Windows Open

The world practically stopped and changed into the ‘new normal’ quarantine life. Then we created a group chat.

Living Through Isolation During Quarantine Life And Getting Through The Pandemic Times

It was our way of remaining connected during this inevitable house isolation considering we were no longer supposed to meet and have fun due to mandatory social distancing. This was one of the best ways how hope we overcame quarantine life in isolation.

Living In Isolation

What is isolating like? What was my life?

Of course, the same conversations revolved around coronavirus – and how people lived in isolated quarantine life and spend time alone. One of my friends left his project site and flew home to his hometown with only a population of 300 to reduce his chances of having COVID-19. I had no idea how he could catch it when we were both IT people working from our homes. Life in quarantine was anticipating us.

Isolation And COVID

My days during my quarantine life were not as awful as I imagined. Every morning while listening to a song, I would have breakfast on my balcony.  I would take a shower, puts on my favorite pajamas, and start working. The only time I would check and get up was around four o’clock when my shift was over – that was practically my world in isolation.

One poignant yet relevant detail about our healthcare system and medical history tracks during the pandemic news was that we weren’t ready. Society struggles against the pandemic every day, especially with the rampant wildfire of new and untested treatments.

Quarantine Life

Getting Productive

I preferred isolating or putting myself in isolation more than seeing my coworkers on my quarantine life. During the crazy pandemic, amidst quarantine life, I got to get my groceries and do my laundry in the mornings again. My life was really not as depressing as it should be. Being in isolation actually helped me become more responsible.

I Had COVID-19: The Time I Dreaded Isolation

When in my past did I ever feel scared of being alone? It happened around the fourth quarter of 2020. My mother insisted that I should come home for the occasion, but then I told her I’d stay behind.

Quarantine Life

The thing was, I contracted the coronavirus three days before Thanksgiving. I could not pinpoint where I got it.

It could be at the grocery store, at the park where I began jogging, or even in the hallway of my apartment. I couldn’t be sure. What was sure was that I had to do self-isolation and adjust to isolation. I need to release the stress inside.

There Is A First Time For Everything

That was the first time I dreaded isolation during my quarantine life. The first few days of isolation were bearable, but the more days passed, the more I had difficulty breathing. And it did not help that my act of fever was on and off for over weeks.

When I Survived The Isolation During The Pandemic

If I went past seven days alone, I might have called 911 to take me to a hospital so that I won’t feel too lonely. Luckily, on the eighth day, I began to smile because I heard people yelling my name from the street.

When I peered down, I could not help but cry as I saw all my friends looking up at my balcony.

Source: pexels.com

Quarantine Life

My Friends Helped Me With My Isolation And Made It Better

Did they come up to keep me company for the rest of my quarantining? Of course not. There was still no vaccination at the time so society battles the unknown; none of them could have some protection against the coronavirus. All they could do was relate and stand in front of my apartment building and yell words of encouragement at me.

Shifting My Misery To Happiness

Did their antics help? Yes, a lot. My friends gave me something to look forward to every day. That was incredibly important, considering they were technically my family in the big city. Just seeing their even familiar face and hearing people’s voices made me want to get better quickly from isolation.

Something big like the current (and future pandemics) really regularly teaches us to treasure what we have. This is what we don’t get to learn from an academic book on social history or Victorian literature courses. It’s something that we have to figure out ourselves. So we can live peacefully.

Final Thoughts

I was the only one to contract the coronavirus in our little group. I felt thankful for that since I did not want my best friends to go through the same ordeal. And last March 2021, we all got fully vaccinated together and waited for april to come so we can have a summer get together.

FAQs

What are the hopes and lessons that quarantine has taught you?

What did you do at home during quarantine period?

What is the greatest life lesson this pandemic has made you realize so far?

What are the three things that you learn during the quarantine period?

How do you survive quarantine alone?

How can you help someone in quarantine?

What the pandemic has taught us about work?

What the pandemic has taught us about work?

What has the pandemic taught us about healthcare?

What can you say about pandemic Covid-19?

Symptoms checkers should be cautious when checking their symptoms. It is always wise to see a doctor when not feeling well. Use a symptom checker only when really necessary. Remember – your health is important.

 

Source: pexels.com

So what are virtual health monitors? How do checkers do online symptom checking? Are they useful for emergency care? Learn more about these virtual symptom checkers and what possible conditions they can check here.

Dad would always take the entire family to check various conventions worldwide, so I had checked more places than most people since I was a kid. As children, my siblings and I were famous at school for having a father who checked any party we had in mind. If he had time, he would even join the gathering and share some stories about his job, which the other children found pretty cool.

Yes, I agree with all of them – Dad was the best. He had always encouraged my sisters and me to follow the curiosity bug and make surface of mistakes. If there was one thing that he forbade us from doing over the years, though, it was reading about our medical symptoms or using this tool (done, of course, by an online symptom checker). He always said that health is important and that if we have medical emergencies, we should seek professional medical advice and choose the proper treatment and diagnosis from a licensed physician, not from an online symptom checker. It doesn’t matter if it’s a simple skin rash, a little pain or headache, or something that requires urgent care. Treatment must be suggested by a healthcare professional.

 

You should have been there when my father learned that my sister used the internet to skip consultation and self-diagnose her dysmenorrhea and abdominal pain. My father got so mad that he grounded my sister for a week – but not before taking her to the location of a specialist to ask for advice about what was up with her menses and pain. On the way home, Dad said, “This is why I got angry when I learned that you were diagnosing yourself based on the information provided on the web. Many injuries and diseases appear with the same medical symptoms, like stroke and dizziness. It takes a real doctor to identify which condition you have and give an accurate diagnosis – not a symptom checker.”

 

From then on, no one spoke about electronic medical websites (or symptom checkers like Isabel symptom checker) in our house. Due to what happened to my sister, we also believed that Dad was 100% correct about not using whatever tool we find on the internet to diagnose our common signs and symptoms. Once when I had a sore throat, I knew better. I scheduled a consult especially because I had a fever. The doctor provided medical treatment and gave me a prescription for the medicine I needed to take for my fever. My dad praised me for setting a good example!

 

Checking Most Of My Symptoms Through Online

There was a time when my college friends and I had the ambition of building our version of Silicon Valley in Alaska. The four of us went there with our suitcases and laptops, determined to make it happen.

Before I even embarked on this journey, I had already taken all my shots because I knew that medical facilities would be scarce where we would go. I was correct that the people with a serious type of condition or those who required medical emergency had to be transported by air elsewhere for medical attention. Still, my worst fear happened when I caught the coronavirus in Alaska – a quarantine life I never expected or imagined. People checking about health virtually are discouraged from relying on electronic symptom checkers. They really don’t check symptoms accurately, they don’t give diagnoses, and they don’t treat, of course. They do not have the expertise that licensed healthcare professionals possess.

 

Checking for the list of symptoms virtually can be helpful but there are some that require personal diagnoses, most importantly the life-threatening symptoms. The tool should know when to stop looking.

 

In a normal circumstance, if I ever found myself in a medical situation, I would call Dad first. I would not check symptoms on the web. In this case, however, all our hands are tied. Besides seeing COVID-19 patients as highly contagious people, Dad’s colleagues advised me to stay put once they learned that I was not suffering from severe symptoms like extreme body fatigue, profused sweating, or pain. Even my father had no choice but to tell me to isolate and wait for the symptoms to subside. I could take and select the medication for fever and improve my health or some paracetamol if I would experience pain.

 

Since my friends got infected, we decided to quarantine them in the same house we lived in. It was fortunate that we had just refilled our groceries not too long ago, so we would have enough food for the next two weeks. The only annoying thing for us was not knowing the symptoms to expect and the next steps to take, so I broke my promise to Dad and read about the COVID-19 symptoms using the Isabel symptom checker, an artificial intelligence tool.

I realized that the medical websites had improved so much ever since my sister used them years ago. The Isabel symptom checker had real doctors writing the articles now. Aside from that, they had medical reviewers, too. Hence, all the symptoms I read about were valid.

According to a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, an electronic symptom checker fails 66% of the time, and doctors are still far better than an online symptom checker. Well, obviously because the healthcare professional is a person, not a tool. Not only does he provide advice but also the proper treatment and diagnosis as well. Your health is significant to him, whatever age or gender you are.

The study was intended to compare healthcare professionals against an electronic checker. At a point when given similar data about the patient’s present manifestations, medical symptoms, and clinical history on stroke, specialists came to the right outcome 72% of the time. The effects and results of sign electronic tools didn’t do so well, returning with the right analysis in just 34% of the cases.

 

Final Thoughts

My right of learning about my condition and treatment – albeit on the web– eased my fear of the unknown, which is what matters most. Every patient was different regardless of age, but all the common symptoms were there. More importantly, the medical websites, as most users have observed, had tips on what to do when you get to a particular region or area of the illness, for example, if one’s abdominal pain became worse. It was undoubtedly helpful in keeping me from needing counseling because of COVID-19.

If it makes you anything safer, consult a specialist if have to.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How exact or precise are online checkers?
2. What are some of the most commonly utilized online checkers?
3. How does a virtual symptom checker work?
4. How are symptom checkers used?
5. Why are online virtual monitors important for one’s health?
6. What are the benefits of using symptom checkers online?
7. Are these virtual checkers accountable?
8. When does self-diagnosis become a disadvantage?
9. How much impact does social media have on self-diagnosis?
10. Do virtual symptom checkers provide treatment and recommendations?

 

I must say that I had been blessed with an incredible job as a web developer. A new company hired me a month before my college graduation to build websites for their clients. They signed a one-year contract with me with a starting salary of $5000 and a possibility of a salary increase after another year. It helped me pay my student loans and even allowed me to move out of my parents’ house and rent a cool loft in Los Angeles.

The thing was because I had been working from home, many people in my life thought too little of my job. Some would say that I had it easy because I would roll out of bed and go to my workstation without getting dressed. Others commented that my job had no stability and that I should look for in-office work instead. 

I was cool-headed in the beginning and always smiled whenever I heard those remarks. I was never one to explain myself to other people. I thought, “They could say anything about me – I don’t care.” However, as the years went on and those snide comments about my job continued, they began to chip my patience away.

How Anger Management Issues Came To The Picture

My first outburst happened at a family gathering. I was technically a third-generation Asian, but my grandparents and some of my parents’ siblings grew up believing that only white-collar professions could bring a lot of money to the table. They were also prone to comparing the family’s young members to each other even when they were all present. 

During that gathering, my two aunts decided to compare me with my cousin, Chi, a surgeon.

“Annie, look at Chi. She’s the epitome of a successful woman. Aren’t you the same age?” one of them asked me.

I sighed inwardly but nodded. 

“You should have studied medicine or law when you were younger,” another aunt said, shaking her head. “If you did, you would have a lot of money now.”

“I do have money,” I countered. 

“Yes, yes,” the first aunt said, smiling patronizingly. “But we all know your computer job will not last. Then, you will have to go back to your parents’ house.”

I saw red at that point and banged my hands on the table as I stood up. “How dare you belittle my work?! Why did you have a successful career? You did not even work after college – you just got married!” I yelled. 

“Hey!” my second aunt exclaimed, wide-eyed. 

Both aunts looked offended and surprised, but I stopped caring about their feelings. After all, they didn’t care about mine. After that, my fuse got shorter and shorter. I got angry quickly with my colleagues; I even had road rage when another driver tried to speed past me. But the only time I realized I needed help was when my parents stopped talking to me, saying that I had gone too far.

What is the best therapy for anger management? 

 Cognitive-behavioral therapy is the best treatment for anger management. The reason is that people with anger issues are often unaware of how their negative thoughts affect their behavior. If they realize what’s happening, though, their way of thinking may change, and their patience may grow.

Does counseling help with anger? 

 Yes, counseling helps with anger management. With a counselor, the individual can explore the thoughts that make their temper explode and figure out how to react to various situations besides getting angry.

How much does anger management therapy cost? 

 Anger management therapy costs up to $50.

What are the signs of anger issues? 

 Below are the signs that you have anger issues:

• You feel irritated about everything, big or small.
• You refuse to listen to reason.
• You tend to lash out verbally or physically if your wishes or orders do not get granted at once.
• You always raise your voice, assuming that’s the only way to be heard.

Why do I get angry so quickly? 

• You may be dealing with personal or physical issues that short-circuit your fuse.
• You feel disrespected, attacked, deceived, or powerless.
• It doesn’t seem like you can achieve your goals.
• You are dealing with grief.

How do you stop a sudden burst of anger? 

• Take a deep breath. Though it takes mere seconds to inhale and exhale, this is enough to feel a moment of clarity. 
• Practice positive self-talk and remind yourself to take things easy. 
• Focus on being assertive to counter bursts of anger.
• Ask a friend to remind you if you seem to burst out of anger.

What are the three types of anger? 

• Passive Aggression: A passive-aggressive individual denies feeling angry even if that’s what they feel. Instead of exploding, they smile, stay silent, or claim that things are still cool. 
• Open Aggression: An open-aggressive person does not hide what they think or feel, even if it hurts other people.
• Assertive: An assertive individual manages to control their anger and think logically.

What type of doctor treats anger issues? 

 You need a psychiatrist who specializes in dealing with anger management issues.

Does insurance pay for anger management classes? 

 No.

Does anger management work? 

 Yes, anger management genuinely works. However, it will be useless if you are going to sessions half-heartedly.

Does CBD help with anger issues? 

 More research is required before we can tell that CBD helps anger issues, but the recent ones we’ve seen reveal that CBD has lowered the participants’ stress levels. Stress is among the most significant causes of anger, so that CBD may help people with anger issues.

Is there medication for anger? 

 Yes, an antidepressant is a common medication that psychiatrists prescribe for anger.

Are anger management skills related to stress management skills? 

 No.

How do I control my anger? 

• Think about every word you are about to say before you let them out of your mouth.
• Let the other people know how you feel without yelling, cursing, or being violent.
• Go on an impromptu walk or jog if you are too angry to talk to anyone.
• Get away from stressful activities before you even explode.
• Figure out a reasonable solution to the cause of your anger.
• Let your feelings avoid so that you won’t end up holding a grudge.

Final Thoughts

You might want to know if I reconciled with my family. With my parents, yes – they were the most important people in my life. With my other relatives, I was civil around them, but I stopped going to family gatherings. I went to therapy, and my therapist advised me to step away from people or activities that would only upset me.

 

The pandemic has brought many changes in our lives. It did not only affect the healthcare system, but it also changed the way our systems work. More universities have shifted to blended learning, which is the combination of online and physical schooling. However, others decided to do pure homeschooling. 

While the new setup might be a necessity right now, it still provides a lot of stress, primarily to those who are not used to facing their computers for an extended time. Some also have not coped up with this scenario and are now getting anxious about it.

With all of these things happening, more and more people of different age groups are becoming drained, affecting their mental health. To help you combat the common challenges of homeschooling, here are some strategies that you can apply. 

Outline Your Schedule For The Day

How to combat home schooling challenges?

Given that you’re doing both schoolwork and chilling in your house, there’s a tendency to mix these two eventually. These overlaps happen when you do the following: 1.) Play instead of work, or 2.) Work instead of play. It’s pretty tricky to draw the line between these two in this kind of setup. 

Therefore, the best way to go about this is to find that balance between common homeschooling challenges and the homeschool environment. Outline your schedule for the day by planning the exact time slot you’ll be doing house chores, academic work, and relaxing. This way, you’ll know what to expect for the rest of the day and have peace of mind. 

Part of practical tips for instance, you may begin your day by cooking breakfast and cleaning up. Then, follow this up with a 2-hour slot to do all your pending assignments. Once you’re done with this, have a 30-minute break by doing things you love, such as going for a walk or exercising.

After rejuvenating, follow this again with a 2 to 3-hour block of watching education videos or meeting with your teacher. Then, free up your day for some chores and social activities after online lessons. 

Create Your Own Space

Yes, it’s understandable that you will bump into your homeschooling parents or younger siblings every day, given that you’re living in the same space. But, there are times that the interaction might be stressful for you.

If you’re working on your assignments while your brother is watching football, it’s most likely that you won’t be able to concentrate. You may lose focus, and it will slow down your work. Therefore, adding more stress to your homeschooling life along with your extracurricular activities. 

With this in mind, it’s ideal to have your own space. Look for an area where it’s quieter and without any distraction. Let this be your corner where you can think peacefully and do your tasks quietly. You may also set rules within your household wherein they’re not allowed to linger in your area on your homeschooling times. This way, you can concentrate better on your tasks.

List Calming Activities

Admit or not, you’ll experience roadblocks once in a while. You might be stressed with the long hours in front of your computer for classes, or you might feel tired of all the homework your teachers are giving you. These realities are normal and common. You have to find ways to keep yourself calm and combat all of these homeschooling problems. 

Every person has different activities that calm them. Some might be leaning towards exercising to keep them relaxed. Others might prefer writing, reading, or even painting. Whatever it is, it does not matter as long as it boosts positivity within your mental health. 

In your case, make sure that you’re aware of your go-to activities just in case you feel so stressed out. List it down on a piece of paper. It can serve as a reference at times of hardships and homeschool challenges. You may even post this on the refrigerator so that your homeschooling family members are aware of it. This way, they’ll know what to do when they see you in challenging situations. 

Enjoy Fresh Air

Do you know that staying most of the time indoors also takes a toll on your mental health? The small space suffocates you. You may also feel restricted after staying in the same room for an extended period. 

Therefore, do not forget to enjoy the fresh air outside. You may spend 20-minute breaks here if you’re too swamped with work. However, it would be better to take a long walk in the afternoon to reset your mind and body. It will also be a time that you’ll feel a slice of normality.

All the tight deadlines and fast-paced discussions will trap you in a busy world. But when you’re outside, you’ll forget all of these and go back to your peaceful world. 

Write In A Journal

One practical advice that you can get from an expert is that do not isolate yourself if you’re feeling bad. Mental health experts advise that you release all of these emotions since bottling it up will only result in anxiety and depression. If you’re too keen on sharing with your family and friends, there are other ways to go about this, like writing in a journal. 

For one, you get to release your bottled emotions. At the same time, this is also an avenue for you to promote self-awareness within yourself. You understand what’s happening to you more and know why you feel the way you do. Always remember that there are no rules when doing this. Just do what makes you comfortable, and you’ll be fine. 

Homeschooling is tough. Various things are happening around you, which are bad for your mental health. Make sure to address it, so it won’t affect how you function every day. Just take one step at a time, and everything will follow. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you handle homeschooling?
How do I stop being overwhelmed by homeschooling?

How can I help my younger children focus on homeschooling?
How does homeschooling affect the social behavior of a person?
What is the influence of the home school and community on the learner?
How does a student’s home environment affect his or her behavior in school?
What are the home factors that affect the academic performance of students?
What is the role of the home environment in influencing the personality of a growing child?
What external factors in private and public school or at home affect your learning?
How does the home learning environment affect learning?
How does home influence learning?
What are the factors that influence student behavior and learning?
What are the possible factors that can influence teaching and learning?
What are the factors which influence individual differences in teaching and learning?
What are the factors influencing learning in learning and teaching?

 

 

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

 

With throngs of people now working online or remotely due to the coronavirus crisis, governments and other sectors everywhere are struggling to find digital tools that can help support remote team discussions, videoconferencing, and virtual chats, among others.

The scope and speed of the transformation have caused this to become an extraordinary feat for various companies, but particularly for small-scale businesses that have not yet sufficiently invested in online working technologies. Hospitals that are currently trying to manage the COVID-19 outbreak are looking for some kind of software that can enable medical teams to organize and administer better care. Schools are also fortifying their capacities in providing remote teaching after campuses and classrooms were ordered to close.

Due to the said changes, among others, digital software products and services have rapidly increased over the past months with their free tools, including free upgrades for long-term clients to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

Here are some of the digital tools and technologies that have been proven to offer help to schools and other sectors during the coronavirus pandemic and the quarantine life that has come with it.

Adobe

Adobe is a software design and web conferencing tool that allows educational clients to acquire home access for teachers and students. The company is providing this software for free until May 30. It just created its web conferencing service, the Adobe Connect, which are aimed to reach businesses, government agencies, and schools for free as well.

 

Source: inventlayout.com

Appian

The Appian is a low-code platform that helps deal with the health and safety of various employees without any charge. This is provided to those organizations that employ more than a thousand employees.

Atlassian

A tool that focuses on team collaboration and workflow, Atlassian’s leading products are now free for organizations of at least ten employees without any time limit. These products include the Confluence team collaboration offering and Jira Issue-and-Project tracking tool.

Automation Anywhere

Built obviously for workflow automation everywhere and anywhere, this tool launched a variety of free digital tools classified as bots that businesses can utilize to automate systems relating to data check or sending messages to employees through services like Telegram and WhatsApp.

Okta

Okta is a cloud identity company that was popularized for its Emergency Remote Work system, which provides new clients with free services for up to six months. These services include Okta Multi-Factor Authentication and Okta Single Sign-On. It also came up with a list of some of the most common online applications for document gathering, videoconferencing, and VPNs.

SalesForce

Staying connected to clients, partners, and employees are the main objective of this brand. SalesForce offers affordable (or free) packages for existing clients and is also accessible for free to non-customers for a certain time frame. Originally, SalesForce released its healthcare package, the SalesForce Care for Healthcare, which experienced an inflow of requests because of the current pandemic. It can now be availed without charge for up to six months, including access to SalesForce Shield for privacy and security, SalesForce Trailhead, and SalesForce Health Cloud.

 

Source: needpix.com

Mail Chimp

Up until the end of May, Mail Chimp offers small-scale businesses with five-year custom domains for free to aid brick-and-mortar companies to shift to the online platform. This promo can be availed to new as well as existing Mail Chimp clients and is also valid to those with domains worth $25 annually. Qualified users can get these free built-in guides to help them create and publish in various sites.

GoDaddy

This digital tech company released Websites + Marketing Free, a free bundle of software applications that can assist in building websites as well as improving marketing strategies. This is a free version of the original Go Daddy app that was introduced in September last year. Apparently, it was supposed to release its free version in the fourth quarter of 2020 but was moved to an earlier date in response to the current COVID-19 crisis. This software provides you with an option to publish a webpage with multiple pages as well as email marketing, SSL, social media tools, and Paypal.

 

 

 

 

The last event I attended before starting quarantine life was the 2019 Science Fair at the local college. Admittedly, I had never been to a science fair before, so I had no expectations to think of. I went there to support my niece, who had an entry in the group category. I merely assumed that it would be filled with genius young adults who could save the world in the future.

But the more I watched the kids showcase their research, the more I realized how you could boost your chances of winning at a science fair.

Pick A Thoughtful Project

The common denominator among winners at science fairs is their focus on thoughtful projects. E.g., how to minimize waste management problems, get rid of plastics, help PWDs, purify water, etc. If you research an issue that even adults have been unable to fix, the competition may not be the only thing you’ll win at.

Present Your Findings Well

One hiccup that young scientific investigators encounter involves their way of presenting facts to the judges. There is no doubt about the participants practicing their speech or answers, but some get overcome by fear. Despite your paper’s incredibility, therefore, the panelists may give you low marks. That tramples on your chance to win a science fair.

Make Sure That You Believe In Your Work

Projects also tend to fail when the judges see that you don’t seem to believe that your output will work. After all, when you have zero faith in the topic, you may not strive enough to obtain the desired results. It even pushes people to tamper their data, which is foul.

Final Thoughts

While these tips sound too easy, they are the basic things that you can try to win at a science fair. You may add to them at any time you discover something that may help you achieve your goal. Congratulations in advance!

 

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

A significant percentage of the world’s caregiving, organizing, and everything concerning work have now utilized digital systems and tools that facilitate productivity and connection – healthcare, education, video conferences, messaging applications, and many more. We must know how these tools affect our security and online privacy during the coronavirus pandemic.

In light of this, we have listed some of the things that you must know about so that you will be able to make wise decisions with regards to what tools suit you best and how you can be protected in terms of privacy and security.

Slacks for Free

A lot has been reported about Slack’s data retention problems in terms of free software. There have been several networks and groups merging with Slack to help communities keep in touch, which is why it is vital to know that the company gets to keep messages, mainly if you apply for a free plan. Plus, they aren’t able to delete them automatically. While the workspace is active, the words will be there.

Conferencing with Zoom

One of the most convenient ways to lessen the impact of isolation is to keep in touch regularly with your family, coworkers, and friends. Zoom has increasingly become a favorite choice for working and keeping in contact with each other amidst the shelter in place implementations. It is easy to use and very convenient.

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

The Shift to Online Learning

With schools continuously shifting to online classes and tutorials to abide by social distancing protocols, surveillance has increasingly become rampant in school districts and universities. In the face of COVID-19 and the coinciding emergence of digital learning, the chances for monitoring to increase are overwhelming. Quarantine life has never been easy for anybody, especially those who work outdoors.  This is seen in the kindergarten through graduate school levels, although it is most visible in the K-12 schools. Administrators are opting to utilize tools and measures that involve the intrusion of students’ privacy, which in many ways, damage trust among them and their fellow students, families, and teachers. For this reason, other K-12 schools oblige students to use school-issued gadgets that are pre-installed with spyware.

Telehealth and Other Platforms

The HIPAA guidelines have been modified in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, enabling health care professionals to use apps like Messenger, Hangouts, Facebook, Zoom, and Skype so that they can provide consultations online. During emergencies, healthcare providers under the HIPAA rules are allowed to consult with their patients and give prescriptions and recommendations through remote communication. If, on the other hand, your doctor is utilizing a platform that is not under the HIPAA, you must check with your doctor about what protection and privacy measures they have taken to ensure your safety.

Tools Used to Stay Safe And Evaluate Risk

One of the most convenient ways to protect your safety during a pandemic is to mitigate risk. A lot of issues presented by users can be resolved by carefully studying the risks, enforcing privacy measures, and reducing data that employers and businesses can monitor. There are available sites online that provide tools, tactics, and explanations to communicate online safely. Below are some beneficial tips that you can follow.

Source: mesalliance.org

• Assess and choose applications and tools that you will be using to ensure that they suit your needs and that they work for you.
• Know the best practices for safely and efficiently communicating with the outside world and integrate them into your everyday routines.
• When you register for an account, make sure that you create passwords that are not easily hacked.
• Make sure that you have 2FA enabled in all your account log-ins.
• Always consider what you mostly need and choose the most beneficial VPN that’s suitable for you.

Finally, keep in mind that we are fighting this crisis together. Let us take care of each other by protecting each other’s physical, mental, and digital health.