The coronavirus Pandemic has caused a situation of chaos and uncertainty in society. With scores of people affected worldwide, the number of cases in India as on 18th March reached 151. The patients who tested positive were mostly those who have a travel history. In this scenario, global health is jeopardised as anyone can get infected with coronavirus disease if the virus is transmitted to them.
Moreover, the affected individuals are kept in isolation to prevent the spread of the disease until they recover. Having known the effects of this lethal disease, you need to keep your child and yourself safe from the threat. However, the situation can get severe if someone from the family is infected.
What to do in such a scenario?
How to keep your child safe?
Here’s all you need to know to keep your children safe from the epidemic disease!
Possibilities If Family Member Is Infected With COVID-19
Firstly, you need to determine if the infected family member has come in close contact with the child or not. In both cases, you need to be cautious and make sure that you are aware of what to do and what not to do for your child’s safety as well as others.
Close contact with the infected family member
Coronavirus is a communicable pathogen and chances of getting infected are high if a family member tests positive for it. That’s because COVID-19 virus is easy to transmit and hence high chances that your kid might have caught it. The transmission of the disease is possible in the following cases
In case the infected family member was in close contact with the child, i.e., about 6 feet from them, there are chances that the kid is infected as well. The spread occurs through respiratory droplets produced by the infected family member while coughing or sneezing.
Hence, if any of your family members show coronavirus symptoms like cough, you need to ensure they wear a mask to prevent the spread of the virus.
Residing in the same house with the infected member
There is a possibility of coronavirus getting transmitted even if the child wasn’t in proximity to the infected family member. This is possible as the virus can be transmitted through objects and surfaces. In case your child has been in the same room where the infected individual was residing, contaminated surfaces can be a cause of transmission.
Hence, frequently used places and objects like doorknobs, handles, etc. should be regularly cleaned and disinfected.
No contact with the infected family member
In case the infected family member who is tested positive for coronavirus has not been in contact with your child or in the same place, then your kid is probably safe. But, it is still better to take preventive measures so that they do not contract the disease.
Therefore, make sure to keep your child at home until the pandemic situation subsides. Make sure you don’t allow any individual in your home, either showing symptoms or having a travel history. Since your child’s safety is your primary concern, you must consider these pointers.
Furthermore, having the latest coronavirus update will help you take the necessary steps in this regard. You will be able to keep your child safe while ensuring their overall development is looked after well with the tips mentioned as follows.
How to Protect Your Child?
Close contact with an infected family member
The infected family member should be kept in quarantine either at home or in a medical unit.
Subsequently, here’s what you need to do for protecting your child.
Firstly, you need to get your child’s medical check-up done so that you can be assured that they have not contracted the coronavirus infection.
Secondly, they may develop symptoms at a later point in time through contaminated surfaces, etc. Hence, the child should be kept in a different and safe place where the possibility of contamination is nominal. Further, you should observe that they don’t develop any coronavirus symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.
Further, you should teach the child healthy sanitisation habits so that they can take the essential prevention tips.
Residing in the same house with the infected member
If your child has been living in the same house as the infected family member, consider sterilising the place as a safety measure. Because of the presence of the person tested positive for coronavirus, the objects and materials may have been contaminated.
Therefore, you first need to ensure the place is safe for your kid. Clean the frequently touched places like doorknobs, door handles, window panes, etc. Disinfect the place as a coronavirus prevention step and secure your kid.
Further, make sure your kid adopts these healthy habits as a preventive measure.
Not sharing food with anyone and consuming only home-cooked meals.
Not shaking hands with any stranger or anyone infected or with symptoms.
Avoid gatherings and crowds like attending coaching classes, activity class, etc.
No contact with the infected family member
In case your child hasn’t come in contact with the infected family member, they are safe. However, prevention is better than cure, and you can’t risk or jeopardise your kid’s safety in any way. Therefore, you need to ensure that you as well as the kid take presumptive measures against the coronavirus disease. Here is a list of things that you must follow –
Clean hands using soap, hand wash, or sanitizer frequently and whenever needed.
Avoid touching nose, eyes, and mouth with dirty hands or unwashed hands. Teach this to your child.
Avoid close contact with individuals who are ill or those showing symptoms like coughing, sneezing, fever, etc. Avoid shaking hands or going close to them.
You should stay home if there is any sign of sickness.
Wear a mask in case you are having coughs or sneezes.
Disinfect or clean dirty surfaces.
In such a scenario of coronavirus outbreak, keeping your kid protected isn’t the only aspect you have to look after. Their overall development, academic progress, and skill development is also your responsibility.
The pandemic disease has not only affected the physical health of children but hampered their academic situation as well. With the Indian government shutting down schools to prevent the spread of disease, you need to ensure your kid doesn’t lag in their academics.
In this regard, Vedantu has come up with the initiative to provide free access to their live classes, master classes. You can get your kid registered for the online sessions as per their class, subject, and chapter-wise interest and ensure they learn the concepts even from home. However, you need to be careful about the steps you should take to help you kid utilise the time productively.
How to help your kid utilise this time productively?
With the busy school schedule and homework and assignments, students barely get time for self-study. But, at this coronavirus outbreak situation, you can help your child in several ways and engage them in activities that will protect their overall well-being.
You can help your child indulge in various productive activities and help them study from home itself. However, this can get difficult for your child without the right support and guidance. Especially for working parents, it can get challenging to help their child in their studies.
You can register with us and enrol your child for our free online classes conducted on a wide range of topics pertaining to their latest syllabus. Our experienced and skilled tutors explain the concepts in a manner which is easy to understand.
Your child can also access our vast library of study materials (CBSE & ICSE) for subjects of all classes, which will allow them to study by themselves. Now keep your child's preparation undeterred with our study material and NCERT Solutions Class 1 to 12 all subjects available on Vedantu site. Register with Vedantu using the website or download the app and get CBSE study material without incurring any cost.
