The coronavirus has come to Kingston as anticipated, and now there are three people quarantined in their homes until they are well again.

This will be a common situation for those coming down with the virus over the weeks and months to come, as the vast majority of infected people are not expected to need hospital care.

But most people don’t live alone, so families and roommates will have to go into isolation with the infected person as well.

So how do you care for someone with COVID-19 while trying to avoid catching it yourself?

The first thing to do is to reach out to Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, which will be able to give you personalized advice and monitor your situation.

“We would give you additional instructions and explain things as best we can, given the volume of calls we had,” said Dr. Azim Kasmani, public health’s resident doctor.

“The health unit should be checking in with you daily to see how you are and make sure you are doing well and not seeing additional symptoms.”

If the symptoms do get worse, and it gets to the point where it is necessary to take the person to the hospital, call the emergency department before leaving, or let the paramedics know the person is infected before they arrive, so they have time to take precautions.

Wash your hands

The first rule of taking care of a sick person is a message that public health professionals have been pushing for weeks: wash your hands.

You should be washing your hands after every contact with the infected person.

Preferably, use soap and water rather than alcohol-based sanitizer. Regular old soap has been shown to be very effective in destroying the coronavirus because of a quirk of biochemistry.

The same principle that lets soap molecules attach themselves to dirt and oil particles also allows them to disrupt the membrane that surrounds the virus’s genetic material, killing it. So soap is definitely the way to go.

Keep your distance

Social distancing makes a difference here, too. You should try to keep the infected person at least two metres away from those in the house who are not sick. Giving them their own room or part of the house to stay in while they wait for their symptoms to subside is good, provided you have space.

“They should do their best to stay in their own room and use their own bathroom if possible,” he said.

Wear a mask and gloves (if you can)

When you interact with the sick person, you really want to avoid having any contact with their bodily fluids (blood, sweat, saliva, urine, feces).

The best way to do this is to wear disposable gloves and a facemask when you do need to get close to them.

Getting masks and gloves is likely difficult at the moment, as people have been buying them in droves and supplies are running dry.

But if you have them, use them and dispose of them after each use. To do so, go to a trash can lined with a plastic bag. Take off the gloves first and then wash your hands. Then take off the mask and throw it away, and wash your hands again.

Limit the number of visitors

If you are in isolation because someone in your home is ill, you really shouldn’t be having visitors. But if there is someone you must see, keep the visits short.

“It really should be kept to those who need to be there,” Kasmani said. “Anyone who is elderly or has other health conditions such as diabetes, lung problems or an immune deficiency need to stay away from the infected as well.”

Avoid sharing household items

Aside from giving the infected person their own room and bathroom, you should try to avoid sharing any household items with them, too.

Sleep separately and do not share dishes, drinking glasses, eating utensils, towels, etc.

Anything they do use needs to be washed with either soap or detergent. You don’t need any kind of special soap, and washing machines and dishwashers will work fine.

Wash laundry thoroughly

There are some special instructions when doing laundry, however.

There is no need to separate the infected person’s laundry from everyone else’s, but you should use gloves when handling it.

Make sure you wash your hands right away once you are done.

Clean, clean, clean

You should be regularly cleaning any surfaces being touched by the infected person and everyone else such as toilets, sink tap handles, doorknobs and bedside tables.

You can clean these using regular household cleaning products. Also, if you add one part bleach to nine parts water, you will create an effective sanitizing solution.

Be careful when touching and putting out waste

All of your waste, including used gloves, cleaning supplies or anything else touched by the infected person can go into the regular trash.

When emptying the trash can, make sure not to touch any used tissues or the like. Simply take out the full bag and then wash your hands.

The City of Kingston has issued special instruction for putting this waste outside for collection so that collectors do not get sick:

Any item that has been in contact with a sick person’s mouth, nose, eyes must go into the garbage and not the blue or grey box, regardless of what it is.

Do not put used tissues or napkins in the green bin, as they can become windblown when the vessel is opened.

Use liners for food waste placed in the green bin.

Bag all waste. Do not place waste loosely in garbage containers.

ahale@postmedia.com

twitter.com/alan_s_hale