One person in the household has tested positive for Corona. How to behave properly And what do you do when the person has recovered? Experts clarify.
Weilheim-Schongau – More people than ever are currently being infected with the corona virus. The Robert Koch Institute is currently reporting more than 300,000 new infections within a single day. You can usually feel it clearly in your own environment: either you get it yourself, or family members, close friends, work colleagues and acquaintances.
But what do you do when Corona suddenly moves into your own four walls? How to behave properly And how do you act afterwards when the patient has recovered? Scrubbing the whole house sparkling clean, preferably with liters of disinfectant, or is there a more relaxed approach? Experts give different tips.
Corona virus: Federal Center for Health Education advises daily cleaning
The Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) advises on request Merkur.de to clean frequently touched surfaces daily with a common household cleaning agent. These include, for example, door handles, light switches, bathroom and toilet surfaces, smartphones and other telephones or remote controls. According to the BZgA, in the event of a corona infection, the virus is mainly transmitted via the air, but particles containing the virus could also stick to surfaces – especially in the immediate vicinity of a sick person.
However, the surfaces do not have to be cleaned with disinfectants. Disinfection should only be used to protect particularly vulnerable people. Means with the designations “virucidal”, “limited virucidal” or “limited virucidal PLUS” are then suitable for this.
A member of the household falls ill with Corona: what to do?
If a household member falls ill with Corona, all other people living in the household have an increased risk of infection due to close contact. “Minimizing contacts in your own four walls is not that easy,” says Dr. Stefan Günther, Head of the Health Department Weilheim-Schongau Mitte, in conversation with Merkur.de. “After all, the sick person has to be cared for.”
If possible, however, the infected person should be spatially separated. “Sleep in two different rooms,” advises the doctor. It is also best not to eat meals together. “Also wash your hands regularly.” This is especially true if objects have been touched that the sick person has also used, such as plates or cutlery. According to the doctor, additional disinfection is not necessary. When dealing with each other, a mouth and nose cover such as an FFP2 mask should be worn. “Regular airing can also reduce the risk of infection,” says Dr. Gunther.
Nevertheless, according to the doctor, even the best measures do not offer 100% protection against infection. Günther therefore advises everyone living in the household to document their own symptoms on a daily basis. “Household members who are not yet infected should pay particular attention to whether and what symptoms they develop,” says Günther. If you feel unwell, your family doctor should be contacted immediately and a PCR test should be carried out.
Corona virus: disinfect everything? Hygiene specialist gives the all-clear
Sebastian Kassel sees it very similarly. He is a state-approved hygiene specialist and works in the Weilheim and Schongau hospitals. According to Kassel, contact transmission, also popularly known as “smear infections”, is generally rare with Sars-CoV-2 viruses. “Here you are mainly infected through the air and not through contaminated objects.” That’s why you don’t have to “make a big fuss” about house cleaning during or after a corona infection, according to the expert Merkur.de
Water and soap, as well as conventional cleaning agents, would suffice for cleaning. “Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses,” explains Kassel. Cleaning agents attack the envelope of the virus and render it harmless. So you don’t necessarily need disinfectants for this – apart from in the household, there are also people who belong to a risk group. “People with severe previous illnesses are generally more susceptible to infections,” says Kassel. The use of disinfectants would therefore be advisable in this case. Other viruses and pathogens, such as norovirus or salmonella, should always be disinfected, because there is a risk of contact transmission.
Coronavirus: How do I wash my laundry properly?
And how’s the bathroom? Is there a higher risk of getting infected there? The hygiene specialist also gives the all-clear here. It would be quite sufficient to use the bathroom at different times and not at the same time as the sick person. “Just to avoid getting infected through the air,” he says. If you want to get infected via the sink, you would have to “really make an effort.” In concrete terms, this means reaching into infected body fluid, which then immediately comes into contact with your own mucous membranes. “We should really leave the church in the village here,” Kassel continued.
He also sees no need for special treatment when doing laundry – this applies both during and after an infection. “Wash your laundry as usual,” advises the hygiene specialist. Except, again, people who are severely ill are affected. Then you should also exercise special caution here. For example, the Federal Center for Health Education recommends washing towels and bed linen used by infected people at at least 60 degrees and drying them thoroughly. According to the BZgA, the laundry of a sick person should ideally be collected separately and not touched or shaken by healthy people. (jb)
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