What You Need to Know-Week of September 21st

In this Update:

1. Pandemic Preparedness: How to stay safe in close living quarters – Checklist

2. Quick Question: How often should I wash my hands, really?

3. Information You Need: Vaccines are entering phase 3 of clinical trials

1. Pandemic Preparedness: How to stay safe in close living quarters – Checklist

If you live in close proximity to a number of other individuals (e.g., in an apartment, dormitory, sorority or fraternity house, group home, or other close living quarters), it can be especially difficult to know what precautions to take in order to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Follow the checklist below as a guideline for safety precautions to take!

How to keep yourself safe:

• SIGN UP SHEETS

  • If your community has sign up sheets for common areas, use them! 
  • If your community does not follow a schedule, check to see how busy the amenities are before using them. If the area is crowded, come back another time.

• AVOID USING SHARED SPACES IN YOUR FACILITY WHENEVER POSSIBLE

  • Always wear a mask in a shared space, regardless if there are other people around you.
  • If you have a shared kitchen or dining area, avoid sharing dishes, glasses, utensils, drinks, or food with other people. If you have your own personal area, opt to eat in there instead of a shared space.
  • Avoid using recreational areas such as pools and gyms.
  • If you share a bathroom with people outside of your immediate household, avoid leaving personal items and toiletries in the bathroom. If possible, put your personal items (e.g., toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, and other hygiene products, etc.) in a basket or bag to bring with you when you use the restroom.
  • If you share laundry services, bring your own detergent whenever possible. Avoid congregating in an area where others are doing their laundry (e.g., wait outside the facility or in your living area). If the area is too crowded, return at a later time. 

• REGULARLY WASH YOUR HANDS

  • You should wash your hands whenever you return home (even after going on a walk or visiting a shared area within your facility, such as a laundry room or kitchen).
  • For more information about when to wash your hands, visit this link.

• STOCK UP WITH DISINFECTING SUPPLIES, IF POSSIBLE

  • If you are able to, obtain disinfecting supplies (e.g., disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, etc.). 
  • Carry these supplies with you if you plan on using community amenities or leave your immediate living area.

• REGULARLY SANITIZE HIGH-TOUCH OBJECTS AND SURFACES

  • It is important to disinfect commonly touched items or surfaces such as doorknobs, sinks, appliances, tables, remotes, etc.
  • Regularly wipe down high touch surface areas

• LIMIT ELEVATOR CAPACITY 

  • If possible, opt to take the stairs instead. 
  • Try to avoid elevator rides with more than one other person.
  • Face the wall when you enter the elevator.
  • Wear a cloth face covering while inside the elevator – regardless of if there are other individuals riding with you.

• MAINTAIN PHYSICAL DISTANCING

  • Maintain a distance of 6 or more feet between you and other people as much as possible. 
  • For example, if another person is coming down a hallway or stairwell, wait for them to pass before entering the area. Also, don’t worry about holding doors for others – it is safer if you leave 6 feet between you and anyone else outside of your household.

• WEAR A CLOTH FACE COVERING WHENEVER YOU ARE OUTSIDE YOUR IMMEDIATE LIVING AREA

  • It is important to wear a cloth face covering outside of your living area, or when you are around individuals who do not live in your household.

• AVOID BRINGING GUESTS INTO YOUR CLOSE LIVING QUARTERS

  • It is important to not bring anyone who does not live in your household to your community. This increases potential risk of COVID-19 for everyone.

• REDUCE YOUR CLOSE CONTACTS

  • Staying home is one of the most important ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19. You should be sure to avoid indoor, in-person social gatherings, non-essential trips or excursions, and reduce the number of people that you have contact with outside of your home.

Ideas for management to keep residents safe:

• SIGN UP SHEETS

  • Create sign up sheets for shared common areas so that amenities do not become overcrowded (e.g., fitness facilities, pools, kitchens, bathrooms, or laundry areas)
  • Another possibility is to implement a schedule to follow in order to use the community amenities. 

• STOCK UP WITH DISINFECTING SUPPLIES, IF POSSIBLE

  • If you are able to, obtain disinfecting supplies (e.g., disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, etc.). 
  • If possible, leave supplies out in community amenity areas for individuals to use.
  • If possible, add additional hand washing stations.

• DESIGNATE STAIRWELL DIRECTIONS

  • If the living community has more than one stairwell, designate one stairwell for individuals to use for going up the stairs, and one for individuals going down the stairs. 

• LIMIT ELEVATOR CAPACITY

  • Limit elevator rides to one or at most, two people whenever possible. 
  • Require cloth face coverings while waiting for and riding in the elevator.
  • Elevators are high risk areas and should be sanitized regularly. 

• REQUIRE CLOTH FACE COVERINGS IN SHARED SPACES

  • Require residents to wear cloth face coverings while outside of their immediate living areas.

• LIMIT GUESTS 

  • Advise residents to not invite guests to their living complex. 

• ADD HELPFUL COVID-19 SPECIFIC SIGNAGE

  • If possible, post signs to remind residents to follow physical distancing guidelines (e.g., stickers on the floor, informational posters, etc.), wear cloth face coverings, and follow suggested community requirements (e.g., limiting elevator capacity, signing up to use amenities, and limiting access to other shared spaces, such as laundry or fitness areas). 

• REGULARLY SANITIZE HIGH-TOUCH OBJECTS AND SURFACES

  • It is important to disinfect commonly touched items or surfaces such as doorknobs, sinks, appliances, tables, remotes, etc.

If you believe that you have COVID-19 or were exposed to the virus:

• Stay home: stay away from others (including other individuals living in your household) as much as possible. Quarantine or isolate in a personal room or area if this is available and have individuals that live with you leave necessities (e.g., food, hygiene supplies) at your door instead of using shared spaces. For more information on what to do if a member of your home is sick, visit this link. 
• Notify a facility manager, landlord, or someone who is responsible for the facility of your exposure.
• Notify any close contacts you had two days before you felt sick to let them know of their possible exposure.
• If you have symptoms, or believe that you have COVID-19, get tested.
• Wear a cloth face covering and maintain physical distancing from others.

For more detailed information on what to do if you were exposed to COVID-19, visit this link.

2. Quick Question: How often should I wash my hands, really?

Proper hand hygiene is an easy and effective way to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but you may wonder: “When is it necessary for me to wash my hands?” 

It is important to wash your hands thoroughly with hand soap for 20 seconds (how long it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday” twice)…

BEFORE AND AFTER

• Preparing and eating food
• Caring for a sick individual
• Touching objects that others may touch (ex: shopping carts, high touch surfaces like doorknobs or hand railings)
• Taking off your cloth face covering
• Using transportation (a car, bus, plane, bike ride, etc.)

AFTER: At Home

• Blowing your nose, coughing, and sneezing
• Using the bathroom
• Taking off shoes or clothing that you wore in public (e.g., to the grocery store, work, etc.)
• Handling any item(s) delivered to you (e.g., a package, food delivery, gifts from members outside of the household)
• Contact with garbage
• Using any disinfecting supplies

AFTER: In Public

• Anytime you have been in public (yes, even after a walk in your neighborhood or a trip to the grocery store)
• Blowing your nose, coughing, and sneezing
• Using the bathroom
• Contact with pets or babies (and their supplies – e.g., pet treats or a diaper)
• Having contact with a high-touch surface in a public area (doorknobs, hand railings, etc.)

Any time that you feel it may be necessary to wash your hands, do it! It’s better to err on the side of caution. For more information on how to properly wash your hands, visit this link. 

3. Information You Need: Vaccines are entering phase 3 of clinical trials

Of the 37 vaccines that are currently undergoing human trials for the prevention of COVID-19, 9 of these vaccines have entered phase 3 of clinical trials, but what does this mean?

How many clinical trial phases are there?

• There are four phases of clinical trials. For more information about what these phases mean, visit our previous update. Vaccines that are entering or have entered phase 3 of human clinical trials are being given to usually thousands of people to test the effectiveness of the vaccine. 

What is happening in phase 3?

• In phase 3, there are at least two groups in the clinical trial: one group who received the vaccine and another group who receives a placebo (i.e., a treatment that mimics the appearance, but has no effects). The trials are organized this way in order to compare the two groups and measure a difference between the number of people infected with COVID-19 and to monitor any side effects. 

What does this mean for the vaccine approval timeline?

• It is still too early to tell when a vaccine will be available to the public, but it is estimated that a vaccine will be available mid-2021. However, in order to be effective, the FDA stated that a vaccine must protect at least 50% of people who receive it. 

The next update will cover information about “pandemic pods”. If you would like to learn more about this and other topics related to COVID-19 in Arizona, please complete next week’s AZCOVIDTXT survey that you will receive via text in about a week.