City of Rochester Provides Important Tips to Help Prevent the Spread of Germs

ROCHESTER — In an effort to prevent the spread of flu, colds and other respiratory illnesses, City Manager Blaine Cox and Health Inspector Bob Veno wish to provide Rochester residents with recommended actions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Centers for Disease Control recommend regular hand-washing to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Both children and adults should wash their hands before they:

• Touch or serve food
• Eat or drink
• Put in or take out contact lenses
• Treat a cut, scrape, burn or blister
• Take care of someone who is sick

People should also wash their hands after they:

• Go to the bathroom or help someone else use the bathroom
• Change a diaper
• Cough, sneeze or blow their nose or wipe a child’s nose
• Handle uncooked food, especially raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs
• Handle garbage
• Touch an animal, animal feed or animal waste
• Take care of someone who is sick or injured
• Use public transportation
• Touch pet food or treats

It is recommended that people wash their hands for 20 seconds to get them fully clean, using either regular or antibacterial soap. Scrub palms, between your fingers, the backs of your hands and under your fingernails. Dry your hands with a paper towel, use the same paper towel to turn off the water and, if using the restroom, open the door.

Other tips include:

Feel sick? Stay home: If you think you are sick, it is recommended to stay home from work and also keep sick or potentially sick children home from school. The CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or above) is gone. Your fever should be gone without the need to use a fever-reducing medicine.

Use hand sanitizer: If soap and water are not available, you can use an alcohol-based sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Alcohol-based sanitizers can quickly kill most of the germs on your hands, but they do not get rid of all types of germs. Hand sanitizers work best when hands are not visibly dirty or greasy. Hand sanitizer should be applied to one hand then distributed over all surfaces of your hands and fingers until your hands are dry.

Flu vaccination: The CDC recommends everyone 6-months-old and older get an annual flu vaccine, with few, rare exceptions. It is not too late to get the flu vaccine, and vaccines are still available to Rochester residents at local pharmacies and at their physicians office.

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