COVID-Related Practices to Keep for Optimal Health
I've learned that sometimes in life, good things can come out of terrible situations. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, air travel became stricter—and safer. After Superstorm Sandy ravaged the Northeast's shorelines, many areas were forced to rebuild—but often to amazing, beautiful results. COVID-19 is no different.
I realize that life will be drastically altered for us all once this pandemic is over, but I also realize that we may actually be safer in the long run. This is particularly the case if we as a society continue to use some of the social distancing guidelines we've all learned over the past few months. Some are drastic, of course (I don't see us wearing masks in public forever, for instance), but others just simply make sense. Here are five that I believe are worth keeping around once COVID-19 is a thing of the past.
The six-foot rule
We've all been there. You're on line in a grocery store, waiting to pay, when the person behind you is RIGHT there behind you. As in, he or she can easily see you type your PIN into the card reader. With the new guidelines set in place, the space we should be giving each other can now actually happen.
Frequent hand washing
This is a no-brainer, but it brings into focus the concept that health care professionals have always tried to drive home: You can't get sick going out in the cold with a wet head, but you can—and likely will—get sick if you don't wash your hands frequently. Doing so literally kills germs and keeps you healthier.
Frequent cleaning of … everything
I'm no germaphobe, but since the pandemic began I've been more conscious of the things we frequently touch in stores—and I've realized that before COVID-19 these surfaces weren't necessarily cleaned all that often. From shopping carts and card readers to door knobs and countertops, more surfaces than ever are being cleaned regularly. If anything, it offers assurance that what we're touching hasn't been touched by 100 hands before us.
Moving more services online
Whether it's having wine delivered, picking up dinner curbside, squeezing in a therapy session, or live-streaming a yoga class, more activities have moved online—and it's been pretty miraculous to see how easy the transition has been. From a consumer perspective, it's also often more convenient and less time consuming.
Working remotely
If employers have learned anything during this pandemic, it's that much of the work their employees do can be done from home. This of course isn't the case for every industry, but I'm sure it has opened many eyes to the fact that people can truly work from anywhere in many instances. I read recently that with most people shuttering in place, the world's pollution levels have dropped drastically in just two months. Imagine the positive impact on our planet if we could keep this going!