The COVID-19 pandemic requires us to remain vigilant in our daily lives until we can safely return to our routine activities. Each of us can take several simple steps to help slow the spread of coronavirus disease and protect ourselves, our families, and our communities.

The steps are:

1. Get vaccinated against COVID-19.
2. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
3. Cover your mouth and nose with a face mask when around others.
4. Avoid crowds and practice social distancing (keeping at least 6 feet apart from others).

Below are some ways you and your family can help slow the spread of coronavirus disease.

Help Stop COVID-19 by Getting Vaccinated

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized several COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use. Studies show that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing you from getting COVID-19. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine will also help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do contract COVID-19.

Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a critical tool to help us return to normal. Learn more about the benefits of vaccination and how to get vaccinated.

Wash Your Hands

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed (or exposing others) to this virus. First, practice basic hygiene. Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds – especially after using the restroom, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose. Learn how to wash your hands to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other illnesses.

If soap and water are not readily available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that consumers use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% ethanol alcohol (also known as ethyl alcohol).

The FDA continues to warn consumers about hand sanitizers containing methanol, also known as wood alcohol. Methanol is highly toxic and should never be used in hand sanitizers. If absorbed through the skin or ingested, methanol can cause serious health problems, such as seizures and blindness, or even death.

Before you buy hand sanitizer or use some that you already have at home, check this list to see if the hand sanitizer might contain methanol. Most hand sanitizers found to contain methanol do not list it as an ingredient on the label (since it is not an accepted ingredient in the product), so it is important to check the FDA's list to see if the company or product is included. Continue to check this list regularly as it is routinely updated.

The FDA has also expanded the list to include hand sanitizers containing other hazardous raw materials and products with active ingredient amounts less than required.

The FDA recommends that consumers do not use hand sanitizers manufactured by the companies listed. Learn how to find your hand sanitizer on the list and how to use hand sanitizer safely.

Wear a Face Mask and Avoid Crowds

Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Avoid close contact (at least 6 feet, or about two arm's lengths) with people who do not live in your household, even if they do not show signs of illness, in both indoor and outdoor spaces. Some people without symptoms can spread the coronavirus.

The CDC recommends wearing a face mask – not an N95 respirator – in public settings, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (for example, at grocery stores and pharmacies).

Effective February 2, 2021, face masks are required on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.

Wearing a face mask in public settings can help slow the spread of the virus. They can help prevent people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others by helping stop respiratory droplets from floating into the air and onto other people when you cough, sneeze, or talk.

Learn how to protect yourself and others from the coronavirus. And if you are fully vaccinated, take these precautions to protect yourself and others.

N95 respirators should be reserved for healthcare workers, first responders, and other frontline personnel whose jobs put them at a much higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

Source: https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/giup-ngan-chan-su-lay-lan-cua-coronavirus-va-bao-ve-gia-dinh-ban