How To Live With Someone Infected With Coronavirus?

In this time of a pandemic when we all have to follow important safety measures to prevent the spread of the virus, knowing how to live with someone infected with the coronavirus is a priority. We explain here how to deal with this situation which concerns certain households.

In many homes, it has become urgent to know how to cohabit with a person infected with the coronavirus. The patients are not all interned and most of them go through the period of the presence of symptoms and that of convalescence at home, which gives rise to forced cohabitation.

This is not a mistake on the part of the health systems. Quarantine at home rather than in hospital is an appropriate measure for some patients who test positive for the coronavirus, even if these patients live with other people.

The mandatory quarantine implemented worldwide aims to promote social separation and thus slow the spread of the virus. Residential internments do not constitute a contradiction: even if they are not in the hospital, the patients concerned must avoid all contact with the people with whom they live.

In this context, fear is a normal feeling. Naturally, people who have to live with an infected loved one wonder if this cohabitation represents a risk for them.

What measures should be applied to reduce the risk? In this article, you will discover all the measures to be applied in the event of cohabitation with an infected person. The coronavirus pandemic has created a special global situation and, for this reason, measures that differ from the usual measures are needed.

Transmission of the coronavirus

So far, researchers agree that the virus is transmitted via the droplets of respiratory secretions that we expel through the mouth and nose. These droplets can enter the mucous membranes of an uninfected person and thus infect the person with coronavirus.

In addition, the virus can also survive for a while on certain surfaces. This point is important to consider in the event of cohabitation with a person carrying the virus: the virus can be found on the table, the chairs, the sofa, the cell phones, the television or the computer. The risk of transmission increases if the various surfaces around us are infected.

The coronavirus contamination rate is very high. It is not the deadliest virus in human history, but its transmission capacity is considerable. In addition, in this globalized era, travel has greatly contributed to the spread of the virus on a global scale. This is one of the reasons why the quarantine measures are becoming more and more stringent.

Cohabiting with a person infected with the coronavirus

Following the establishment of the diagnosis, if the person must isolate themselves at home and share their roof with other people, internal measures must be put in place. These measures go beyond legal quarantine ordered by countries and restrictions applied to the geographical area in which you are located.

First of all, the infected person must wear a mask. Not just any mask, a mask that has an FFP2 filter or higher so that its virus particles do not scatter.

One must also follow the two-meter social distancing protocol. It is a difficult measure to apply that must nevertheless be applied to the letter. The occupants of the accommodation must define traffic rules in order to avoid any contact between them within the accommodation.

In addition, occupants must not share dishes, sheets or towels. Anything that the infected person uses should be reserved exclusively for them. Likewise, the things that the occupants of the same dwelling normally share should no longer be shared. This concerns, for example, telephones, computers, books, etc.

Of course, regular hand washing is essential. All occupants of the dwelling should wash their hands frequently with soap. If your home has a continuous flow of water, it is not useful to use hydroalcoholic gel.

How to clean your interior when you live with someone infected with coronavirus?

WHO has provided some information about the disinfection of housing during quarantine in the event of cohabitation with a person infected with the coronavirus.

The person doing the disinfection should wear a mask and gloves. We again insist on the fact that you should not wear any mask but a mask with an FFP2 filter or higher.

Dirt residues should be placed in a bag with an airtight seal. This bag must be plastic and resistant. In this bag, you will also have to throw in the disposable masks and gloves.

For disinfection in itself, you must use a solution based on water and bleach : 1 dose of bleach for 49 doses of water. For clothes and dishes where the use of bleach is not possible, washing at 60ºC at least is strongly recommended. Of course, the belongings of the infected person should not end up with those of the other occupants.

When can these special measures end?

In the case of a diagnosed patient, only a health authority is able to declare the end of the state of infection. It will therefore be necessary to wait for the authorization of a health professional. Pending this authorization, the measures indicated must continue to be applied.