COVID-19: How To Prepare For Social Distancing During Coronavirus

[00:00:00] Court of Justice, The Coronavirus has collectively pushed us into a corner.

[00:00:14] The number of infections in India has been increasing with each day, touching at least

[00:00:18] 166 as of this podcast recording.

[00:00:21] Efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 have now intensified.

[00:00:25] India has implemented travel restrictions, barring entry to tourists and even Indians

[00:00:30] from countries with the high incidence of the virus, stopping the issue of fresh

[00:00:34] visas and putting all incoming tourists through a screening and quarantine procedure.

[00:00:42] State governments have ordered the closures of schools, colleges, restaurants, gyms, clubs

[00:00:46] and many places which attract crowds.

[00:00:48] Tourist attractions including the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort have been shut, several events

[00:00:53] planned for the coming months including the IPL, have been either rescheduled or cancelled

[00:00:57] entirely.

[00:00:59] Even the interest of limiting the virus spread, a number of organisations have asked

[00:01:02] their employees to work from home thus eliminating person to person contact.

[00:01:08] This as you might know is all contributing to what's become the watch word in this time

[00:01:12] of pandemic and panic.

[00:01:15] Social distancing.

[00:01:19] Social distancing is a set of non-medical steps that can limit the spread of the virus

[00:01:23] and it's essential right now because we need to quote and quote flatten the curve.

[00:01:29] What does this mean?

[00:01:30] An outbreak usually affects an increasing number of people, climbing everyday, till it saturates

[00:01:35] a community and then it starts to taper off.

[00:01:38] If you plot the infections growth on a graph, it looks like a curve.

[00:01:43] Now through social distancing we can limit the number of interactions that people have

[00:01:47] and as a result, limit the number of infections thus flattening this curve.

[00:01:53] If we don't practice social distancing and if the number of infected keep rising,

[00:01:57] we also risk over burning our health care system, something that Italy has had to deal

[00:02:02] with.

[00:02:03] This flattening can't be forced because people will trickle in and out for things like

[00:02:07] transport and essential services so needs be something that we all practice consciously

[00:02:12] to stop the virus from spreading further.

[00:02:18] Things are changed and they will have to change as we go on.

[00:02:22] Social distancing by not going out, by working from home, by limiting human interaction

[00:02:27] becomes an essential part of this.

[00:02:29] Today we'll show you how to prepare for social distancing and how to do it effectively,

[00:02:33] so you can weather the coming weeks with good health and peace of mind.

[00:02:43] This is Vishnu Keseek Life.

[00:02:45] The show where you learn something useful about nutrition, fitness, life or lifestyle choices

[00:02:50] from me.

[00:02:51] I'm Vishnu Kupina.

[00:02:52] I usually discuss things like stress management, eating healthy, fitness routines and so on.

[00:02:58] But with the coronavirus and terms like quarantine and social distancing, becoming household

[00:03:03] worlds, I realize it's time we talked about it.

[00:03:15] In fact our office took the necessary measures and is now working from home.

[00:03:19] With its total strength reduced to less than half, people who take public transport, especially

[00:03:25] have been asked to avoid travelling because travelling involves higher risk.

[00:03:30] So I wrote this podcast from home and I'm avoiding human to human interaction as much as

[00:03:35] possible, like the rest of my colleagues, family and friends.

[00:03:40] In the interest of social distancing, I'm joined by my guest today over the phone.

[00:03:45] I'm joined by Dr. Sumitri and Dr. Jackresson.

[00:03:48] Dr. Jackresson is the coordinator for the regional prevention of epidemic diseases at Calicut

[00:03:53] Medical College.

[00:03:55] Currently in China, the doubling type of committees within 5 days and in Italy it is within

[00:04:03] 3 days.

[00:04:04] In such cases, one of the available tool for medical sciences reduces the number of

[00:04:11] contact, reducing the susceptible people.

[00:04:14] Calicut Medical College is one of three coronavirus testing centers in Kerala.

[00:04:20] Dr. Ray is the Chief of Medical Services and the Chairperson for Critical Care Medicine at

[00:04:24] Artemis Hospital in New Delhi.

[00:04:27] Social distancing like not going to the market unless it is absolutely essential, not

[00:04:31] going to religious gatherings, not going to get together, not having get together.

[00:04:37] Today I'm going to tell you my experience so far and what you should do from the different

[00:04:41] things that I have read and tried.

[00:04:43] But honestly, social distancing is new to all of us.

[00:04:47] As I said, it's a word that many of us only became familiar with after the corona virus

[00:04:52] outbreak.

[00:04:53] The multiple ways of going through social distancing, one of them is like working from home,

[00:04:59] which would only be possible in a small percentage of people in India because as I have

[00:05:06] said before, 93% of the population in India is in the unorganized sector, either self-employed

[00:05:13] or working in stretch shops or in small factories with tight spaces, etc.

[00:05:18] Very few people can actually work from home, yes, working from home would help in that

[00:05:22] subset but not in others.

[00:05:25] Then there would be social distancing like not going to the market unless it is absolutely

[00:05:30] essential, not going to religious gatherings, not going to get together, not having

[00:05:35] get together, large get together of any sort, political religious, social, etc.

[00:05:42] As much as possible for a period of time in the household, keeping distance between

[00:05:49] the infected and the uninfected with some people have symptoms they keep.

[00:05:54] A way that work also if it is possible to keep a distance of at least a meter,

[00:05:59] a half or two meters.

[00:06:01] If possible to keep that distance is also going to help in those places where people

[00:06:07] have to go to work and cannot work from home.

[00:06:09] It is important to have that kind of distance if possible.

[00:06:13] And so it takes some planning.

[00:06:15] You will be indoors for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.

[00:06:19] Since we are also trying to limit human-human contact, it is important to make sure you have

[00:06:24] what you need for the coming weeks.

[00:06:26] Having said that, you don't need to hold supplies, you only need to stock up on things

[00:06:31] like you're going to stay home for a couple of weeks.

[00:06:33] So let me give you some helpful pointers.

[00:06:44] During a quarantine or isolation situation, people usually tend to worry a lot about the future.

[00:06:49] This can lead to panic buying and hoarding, which is what you want to avoid.

[00:06:53] Remember this.

[00:06:55] Rule number one is keep calm and don't panic.

[00:06:58] You just need to get a few essentials to make social distancing easier on yourself and your loved ones.

[00:07:04] Also, preparation like this is always great to practice, regardless of whether you're facing

[00:07:08] a nationwide quarantine or generally planning ahead for a few weeks.

[00:07:13] So take note for the future as well.

[00:07:14] The government has a few recommendations and different emergency preparedness groups have a few

[00:07:27] points. I have crossed our friends all of these to bring you the most useful advice from all of them.

[00:07:33] First and foremost, we need to make a list to manage five things.

[00:07:37] Water, food, medicines, soap and warmth. Get a pen and paper and write this down.

[00:07:46] As far as water goes, you need water to drink and water for cleaning.

[00:07:51] For drinking water since most of us either use a purifier or water in cans,

[00:07:55] you'll have to decide based on what you normally choose. I use water cans. So for two people,

[00:08:01] I have ordered 50 litres of water which should last us around 10 days.

[00:08:06] But in case you try to order something in a dozen come, you can order it online to minimize human

[00:08:12] contact if you have their option. Running water shouldn't be a problem, but ideally you should have

[00:08:18] a 1000 litres tank at least to last you around 2-3 days. Fill up your water supply and store

[00:08:23] water in closed buckets. In an absolute worst case, you'll have some water left. But water

[00:08:30] and electricity won't usually be a problem in this kind of quarantine. Now apart from playing water,

[00:08:35] stock up packets of oral dehydration solution or ores. Ores has electrolytes that your body

[00:08:42] will need over time. They're also essential in case you fall sick. You can buy ores at a

[00:08:47] medical store for like 15-20 bucks a packet. I'd suggest keeping 10-20 of them in stock.

[00:08:53] They're also a great hangover cure just FYI. Some people recommend gate-read another sports

[00:08:58] drinks, but they are more expensive and they have a lot more sugar. Ores does the trick

[00:09:04] fine and I never leave home without it. As for fluids, stock up on soap mixes because they're

[00:09:15] very convenient in a pinch. Coffee powder and tea leaves are also important to have, not just because

[00:09:20] of the caffeine that they provide, but also because they raise your spirits. Keeping a spirits up

[00:09:25] is important during situation like this. This is something I learned from this funny book called

[00:09:31] the Zombies Survival Guide. A positive outlook can make all the difference in your time in isolation.

[00:09:45] It keeps you sane and grounded. So how effective can social distance in being at mitigating the virus?

[00:09:55] I asked Dr. Jack Prishnan about this. In the community, the COVID can in fact

[00:10:01] 60% of population. Currently in China, the doubling number of communities within five days

[00:10:10] and in Italy it is within three days. In such cases one of the available tool for medical

[00:10:18] sciences reduces the number of conduct, where reducing the susceptible people. So one of the

[00:10:25] strategies of reducing the number of contacts from the patients so that the time person can be reduced.

[00:10:32] One of the strategies is social distancing. There are evidence available in the case of

[00:10:37] a COVID evidence available during the past two months that social distancing at third with

[00:10:45] the social distancing method. Since there is no medicines available, no vaccines available,

[00:10:51] the only available method is social distancing at quarantine. The COVID virus will infect

[00:10:58] the others during the early stages of this year. So we can implement this quarantine

[00:11:06] within the one day, one day of the infection. One day of the symptoms,

[00:11:11] it is there is not that it can reduce the 60% of transmission. So which is one

[00:11:16] considered is a one of the best method available, one of the tool I will be able to

[00:11:20] be one social safety. Next we have food. Food is one of my favorite things to stock up.

[00:11:35] You should have food to last you for around a month. Again remember we're not holding

[00:11:39] you're buying enough to last us a month at least. As of the most recent reports,

[00:11:48] the coronavirus could have an incubation period that goes up to 28 days. So social distancing

[00:11:55] and isolation for around 28 days is recommended. Things like fresh vegetables and fruits

[00:12:00] won't last for more than a few weeks, maximum two weeks. So if you want to stock up

[00:12:05] and you really want your vegetables and fruit, opt for canned vegetables or fruits.

[00:12:10] But first and foremost always eat the veg and fruits that are already in your fridge

[00:12:14] because they will be the first to spoil. Can't go it's a nice but let's be honest as Indians

[00:12:21] we don't usually opt for canned goods. If you live in another country please feel free to

[00:12:25] stock up on canned food. fruits some vegetables and some red eat cook meats but just enough to

[00:12:30] last you. And after that plan is shopping during non peak hours so that you avoid bumping into

[00:12:36] a lot of people and you avoid risk of infection. Now I prefer getting my carbohydrates from other

[00:12:43] sources. Food is a cheap and also last longer. Things like oats. Oats are a great source of fiber

[00:12:49] they last a long time in your storage and they're easy to cook. You can throw in some fruit if

[00:12:54] you want dried fruit is fine or honey if you want to make a taste to your. Usually it's also a

[00:13:00] good option. Now on the topic of honey, honey helps make most things better and it's sweet so

[00:13:07] it'll definitely help make you feel better. It's also got a very very very long shelf life

[00:13:13] unless you like me and you eat it all up in a week. On a small side note I am always a coffee person

[00:13:21] but a cup of hot black tea with lemon and honey is literally one of the best pick me up

[00:13:26] drinks I would recommend. I wouldn't advise getting any more milk than maybe for a week maximum

[00:13:33] because milk spoils really fast. So maybe stick to taking your tea and coffee black. You could

[00:13:39] also include milk powder in a stockpile if your child needs it or if you like having milk once in

[00:13:44] a while with a tea and coffee. If you have baby and you need milk daily and you can't avoid shopping

[00:13:51] either opt for ordering online if you have the option or shop during non-peak hours to avoid people.

[00:13:58] Peanut butter jam crackers and bread are also great options but with bread if you're keeping it

[00:14:03] for longer you might want to throw it in the freezer but your freezer is going to be a pretty occupied

[00:14:08] so it's just eating a perishable bread sooner. Now from peanut butter let's head to other

[00:14:19] sources of protein. Pick things like beans, chowley or chickpeas, soya which is basically

[00:14:26] I think it's called Nutella and cheese since they all have a fairly long shelf life.

[00:14:31] Paneer and meat are options that will last you months. You'll have to store these in the freezer though.

[00:14:37] I kept bacon stored in the freezer for months on end. This, there was this one time and they had

[00:14:42] a sale and I ended up accidentally buying 6 kilos of bacon. So depending on the size of your freezer

[00:14:49] filled that thing up with enough meat for a few weeks or even a month if you get meat and

[00:14:54] not just chicken. Needless to say make sure you have spices and salt and oils to cook with

[00:15:00] for a month at least if not more. Also this is one of my secrets. I love Magi Masala. You know

[00:15:08] it's that stuff that costs five rupees for a packet. It's insanely good to add to most foods and

[00:15:14] makes almost everything taste better and I mean I like it personally so if you like it you should

[00:15:20] add it to your list. Magi Masala chicken broth cubes and other flavor cubes are things you should

[00:15:26] always keep stored. They cheap they last for a long time and they add a lot of flavor to

[00:15:31] boring bland food. Now herbs aren't a great option because dried herbs lose their flavor with

[00:15:38] time and fresh herbs will spoil really fast so if you have herbs use them up sooner rather than later.

[00:15:45] And as far as oils coconut oil is great if you store it in the fridge. Some other vegetable oils

[00:15:51] while I don't usually recommend them are good options because they have made to have a long shelf

[00:15:57] focus on getting things with good flavor and the flavors that you like which also have a long

[00:16:01] shelf life and I think we are set as far as food goes. Now let's talk about medicines.

[00:16:15] Now if you have any emergency medication or medicines that you need to take daily you should

[00:16:20] have a stock for at least a month and a half. Aim for a month's worth of medicines at the lowest

[00:16:25] that's the recommendation by the red cross. In some cases like people who are diabetic or

[00:16:30] asthmatic medication needs to be high on the priority list. Keep a stock for a month at least

[00:16:36] I'd recommend a month and a half so you don't have to worry about running out at the end of the month.

[00:16:52] Obviously hand wash soap detergent cleaning liquids and hand sanitizer are essential to keep it home.

[00:16:58] Again you don't need to buy the whole store just buy enough for a few weeks which is around 4 weeks.

[00:17:04] The world isn't coming to an end. Social media has flooded with stories of people holding hands sanitizers

[00:17:10] and other cleaning supplies. Don't be one of those people. Remember rule number 1. Don't panic.

[00:17:18] By the way social distancing on its own is not going to be enough to fix this virus so remember

[00:17:23] that's only one part of what we're doing but other than emergency medication keep

[00:17:28] cough cold and flu medicines vitamin D vitamin C vitamin K painkillers antidearia

[00:17:34] medicines antivomiting and antacid medication. Antibacterial and septic solutions and rubbing

[00:17:40] alcohol are also important in case you get nic cuts or sores and you need to disinfect them.

[00:17:45] If you have babies of pets get extra stocks of diapers, baby food and pet food.

[00:17:51] Any medicines that you'll need for your baby as well make sure you stock up for a month and a half.

[00:17:55] For all meds in fact aim for at least a month's worth if not a month and a half.

[00:18:07] Some sources have went through about the coronavirus specifically, recommended keeping

[00:18:11] copies of your health documents, your bank details and other important papers as well.

[00:18:16] This is always a wise idea not just in a situation like this. Needless to say all of these precautions

[00:18:21] will cost a little extra but look at it as an investment in your health and future.

[00:18:27] The other important thing in an urban setting is to have enough electricity and charged

[00:18:31] electronics to last you the whole time. If you haven't done it that's the best.

[00:18:35] Settle in with some Netflix or Amazon Prime or a video game and pass your time social distancing.

[00:18:42] Stock up on books, video games whatever you enjoy doing cook yourself some holes and food instead

[00:18:48] of ordering in and try to pass the time comfortably. If you want to learn a new skill this is a

[00:18:53] great time to do that too. Get on YouTube and learn something new with the help of a video.

[00:19:08] What will we do long term if this virus continues to grow on spread?

[00:19:13] Long term preparation for this is difficult to say we really don't know. I mean this kind of

[00:19:19] an epidemic doesn't happen often. The preparedness long term we do not know it's going to take

[00:19:24] a toll if we do not control the surge now. It is absolutely essential that we control the surge

[00:19:31] of infections now because if it becomes a fast surge which lasts for a long time the incident

[00:19:38] increased incidents last for a long time they are in bad shape because our public health system

[00:19:43] is miserable. Our only hope would be to stop the rate of rise of infection because once

[00:19:51] the number of cases increase our health system will get over and as I said the public health

[00:19:57] system is very, very poor in most parts of the country. So really the most important thing is

[00:20:03] to control it now testing contact tracing isolation is absolutely a face sense social distancing.

[00:20:12] Yes, important but that's only only one means multiple methodologies have to be used to control

[00:20:19] this infection. It's not often we're all forced to stay inside. The situation will pass but only

[00:20:37] if we take all the steps needed to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. I'll try making the

[00:20:43] most of my time and if you keep all these in mind you too can be prepared for the next few weeks

[00:20:49] while you wait for the virus to run its course. On that note I'm going to take a leave today.

[00:20:54] I hope you and your loved ones remain safe and take the precautions needed.

[00:21:00] I'll see you on the next episode of Bush Mookie Secret Life. Thank you so much for joining me today.