Stay Safe as Your Community Reopens

As communities across the country reopen from COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the question we now all face is how to stay safe. The American Red Cross offers these steps you can take, based on guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

First, follow guidance from your state and local public health officials as businesses and services become available in your area.

1. Stay home if you are sick. Call your health care provider before you get medical care.
2. Continue to social distance by staying 6 feet away from others, especially if you are at high risk for serious illness from COVID-19 (over age 65 or any age with underlying medical conditions).
3. Follow guidelines for your area when it comes to how large gatherings can be. Avoid crowds and mass gatherings.
4. Continue to wear cloth face coverings in public. Face coverings are most essential when social distancing is difficult.
5. Continue to frequently wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. Use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol when soap and water aren’t available.
6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
7. Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Use the inside of your elbow if a tissue isn’t available.
8. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily.
9. Minimize non-essential travel.
10. Continue to telework if feasible.

For more information, review CDC guidance, including safety guidelines for going out.

New Resources Available

The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging employees and businesses in new ways. Returning to Work during COVID-19: Safe Work Practices is an online course with measures employers can take to help maintain a safe and healthy workplace and ways employees can help limit the spread of COVID-19 once they go back to work.

In addition, the uncertainty associated with a global health crisis like COVID-19 challenges everyone's ability to cope. Psychological First Aid: Supporting Yourself and Other during COVID-19 is an online course designed to help individuals build resilience and support themselves and lend support to others during and following the COVID-19 outbreak.