If you’re sheltering in place, there’s very little likelihood that coronavirus is making it into your household. You can give a quick swipe to doorknobs after one of you has gone out for essential errands, wash your hands, and feel pretty confident.
Things get trickier if a household member is ill or needs to travel in and out of the house for work or services. Here are some recommendations for fighting the virus at home, and the CDC offers more detail about steps to take.
Isolate an ill family member.
Define a specific area for a family member who is sick so that the virus stays relatively contained and your work to clean and disinfect can stay focused.
Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily.
Wearing gloves and using a disinfectant spray, wipe down all common-area surfaces, like doorknobs, light switches, the fridge handle, countertops, and so on. Toss out the gloves as soon as your done, and wash your hands.
Launder clothing and linens regularly.
Keep clothes that may be contaminated away from others, and wash them as soon as possible. Avoid shaking out this laundry, as it’s possible to shake contaminants into the air.
Make sure everyone is washing their hands frequently.
It seems too simple to be true, but plain old soap and water is a virus-killer. Because so much infection occurs because hands ferry the virus right into the nose, eyes, or mouth, keeping the hands clean is your best bet for staying healthy.
Sources and External Links
Interim Recommendations for U.S. Households with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cleaning-disinfection.html