The newly found novel coronavirus 2019 which genetically originated in bats has killed thousands of lives since its outbreak in China at the end of last year. According to the World Health Organization, it is officially characterized as an infectious respiratory illness that may lead to a series of clinical symptoms including but not limited to fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, diarrhea, and malaise. Now it has almost spread to all the countries on the globe and caused a severe and profound impact on the status of our lives, ranging from cancelations, postponement, and modification of scheduled gatherings to travel restrictions and warnings, to the shortage of medical resources and services, to unpredictable fluctuations in financial markets. Similar to other institutes and organizations, religious places including churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques have to take prompt, effective, and essential health approaches to minimize the transmission of the coronavirus and protect the church members, regular attendees, and the local community. To this end, we've listed the following tips and share the information below which is proven to be useful:
1). Sanitize Yourself Frequently
Thoroughly wash your hands with hot water and soap for at least 30 seconds. Alternatively, clean every part of your hands and utterly rub them together with liquid sanitizer which contains over 60% alcohol is equally valid. Remember under any circumstance, keep your hands uncontaminated and avoid directly touching your nose, mouth, and eyes no matter how uncomfortable and itchy you are.
2). Isolate Yourself Anywhere Anytime You can
Viruses have no enzymes needed for their own metabolism, that's why they have to rely on a host cell (e.g. bacteria, plants, or animals) to reproduce. Therefore, staying away from the crowd or any living creatures and cutting down unnecessary social contact is the most desirable way to cut off the transmission route of the epidemic. With the aforementioned concern in mind, any forms of worship together in person are highly suggested to be canceled. Empowered by Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, and other social networking platforms, virtual streaming worship, digital pastoral care, and collective lamentation, and grief online can fully take the place of offline gatherings, to a certain extent.
3). Equip Yourself with a Sufficient Amount of Face Masks and Wear One if a Social Visit is Inevitable
Though, many instructions and advice on the coronavirus disease suggest wearing a face mask only if you feel sick. There was even a statement claiming that wearing a mask won't help at all. However, the fact is correctly wearing a facemask can protect yourself from someone around you who is coughing, or sneezing and other extreme conditions such as inhaling the air which contains virus particle. The sole reason why the government or even the experts of the CDC told the public to not wear a facemask is now both the surgical and the N95 face masks are in considerable shortage. Most countries won't have the identical capability to provide enough masks and other medical supplies like respirators to their citizens like China. All the authorities need to prioritize the limited medicine and medical supplies to front-line doctors, nurses, and the patients who are on the borderline of death.
