Just today, some restrictions were set back in place by the government in some areas in Victoria. Areas with the following postcodes are placed back on lockdown until the 29th of July or until further notice: 3012, 3021, 3032, 3038, 3042, 3046, 3047, 3055, 3060 and 3064.
Those that are in these areas are to remain in lockdown and stay in their homes as much as they can. That means businesses that are non-essential in these areas are to close up shop for now, and the only reasons for people to leave their homes would be for momentary exercise outdoors, work, school, and getting food.
Additionally, the government stance remains the same- if you can work from home, then you must stay at home and keep to the lockdown rules.
We stand in solidarity with our Victorian brothers and sisters as we weather through this reinstated quarantine, and hope that you’re all doing well despite these terrible times.
On our part, we promise to continue delivering our items in complete safety straight to your doorstep. We’re keeping our warehouse safe and sanitized, and our workers completely protected, and we’d like to assure all of your purchasing from our stores that every package you receive is completely sanitized straight out of the box.
Instead of risking it by buying your things from the outside, consider shopping from the safety of your home today with Elinz.
We have some recommendations to help keep you safe, especially if you live in the aforementioned COVID-19 hotspots or if you work in these areas, and aren’t able to work from home.
The Fundamentals
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a couple of guidelines that were set in place to make sure that we prevent its transmission, such as (1) staying indoors and keeping quarantine rules, (2) maintaining your social distance (3) keeping up excellent hygiene.
Again, these need to be followed to the letter, especially if you live in the postcodes mentioned above. These are simply there to make sure that we all stay safe.
According to some reports, other states outside of VIC are also fining Victorians that will break border closures - for example, NSW will be issuing a fine $11,000 for anyone breaking the closures.
If you have no important or essential business outdoors, make sure that you’re not outdoors. We’ve said it again and we’ll say it once more - if you can stay at home, then you must stay at home.
If you have any trips lined up, it would be best to cancel them for now and contact all the people you’ve made plans with. Cancel any transactions or expenses that you’ve set up now, as it can be quite expensive and problematic later on. If you are going through with your trip within VIC, make sure that you’re keeping safe and staying away from areas that are known hotspots (and make sure that you’re not coming from a hotspot, yourself!)
But we’ll add a new fundamental into the mix - if you’re going out, make sure that you’re wearing a mask! After months and months of recommending against wearing a mask and mentioning that you only need to wear it if you’re sick, the Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has mentioned that wearing a mask makes all the difference - it reinforces social distancing based on appearance, and most importantly it keeps your breathing air relatively safe.
Other countries have done so and have seen amazing results in fighting off the pandemic, such as the stats shown in Austria when they’ve made mask-wearing mandatory.
And the important thing to note as well is that a lot of people aren’t even aware if they’re sick or not. Some people go on living their lives without any adverse effect on their health even when they are infected, which makes them asymptomatic carriers of the virus. This is where masks come into play in stopping the spread of the coronavirus.
If you’re looking for face masks, whether N95 or surgical masks, do visit us today at our health & wellness categories to make sure that you’re prepared for when you’re going out.
Additional gear to help keep you safe
In some areas, especially those outside the lockdown zones, life continues as normal; for other workplaces, you’ll need to make sure that your workforce isn’t sick.
One of the best ways to make sure is to have a temperature checker at the entry of your workplaces. If you don’t have any gear to do that, you’ll be pleased to know that we offer no-touch, forehead thermometers here at Elinz.
For those that will be exposed to other people more often than others in the workforce, they’ll need all the protection they can get - other than face masks, we also offer gloves on our website that you can order straight directly to your doorstep.
The more protection that we can get, the better. But keep in mind that there’s no better alternative to staying at home and isolating to keep yourself clear of COVID-19.
Remember that prevention is always better than the cure, especially in the case of the COVID-19. We’re still a long way away from the vaccine, and all that we can do right now is to be preventive and to take care of ourselves.
If you’d like to stay in the loop, make sure to check back with the local Victorian government’s updates on their website. Alternatively, you can check back with our blog from time to time as we provide tips along with some news.
We hope for a speedy recovery not just for Victoria, but for the entirety of the country and the world - in the meantime, stay home, stay safe, and stay protected!
