COVID-19

4 Factors to help make safer choices

1. Location: Open air spaces are safer than enclosed spaces
2. Proximity: Farther away from others is safer that close together
3. Time: Shorter time periods with others are safer
4. Get vaccinated

How to prepare in case someone gets sick in your household

• Get your contacts ready
  • Health centre hotline
  • support network
    • for groceries
    • transport
    • childcare
• Prepare the following:
  • stock up on regular medicines, masks, disinfectants
  • prepare an isolates space/separate room to keep distance from others

What to do if you have been diagnosed with COVID-19

• Stay in a separate room and away from others
• open windows frequently

What to do if someone is sick in the household

• Isolate the sick person
• Reduce contact with the virus
  • wear a mask
  • separate utensils used by the sick person from the utensils used by the healthy household members
  • disinfect frequently touched surfaces
• Take care of the sick person
  • monitor their symptoms
  • pay special attention if the person is at high risk for serious illness
  • Ensure that the sick person rests and stays hydrates
• Call a healthcare provider immediately if you see any of these danger signs:
  • difficulty breathing
  • loss of speech or mobility
  • confusion
  • chest pain

Shopping for Groceries

• Always take sanitiser and a mask
• Go outside of Peak hours to deduce risk
• When inside the store
  • make a list to keep shopping time short
  • Keep at least 1 meter distance from others

When Visiting Family

• Check in advance and ask
  • about time and visiting conditions
  • wear a mask
  • use sanitiser
  • Maintain Social Distance

How to prevent a fourth wave:

Get vaccinated

• Register on the official South African COVID-19 VaccinationProgramme registration portal on: https://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za/#/
• You will receive a communication (via sms/email) with a date for your vaccination.
• Visit your nearest vaccination site to get vaccinated.

WHAT SHOULD I DO AND EXPECT AFTER GETTING VACCINATED

Stay at the place where you get vaccinated for at least 15 minutes afterwards, just in case you have an unusual reaction, so health workers can help you. 

Check when you should come in for a second dose – if needed. Most of the vaccines available are two-dose vaccines. Check with your care provider whether you need to get a second dose and when you should get it. Second doses help boost the immune response and strengthen immunity.

In most cases, minor side effects are normal. Common side effects after vaccination, which indicate that a person's body is building protection to COVID-19 infection include:

• Arm soreness
• Mild fever
• Tiredness
• Headaches
• Muscle or joint aches

Taking painkillers such as paracetamol before receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to prevent side effects is not recommended. This is because it is not known how painkillers may affect how well the vaccine works. However, you may take paracetamol or other painkillers if you do develop side effects such as pain, fever, headache or muscle aches after vaccination.  

Even after you’re vaccinated, keep taking precautions

While a COVID-19 vaccine will prevent serious illness and death, we still don’t know the extent to which it keeps you from being infected and passing the virus on to others. The more we allow the virus to spread, the more opportunity the virus has to change.

Continue to take actions to slow and eventually stop the spread of the virus:

• Keep at least 1 metre from others
• Wear a mask, especially in crowded, closed and poorly ventilated settings.
• Clean your hands frequently
• Cover any cough or sneeze in your bent elbow
• When indoors with others, ensure good ventilation, such as by opening a window

I am attending a small gathering or an event such as a wedding, a party or sports tournament. What precautions should I take to protect myself and others from getting infected with COVID-19?

1. Always check local regulations before attending an event.
2. Stay at home if you are feeling unwell.
3. Always comply with the following 3 basic preventive measures:

• Maintain at least 1-metre distance from others, and wear a mask if you cannot guarantee this distance.
• Cover a sneeze or cough with a tissue or bent elbow, and immediately dispose of tissue in a closed-lid bin. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or with a hand sanitiser.

I am organising a small gathering or an event such as a wedding, a party or sports tournament. What precautions should I take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among guests?

1. Always check local guidelines before planning your event.
2. Brief guests about precautions before the event starts; during the event, remind guests of these precautions and ensure they are followed.
3. Choose outdoor venues over indoor spaces – if indoors, ensure the area is well-ventilated.
4. Minimize crowding by staggering arrivals and departures, numbering entries, designating seats/places and marking the floor to ensure physical distancing between people of at least one meter.
5. Provide all necessary supplies – hand hygiene stations, hand sanitiser or soap and water, tissues, closed-lid bins, distance markers, masks.

COVID-19 Protocol:

Do’s:

• Talk about COVID-19 & those who have been affected.
• Speak accurately about the risk from COVID-19, based on scientific data and the latest official health advice.
• Talk positively & emphasise the effectiveness of prevention & treatment measures.
• Emphasise the effectiveness of hand washing, wearing a cloth mask & social distancing.

Don’ts

• Attach locations or ethnicity to the disease.
• Refer to people with the disease as “COVID-19 suspects” or suspected cases.
• Talk about people “transmitting COVID-19”, “infecting others” or “spreading the virus”.
• Repeat or share unverified information.
• Dwell on the negative.

COVID-19 Hotline:

Nelson Mandela Bay - 041 405 9111

Sarah Baartman - 0800 222 233

Visit WHO