A Caribbean National living in China said this…

I woke up today to see that a few Caribbean Islands have reported their first cases of Covid-19. As someone who has been living in China during the epidemic, I know the islands cannot implement all of the same precautionary measures as China to contain it. Not because of our government, but because of differences in residential structures, technology and finances. But here is what you can do as an individual, in addition to washing your hands:

1. When you get home, leave your shoes at a designated spot. Don’t walk around inside your house with shoes you wore to go out.

2. Change your clothes when you get home, especially if you took the bus, taxi or a ride from a friend.

3. Wipe down groceries/shopping bags with disinfectant wet wipes or lysol. Wash fruits and vegetables properly before eating them, especially things like lettuce which we eat raw.

4. Don’t use AC often since it circulates the air. Same for AC in cars and especially taxis! Here in China, we are encouraged to ventilate offices and homes everyday. Keep windows open, let the fresh air come in.

5. Strengthen your immunity, get Vitamin B and C supplements. Eat more fruits and veggies.

6. Please take extra precautions if you have to go to the airport to meet relatives/friends who are flying in to the country! Airport bathrooms – not a good idea!

7. Sanitize hands/wash them after handling money, like when you go to the market and exchange a lot of bills and when you get back change from taxi drivers or cashiers.

8. Clean your car! Wipe down the seats, spray a little lysol. Even if you don’t give anybody a ride, don’t you go to work and sit in the office? Don’t you go to the grocery store and lean up against the cashier lane? Plus, sometimes the groceries go in the backseat. Contamination can happen like this.

Finally, if you catch Covid-19, don’t think of it as the end of the world. Take your pharmacy meds and bush medicine, quarantine yourself