The ongoing outbreak of coronavirus has so far nearly toppled the stock market, canceled all sports events, and forced many of us to sit at home and wait for the storm to pass. It has put people’s health and livelihoods at risk and disrupted the plans of millions of Americans, including those who will relocate in the following days or weeks.
We’re all in a similar situation – at home, caring for the most vulnerable, making sure that everything is disinfected, and waiting for the pandemic to blow over. Coronavirus self-isolation might also bring something good, after all. We have some advice on how to handle this period and make the best out of it.
What Actually Happened?
The new virus, most commonly known as Coronavirus or COVID-19, has spread all over the world in the past few weeks and months and has infected more than 180 thousand people, with a number of deaths rising by the day.
The World Health Organization has declared a global pandemic, countries are in lockdown mode, and they have even banned travelers from certain parts of the world from coming in without a mandatory quarantine period. To stem the pandemic and reduce the number of infected to a minimum, a period of self-isolation or self-quarantine has been recommended to all citizens, regardless of their age and overall health.
Who Is at Risk and How to Avoid It?
The ones who are the most vulnerable to this disease are older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart diseases, diabetes, and lung diseases, as the virus attacks the respiratory system. The best way to avoid the infection and to protect the most vulnerable groups is to avoid direct contact with other people, wash your hands, and clean and disinfect the space where you spend a lot of time. If you feel any symptoms, stay home, report to authorities, and don’t get close to others.
Follow the instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Are You in Self-Isolation? We Have Some Fun Tips
We’d like to share some cool ideas that you could try to make your following days and weeks less gloomy and depressing. Working remotely or not working at all because of the pandemic has awarded us with more free time than ever, but with a notable caveat – we must spend it at home. Make sure it’s time well spent.
Use the Extra Free Time to Catch up With Your Family and Friends
Your job can take a lot of your day, and it’s easy to neglect your private and social life. If you live with your family, this would be an ideal opportunity to spend some more time with them and have good old family moments, even under a lockdown.
On the other hand, if you don’t live together, try not to visit them in person, especially if they are old or chronically ill. Video call or just phone them and catch up a bit. If you and your friends don’t feel sick, you don’t have any symptoms of the virus and haven’t traveled recently to one of the countries with many cases of COVID-19, you could meet up, but remember – no touching or kissing. Keep the distance of at least 6 ft between you.
Finish a Book or a TV Show That You Have Been Planning
Some good news – you finally have the time to finish that book that has been lying next to your bed for months. You can watch the TV show that everyone has been talking about or start a new one. This is the perfect opportunity to do all the unfinished things you didn’t have time for because of work. Not commuting and not spending time on getting ready is an extra two hours every day. Just watch your electricity levels and make sure you don’t get shut off.
Start Working out From Home
If your gym has closed down due to sanitary reasons, or if you feel it’s the right time to start working out, but you couldn’t find the time nor the energy, use this situation to your advantage.
YouTube is the best source of all online tutorials for home workouts; just find the one that works for you best. It won’t take you long before you get in shape; you’ll build up your immune system, and there is no time spent on going to and from the gym.
Exercising will make you happier as well because your body will produce happy hormones – endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, which are especially important in extraordinary situations such as this one.
There Are a Bunch of Virtual Tours You Can Take
World-class museums closed their doors to visitors but gave free access to all the people on the Internet. They are also fighting the virus this way, by encouraging everyone to stay at home. This is a fantastic opportunity to see so many galleries, operas, aquariums, zoos, and so much more. Here’s a list of our top picks of online tours available to everyone:
There is also a list of Google Arts and Culture collections for all art lovers.
If you love animals, San Diego Zoo has live cameras with baboons, penguins, tigers, elephants, apes, and many other species. Georgia Aquarium is also closed for the public, but you can watch their majestic underwater creatures like beluga whales in real-time.
Devote Some Time to Yourself
Long working hours and the stress of everyday life takes a toll on all of us, so this would be the perfect time to relax and have some me-time. Play the music you love, do some yoga, learn a new language, start eating healthier, or turn off your brain. Take a break from all the hurry and spend some time with yourself. In case you just moved into a smaller home, try to avoid getting relocation depression because now you have the time to decorate it and organize everything, or to plan your moving budget thoroughly if you’re planning on moving alone to another state. You can also donate unwanted items, go house-hunting online and check out some packing tips and tricks or moving day tips to prepare everything for your upcoming relocation and avoid common moving mistakes. Besides taking part in the global efforts to fight the Coronavirus outbreak, self-isolation might be beneficial for both your physical and mental health.
Use the self-isolation time wisely
Is It Safe to Move?
The shortest answer to this question – it can be. Some companies, including our own, are still providing moving services even under these circumstances, but with increased security and sanitary measures and discount prices for new bookings, which is one of the reasons why you should move. Relocating companies offer some of the cheapest ways to move out of state during the pandemic, which is one of the cheapest times of the year to relocate.
Of course, the decision depends entirely on you, your health condition, the urgency of the move, and the reliability and responsibility of the moving company you are working with. If objective circumstances (for example, restrictions of movement in your present or future location) make your already scheduled move impossible, know that we decided to waive the cancellation fee as a sign of solidarity with our clients.
We have gone the extra mile in keeping our clients as well as our crew as safe as they can be. Our movers are now required to cover their faces and hands with masks and gloves. The trucks and the equipment are disinfected every day, and the storage units have sanitizers.
So, if your long-distance relocation is just around the corner and you managed to find a job before moving to another state, use the present circumstances to your advantage to reduce costs when moving. For example, you can find free boxes and other packing materials for moving or spend time searching for cost-effective auto shipping services in case you have to transport your car across the country. Don’t worry about how to cope with stress when moving, occupy your thoughts with other things because this might be the best time of the year to move. Self-isolation could also be a great time to check the safety of your future neighborhood if you’re relocating to the suburbs and create a household inventory list of the items you wish to relocate after we weather this storm together. In case you’re relocating something valuable, make sure you get some moving insurance for it and to create a photo inventory for it.