What to do if a loved one gets the virus
TO PROTECT everyone else in your household, it is important to step up your vigilance if a family member starts to show flu-like symptoms. of course, because the virus is so clever at hiding itself, you could already be infected. But you should certainly up your guard just in case.
When one of my sons, Dan, came down with Covid-19 we asked him to stay in his room and only to only come out while wearing a mask. We left his food on a tray outside his door and were careful to wash his dishes, separately, using rubber gloves.
We also cleaned meticulously all the surfaces he might have touched. We were lucky we didn’t have to share a bathroom and he kept himself amused for a week with his mobile phone and laptop.
Fortunately, Dan recovered fast and none of us came down with anything, though it did mean the rest of the family had to self-isolate for a couple of weeks.
ADOPT THIS COVID HOME PROTOCOL
ALTHOUGH the number of cases is dropping, the virus is still out there so be vigilant and if a member of your family shows symptoms, follow these guidelines to keep everyone else safe.
ISOLATION
THE person with symptoms should stay at home for seven days from the day their symptoms started.
Everyone else in the household should isolate, together, for 14 days (from the first day any symptoms were spotted among members), even if none of you show symptoms.
If anyone else there develops symptoms within that time, they need to stay at home for seven days from the day those symptoms started, even if this takes them over the 14-day period.
This is proper isolation, which means you should not leave the property even for exercise or shopping.
If you have Covid-19, a cough may persist for several weeks, even though the coronavirus infection has cleared.
You don’t need to continue to self-isolate for more than seven days if you have a persistent cough with no other Covid-19 symptoms.
DISTANCING
You should assume that everyone in your home is infected, even if no one shows symptoms. So minimise the risk of spreading any virus by keeping two metres (three steps) away from everyone at all times and sleep alone if this is possible.
Stay in separate rooms if you can, avoiding gathering in just one and take your meals to your own room to eat.
Do not share towels or clothes.
HAND WASHING
THE best way to protect others from catching the virus is to make sure all family members scrub their hands regularly with soap for 20 seconds and use separate towels to dry them. Wash towels regularly at 60c.
VENTILATION
KEEP communal spaces (kitchen, bathrooms, sitting rooms) well ventilated, leaving a window open to keep the air circulating.
CLEANING
IF You share a bathroom, wipe surfaces after every use with a detergent active against viruses and bacteria, and clean all crockery and cutlery in a dishwasher, if possible.
RUBBISH BIN
PUT any used tissues and disposable cleaning cloths in a rubbish bag and keep this tied securely and apart from other waste for 72 hours. After this period, place it in your household waste bin as usual.
LAUNDRY
Don’T shake clothes that need washing as this can disperse the virus. Wash at the highest settings indicated on the garment labels, and wash hands thoroughly after handling dirty laundry. Ask the infected person to change the bedding in their room and leave it in a sealed bag for 72 hours before washing it. leave clean laundry for their room outside the door to avoid close contact.
REPEAT
IF You or anyone in your household develops new coronavirus symptoms at any point after ending a period of isolation, then the same guidance on self-isolation should be followed again.
This means that if you’re unwell, you need to stay at home for seven days from when your symptoms start. All other members of the household should isolate inside the home for 14 days even if they don’t have symptoms themselves.
MEDICAL HELP
MOST people will recover from the virus after seven days. Those who become seriously ill often have a continuous cough and then, about a week into the infection, suddenly become breathless and really quite ill.
This is mainly because the body’s immune system has kicked in, and has overreacted. What they are experiencing is the collateral damage caused by the immune system taking on the virus.
If you or any member of your household starts getting severe shortness of breath, difficulty breathing or blue lips, this is a sign that their oxygen saturation levels are falling dangerously low and they need to be seen by a doctor urgently.
Giving Shops — my chain of charity shops selling high-end vintage pieces — into London department store Liberty a year ago and people travelled miles to shop there. People want to do what’s right, and they want it done with a bit of sex and glamour. What’s not to love?
WE’LL STOP BUYING FROM ‘BAD’ GUYS
LaSt December, I gave a tEDx talk about the concept of the ‘kindness economy’. I could never have predicted how vital kindness was about to become globally.
Lockdown has had us signing up to be NHS volunteers and shopping for neighbours.
Many brands, too, will have surprised themselves with how kind and how nimble they can be when they need to be. this crisis is proving, live, that there’s more than one way for a brand to grow — yes, in revenue but also in meaning, reputation and goodwill.
Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, wrote in april that ‘fundamentally the traditional drivers of value have been shaken, new ones will gain prominence, and there’s a possibility that the gulf between what markets value and what people value will close’. that’s what I’ve been getting at for years; businesses need to start showing they care about the things their customers care about, like wellbeing and sustainability.
It’s clear something has shifted. Many shops have offered discounts for key workers. But other big businesses haven’t got their heads round that yet, and they will lose out.
‘GLASS-BOX BRANDS’ WILL THRIVE
THERE was a time when a business was a black box. It was impossible to see what was going on inside. a business controlled its image and created the messages its leaders wanted its customers to see. But now the walls of every organisation are turning to glass. anyone can see in — their processes, their production methods, their ethics. Businesses are exposed to public scrutiny like never before.
take amazon. It may have seen its global sales surge to $11,000 (£8,740) a second as we shopped from our homes — but sentiment towards the e-commerce giant has turned sour.
the company has been slammed for reportedly trying to shut down a virtual event for workers to speak out about its coronavirus response. amazon could have emerged from the crisis as a hero — ‘the new red Cross’, as a former amazon manager grandly termed it in March — but its delivery efforts have been eclipsed by headlines denouncing its treatment of warehouse workers.
Instead, the best glass-box brands are crystal-clear with us about the decisions they are making and why.
Smaller brands are often better at this because they really believe in their products — and we really appreciate their personalised emails. Despite all the gloomy forecasts, for some smaller clothing brands trade has never been brisker, and I think that will continue precisely because they are better at being ‘glass boxes’.
Now, more than ever, big brands need to be agile. they need to embrace new business models to stay relevant. Some of those who cannot will fall.
BUILD A COMMUNITY BEYOND BUILDINGS
DURING lockdown, I’ve been trying to buy as much locally as possible. When my local bookshop owner brought me my online order, he told me his online sales so far this year equal 25 per cent of last year’s total business.
My advice was, ‘always think: what can I do that amazon can’t?’ and he said, ‘I can do this — personal delivery.’
He had wrapped the books in paper decorated with wildflowers, the most wonderful touch.
For me that sums up how small, local businesses are able to shift practices more quickly than larger brands. For shoppers, it’s very exciting. We have a window of opportunity to reclaim shopping locally, something that seemed to be dying out before this crisis.
according to researchers Global Data, almost one in three people in the uK say they will visit local shops more frequently now.
But we don’t support independents out of altruism alone. We’re after a better experience, a stronger connection. When I did my High-Street report for the Government in 2011, experts chided me for using words like ‘human’ and ‘connection’. I was told, ‘that’s soft power.’ But soft power is coming in, fast.
Of course profit is vital — but now, more than ever, retailers need to lean into their role as a ‘relationshop’. this means serving an existing community — and creating a new sense of community that exists beyond bricks and mortar. If they can do this, both shops and shoppers will profit.
Mary Portas is the founder of Portas agency, a creative consultancy that explores the future of shopping and living.