It's Time To Get Serious About Social Distancing. Here's How Coronavirus Tips Social Distancing

It's Time To Get Serious About Social Distancing. Here's How

A shopper roams the Wasabi Store within Penn Station within New York on top of Monday. Food businesses are being urged to serve only take-out orders to reduce the spread about the novel coronavirus. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

A shopper roams the Wasabi Store within Penn Station within New York on top of Monday. Food businesses are being urged to serve only take-out orders to reduce the spread about the novel coronavirus.

Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

By now, you've heard the advice that to sluggish the spread about the coronavirus within the U.S., we need to practice social distancing. But if you're confused as to what that looks like within practice, we've got some answers.

On Monday, the White House announced about the White House coronavirus task force.

"What had the biggest impact within the model is social distancing, small groups, not going within public within large groups," Birx said at a White House press conference Monday.

Also critically important, said Birx, is a 14-day quarantine about any household where one person is infected with the coronavirus. In models, "that stopped 100% about transmission outside about the household," she said.

The federal government is urging older humankind also those with serious underlying health conditions — like lung or heart conditions or a weakened immune system — to "stay home also away from more people" since data shows that these groups are nearly all vulnerable to developing a severe form about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

"Every single age group has a role to play," Birx said Tuesday at a White House press conference. "We're asking our older age group to stay within their homes. We're asking the younger generations to stop going out within public places, to bars also restaurants, also spreading asymptomatic virus onto countertops also knobs."

So what is also isn't OK within our new earth about social distancing? Can I have humankind over or go call on Grandma? Here's what the new CDC guidelines also more health experts have to say.

Can I go to a restaurant, cooking court or bar?

According to Monday's new guidelines, no — at least not for dining in. The CDC says humankind should employ drive-through, pickup or delivery options instead.

When you become home with your food, you could take it out about the containers, throw those out, also then clean your hands thoroughly ahead of eating, says a population health researcher at Thomas Jefferson University within Philadelphia. "We don't want to become too odd about this, however charming reasonable precautions should be sufficient," he says.

Luckily, the cooking itself "is probably not a major risk factor here," That's since nearly all infections from the new coronavirus appear to begin with the respiratory system, not the digestive tract.

On a grassroots level, humankind are also urging folks to support their favorite local restaurants also retailers by buying gift certificates that they can employ later.

What about visiting Grandma also Grandpa?

The federal government is asking visitors to stay away from nursing homes also retirement or long-term care facilities unless they're going to give critical assistance.

This one is tough, since social isolation is already a problem for many about the elderly. But as Birx noted Monday, "We have knowledge of there is a large group [of infected people] — we don't have knowledge of the exact percent yet — that actually is asymptomatic or has such mild cases, they continue to spread the virus."

That includes children. A , an assistant professor about pediatrics also infectious diseases at the University about Colorado School about Medicine.

Harris says he wipes down the handles on top of the shopping cart or basket when he shops. The stores he visits offer wipes, however hand sanitizer should also work.

Both Harris also Morrison advise being cautious not to touch your face with your hands during the time that you're at the store, also washing your hands ahead of also after going. And try to maintain a distance about at least 6 feet from others. "Social distancing .... doesn't mean no one ever sets foot out the start door," Morrison says. "It means being careful."

After you unpack the cooking at home, clean your hands again, Harris says. And if you're within a high-risk group like the aged or immunosuppressed, he advises asking someone else to shop for you or having groceries delivered instead.