How to avoid getting infected when someone you live with has Covid

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s public health team have issued the advice as the Omicron variant of coronavirus sweeps through East Lancashire.

In a statement to residents they say: “If someone in your household tests positive for Covid, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone else is going to get ill too.

“There are things you can do to minimise the risk to everyone you live with."

They include:

- if there are any vulnerable people living in your home, consider making arrangements for them to stay somewhere else for the next 10 days or so, such as another family member’s house;

- limit how much you all mix with the infected person – uses areas like the kitchen and bathroom at separate times, eat separately, don’t share a bedroom if possible;

- make sure the infected person uses separate towels, cutlery, cups and plates etcetera;

- keep rooms well ventilated – open windows and doors regularly to let in fresh air and help to disperse coronavirus particles that can build up in the air;

- increase how often you clean within the home, and wipe touch-points like light switches and door handles regularly with an anti-viral cleaning solution;

- the ‘Germ Defence’ website has some really simple explanations of how viruses are passed on, that will help you understand the small things you can do to help keep the rest of the household safe when someone tests positive’

- www.germdefence.org also has lots of advice on how to keep your home a virus-free zone to prevent people getting ill in the first place – and it’s available in over 20 different languages.