Safety starts at home. Maintaining a clean and healthy environment at home is important to safeguard yourself and your family from any illnesses. Especially now that most, if not, all of us are asked to stay at home to mitigate the risks of the rise of COVID-19 cases, there are a number of ways you can keep you and your family.
While a veil of uncertainty and anxiety that seems to blanket us with this unprecedented situation, the best we can do, for now, is to make sure that we are safe and are well-informed in light of today’s health crisis.
Here are some ways to keep your family safe at home:
Practice proper personal hygiene
Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. Soap helps kill germs and viruses that are invisible to the eye, which simply washing with water can’t do. It could also be a good practice to use a hand sanitizer with 70% alcohol.
Wear a mask and don’t touch your face
If you are not feeling well, it is highly advised to stay at home and away from other people. Wear a face mask wherever you go to stop the spread of your illness. You should also avoid touching your mouth, eyes, and nose, as it’s through those body parts that germs and viruses enter the body.
Sanitize your devices
As you wash and clean your hands, you should also clean your devices, especially your mobile phones. These electronics could easily accumulate germs and viruses, given the constancy of our contact to these devices throughout the day. Lightly apply some antimicrobial spray or alcohol on a microfiber cloth and wipe down your screens. If your devices have covers, don’t forget to wash these covers too.
Stay at home
If you are one of the fortunate ones who has the resources and flexibility to work from home, it is best to stay home and mitigate risks of getting infected and further spreading the virus. The internet now makes it easier to do work remotely and reduce the chances of contracting the virus and spreading it further. You can set up virtual meetings, transfer work files online, save your important documents through cloud storage for easy access and communication with your colleagues.
Understanding the need for a strong and reliable internet connection now more than ever, PLDT Home has rolled out FREE speedboost for all Fibr subscribers in Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan, Laguna, and Cavite so that the minimum speeds will be 25 Mbps until April 30.
Keep family members updated of your status
The good thing about the internet is that with it, we can remain safe and constantly connected. In delicate times like these, it’s best to always update your family members of your status and location, as they may be able to tell you which places to avoid or anything they know, or you can share your own knowledge of the current situation. Even the simple news of telling everyone you’re fine can be very reassuring.
Read up and share verified information only from credible sources
The best way to keep yourself and your family protected is if you also stay up-to-date on the right information about COVID-19 via official sources. And as more developments unfold by the day, with new knowledge about the virus being discovered—you can learn about them right away online from trusted official sources and share them with your loved ones and friends, so they can protect themselves too.
PLDT Home Wifi and PLDT Home Volume-based plan subscribers now have FREE access to verified government and news websites such as the Department of Health (DOH), National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), and Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Always stay connected and set up personal notifications
Stay tuned to official channels of information. You can follow along on TV or radio and can easily set up notifications for important social media accounts such as the Department of Health (@DOHgovph on Twitter) or news sites. You can even set up Google Alerts to monitor for updates about COVID-19 around the internet.
Keep COVID-19 Hotlines and designated emergency hotlines of your area on your phone and send to your family members:
| DOH COVID-19 hotline | (02) 894-COVID (02) 894-26843 |
| Free Calls for PLDT, Smart, Sun and TNT subscribers | COVID-19 Hotline: 1555 National Emergency Response Center: 911 Citizen Complaint Hotline: 8888 |
| NDRRMCTrunk Lines: | 8911-5061 to 65 local 100 |
| NDRRMC Operations Center: | (02) 8911-1406 (02) 8912-2665 (02) 8912-5668 (02) 8911-1873 |
| Philippine Red Cross | Hotline: 143 Emergency Response Unit: (02) 8790-2300 local 604 |
| Metro Manila Emergency Hotlines | Caloocan: 53106972 Las Pinas: 85527694/87767268 Makati: 168/ 82365790 Malabon: 89216009 Mandaluyong: 85332225 Manila: 85275175 Marikina: 161 Muntinlupa: 89254351 Pasay: 85517777 Pateros: 86425259 Quezon City: 122/89284396 San Juan: 72384333 Taguig: 87893200 Valenzuela: 83525000/82921405 |
| Joint Task Force – NCR | 09451491764 |
| Rizal Emergency Hotline | 86202487 / 85714375 |
| Bulacan Emergency Hotlines | Bulacan: (044) 7910566 / (044) 7607049 Malolos: (044) 7910630 Meycauayan: (044) 2581030 San Jose del Monte: (044) 9137243 |
| Cavite Emergency Hotlines | Bacoor: 161 / (046) 4170727 Cavite: (046) 4310752 Dasmariñas: (046) 6863339 / (046) 8510995 Imus: (046) 4710629 Gen. Trias: (046) 4378184 Tagaytay: (046) 4830446 Trece Martires: (046) 4190353 |
| Laguna Emergency Hotlines | Biñan: 75300015 Cabuyao: 88322809 Calamba: 75451697 San Pablo: 75628116 San Pedro: 88082020 Sta. Rosa: 75300015 |