The weekend is coming up, and if you have plans to go on a trip, do make sure that you’re being careful. The local government’s stance is still the same - if you can stay at home, then you must stay home.
If you feel some symptoms coming on - such as fever, sore throat, a cough - then you must definitely stay at home to prevent further spread and await testing to confirm it. If you are feeling healthy, make sure that you stay that way by eating properly, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest. Your immune system needs all the help it can get these days, after all.
If you live in an area that’s been identified as a hotspot for coronavirus, do be careful. Err on the side of caution for now and make the smart choice by staying home.
Not sure if you live in a hotspot? Visit this checker from ABC news to check.
To make sure that you’re staying safe this weekend while you’re out there, here are some tips that we recommend, featuring some items from our store that you shop for from the safety of your home today.
Vehicle Safety & Function
Getting a flat tire and your car breaking down can be quite the hassle before COVID-19; now, it’s just an inconvenience, it’s also a little bit dangerous. You certainly don’t want to be stuck waiting on a rescue out there.
Ideally, we should all limit our contact with people outside of our immediate household. If your car breaks down, and if by some unlucky chance your phone is out of a charge as well, you’ll probably have to ask some strangers for some assistance out there on the road.
Not that there's anything wrong about it - it’s just a tad bit dangerous these days, considering that we are still experiencing outbreaks and number spikes in cases not only across the state but all over the country.
If you want to avoid that, here are some of our tips:
Tune-up your vehicle often. Make sure that it’s running smoothly. If you have to visit your local mechanic for a diagnostic, do so. If there are none in your area, then you can always just get a diagnostic tool, which hooks up to your vehicle and tells you its status within a few seconds.
Don’t have one yet? Get yours here today.
Don’t forget your tyres. We probably sound like a broken record at this point, but it is absolutely important that you take care of your tyres. Tyres can lose as much as 10 pounds psi with just a month or two of usage, or even if you don’t drive your car that often!
Keep an eye on its level of inflation and you won’t have to worry about suddenly getting a flat when you’re out there on the road. Better yet, install a TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system) and run a test on your tyres before heading out.
Cab drivers / Professional Drivers
These are tough times to be doing business in the transportation industry, but it doesn’t have to be dangerous - to do so, make sure that you have protection in your vehicle.
First things first- make sure that you have cleaning items in your vehicle. An alcohol solution of 60-70% does the trick and cleanses the high touch surfaces in your vehicle.
Recognition of these high touch surfaces is absolutely important in keeping safe. They’re fairly easy to remember - anything that your passengers touch often is a high touch surface. That means car door handles, hand rests, controls for your windows, handles on top of your car door, and the seat heads.
So if you’re a cab or Uber driver, wipe down these surfaces immediately, and make sure to clean your hands right after. Avoid touching your face on these rides, or if you really have to, make sure that they’re absolutely clean.
These days cases still pop up from time to time and being one of the most exposed to such varied and different kinds of people from day to day, drivers need to be one of the most vigilant to keep the coronavirus at bay.
Contact tracing remains to be one of the most important tools against COVID-19 and if you’d like to aid in this on top of keeping a normal log of your day to day driving, a good dash cam with dual-lens should provide all the record that you need.
Mini road trips
If you’ve already set a schedule for your trip when the restrictions started easing and you’re limiting your travels to within the state, it’s still important to keep safe.
Keep some personal protective equipment (PPE) in your car, and if you’re traveling in a caravan with your family, bring enough for them, too. It’s been particularly tough to find stocks these days so if you have a trip planned out, make sure to swing by our health & wellness category where you’ll find different kinds of masks and protective gear against COVID-19.
In closing
If you’d like to stay in the loop with what’s happening in the state, make sure to check back with this page for any updates from the local Victorian government: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/travel-restrictions-covid-19
Again if you can stay at home, then you must stay at home. If you need to go out, make sure that you’re staying safe with the tips above.
Shope from the safety of your home today with Elinz.
