Winter is Coming: Tips on Staying Extra Safe in the Cold

The days are getting colder and nights are drawing in, which can only mean one thing - winter is coming.

As much as we love cosy evenings at home, and look forward to snow days and sledging, this year’s winter is bound to be a little bit different to normal (no surprises there, it’s what we’ve been saying for the entirety of 2020).

In order to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19 this winter, we recommend that you combine the existing health and safety protocol that the government has put in place, with our key tips for winter preparation. This way, you can keep yourself and your family as safe as possible during the winter period.

How can we best prepare for winter?

Normally, we prepare for winter by considering how the cold could impact our health and safety, and acting accordingly. These include the following general changes to our daily routine:

• Making sure that our home is well heated
• Check that your home heating is working to full capacity, and as it should do
• Ensuring that, in case the power does go out for any reason, you have either extra blankets, thick sleeping bags, coats, or portable heaters (this way, you can keep warm until power is restored)
• You know what to do if a winter snowstorm hits your area - this CDC resource is a great place to look if you’re not sure of anything
• Any older or more vulnerable people in your household should receive the flu jab
• If you do need to travel, have a stock of de-icer and ice scrapers ready, you may even want to invest in some snow tyres
• Buy in a supply of canned food to keep in your store cupboards. This food should not need to be cooked or refrigerated before consuming.
• Prepare an emergency kit to keep at home. This should include a torch, spare batteries, a first aid kit and any essential medicine.
• When you do go outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothes and wrap up extra warm.
• Sprinkle sand or cat litter on any icy patches around your home or on your driveway

The CDC website has provided some fantastic tips and pieces of advice to help you protect you and your family during the winter months. They have also prepared this detailed resource that will keep you well-informed in the event that a winter natural disaster hits your area.

How will this winter be different?

Now that winter is coming and we know that the pandemic is still a threat, we need to ensure that we are suitably prepared to keep ourselves as protected as possible when the temperature drops.

The CDC has provided a detailed list of advice that you can use to stay safe during this particular winter, where we have the elements, the flu and COVID-19 to worry about all at once.

To help you do this in the best possible way, below you’ll find our top tips to keep you fully prepared for the winter:

• Wash your hands regularly, and bring hand sanitizer with you to use when you are on the go
• If you or anyone in your household is showing any symptoms of COVID-19, make sure that you isolate yourselves for 14 days
• Limit social interactions - we know it’s not easy, but this is such an essential part of limiting the spread of the virus
• Ensure that you are remaining socially distant from anyone who is not in your household at all times - both when indoors and outdoors
• Wear a mask - invest in a high-quality mask that is comfortable, offers a secure fit, and provides a high level of safety to wearers

At Cambridge Mask Co. our masks are designed to provide our customers with the highest possible level of protection from viruses, including COVID-19. Our state-of-the-art filtration technology, alongside the snug fit of these high-quality masks, mean that these masks will certainly keep you safe when you do leave your homes over the course of this winter.

Now that winter is coming and cold weather is brewing, most of us will likely be driven back indoors for much of the day. Not only is this in order to escape the cold, but it also plays a part in keeping ourselves safe during this time of the year where our immune system is particularly vulnerable. However, we still recognise the importance of outdoor exercise (for our mental and physical health alike), and to try our best to keep our lives resembling normality. We are proud that our Cambridge Mask can keep you safe, sound and snug so you can enjoy outdoor activities with that extra layer of protection this Winter.

NB: If you are at high risk of contracting the virus, you should really avoid heading outside into the cold (other than for exercise or essential shopping). Although this will be challenging, we need to remember that it is vital that we take more advanced precaution in these colder months.