What we can and cannot do during the COVID-19 crisis?

Man on a bike in the spring

Being active in the world of the coronavirus.

Most of us have been waiting for the warmer days of spring to get outside, breathe the fresh air, and feel the warm sunshine on our skin – and with more people working from home these days – it may be more necessary than ever.

But as Wisconsin’s COVID-19 situation continues to emerge – people may be confused about what they can and can’t do.

Right now, most of us have been told to practice social distancing, work remotely if possible, and minimize contact with other people. But what does that involve?

For most of us, this means working from home. If you’re healthy and you’ve not been exposed to the virus, you can walk, run, or bike outside in your neighborhood, staying at least six feet apart from the next person.

If you must go to a grocery store or a business, be conscious of the people around you, and realize not everyone is diligent about maintaining the proper distance. It may be up to you.

Other people in the country have been asked to shelter in place.

Each city and county will determine what that looks like. For most, it will mean staying at home as much as possible. San Francisco’s City and County Department of Public Health has included the following exceptions for people sheltering in place.

Engaging in or performing tasks essential to health and safety, or to the health and safety of family/household members. This includes pets. Examples include picking up medicine, visiting a doctor or getting supplies to work from home.
Obtaining necessary supplies or to deliver supplies to others. Things like groceries count here.
Going for a run, hike or other outdoor activity, as long as proper social distancing is observed.
To care for a family member or pet in another household
To perform work at an essential business … or perform minimum basic operations

If Wisconsin issues shelter in place orders, they may be different. If that happens, we’ll update this post.

There two more definitions from the CDC to keep in mind as we journey through this new reality, together.

Isolation – The separation of sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.
Quarantine – The separation and restricted movement of people from place to place who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

Since our hospitals are not equipped for the mass outbreak of this virus, all but those who are most are asked to isolate or quarantine at home. That means:

If you’re feeling ill, you’ve visited a hot spot in the last 30 days, or have been exposed to COVID-19, please do your part to stop its spread through self-quarantine.

Staying at your home (inside your house or in your yard) for at least 14 days to keep your friends, family, and other people in your community safe from the virus.

If you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19 you should isolate yourself.

Please do not go outside. If you live with other people, minimize your contact by limiting your activities to just a few rooms when others are not present and practice good handwashing and disinfection practices.

Social distancing, sheltering in place, quarantines, and isolation are not easy. But, we’re all in this together!

If we all do our part, we can slow the spread of COVID-19 and help save lives.

You can still care and practice social (physical) distancing.

Reach out to people in different ways through video chats and phone calls. Keeping our physical distance doesn’t mean we can’t care. Hearing the voices and seeing the faces of others can help negate the feelings of loneliness.

We can do what’s best for our friends, our neighbors, and our communities while we maintain physical distance and practice good hygiene.

Take care of others. Remind those who are most at risk and often the loneliest, that you care but you can't visit because you don't want to endanger their health.

By following the guidelines of our health care professionals, we can all do our part to slow the spread
of this coronavirus called COVID-19.

All the best and stay well!

You can help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Your health, the health of our staff, and the health of our community depend on it.

If you know you’ve been exposed to the highly contagious coronavirus, self-quarantine and let us and others know.

If you have a fever higher than 100.4 and a dry cough call your primary care doctor and ask what you should do.

If it’s hard to breathe, call 9-1-1.

Even with mild symptoms, you can still spread the disease which will be fatal for some.

Bone & Joint is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) guidelines for patient care to keep you, our employees, and our community as healthy as possible.

We’re screening patients for symptoms during pre-appointment calls and check-ins. We also are:

Asking employees and patients who feel sick to stay home,
Asking people who have been in close contact (6 feet or less) of someone who has tested positive to self-quarantine,
Aggressively cleaning and disinfecting all common-use surfaces in our clinics,
Washing our hands before and after patient visits, and
Coughing or sneezing into tissues or into our elbows to contain the spread of germs.

These are things we should all do to stop the spread of this disease.

Want to know more about the coronavirus and what you can do?

Read through this information from the CDC.