Sikh Helpline COVID- 19 Community Guidelines

Wellbeing

Our health and wellbeing are closely linked to meeting friends and family, routine, going out and exercising. Covid-19 has brought many changes and restrictions to our normal daily life, spending more time at home, adapting and finding new ways to work, keep in touch and occupy ourselves in our free time.

Looking after your feelings and body

To stay well we must look after our feelings as well as our bodies. Many of us will now be working from home, or not at all and it is important to look after ourselves, our routines and give ourselves purpose outside of work. The following things cover what we can do to stay well.

  • Practice good hygiene and social distancing as mentioned in the local level guidelines discussed below
  • Keep in touch with people
    • Talk to friends and family on the phone or online
    • Help other people – calling them for a chat or speaking to neighbours whilst maintaining social distance can be helpful
  • Look after your body
    • Eat healthy, well balanced food
    • Drink enough water
    • Exercise at home
  • Look after your feelings
    • If you feel anxious, try to think about good things that make you happy
    • Talk about your worries with someone you trust
    • Find advice online at Every Mind Matters or SikhHelpline
  • Think about your new routine
    • Make a plan for things you want to do in the day
    • Set realistic goals for your desired achievements
    • Make sure you get enough sleep
    • Go outside for a walk, fresh air and time out from your space at home
  • Do things you enjoy that can be done at home; this could be cooking, reading, writing, art, playing games, doing puzzles or jigsaws
  • Find time to relax
    • Yoga and breathing exercises can help – there are lots of beginners’ yoga sessions on Youtube
    • Enjoy nature – if you can, go out to exercise once a day and remember to stay at least 2 meters away from other people
    • Spend time in your garden or the nearest park
  • Don’t be worried by the news – not all news you hear is true, you can keep up to date by visiting this section on SikhHelpline, Public Heath England and NHS

If you look after others

If you have children or elderly dependents, it is important to have a plan about what you might do if you are unwell. You are allowed a ‘support bubble’ for childcare. A Childcare Bubble if where someone in one household provides childcare to a child of 13 years or under in another household. It must ALWAYS be between the SAME households.

If you think you might have COVID-19

It is important that you practice good hygiene and adhere to local level guidelines at all times, if you believe you have come into contact with someone that has COVID-19 you should follow the guidelines below;

Some people that display symptoms of COVID-19 are too ill to leave their homes to be tested, if this is the case call 111 for guidance, this also means that if you live with this person, you will also be required to self-isolate.

If you take a COVID-19 test and your test is positive, you MUST NOT leave your house AT ALL , and should not have any visitors for 10 DAYS, or 14 days if you live with other people. You must also self-isolate if you live with someone who has symptoms.

If you are not experiencing symptoms but tested positive for COVID-19, you must self isolate for at least 10 days from the day your test was taken. If you develop symptoms during this period, restart your 10-day isolation from the day you developed symptoms.

If you still have a temperature after 10 days (37.8˚C or more) seek medical advice. You do NOT need to self-isolate if you only have a cough or loss of sense of smell or taste, as these symptoms can last for several weeks.

If your symptoms worsen, contact 111 online or call 111.

It is very important that you stick to your local guidelines and practise social distancing where possible.

The government have set out new levels based on the risks in your local area.

www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-local-restrictions discusses what you can and cannot do if you live, work or travel in each local area, there are three levels and restrictions vary depending on where you live, work and travel to.

Travel

You may continue to travel to venues and use services that are open for work, voluntary, charitable or youth services, or access education in all alert levels.

If you need to use public transport, please see safer travel guidance on www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-travel-guidance-for-passengers.

You can still travel within all alert level areas to hotels and other guest accommodation, you can also still go on holiday, but this should only be with people in your household or support bubble.

When travelling, it is important that you respect the rules of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and try to avoid travelling to parts of the country that are under VERY HIGH local COVID alert levels. You can check the alert levels of places you are looking to travel to, using the government website mentioned.

Sikh Helpline – 29th Oct 2020