Protect Yourself and Others From Covid-19 This Fall

Get your household ready for the cold weather spike in Covid-19 cases

As the cold weather approaches, most of our activities will move indoors and, coupled with the rise in Covid-19 cases in New Jersey and across the country, it is vitally important that you protect yourself and others by following recommended safety guidelines and State orders. Flu shots (still one more adult clinic on November 10th) are now more important than ever as cold and flu season is now in progress, adding further impetus to following safety recommendations. 

The practices that are still our best defense against contracting Covid-19 include:

• Wear a mask over your nose and mouth in public spaces, and anywhere that you cannot keep 6 feet of distance from another person. Face coverings are required in indoor public spaces and in outdoor public spaces when social distancing is difficult to maintain.
• Social Distancing - Keeping six feet between yourself and others whenever possible and avoiding crowded areas.
• Scrupulous hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.  Or, if soap and water are not readily available, using a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.  Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
• Stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care
• Be sure to cover your mouth and nose whenever you cough or sneeze.

Testing

Testing is an important component of mitigation efforts, so get tested regularly. As you are by now aware, you could have COVID-19 and not even know it. Protect yourself and save the lives of your loved ones by getting tested – especially if you have symptoms, have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, are an essential worker, were recently in a large crowd where social distancing was hard to maintain, or recently travelled to an area or a state with high COVID-19 infection rates.

• For testing locations near you see covid19.nj.gov/testing
• States on the Travel Advisory list

Safety Tips for Holiday Gatherings from the NJ DOH

Precautions taken now will help us as we prepare for the upcoming holiday season as families and friends gather.  During this difficult time, we understand everyone wants to be with family and friends. But being cautious when you interact with others is particularly important as New Jersey is seeing increasing signs of community spread. To ensure we don't inadvertently spread COVID-19 and needlessly put our loved ones at risk, the NJ Department of Health has offered safety tips for in-person gatherings:

• Indoor gatherings pose more risk than outdoor gatherings. Host outdoor activities rather than indoor activities as much as possible.
• Ask guests to wear face coverings when they cannot social distance.
• Make hand sanitizer available for guests.
• Gatherings that last longer pose more risk than shorter gatherings.
• Gatherings with more people pose more risk than gatherings with fewer people. Limit numbers of attendees as much as possible.
• Host activities with only people from your local area as much as possible as higher levels of COVID-19 cases and community spread in the gathering location, as well as where attendees are coming from, increase the risk of infection and spread.
• Remind invited guests to stay home if they have been exposed to the virus in the last 14 days, are showing COVID-19 symptoms, or recently travelled to an area or a state with high COVID-19 infection rates.
• Limit the number of people handling or serving food—for example, consider identifying one person to serve all food so that multiple people are not handling the serving utensils.
• Remind guests to wash their hands before serving or eating food.
• Use single-use hand towels or paper towels for drying hands so guests do not share a towel.
• Clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and any shared items between use when feasible.
• Consider keeping a list of guests who attended for potential future contract tracing needs. If you are called by a contact tracer, it's critical that you answer the call to protect us all. Your help is the key to stopping the spread of COVID-19 and saving lives.

Your efforts and patience have been terrific thus far, but the virus is still very contagious and has the potential to be very harmful. Your safety is our number one concern and you can help others by following guidelines.

Thank you and be safe.

Covid Precautions Flyer