Martin Neumann

15 Creative & Fun Family Activities You Can Do at Home

May 19, 2020 by Martin Neumann - [rt_reading_time label="Reading Time:" postfix="minutes" postfix_singular="minute"]

Being stuck at home as a family can sometimes get boring, especially if you always stick to the same tried and tested activities like watching movies and playing monopoly. The things you do at home with your family often condition the amount and quality of fun you will experience. If you have an abnormally long amount of time to spend at home with your family, you have to be creative and try new exciting activities.

15 Creative & Fun Family Activities You Can Do at Home

Here are some fun and innovative ideas to boost your family time:

Origami

Origami is an ancient Japanese art that involves folding paper to make different kinds of shapes like animals, plants, etc. It is an engaging form of art that anyone can learn. To learn origami, all you need is some white paper, color pencils, scissors and glue. You can easily follow tutorials on YouTube together as a family. It is fun once you figure out how things are working.

When I was a child, I had a book with more then 50 origami figures, and I did them all. It was very much fun to figure it out, and I had the collection of the figures all around me. And when you do it together as a family it is even more entertaining.

Indoor Camping

Indoor camping is another fun activity for families. It is easy to set up, and everything you need is usually already available in the house. You can turn the living room into a camp out space, turn off the lights, and take turns telling stories while roasting corn on a portable burner. If you have a backyard, you can even pitch a tent in the garden and put a hammock on the veranda and brave it outside in the protected space of your backyard.

Launch your YouTube Channel

Depending on your expertise, you can teach your skills on YouTube. You can show off do it yourself projects, you can give practical tips, you can show your favorite recipes, you can do something more informative or go for curiosity subjects. There are no limits, whatever you are passionate about, present it to others on YouTube. This can be your personal project, or even a family endeavor. If no other subject comes to your mind, you can show off what your family is doing during the lockdown.

Treasure Hunt

A treasure hunt is another way of having fun as a family. To make it enjoyable, have one person set up the hunting clues and divide the rest of the family into groups. The hunting clues should cater to all different age groups of the family so everyone can actively participate.

Create Your Own Workout

Create your own “high intensity” workout with your family. Each person chooses their favorite exercise, such as lunges, jumping jacks, squats, or even hops. Using a timer, do each exercise for 20 seconds, then take a 10-second break. Do four sets of each exercise, then take a 30-second break. During the break rotate to the next activity. This “interval training” is fun, fast-paced and really gets hearts pumping!

Family Master Chef

Depending on the resources you have in the house, another very fun activity you can engage in is a cook-off. Just like the TV Master Chef, divide into teams and create an entirely new dish using a chosen set of ingredients. To make it more interesting, write down the different ingredients on a spin wheel and take turns to spin the wheel to select the ingredients. Use only the selected ingredients for the cook-off! Or you can get into international recipes, going every day to the culinary delicacies of a different country.

Family Project

Starting a family project is an excellent idea if you are going to spend a considerable number of days at home together as a family. The choice of a project depends on the family’s interest, but they can range from redecorating the house to making a craft project. You can also start a family garden if you have space. If not, get some plants going in pots.

Learn a New Language

Learning a new language is a fun activity to engage every member of the family. Since it is a new language, everyone will be at par and can start together. Just agree on the language and get it going. There are so many learning apps and free online tutorials available that you cannot miss this opportunity! To get things more exciting, plan a future trip to a country that new language is spoken!

Turn Your Home Into an Art Gallery

Get the inner artist out of every family member by organizing a home art festival. Everyone must participate and use his creativity and imagination to express his artistic side by painting, drawing, googling or making a collage with old newspapers. At the end, stick all the masterpieces on the walls to create your own family art gallery!

Write a Letter

Get out an envelope, stamps, pen and paper and everybody writes up a letter to Grandma or anybody else that you love. And be sure to include the drawings of the kids. Put it in the mail, and they will be up for a treat.

Put a Puzzle Together

Putting together a 5,000 piece puzzle will need some patience, but can involve the entire family. It is fun to figure out where the pieces are going, and it is an activity that will keep you occupied for a while. If you do not dare to tackle such a monstrous project, you can start out with a 1,000 piece puzzle.

Get Creative

While having time, learn to do knitting or crochet. The site Ravelry is a good resource for knitters of all skill levels. Macrame is another interesting hobby that allows you to create a variety of decorative pieces. Another fun activity to involve everybody is to paint your own T-shirts. If you want, you can also do a painting with wax and then dye the shirt. A newspaper and an iron will help you get the wax out after the ink is dry.

Make a Vision Board

Discuss with the family what you want to do this year together. Then get some photos on the internet to illustrate it. Put up the board on a place that everybody will see.

Revamp Your Family Photo Album

Remove the “digital” dust from your old photos kept on your computer and start a fresh family photo album. This can be a fun activity to do with the family as each family member reminisces the good old souvenirs. Revamping your digital photos will also be a good opportunity to clear up duplicates and irrelevant pictures, freeing up valuable space on your computer or cloud storage.

Make a Virtual Outing

There are several resources online that offer virtual tours. Check out museums, art galleries, national parks, zoos and much more. Get a live cam stream running on your TV and let your kids alert you about their discoveries as they happen in real time. Or you can visit some places on Google Maps and explore in satellite and street view. Tell stories about what you experienced there, tell your family what has changed since you were a child, or just explore some famous sites. Here some listings you can check out for a virtual tour:

Aquarium of the Pacific Online
Whale or Sea Otter webcam of Georgia Aquarium
Los Angeles Zoo – Virtual Learning
Find your Virtual National Park
100 Virtual Tours
Explore.org Nature Livecams
Stuck at Home Science from California ScienCenter
Boston Children’s Museum Virtual Tour
Art Galleries

How to Entertain Your Kids

During a pandemic, everyone is affected irrespective of gender or age. People of all walks of life are affected and kids are not spared. By their very nature, kids are hyperactive- they need to move, they need to interact and focus on specific activities. Not being able to go to school, play with other kids or just run outside can have a lasting impact in their lives. It is every parent’s and guardian’s responsibility to minimize the negative impact of the lock down on children. Doing this requires a certain level of creativity to get plenty of ideas throughout the duration of the lockdown.

Play fun group games

There are quite a number of board games that your kids can play to stay distracted during a pandemic. The most important thing to keep in mind is to stick to the kind of games that they love. You can also take part in some of the games to make things more interesting. You could pick the game once in a while but involve the kids in the selection of a game.

Have an Alphabet Day

Have your child choose a letter in the evening — any letter. The next day, create activities surrounding things that begin with that letter. For example, if the letter is “L”, you might include a lemon in something you eat that day and get a lightbulb decorated with color paper. Then think of animals that begin with “L”, and come up with silly phrases where each word begins with “L”, like “Lovely Little Leopard”.

Paint with shaving cream in the shower

Painting with shaving cream can be a lot of fun for kids. If you want to make it more interesting, you can add food dye to the shaving cream. In order to stay safe, do the activity on the tiles of the bathroom or inside the shower, where you can clean up the mess very easily.

Build a Blanket Tent

Get together some blankets and spread them over some small tables, chairs or anything else you find to give the tent the right shape. Kids will have fun to play for hours in their newly formed world.

Let your kids help with the household chores

Children are happy if they can help with household chores

Household chores are yet another activity, aside of games, you can engage with your kids. Teach them or ask them to give you a hand with the chores and make it interesting. They can help prepare their favorite meal, help set the table, and help clean the house by dusting the furniture. They can also help with washing or folding the laundry. Some kids love it when they do something that their parents encourage or ask them to do. So, give it a try!

Baking Cookies

Kids love to get involved in baking cookies. Let them prepare their favorite shapes, and the cookies will taste twice as good at the end. Or if you give them a bread dough, they can shape up a character, a house or their favorite animal. And while preparing the dough, you can include some lessons in counting, measuring or even mathematics.

Give them books to read

Books are helping children to develop intellectually

Books are a great way of keeping your kids’ minds off the pandemic. So, try giving them books to read. You could give every child a different book according to their age and then ask for a 5-minute summary every day before they go to bed. This will not only keep them busy, but it will also develop their intellect as well as feed their curiosity.

Help with their schoolwork

While kids are asked to stay at home while schools are closed, they may be given assignments and homework. You can keep your kids entertained by helping them out with their homework. What children want more than anything else, is to spend some exclusive time just with you, and they will appreciate your attention in helping them out. If the school does not give them any work to do while at home, you can come up with your own assignments. Focus on areas that your child is currently struggling with at school so as to help make the work comprehensible.

Help cultivate their talents

It is true that every dark cloud has a silver lining. Even during a pandemic your kids’ talent can be improved. You can take advantage of the situation and find ways of improving or even discovering your child’s talent. For example, if your child is an aspiring artist encourage the artist in him or her by buying color books, pencils, and crayons. You could also go the extra mile by visiting some art galleries online and explaining what each photo symbolizes, where and when the painting was made, and what inspired the artist to produce that particular painting. Older kids can start out learning an instrument. Flute is an easy one to start with, but with a certain age you can consider piano or violin.

We have a special opportunity just for you. If you want to receive practical and up to date advice on how to implement an immunity-boosting lifestyle, simply join the Coronavirus Immunity Challenge and prepare yourself to face the pandemic with a bullet-proof immune system.

Coronavirus Immunity Challenge

How to Bullet-Proof Your Immune System Against the Coronavirus

April 2, 2020 by Martin Neumann - [rt_reading_time label="Reading Time:" postfix="minutes" postfix_singular="minute"]

We are passing through difficult times. A pandemic affecting the entire world, and not yet an end in sight. So far there are no effective remedies, and the development of a vaccine is at least a year away. Health professionals are struggling to keep the pandemic under control. But there is a protection available for everybody, this is our immune system.

Our immune system is like an army of soldiers inside of us, that is prepared to fight off any invader that is coming along. Each cell of the immune system has a very specific function. There are T-lymphocytes who are like a special intelligence force trying to identify the invaders, and producing antibodies to recognize them faster in the future. There are phagocytes that work to engulf invading germs and dissolve them with powerful enzymes. Some cells have specialized weapons against germs, like the natural killer cells.

In short, the immune system is well prepared to protect our body against an infection. We just need to help the immune system, so that it is able to work effectively and with peak performance. It is good to remember, that elderly persons and those with chronic diseases need to take extra care to keep their immunity strong. Let’s dive right in to see what we can do to keep our immune system bullet-proof against any invader.

Focus on balanced Nutrition

Making nutrition a priority is something that you need to constantly pay attention to. Be sure to focus on variety in your diet. There are many restrictive diets that can get you in trouble. A keto diet for example can give you several side effects like bad breath, fatigue, irregular menstrual cycles and sleep issues. Carbohydrates are essential for energy, though you should focus on unrefined sources and avoid excess. If you are on raw food, you may have a hard time getting sufficient protein, which is crucial for the production of immunity cells. In the realm of fats, focus on healthy sources like avocados, olives, nuts and especially Omega 3 sources like flaxseed and chia. Making nutrition a priority during a pandemic means making sure everyone in the house eats healthy by having a balanced diet.

Nutrient-rich foods such as beans or lentils, whole wheat foods, and foods high in fiber should be on your grocery list. The best thing about such foods is that they can be prepared in various ways and they can be mixed with other foods. You not only enjoy your meal, but you get the complete nutritional benefits as well.

Foods from animal sources tend to weaken your health and should be avoided. A study found that a vegetarian diet increases Natural Killer cell activity by a factor of 2.34 compared to an omnivorous diet. And the fiber content in all-natural plant foods can do a lot to control inflammation in the body. A balanced natural diet has also a beneficial effect on gut microflora. Going vegetarian and focusing as much as you can on natural food sources can go a long way to strengthen your immune system.

Avoid Refined Sugar

One of the greatest enemy of the immune system is refined sugar. Sugar quickly inactivates the germ-killing foot soldiers—the phagocytes. For example, just one soft drink, containing 12 teaspoons of sugar, is enough to weaken the protective ability of our body’s white blood cells by 60%, for a period of 5 hours. In plain English, a phagocyte that normally kills about 14 germs, will now tackle only 5. That’s not going to protect you enough. If you are drinking 2-3 cans of soft drinks per day, your immune system will be literally without any defense.

Some people think they need to avoid only refined sugar but can indulge freely on honey, maple syrup, raw sugar, molasses, agave syrup, fructose and other sugar substitutes. While these options are slightly healthier, all of them will cause the same damage to our immune system, when used in excess.

Unfortunately, our sugar consumption has increased drastically during the last centuries. While in 1870 the average American consumed around 10 teaspoons of sugar a day, this figure has risen to 43 teaspoons in 1991. And sugars are hiding everywhere, including breakfast cereals, ketchup, tomato sauce, yogurt, and bread.

There is no way around, if we want to stay healthy, we need to train our taste buds to a gentle sweetness in our food. Appreciate the natural tastes of your fruits. To give a little zest to your recipes, a moderate dose of dates or dried fruits can help. The consumption of honey or other sweeteners you may want to limit to 2-3 teaspoons per day.

You may find these measures very restrictive. You may find out that you are addicted to sugar and have a hard time to quit. But think about it. Does it come easy to stay at home and avoid contact to other people? Is it easy to follow all the other restrictions? We are going at great lengths to avoid any exposure to the virus. But if there is anything that can keep you save in this crisis, it is avoiding sugar. It will be surely worth your efforts.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits are beneficial for the immune system

Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of high-nutrient foods that will keep you healthy during a pandemic. By eating natural foods that contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals, you can help keep your immune system operating smoothly. They are loaded with lots of phytochemicals and antioxidants, substances that are able to protect you in many different ways. Each one has a different function, that’s why it is recommended to eat a rainbow of different colors and varieties of our fruits and veggies.

There are many concerns that may arise when it comes to best ways of treating your groceries, such as safe ways of washing and preparing them. Some social media posts have suggested even to keep groceries for 3 days in the garage before bringing them in. Nonetheless, this is not something that you need to worry too much about.

Experts say that in a period of 8 hours half of the germs have already died off. Continue washing your fruits and vegetables the same way you always do. There is no need for using sanitizers to wash your fruits and vegetables like most people assume. Soap should never be used to wash your food. Experts advice though to take extra precautions to wash hands after coming home from shopping, before and after preparing your meals, and before eating.

Supplementation

Ideally you should get your vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. Governments recommend a minimum of 5 daily portions to keep you healthy. If your consumption is below that level, there are good chances that you can develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Elderly people tend to have less absorption, and certain conditions like alcohol and tobacco consumption, stress and the use of contraceptive pills can increase the demand of those essential vitamins.

Further aggravating is the production of many fruits and vegetables based on chemical fertilizer. Lacking the supply of essential micronutrients, the soil gets depleted over time, and lacking adequate organic matter, most of the soil is sterile, without essential microorganisms that help in the absorption of nutrients at the root level of the plant. If you have access to fresh organic produce, it is definitely going to have much higher concentrations of vitamins and minerals then your conventionally grown veggies.

Vitamins are sensitive to light, heat and oxidation. Therefore, the fresher you can get your vegetables, the better for you. Overcooking will greatly reduce the vitamin concentration in foods, and it is recommended to eat 50 to 70% of your fruits and vegetable in raw. Sprouting some of our seeds can be very powerful to potentialize their vitamin concentration.

If you need to complement your vitamin intake with supplements, it is beneficial to combine them with their natural sources. Several studies have shown that the body absorbs and uses vitamins better when they are coming from a dietary source. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with phytochemicals that show beneficial effects way beyond the realm of vitamins. It was discovered that a single tomato contains more than 10,000 different phytochemicals, many of them being antioxidants or protecting the body in some other manner.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the most popular supplement to increase immune system function. It supports a variety of immune system cells and serves as a powerful antioxidant. Studies have shown the efficiency of Vitamin C to reduce the duration and severity of a common cold. A hospital in Shanghai used intravenous Vitamin C to successfully treat coronavirus patients. Being a water-soluble vitamin, any excess is excreted by the kidneys, and since it is not stored by the body, it needs to be consumed daily.

Common food sources are all citrus friuts, papayas, kiwis, mangos, strawberries, bell peppers, rucola, spinache, cabbage and broccoli. Kale is an excellent option, and it will increase in Vitamin C concentration when it is slightly steamed.

For supplementation, a daily dose of 500 mg is recommended. A higher dose will just put an extra burden on the kidneys, and very high levels can lead to diarrhea.

Zinc

Zinc is essential for immune cell development and communication, and plays an important role in the inflammatory response. A deficiency can significantly affect your immune system and make your more susceptible for viral infections. The probability of zinc deficiency increases with age, and about 30% of older adults are considered to be deficient.

The main plant sources of zinc are legumes like beans, lentils, chickpeas and peanuts. Flaxseed and sesame are good sources as well. If you plan to supplement, a daily dose of 20 mg would be fine.

Vitamin D

This is the only vitamin that you rarely get from food sources, but acquire it normally by exposure to sunshine. The hours for optimum vitamin D production are between 10 am and 2 pm. If you expose a substantial amount of your skin to the sun, you need about 15 minutes of exposure on a hot summer day, without using any sunscreen. If you have a darker skin color or your area of exposure is less, you need to increase this time. Elderly people tend to have lower absorption as well. Be sure to start slowly and increase your exposure gradually to avoid sunburn.

It is a good idea to get your Vitamin D levels tested, since deficiency is very common in our days. If your sun exposure is not sufficient, most people do fine with a supplementation between 1,000 and 4,000 UI, though those with more serious deficiencies often require much higher doses. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. For better absorption, take the supplement together with a meal, since it will depend on the fat present in the meal to be transported into the bloodstream. Be cautious about the right dosage, since any excess is stored in the fat tissues and can accumulate in the body.

Magnesium

Magnesium is important for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body, among them it supports a healthy immune system. About 57% of the US population does not meet the recommended daily intake of this mineral.

Common food sources are various types of nuts, sesame, flaxseed, soy, beans, chickpeas, peanuts, spinach and several whole grains. If you need to supplement, a dose of 400 mg per day would be adequate.

Selenium

Selenium has an important function for our immune system, and in certain areas of the world, the soil is deficient in selenium. For that reason, selenium concentration in food sources can vary widely. One of the best sources are Brazil nuts, and a daily dose of just 2 nuts will already exceed your daily requirements.

B Vitamins

B vitamins, including B12 and B6, are important for healthy immune response. Many adults are deficient in them which can negatively affect the immune system. A B12 deficiency is quite common among vegetarians and elderly people, and regular testing is recommended to avoid adverse side effects for the nervous system as well as immunity.

Probiotics

The digestive tract serves as an immune organ by protecting your body from harmful microbes, that you may have consumed with your food. Having a healthy flora of beneficial microorganisms in your gut can go a long way to protect you against those invaders. You can find probiotics in fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut and kombucha. Probiotics are available as supplements as well.

Herbs and Spices

Garlic has powerful anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. It stimulates several immune cells like Natural Killer cells and Macrophages. Together with onion, they are probably the best spices to strengthen your immune system.

Tumeric is known for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, and studies indicate it may improve immune function.

Echinacea has been shown to improve immune health and may have an antiviral effect on several respiratory infections.

Propolis is a resin-like substance produced by honeybees and is known for its immune-boosting capacities.

Elderberry has been shown to improve immunity, reduce upper respiratory infections, and demonstrates potent antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Licorice is another good option to try. According to test tube research, it was shown to provide antiviral activity against the SARS coronavirus. However, individuals who have high blood pressure, eating disorders, diabetes, heart and kidney conditions, and low potassium should avoid taking licorice. Avoid licorice candy because of the adverse effects of sugar, and use licorice for no more than 2 weeks, since it will lower postassium levels.

Stay Hydrated

Drinking lots of water will keep your body hydrated and will drain any accumulation of bacteria or viruses in your mouth or throat. Avoid drinking sugared or soda drinks – the sugar will only contribute in dehydrating your body. Did you ever try to wash your hands with coke? Just imagine! Or did you try to wash a pile of plates with only one cup of water? Does not work too well either! So what you need to clean your body is nothing else than pure water, and plenty of it.

The bloodstream, which is the highway to transport the immune system’s troops, is kept flowing freely by adequate amounts of water. In addition, the mucus membranes of the nose and mouth also need plenty of water to maintain a protective barrier against invading germs. A generous consumption of water helps also the kidneys to clean out toxins from the body.

Get Plenty of Exercise

Exercise makes the circulatory system stronger—this includes
the lungs, heart, and blood vessels. The circulation is the carrier that will transport the immunity cells to their field of labor. A vigorous exercise guarantees that the stale capillaries are getting nourished with fresh blood and the circulation of the entire body is getting revitalized. This results in an improved communication of the various cells of the immune system. The lymphocyte activity is greatly enhanced as well.

Exercise also neutralizes the harmful effects of stress by stimulating the release of natural “feel good” chemicals like endorphins. Stress is especially counteracted when exercise is combined with the immune system’s allies—fresh air and sunlight.

What exercise is best? You can do anything that is fun for you, but walking would be a good starting point. And don’t be afraid about getting infected when leaving your four walls, if you maintain distance to other people, you are pretty safe. If you prefer a home workout, that is fine as well. But whatever you do, be sure to implement a daily exercise routine. Start slowly and build up your forces gradually. And you don’t need to run a marathon, actually any excessive activity that leaves you exhausted can even weaken your immune system.

Avoid Addictive Substances

It makes a lot of sense to avoid anything that can harm your body in order to strengthen your immune system. That said, we should shed some light on some common pratices of substance abuse.

Alcohol cripples the body’s internal army. This suppression of the immune system is seen even with moderate amounts of alcohol. Its use increases the risk of diseases such as tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, cancer, and AIDS.

Tobacco also contains harmful chemicals that immobilize the immune forces and stimulate the development of cancer. The large airways contain cilia, which are special hair-like cells that keep sweeping germs and injurious particles away from the delicate lung tissues. Tobacco smoke paralyses these protective cilia, so that germs and particles can easily enter the lungs and cause serious damage. Smokers and those with respiratory disease have a higher risk of serious illness and complications from coronavirus.

Caffeine, one of the world’s most popular drugs, is found in coffee, tea, and soft drinks, as well as some traces in chocolate. Recently caffeine has been on the news, touting the health benefits of your daily cup of coffee. However, few people tell you that caffeine contributes to mental stress, irritability, anxiety, and depression, which stimulate chemicals that further weaken the immune system.

Many prescription medications may also be injurious to the immune system. Be aware of the dangers and don’t use them unnecessarily.

Contrast Shower

Working your circulation with a contrast shower can do much to improve your immune system. Start your shower with 3 minutes of hot water, as hot as you can stand. Then finish off with 30 seconds of cold. If you need an extra boost, you can repeat the hot and cold cycle for 3 times. Resting for a few minutes after the shower will potentialize the immune system boost.

Get more Sleep

Rest plays an important role in immune function. The hours of deep sleep before midnight is prime time for the repair and replacement of worn-out cells and tissues. During this period, the body’s housekeepers and work best to restore its guardians to top fighting shape. Under ideal sleep conditions, damaged immunity cells are more rapidly replaced by new ones.

This immunity restoration takes place starting at 9:30 pm, if you manage to get to bed in time. If you are staying in front of the TV until midnight, you have already lost out on the immunity repairing phase of your sleep.

Reduce Stress

Excessive stress can do a lot of harm to your immune system. When the stress response kicks in and the body focuses all the energies to deal with a crisis, the immune system is considered to be of secondary importance. This is fine for a short term reaction to an emergency, but gets problematic if stress levels are chronic.

Chronic stress will increase your cortisol levels, which in turn will reduce various functions of the immune system. As a result you are more susceptible to colds or even the COVID-19 coronavirus. Stress can also affect your sleep, causing even more prejudice to the immune system.

Stress will have a cumulative effect on the immune system the longer we experience it. Think of the immune system as a firewall; the longer it is down, the greater the chances that some sort of infection can take hold of us and complicate our recovery.

The Coronavirus regulations brought substantial change to our lives. For some, it brought a much-needed break from the rat race of life, for many others it brought quite an amount of additional stress. Any change in our daily routine is causing us stress, and the uncertainties of what is going to happen, and how we are going to pay the bills, are quite stressful for many. When facing such challenges, maintaining an optimistic attitude is doing much to keep your stress under control.

It is important to take all necessary precautions, but after you have done your part, watch your thoughts to maintain a positive attitude. If you are fearful about this pandemic, make an exercise to challenge your thoughts. You have done all the necessary precautions, so what is the probability of you catching this virus? And if you really got infected, what is the chance of you dying from this disease? If you are below 40 and have strong immunity, chances are rather slim. With age, the risk will increase, but there is still quite a lot that you can do to prevent it.

So the best thing you can do, after having done your part, simply stop worrying about it. Jesus is giving us the following counsel:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? … Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34

This is really a timely counsel for us today. Think about it. What do you gain by worrying about something that you cannot change? Just do your part, and for the rest simply trust that you have a Heavenly Father who is well able to take care of you. If He provides food for the birds every day, how much more will He provide for your needs?

Then take some time and think about the purpose of your life. You have made some achievements, maybe you have even gathered some wealth. But a crisis like that can show us how fast the world around us can change. What we have done today may not be helpful for tomorrow. Just think for a moment, at the end of your life, what would you like to be remembered for? What makes your life really worthwhile?

Maybe take your eyes a bit away from yourself and look around you. Who is there who needs some help? Is there somebody that you can help to transform their life? Are there maybe some elderly around you who need your help to do shopping or other chores? Are there some people you can call and give some words of encouragement? Do you have the opportunity to make somebody a pleasant surprise? Cause the joy the other one feels that you have helped, will result in satisfaction for yourself. And this is the best you can do to strengthen your immunity.

Coronavirus Immunity Challenge

Interesting Links

Stress Management Tools

Sermon: How to thrive in a time of crisis – Mark Finley

The 15 Best Supplements to Boost Your Immune System

How to Protect Yourself from Super Viruses – Part 1 – Part 2

Viral Kindness – Find a Facebook support group near you and get involved in helping others

The Naked Truth about the COVID-19 Coronavirus

March 22, 2020 by Martin Neumann - [rt_reading_time label="Reading Time:" postfix="minutes" postfix_singular="minute"]

November 17 – The first known case of COVID-19 infection is submitted to a hospital in Wuhan. At this time, the origin of his disease is unknown, but later tests confirm that he was infected by the COVID-19 virus.

December 27 – Zhang Jixian, a doctor from a Hubei province hospital alerts the Chinese health authorities that there was an outbreak of a new coronavirus. The health authorities are asking to keep silent about the cases, and effective preventive measures are not taken until after the new year holiday celebrations.

December 30 – The ophthalmologist Li Wenliang sees in a Wuhan hospital a patient record, showing positive results for SARS coronavirus infection. He shared the news with medical colleagues on social media, asking them to prepare for a crisis. Later on the same day, he made an update that 7 cases of SARS were reported, that it was confirmed as coronavirus infection but the exact subtype was still being diagnosed. The news spread like wildfire. On January 3 the police interrogated Li on accusations of spreading false news on the internet, making him sign a paper to never do that again.

December 31 – Chinese Health Officials inform the WHO about a cluster of 41 patients with mysterious pneumonia. Most cases are linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which is closed down on January 1.

January 11 – The Chinese state media reported the first known death from a Wuhan citizen, that had occurred on January 9. The news came just before an important Chinese holiday where millions of people traveled all over the country, but no restrictions were enforced until after the holidays. The Wuhan city council held a big celebration with 40,000 participants. News about the outbreak were frequently withheld or altered.

January 13 – The first case of COVID-19 is reported outside of China. The patient is a 61 years old Chinese woman living in the Wuhan area, traveling for tourism to Thailand. Reports of transmissions to Japan, Korea and other countries follow soon afterwards.

January 20 – The first case is reported in the US, where a man reported symptoms after returning from a trip to Wuhan. During the first weeks of the crisis, President Trump is trying to downplay the situation, calling the coronavirus infection nothing more than a common flu. Great Britain’s initial strategy is to let the pandemic run its course in order for the population create immunity.

January 23 – China is isolating the entire city of Wuhan in order to slow down the spread of the disease in the rest of the country. Emergency hospitals are developed in record speed to try to catch up with the rising demand.

January 24 – The first COVID-19 genome was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. For the first time, the genome of an infectious agent is available to the public in such a short time. This helped a lot to develop reliable tests for the virus and start the development of vaccines.

January 30 – The WHO declares the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern

February 6 – Li Wenliang, who had contracted a COVID-19 infection from one of his patients, dies in intensive care. The population of the entire country upholds him as a hero, and anger rises against the government for silencing the whistleblower who only wanted to warn their colleagues to prepare for an infectious outbreak.

February 23 – Italy is seeing his first surge of an outbreak, having more than 150 cases reported. In the Lombardy region, officials locked down 10 towns. Specialists say that it was too little too late, and that the initial delay of just 6 days to implement effectiv measures did cost thousands of lives down the line of the crisis.

March 3 – The CDC lifts restrictions of coronavirus testing after their own developed test kits proved to be inaccurate. Some are speculating that initial delays for testing were on purpose in order to keep the numbers low and avoid early turmoils that could interfere with economic interests. But February 29 the first US patient died and the need for widespread testing was becoming eminent.

March 11 – The WHO declares COVID-19 as a pandemic, having reported worldwide 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 deaths. While China and Korea show significantly declining epidemics, the infection is spreading around the world. The WHO is calling all countries to drastic measures, voicing the somewhat optimistic belief that the pandemic could be still controlled.

March 13 – President Trump declares a national emergency, and said he is making $50 billion in federal funds available to states and territories to combat the coronavirus. Two days afterwards the CDC advised to cancel all gatherings of 50 or more people in the US for the next 8 weeks, and schools start to close down. A simulation study showing the disastrous effect of not implementing restrictions seems to have been the impulse for a sudden strategy change in the US as well as the UK. #flatteningthecurve is the new slogan.

March 16 – Several Latin American countries impose restrictions in order to slow the spread of the virus. However, Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, encouraged mass demonstrations by his supporters, while restrictions are being implemented by regional authorities throughout the country.

March 22 – The city of Wuhan starts to loosen the restrictions that were applied two months earlier, allowing citizens to leave their homes, walking on streets and going to grocery stores. The first train brings more than 1000 workers into the town. The lift of restrictions is though gradual and impacts on new outbreaks still need to be observed.

At the same time, we have reached worldwide close to 300,000 confirmed cases spread out in 198 countries and about 15,000 deaths. Italy alone has a death toll of 600 persons per day and no end in sight. South Corea and Japan seem to be the only countries that managed to control the infection successfully that far.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has made a statement that he plans only for a short shutdown. “Our country wasn’t built to be shut down,” he said. Bolsonaro is echoing the same words in Brazil, saying that “we need to defend the economic stability of the country, otherwise the cure will be worse than the sickness”. Officials around the country are just scratching their heads because everybody else agrees that restrictions are the only way to avoid a disaster in the same dimensions as in Italy.

What we can see is that the developments are very drastic and fast, while several governments tended to downplay the severity and tried to hide the truth as long as they could. That has created much fear and uncertainty among the population. In a crisis like this, it is important to be very transparent so that everybody knows what to expect from the future. Knowing the facts is transmitting more security than uncertainty and distrust caused by people who deliberately distort the truth.

What is the COVID-19 Coronavirus?

The name, coronavirus, is based on the appearance of the virus having lots of stalks on its surface sort of like a crown. Hence the name coronavirus.

Microscopy image of SARS-COV2 virus by NIAID-RML via Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0

Most coronaviruses only infect animals and do not transmit from animals to humans. There are only seven coronaviruses known to infect humans.

It is not the first time that a coronavirus caused a worldwide health concern. In November 2002 a coronavirus caused in southern China the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrom (SARS) and spread around the world, eventually killing more than 750 people in 37 countries. It was contained by placing patients in quarantine. The fatality rate was about 11%, which is higher than for COVID-19, but the infection rate was fortunately lower. The outbreak ended in 2004 and never resurfaced. Scientists have later located a species of horseshoe bats to be the carriers of the virus. The Chinese team warned that another deadly outbreak of SARS could emerge anytime.

In 2012 occurred an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome starting in Saudi Arabia and spreading to other countries in the Middle East and Asia. It seems to have originated also in bats and possibly spread via camels. The fatality rate was about 30% but fortunately, it was not highly infectious. For that reason, it caused no more than 600 deaths worldwide. The practice of drinking camel´s milk may have contributed to the transmission in some cases.

The characteristics of the COVID-19 virus are different. The fatality rate is only 2-3%, and more recent estimates reduce it to 1,4%. The majority of patients will have only mild fever with similar symptoms than the common flu. The flu, while it is quite widespread, has fortunately a fatility rate of less than 0.1%.

Scientists have though discovered some genetic characteristics that make the COVID-19 virus strain much more infectious. A typical flu patient will infect in the average 1.3 other people. For coronavirus, the infection rate is estimated to be 2-2,5.

What does that mean? If the infection is 2.0 for example, one person infects two more. Those two infect four more. Those four infect eight more. Those eight infect 16. Those 16 infect 32. The rate accelerates pretty quickly, leading to a rapid exponential growth of infected cases.

Lets compare now the spreading of the flu with the COVID-19 coronavirus, considering there would be on restrictive measures in place. In a 2 week period, one flu patient may have infected another and spreading it to a total of 6 other persons in this period. After 4 weeks it would grow to 39 cases and reaching 1,500 cases after 8 weeks. In comparison, the coronavirus would spread from one to 128 people within the first 2 weeks, after 4 weeks to 16,000, and after 8 weeks to 268 million. The curve would only flatten out after 80% of the population has caught the virus and developed immunity.

The incubation period – that space of time when the virus has invaded your body but you don’t have symptoms yet – is seemingly between seven to 14 days. That’s a relatively long period. While there are no symptoms the person can unknowingly transmit the virus to others. For the flu, the incubation period is from 1 to 4 days only.

The Imperial College of London made a simulation model for both the US and the United Kingdom. The simulation estimated that in case of no interventions, in the second week of April the demand would surpass the supply of hospital beds, leading to a 30 times greater demand of hospital beds than available. The disease would cost about 510,000 lives in the UK and around 2.2 million death in the United States.

Considering this drastic outcome, both countries have applied measures to flatten the curve. When all the contemplated measures, like school closures, home quarantine of all infected cases and their families, and social distancing from the population over 70 are implemented, the need of hospital beds would fall to about a third.

In order to achieve those results, an implementation of 3 months of restrictions is required. And even implementing those restrictions, the demand for hospital beds may rise 8 times above the available intensive care units. As the disease spreads, probably more drastic restrictions will be needed.

There are hopes that implementing those measures, the disease can be suppressed in a similar way as in China or Korea, where new cases are already on the decline. The problem though, that as long as the majority of the population did not get infected and had a chance to create immunity, new cases can rise soon after restrictions are lifted. Subsequent restrictions may be needed that will aim to control the situation until eventually vaccines are in place. In the meantime we probably need to find some social distancing model that does not completely disrupt our economy, but keeps somehow the explosion of new cases at bay. At the current scenario, it may take possibly 2-3 years until the disease is totally under control.

Putting Things Into Perspective

The COVID-19 is not the greatest health threat that we faced so far as humanity. As of June 2, we reached about 380,000 deaths from COVID worldwide, but we know that those numbers will still grow. The WHO estimates that the flu costs between 250,000 and 500,000 lives every year, and surely the COVID-19 infection will pass this death toll by the end of this year. The Spanish Flue caused somewhere between 50 and 100 million deaths between 1918 and 1919. It is estimated that the plague erased about 200 million lives in the Middle Ages. Estimates say that the HIV virus caused around 35 million deaths since 1981.

Things are getting worse when it comes to lifestyle diseases like heart disease and cancer. It is estimated that coronary vascular diseases cause every year 17 million deaths, accounting for 1/3 of all deaths worldwide. And almost 10 million people die every year from cancer. This scenario is repeating every year, and we accept it as totally normal.

Fact is that 80 to 90% of these deaths are totally preventable. Imagine if we could eradicate smoking from the planet, we would instantly eliminate 1/3 of all cancer deaths. And what if we would put the owners of fast-food chains in jail for sacrificing the lives of millions of their clients, who die on heart disease and cancer as a result? The good news is that we do not need to wait for government restrictions to be in place. Making some sensible lifestyle changes can reverse this deadly trends in our lives instantly.

What Can We Do?

Let us analyze the current scenario. Currently there are no vaccines available. Estimates are that it will take at least a year to get a vaccine from development to proper testing and multiplication so that it is available for a larger audience.

There are also no medications available. Antibiotics are only effective for bacterial infections, and for viruses they do not help at all. Some french doctors have suggested the use of a malaria drug, but large scale studies are needed to really prove its efficiency. The WHO has chosen the 4 most promising medication options to study their efficacy against COVID-19 in a clinical trial. But for the moment there are no efficient treatment options known.

Most cases are mild and do not need any special intervention. About 19% of cases need hospitalization. In severe cases, they will intubate the patient and keep him on a ventilator until he recovers. This is nowadays the standard procedure of treatment. But where we can do a lot is in the field of prevention.

Social Isolation

The main focus of government agencies around the world relies on minimizing social interaction to avoid the exponential growth of the virus. As studies have indicated, this is really effective for flattening the curve of the outbreak. And for our own safety, it is recommended to abide by the recommendations and reduce interaction with people outside the family circle to the absolute necessary. With these measures we will be able to mitigate or even suppress in some areas the epidemic outbreak of the disease.

People with symptoms of a flue should quarantine themselves at home, together with their family members, who most likely caught the same infection due to close interactions.

For elderly people the fatality risk is rising drastically, reaching about 15% for those above 80 years of age. Elderly people, especially those with other underlying conditions like heart disease, asthma and other lung diseases as well as diabetes are at still higher risk to die from the disease.

While it is important to limit social contact to other people, there is no need to stay locked up at home. A walk in the neighborhood, as long as you stay at a distance of 6 feet or 2 meters away from other people, is actually healthy. As long as you take off the shoes at the door, there is not much risk of getting infected, and some vigorous exercise will help you strengthen the immune system.

Hygiene

Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 to 30 seconds. If you don’t have access to soap and water use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer gel with at least 60% of alcohol. Rub a dollop of gel on your hands until it evaporates. Use an alcohol-based hand wipe. Hand washing is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of both germs and viruses.

Think of all the surfaces you touch that other people touch:

door handles
light switches
computer keyboards
supermarket carts
chair arms
telephones
food service trays
stair railings
bathroom fixtures

If a person has the coronavirus, even without obvious symptoms, and touches their nose or mouth and afterwards the door handle, they leave viruses on the handle. You come along and touch the handle to open the door and the viruses are now on your hand. Touching your hand to your nose or your mouth leads the virus right to where it wants to be.

Keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in your pocket and use it every time you touch something that other people may have touched.

Be conscious of how many times you touch your face. And stop doing it.

Many grocery stores now provide disinfectant wipes to be used on the grocery carts. Most doors now open automatically so it’s not necessary to touch any handles. When you’re in the store, apply hand sanitizer after checking out. Both the cashier and courtesy help have contact with hundreds of customers each day.

You may be diligent about washing your hands but other members of your family may not be, especially children. Wipe down counters, door handles, and telephone mouth pieces, with a disinfectant. Keyboards are more of a challenge but should be disinfected as well. Careful use of rubbing alcohol works as it evaporates quickly. Household bleach is an effective inexpensive disinfectant. Use one part bleach to 10 parts water. Vinegar is a natural alternative but not quite as powerful as bleach.

Recent studies tried to determine how long the virus can survive on different surfaces. They found that the virus was able to survive up to 4 hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard, and up to 2-3 days on plastic and stainless steel. Of course, the probability of infection is gradually getting less over this time period. They found also that the virus was able to remain airborne for up to 3 hours when they used a nebulizer to blow the virus into the air. In a real-life scenario, it is though highly improbable for the virus to stay airborne for such a long time. And because of the laws of aerodynamics, it is still more unlikely for this droplet to install on your clothes.

One possible transmission route is via our shoes. If somebody sneezes on the floor, our shoes are able to pick it up and carry to our home. If possible, take off your shoes as soon as you come home and leave them on the porch. If that does not work, leave them right at the entrance of your home and don’t touch them until you are leaving home again.

Clothes can also harbor infectious droplets. If you are all day out in a high contamination area, or somebody was sneezing at you, you should consider changing clothes when you come home. Either put them into the washer or hang them out in the sun, that will kill off the bacteria.

Strengthen Your Immune System

There is one important parameter that the government agencies widely ignore in their prevention campaigns, and that is the force of our immune system. While social isolation measures can reduce the demand of intensive care units to a third, it should be possible to reduce the demand to maybe one tenth, if systematic efforts to strengthen the immune system of the population were in place.

Our body has a marvelous army of soldiers that are ready to defend us from bacterial and viral intruders. We have within us an army of about one trillion white blood cells, which form a highly specialized task force that works around the clock, to identify and combat any intruder that tries to infect us. If the immune system is in peak shape, it has an easy job to combat almost any intruder, including the COVID-19 coronavirus. On the other hand, if we do not take care of our lifestyle habits, our immune system will suffer greatly and we will be left with a highly compromised army to protect us.

Fortunately, we do not need to wait for government regulations to start boosting our immune system. There is much that we can do to be protected when the virus is all around us. This subject is so important, and there is so much that we can do to strengthen our immune system, that I am dedicating an entire article just on this subject. Take your health into your own hands and be sure to implement immune-boosting habits into your lives.

Have Faith

I don’t know your religion, but if you believe in God, this is the time to exercise your faith. With so much uncertainty around us, many are entering in panic mode. You can prevent that if you believe that you have a Heavenly Father who is able to take good care of you. After having done our part, we need to have faith that He is not going to leave you alone. How often have you been in a crisis in the past, but it all worked out fine at the end? Meeting the crisis with a positive attitude can help you a lot to be victorious.

Moments of crisis like this are good opportunities to reflect on our faith values. Is my faith something for real, or am I just acting as a nominal Christian? How do I find inner peace in the midst of a crisis? Maybe it would be the right moment to step aside and have an honest talk with God. What is in your heart? What are your worries and fears?

Consider these words of Jesus: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life?… So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Matthew 6:25-34

Think about the past. How often have you been in a tight spot, but looking back you can see clearly how God was taking care of every need. The Christian author Ellen White stated one time: “We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”