the germs on surfaces. Cleaning lowers the risk of spreading infection, but disinfecting can even further lower that risk. Once you have a plan in place, you must implement then maintain and revise.

Develop Your Plan

• Determine what needs to be cleaned
• Determine how areas will be disinfected
• Consider the resources and equipment needed

Consider the type of surface and how often the surface is touched. Prioritize disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and be mindful of the availability of products needed and PPE.

Implement the Plan

• Clean visibly dirty surfaces with soap and water prior to disinfection
• Use the appropriate cleaning or disinfecting product
• Always follow the directions on the label

Maintain and Revise the Plan

• Continue routine cleaning and disinfection
• Maintain safe practices
• Continue practices that reduce the potential for exposure

Continue to revise and improve upon your plan based on the appropriate disinfectant and PPE availability. Frequently wash your hands, use cloth face coverings and stay home while you are sick.

Content Source: The Center for Disease Control and Prevention

If you have read our previous articles, you know that Covid-19 spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with one another for a prolonged period of time. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks, droplets from their nose or mouth are scattered into the air and land in the mouths or noses of those they’re around. This is why it is important to maintain social distancing.

Social distancing means to keep space between yourself and others outside of your home. To practice social distancing, stay at least 6 feet away from others (two arm lengths apart).

Limiting close contact with others outside your household in indoor and outdoor spaces is one of the best tools we have to avoiding exposure to the virus and it will ultimately slow the spread of the virus and flatten the curve. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are even sick, it is important to stay away from others whenever possible; even if they are not presenting symptoms.

Many people have personal circumstances or situations that present challenges with practicing social distancing, but with each person who does practice proper social distancing, wears a fabric mask in everyday activities where social distancing is challenged, we can flatten the curve and get through this together.

Covid-19 has been found to spread mainly from person to person via respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. Studies show that these droplets can usually travel around 6 feet and can land in the mouths or noses of people who are within that distance and possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Wearing a cloth face covering may not protect the wearer directly, but it may keep the wearer from spreading the virus to others. The Center for Disease Control recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

Examples of those settings include:
• Grocery stores
• Pharmacies
• Gas stations
• Post Office
• Bank

Cloth face coverings are encouraged because they will slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus (and don’t know it yet) from transmitting it to others.

How to wear your face covering correctly:
• Wash your hands before putting on your cloth face covering
• Wear it over your nose and mouth and secure it under your chin
• Try to fit the cover snuggly against the sides of your face
• Make sure you can breathe easily

Wearing face coverings is a way to protect those around you. It is encouraged to be worn so you do not transmit the virus to others if you have it and are not presenting symptoms yet; though there are things to keep in mind for your own safety in removing the covering properly.

Examples include:
• Don’t put the covering around your neck or up on your forehead
• Do not touch the face covering, and if you do, wash or sanitize your hands afterwards
• Keep the covering on your face the entire time you’re in public
• Handle only by the ear loops
• Fold outside corners in together
• After removing, do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, and wash your hands immediately after removing

Our care team members are required to wear medical grade masks at all times while in our communities. Cloth face coverings are encouraged outside of medical facilities and should only be worn in situations like the ones listed above.

Per the Center for Disease Control, the outbreak of Covid-19 may be stressful for people. Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in those affected.

Stress during an infectious disease outbreak can include:
• Fear and worry about your own health and the health of your loved ones.
• Changes in sleep or eating patterns.
• Difficulty sleeping or concentrating

Here are some ways you can help cope with this stress:
• Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media. Hearing about the pandemic repeatedly can be upsetting.
• Take care of your body
• Take deep breaths
• Stretch
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals
• Exercise regularly
• Get plenty of sleep
• Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
• Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.

Please visit our Covid-19 Support Units page to learn more about the services we are providing during this unprecedented time.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, is a new infectious disease. Most people that become infected with COVID-19 will experience mild or moderate systems that affect an individual’s respiratory system. Individuals that are at greater risk for severe systems of COVID-19 are those that are older in age and those that have underlying medical problems. Some individuals with COVID-19 may be asymptomatic. Asymptomatic is when an infected person shows no signs or symptoms of the disease.

We have been doing many things to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Taking the temperature of each Care Team Member as they arrive to the facility, providing each Care Team Member and resident with personal protective equipment (PPE), social distancing, proper hand washing, and educating everyone how to properly wear PPE that is being provided are ways in which we are preventing the spread of Covid-19 in our communities.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include:
• cough
• shortness of breath

Or at least 2 of these symptoms:
• fever
• chills
• repeated shaking with chills
• muscle pain

Our team is monitoring all residents for any sign or symptom of COVID-19. Once a concern arises, we are quarantining that individual and increasing our vital and wellness checks. With a physician’s order, we will then place a request for a test. Testing time can vary as it is dependent on the lab and availability of the test. Once a test result is received, any necessary next steps are taken.

In regards to the above information, isolation and quarantine are both used to help decrease the spread but are very different. Isolation is used to keep residents a part from one another. Meals, activities, therapy and other care are being provided in isolation in a Residents room. Quarantine, on the other hand, is used to place an individual that has been exposed to the infection away from other Residents.

During this time, visitation has been suspended for all family members, guests and other visitors. Only essential personnel is allowed in and out of the facility in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, we understand the difficulty and impact this has on family, friends and residents. The facility is happy to arrange other opportunities to visit with residents. We are happy to help a resident with FaceTime, Zoom meetings, Facebook Messenger calls, and other media platforms as we have supplied each of our communities with iPads for this purpose. If you would like to schedule this type of communication, please call the facility and you will be directed to the appropriate Care Team Member. Once notified, we will help any resident with technology or with any adaptive equipment they may need. We are also happy to coordinate window visits and drive through parades to help lessen the strain of visitor restrictions. As always, we encourage notes and letters to be dropped off or sent.

For more information regarding COVID-19 please visit CDC.gov or http://www.coronavirus.in.gov and continue following our COVID-19 updates here.