The Center for Disease Control has confirmed that the coronavirus is spreading, and that we can expect to see it show up soon in the United States. And unfortunately, the US is woefully underprepared for this virus. Many American universities are also struggling with how to best strategize for the coming weeks ahead. It’s becoming apparent that we may need to take matters into our own hands to protect the health of ourselves and those around us. Not sure where to get started? We’ve got some suggestions.
- Lysol EVERYTHING
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We’re on the cusp of spring right now, but don’t wait a few extra weeks to get into spring cleaning. Clean places of high traffic; bathrooms, living room furniture, and absolutely everything in the kitchen! You absolutely do not want to catch salmonella making dinner because your roommate doesn’t know how to properly cook chicken.
- Stock Up on Food You Can Prepare Yourself
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As people around you are getting sick, it’s important to contain the amount of people having contact with your food. Not every food provider is giving employees paid sick time, and you don’t want to risk that. It’s best to buy ingredients for easy meals you can make and get ahead with.
- Get in Work From Home
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Thanks to ICT we live in a world where computers are slowly eliminating the every day commute. Use this to your advantage during sick season, and ask your supervisor if you can work from home for awhile. It’s a win for everybody.
- Don’t Push Yourself Through Perfect Attendance
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When you’re fighting a three day sore throat and fever, don’t go to class. Even if your professor has a strict attendance policy, it’s not worth it. Email your professor to explain the situation, and talk to your Dean of Students Office and/or Student Health Services if things become difficult. Coming to class when you’re sick only makes the situation much worse.
- Get As Much Sleep As Possible
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Midterms may be nigh, and spring break on the horizon, but you need all the sleep you can get. Your body is such a fragile system, and it needs the time to recover from the outside world. Shut down for the night an hour early, set your alarm 30 minutes back, do whatever you can to catch more of those zs.
- Don’t Be Racist
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Don’t go out of your way to avoid the checkout with the Asian cashier. Don’t avoid your international classmates. Don’t give gym equipment an extra wipe down because of who was just using it. Keeping yourself healthy during this time doesn’t give you an excuse to be casually racist.
The virus may be on our doorstep, but we don’t have to let it in!