Ideally, you are on quarantine and taking this time to reconnect with yourself and family. However, we know that not everyone can’t afford to take this time to slow down. Now all of a sudden you see yourself with an entire house to take care, kids to feed and homeschooling, additionally, you have online meetings from work that could be emails and daily workload to deliver. I know, it’s a lot to deal with.
This pandemic virus has changed our way of life forcing people to practice social distancing to slow the spread of the disease. We can’t run from this, but we can learn how to survive during this time. With everyone at home, electrical problems might occur around the house that needs to be fixed by a professional, so how can you protect yourself from COVID-19 contamination while in contact with a professional electrician?
The disease proliferates through person-to-person contact, when an infected person coughs or sneeze near you without covering, or by contact with contaminated hands, surfaces or objects. The COVID-19 also known as Coronavirus is a respiratory disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 virus. The current mutation is a new strain of the SARS virus and no individual has any immunity prior to exposure.
To protect yourself and others from coronavirus contamination, It’s important that people and businesses take reasonably practicable measures to minimise the risk of contracting the virus.
Energy Culture is a small electrician trade that, as you know, can’t work remotely. Our work requires to be in people’s houses and buildings. We are taking all the measures recommended by the National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) to ensure the safety of our clients and workers.
Although older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions are the groups who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, everyone can get the disease and easily spread it. Hence, it’s crucial that every person takes the necessary steps to protect themselves and others around them.
This is why we’ve put together all the essential coronavirus recommendations shared by Australian trusted sources such as the Australian Department of Health and NECA to help you protect yourself from contamination while working with an electrician at the house.
Here are The Five Recommendations to Protect Yourself from COVID-19 Contamination When Getting an Electrical Job Done At Your House.
1. Keep Your Distance
Social distancing is one of the most recommended ways to slow the spread of the virus. The more space between you and others, the harder it is for the virus to spread. The Australia Department of Health recommends that people should stay at home and only go out if it is absolutely essential, in this case when in public you should keep 1.5 metres away from others.
If you need electrical assistance, do not stay in the same room as the electrician and avoid physical greetings such as handshaking and hugging. Waving and smiling is still acceptable and welcomed!
2. Wash your Hands, Practice Good Hygiene
There’s currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease (COVID-19). According to the World Health Organisation, the only way to protect yourself and prevent spreading the virus to others is if you:
Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub. Use hand sanitiser with at least 60% alcohol.
Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze
Avoid close contact (1.5 meters or 6 feet) with people who are unwell
Do not touch your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands are not clean.
The Electrician should be required to clean out their materials, use gloves, and face masks.
3. Stay At Home
In times like this, self-quarantine is the best thing you can do even if you are well. All Australians are required to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to go outside. The Australian Government Department of Health stated that Australians are permitted to leave home for the essentials, such as:
Shopping for food
Exercising — in a public space such as a park, limited to no more than 2 people
Going out for medical appointments or to the pharmacy
Providing care or support to another person in a place other than your home
Going to work if you cannot work from home.
Only seek electrical or any other kind of contractor work in case of an emergency. Energy Culture limited all in-doors work unless it’s an emergency. We are currently prioritising solar panels and battery systems installation, since the work is performed outside, and we have a solar online meeting program that helps with the quotation.
4. Help a Neighbour
Social distancing does not mean social isolation. In times like this, we need to practice social solidarity to ensure no vulnerable people get forgotten or additionally suffer during this time.
Check on your neighbours to see if there is anyone in the high-risk group that needs any assistance.
Buy local. Get your groceries at the local market. Big established markets will survive this crisis, however, small businesses owners might not. So, now is the time to help the shops and businesses in your neighbourhood.
Use video chats and make phone calls to people you would normally catch up with in person.
So, you may be asking how helping a neighbour is a protective measure? Well, it is not directly related to you or an electrical job you are getting done in your house, but helping a neighbour ensures that your community survives in this crisis. Maybe you have an elderly neighbour that needs assistance from an electrician or even needs to buy groceries. If you are healthy and can help them connect with a reliable local electrician, buy groceries for them and ensure that the electrician follows the preventive measures, you are contributing to keeping your neighbourhood a coronavirus-free zone.
5. Clean and Ventilate your House
Effective cleaning in the household is important for reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Since it’s so hard to tell who’s carrying the virus before symptoms show, essential workers’ families, partners, and roommates are at an increased risk of being exposed in shared spaces, where the virus can survive for hours.
The department of health recommends all households to clean all frequently touched surfaces at least weekly. If anyone in the household is sick, cleaning should be done more often, at least daily. This includes items such as kitchen benches, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets and bedside tables. Surfaces should be visibly clean. You should also:
Remove clutter from around the sink and disinfect counters regularly.
Open your window. Increasing the amount of fresh air coming into your home will help flush out indoor contaminants, including viral particles in the air. This is extremely important if you had a visitor recently or if your electrician worked inside the house.
Don’t forget to clean the items you use every day. This includes disinfecting your phone, carefully washing your clothes especially the ones you used outside, and cleaning your reusable grocery bags.
There you have it, The Five Recommendations to Protect Yourself from COVID-19 Contamination When Getting an Electrical Job Done At Your House. If you want to learn more about coronavirus prevention we recommend you to check the NSW Health Department COVID-19 FAQ’s Page and the coronavirus disease advice for the public published by the World Health Organization.
DISCLAIMER: Energy Culture is a solar and electrical trade based on the Northern Beaches. We are not a public health specialist, all the recommendations shared in this blog were taken from trusted government sources. Please check the sources below for further information on coronavirus prevention.