Stay home unless you have to see a doctor. Do not go to work, school or shopping. Wear a mask if you must leave the room and do not share towels.

These are recommendations written by Roni Caryn Rabin, medical editor of the New York Times, on March 8, instructing thousands of Americans who are quarantining themselves at home due to the risk of nCoV infection. Rabin said these are necessary self-isolation rules that local health officials and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend.

According to Rabin, self-isolation is different from self-isolation. Self-isolation is for most healthy people who are at risk of getting nCoV, while the second is for people who are already infected.

In many US states, citizens are required to isolate themselves indoors if they have just returned from China or Iran, or have symptoms of fever or dry cough and have been to another country or on a yacht, or become ill without clear source of infection.

Many people still choose to isolate themselves even when they are not sick, because they worry that they may have been exposed to the source of the disease and do not want to endanger others. California has a total of 5,500 quarantined people, while New York City has more than 2,700 people.

This may sound like a vacation, a great time to be immersed in programs on Netflix or sleep, but actually isolating yourself from family and friends is not easy. They face practical and logistical challenges, as well as the inconsistencies in official recommendations that make quarantine even more difficult.

Home isolation can cause discomfort for about two weeks, the incubation period of the virus. This is especially difficult if you have children or elderly relatives in need of care, or live in cramped rooms with lots of people, but Rabin thinks that home-isolated people need to follow good rules. basic.

Isolation. If you are potentially infected, it is very important to separate yourself from your spouse, roommate, children, and elderly relatives. To be on the safe side, you should not even take care of your dog, even if they don't know if they can infect humans with nCoV, according to the CDC. You should not receive guests and stand about 1-2 m away from others. Do not take the bus, subway or even taxi.

Wear the mask. If you're around someone else, at home, in a car, going to see a doctor after your appointment, you should wear a mask and so should all others. But first, you or your friends or relatives must buy a mask because it is out of stock everywhere. If you can't find it, try using a makeshift towel or clothes.

Hygiene. If you have a cough or runny nose, cover it with a tissue and throw it away in the trash, immediately wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds or use an antiseptic solution. However, washing hands with soap is still advisable.

Even if you don't cough or have a runny nose, you should wash your hands often and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth without washing your hands.

Antiseptic. You should not share plates, drinking glasses, glasses, chopsticks, towels or bedding with anyone or with your pet. Wash all items after use.

Table tops, doorknobs, toiletries, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and bedside tables are surfaces that are heavily exposed, and must be cleaned regularly. Regular cleaning of surfaces that can become contaminated with body fluids, such as blood and body waste.

Follow. Always monitor your health and call your doctor if symptoms develop or when the condition worsens. You must tell health care workers that you are at risk of contracting nCoV.

People living in the same home can go to work or school, but they also need to have enough supplies, medicine, take care of people who are in isolation and keep their places clean. They will have to clean doorknobs, countertops, do laundry and wash their hands.

Family members or co-workers should monitor the patient's symptoms and call medical services if they get worse.

When around sick people, members of the same household should wear masks, gloves if exposed to body fluids. After use, immediately discard and do not reuse.

Older people in the home and people with a history of chronic disease are at risk of serious complications, even death, if infected with nCoV. Pregnant women are also very vulnerable subjects, although there is no clear evidence. These are people who need to limit contact with isolated people.

In China, 70-80% of infections occur in families, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The local government is forced to set up thousands of isolated areas in gyms and stadiums to care for people living alone or at high risk of infection for their families.

Family members should monitor their health, call their doctor if they see symptoms of nCoV infection such as cough, fever or difficulty breathing.

These issues have not been resolved

No one pays you to quarantine yourself. There are no chargebacks for products you need to buy and no government staff to stop by to help. Isolating yourself is difficult, both mentally and financially, for both married or living alone.

Not everyone can work remotely. Two weeks off work can result in a significant loss of income for hourly wage earners, company timekeeping for payroll calculation, or self-employment.

A lot of Americans have a life of not having enough money just living on their wages.

"We must have social intervention to encourage and support isolation, or we will fail in this war," said Arthur Caplan, professor of bioethics at Langone Medical Center of New York University, said.

People who do not have health insurance, low-paying insurance or no family doctor will be reluctant to see a doctor when they have symptoms, because they are afraid of the cost. Immigrant undocumented immigrants also avoid medical treatment because they fear being detected and deported from the United States.

"I don't see the federal government being prepared for these problems," Professor Caplan said.

Lawrence Gostin, a professor of law at Georgetown University and director of the National and Global Health Law Center, which works with WHO, said it was extremely important to support those who are self-isolated.

"We should have a social agreement like this: If you get sick, whether infected with nCoV or not, you should isolate yourself from society. It's your responsibility in this deal, you do it. for family, neighbors and the community. In return, the country will meet your essential needs such as medicine, medical care, food and wages during isolation, "Professor Gostin for good.