Tips to help reduce the chances of getting an infection or spreading it to others:
- Get vaccinated and stay up to date on all of your vaccinations, including the annual influenza and the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Clean your hands often, especially if you are sick or caring for someone who is sick. Clean your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub (preferably 70-90% alcohol) for at least 15 seconds. Handwashing is particularly important before you eat and is considered a simple measure to prevent the spread of infection.
- Wear a well-fitted mask. Individuals should wear a well-fitted mask when feeling ill or providing care to someone who is ill, especially those at higher risk of severe infection. Masks should always be changed when they become damp, dirty, or torn.
- Practise physical distancing. If you have a respiratory illness avoid crowded spaces and maintain safe distances (2 metres) from others, especially while in public settings.
- Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze using a tissue. If a tissue is not available, cough or sneeze into the bend of your arm, not your hands. Throw used tissues into the garbage and clean your hands right away.
- Use disposable gloves when handling blood and bodily fluids, when cleaning cuts and scrapes, or when changing a baby’s diaper in a daycare setting. Gloves should be removed after use and should never be re-used. They should only be used once, then put into the garbage. Do not use hand sanitizer on gloves.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces in your home, daycare, classroom, or office at regular intervals (door handles, light switches, toys, diaper change areas, etc.) Toys young children put into their mouths should not be shared until they are cleaned.
- Stay home when feeling sick. This includes avoiding work, school, daycare, or extra-curricular activities.
- Keep toilets clean.
- Do not share personal items.This includes hairbrushes, toothbrushes, towels, facecloths, utensils, cups, hats, headphones, razors, masks etc.
- Wash school or daycare laundry using detergent and warm water.If you operate a daycare, the laundry can be sent home in a plastic bag to be washed.
- Limit contact with wild animals and control pests/insects.
- Follow relevant guidelines on whether you or your child should be excluded from work, school, or daycare.
For additional information on personal protective equipment (PPE), please visit Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 Prevention (Public Health Ontario).