For key workers and those who are unable to work from home, staying safe during your commute to work is a top priority. With troubling images of packed public transport, the threat of contracting COVID-19 or Coronavirus is very real for those needing to get to and from work every day.
While older people with underlying health problems are deemed more at risk, people of all ages can catch the virus as the thousands of UK cases reported in recent weeks prove. Taking precautions to safeguard your health, particularly when in public or in close proximity to others, is therefore essential.
Here we share our advice on how to reduce the chances of catching COVID-19 if you cannot work from home and have to brave that daily commute to work.
Avoid touching your face
While stocking up on and using face masks has been the go-to for most commuters, studies have shown that face masks don’t provide as much protection as you think.
COVID-19 enters the body through the inhalation of tiny droplets into the nose and mouth, but the virus can actually sit on your hands and be transferred through touch. As such, you should avoid touching your face.
Limit contact with your phone too
The same rules apply when it comes to your smartphone. Although it can provide hours of entertainment on the commute to and from work, the screen of your device can harbour a whole host of bacteria. Business Insider offers some essential advice on getting a handle on your smartphone addiction during the pandemic:
“While this may be a hard habit to curtail, Adalja advises changing certain behaviours and patterns to remind yourself to not touch your phone. For example, put your phone in a place that it’s not normally in, such as a different part of your bag or a different pocket. That way, when you reach for your phone and it’s not in its usual place, you are reminded of why you put it elsewhere.”
You should clean your phone regularly with antibacterial wipes or a few pumps of hand sanitiser and a clean tissue to be on the safe side.
Using Bluetooth earphones to answer calls is another option for limiting contact with your touchscreen.
Just keep your hands to yourself
Contact with anything – whether it’s holding handrails for support or shaking hands with a work colleague on your commute – should be avoided. COVID-19 is extremely infectious, which makes keeping your distance from everyone important.
Social distancing may be more difficult on crowded public transport, but try to sit in a quiet area and avoid contact with surfaces where possible. Wearing gloves is another option for those needing to hold on to handrails during their journey to work.
If you do touch a handrail or surface without gloves during your commute, don’t panic. Practising good hand hygiene provides an excellent solution, which brings us onto our next point.
Be mindful about hand hygiene
If you were lucky enough to get hold of some hand sanitiser, make sure you use it generously on your commute to work.
Use hand sanitiser before and after using public transport, disinfecting your hands and wrists as soon as you leave and just before you board the bus, train or tram.
In addition to this, washing your hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds with antibacterial soap and warm water at home, and when you arrive at work, is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself against COVID-19.
Shorten your commute to work
Shortening or even eliminating your commute to work, and walking to work instead, is possible if you work in Cambridge. Our key worker and emergency accommodation is now available. All Citystay serviced apartments provide great bases for essential workers who usually have to commute.
As well as offering a home away from home for those working in Cambridge, key workers needing to relocate to the area due to COVID-19 demands can also find refuge here.
Our serviced apartments deliver all the perks of a hotel and so much more, thanks to their spacious living and sleeping areas, kitchen, and dining facilities, excellent flexibility, enhanced safety and security, and affordability.
To find out more about Citystay’s key worker accommodation, contact us today. Alternatively, you can book your key worker accommodation now.