As of this writing, there has not yet been any confirmed case of the Wuhan Coronavirus in the Philippines. However, there are at least 24 suspected cases (under observation) in various hospitals in the country. Update: The Wuhan Coronavirus is now in the Philippines.
Of course, no one wants to panic, but we want to stay safe. Here are some of the things we have been doing to help us prepare.
10 Tips to Protect Yourself from the Wuhan Coronavirus
1. Boosting our immune system.
Take multivitamins daily. Most importantly, drink fresh calamansi juice every day. Vitamin C from fresh fruit is best, and calamansi is the easiest way to get it. I would rather spend to buy half a kilo of calamansi every few days than spend that money on medicine when someone gets sick. If you want to add sweetness, preferably use real honey for added health benefits as well. Right now, we’re using Langnese honey.
I’m also making everyone drink all the health drinks we have at home like turmeric, wheatgrass, etc…
I’m also making sure to incorporate more green, leafy vegetables into our meals – monggo with lots of malunggay or dahon ng ampalaya, scrambled eggs with a lot of spinach, etc…
Try to add fresh herbs to your cooking as much as you can because they also give many health benefits. What I’m doing right now is buying a big bunch of green onions or parsley or cilantro or kinchay and then cleaning and chopping them up – AND THEN FREEZING THEM in small containers (don’t pack the herbs too much so they’ll be easier to retrieve). Whenever I need some, I just take out a container and kind of chisel off what I need. Eat fruits.
It’s also important to get enough Vitamin D! Spend a few minutes absorbing sunlight. Also, make sure to get enough sleep.
2. Making sure everyone washes their hands and keeping spray alcohol or hand sanitizer in several locations.
Keep a spray bottle of alcohol in the sala, in the kitchen, on the desk, by the phone, in every bedroom, in every bathroom, in every car, in everyone’s bag – you get the idea – and encourage everyone to use them. I will also be adding tissues near the alcohol.
3. Frequently disinfecting the following:
- cellphones
- landline phones
- toothbrush
- door knobs
- light switches
- remote controls (TV, aircon, etc…)
- keyboards & mice
- other frequently used handles and items (car doors, keys, bag zippers, refrigerator handles and doors, faucets)
I am using Clorox wipes to wipe and disinfect these frequently touched surfaces. You can also use alcohol – whatever works for you.
Soak toothbrushes in disinfecting mouthwash or hydrogen peroxide for 5 minutes.
Speaking of remote controls – I wrap them in plastic. This makes them easier to clean because gunk doesn’t build up on the buttons. You can also try using silicone covers instead of plastic to cover the remote controls (they are sold in Lazada / Shopee).
Full disclosure: I received the Clorox and Pine Sol products from a gift pack last Christmas and I’m so grateful to have them on hand now that we really need them!
4. For other surfaces, we disinfect with Pine Sol (diluted according to package directions).
We mop with it. We also have spray bottles with diluted Pine Sol that I use to spray and wipe surfaces with (desks, etc…). We do a little every day to get through everything.
For more sensitive areas (food prep areas, etc…) you may use vinegar to disinfect.
For other things, you can use HEAT / STEAM to kill germs. Time to put that clothes steamer that you never use to work! You can also iron germs to death 😀
During laundry, add a cup of vinegar to the last rinse cycle. The clothes won’t really smell like vinegar, but they will be disinfected. Just use the cheapest distilled white vinegar for this purpose.
5. Cleaning frequently. Don’t forget to clean your electric fan!
Sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, laundry (towels, curtains, bed sheets, blankets, tablecloths, etc…) whatever you need to do to clean your house. Don’t forget to clean dusty window screens!
Electric fan – if it’s dirty, it will only blow dirty air at you. Always make sure it’s clean. Tip: Buy easy to clean fans! Also, don’t forget about your aircons and aircon filters, too.
6. Keeping ourselves clean.
Take a bath daily. Never go to bed with all the day’s dirt on you, this also avoids making your bed dirty with Metro Manila’s pollution.
I’ve seen videos on YouTube who are proud of how long they can go without washing their hair, and I’m just like, I can’t do it. I have to shampoo my hair every day, as much as possible.
We won’t be using beauty soaps for the meantime, but will instead be using germicidal soap. I just bought a whole pack of Safeguard at S&R today (8 bars).
If you want to go the extra mile, use a loofah or bath mitts / exfoliating gloves to scrub your skin clean.
If you want to go the extra, extra mile, use a milk salt scrub every few days. Don’t forget that you’re supposed to wait for 5 minutes after applying salt scrub before rinsing it off. Salt kills most bacteria and viruses. Your skin will feel so smooth, too! Gargle with salt water.
7. Avoid going out if it’s not important.
- If we must go out, use hand sanitizer / alcohol frequently.
- Take a bath after arriving home, don’t reuse clothes, make sure dirty clothes go to the laundry basket. Do laundry frequently, don’t let dirty clothes sit for a long time.
- Clean / Sanitize shoes when you get home! Wipe them with a disinfecting solution (Pine Sol, Clorox, etc…). Let them air out, and try to let them disinfect under strong sunlight.
8. Sanitizing utensils and other kitchen items. Cooking foods thoroughly.
Every once in a while, you should sanitize your stainless utensils by boiling in water for 10 minutes. We will be doing this more frequently now.
Microwave wet kitchen sponges for 1 minute to kill germs. I also recently bought a silicone sponge I saw on Shopee, so far so good, except it is slippery and takes some getting used to. A glass got broken when it slipped during washing 🙁 The upside to a silicone sponge is that is it doesn’t harbor germs like regular sponges do.
Scrub calamansi (cut open side) and salt onto wooden chopping boards to sanitize them. let stand for 5 minutes. Rinse off.
You can clean fruits and vegetables by soaking / rinsing in water and some vinegar.
Also, make sure to cook food properly and thoroughly. Make sure all the germs are dead. Avoid eating raw or under-cooked animal products for now, and please be very careful when handling raw meats to avoid cross-contamination with other things in your kitchen.
9. Keeping face masks in our bags / cars. Bringing water with us every time we leave the house.
You never know when you’re going to need it. Whether it’s due to Taal ashfall or Wuhan Coronavirus, it’s better to be prepared. I pack 5 masks per ziploc bag and make sure that everyone keeps this in their bag for the foreseeable future. I also put a set in every car’s glove box. Write a note on each plastic bag to remind people that the blue side faces out.
I am thinking of adding goggles because the virus can infect thru the eyes, but we don’t have enough swimming goggles for everyone. Note to self: order some goggles.
Important: Please destroy used masks to prevent resale. Some people have been caught picking up used masks from the trash and reselling them.
As for bringing water, we have 32 oz – 40 oz high quality stainless steel water bottles which we make sure to bring with us every time we leave the house. One of the recommendations is to “always keep your throat moist” so I guess we’ll be doing that by drinking water. I notice that I tend to get sick whenever I leave the electric fan blowing into my head / face (too lazy to move the fan and fell asleep; my throat ends up getting dry), so that advice has some merit for me.
10. Stocking up on food, medicines, supplies.
We bought a few extra kilos of rice, a few more canned goods than usual, we still have enough oatmeal to last us for months. Lots of instant noodles. Salt & sugar. Cooking oil, etc… We will also be buying a few more extra Brita filters in case our regular mineral water supplier stops delivery.
As for supplies, these can be things like soap, shampoo, alcohol, detergent, diapers, medical supplies, medicine, vitamins, batteries, etc…
I hope we will not have to rely on these preps. If the situation doesn’t deteriorate, then it will be a relief, and we will still be able to use all these during normal life, anyway. But on the small chance that things turn bad and we will all be forced to stay indoors, at least we’re somewhat prepared.
I hope these tips will be able to help you feel better prepared for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Don’t panic, but at the same time, I feel more confident to face this situation knowing we are prepared.
