Prevention Measures re: COVID-19

[Note: Your primary source for up-to-the-minute information should always be Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These are recommendations IMB is sharing with its personnel and staff, and we’re making this information available for our partners in case it may be helpful to you.]

As COVID-19 continues to spread, containment will become harder. Despite this, know that most people will experience COVID-19 as mild symptoms. There are ways to limit your risks and also help contain the spread of respiratory illness.

Top Tips:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer if
  soap is not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid people who may look sick. If possible, put 1 meter between you and them.
• Try to utilize distance as a barrier during this time. Instead of a handshake, wave or do
  an elbow bump. Have meetings via teleconference instead of face-to-face when
  possible.
• Keep a stockpile of non-perishable goods on hand.

If you are sick and you only have 1 or more of these symptoms — fever, cough, throat — discomfort, the IMB medical department recommends its personnel:

• Try to treat at home with fever reducer, rest and plenty of water for hydration.
• Put at least 1 meter of distance between you and your family.
• Cough into a tissue, throwing it away and washing your hands.
• Stay home — do not go to work, school or other gatherings.
• If your symptoms persist beyond 3 days, consult your field medical coordinator.

If you have any respiratory issues (difficulty breathing, shortness of breath), please go immediately to your hospital to get treatment.

Lockdowns and travel bans are unpredictable. Prepare now for the possibility of increased restrictions. Anticipate that until medical experts understand the COVID-19 transmission and infection rates, isolation likely will increase.