Coronavirus - How is the Corona virus affecting the Au Pair program?

Przez FeliciaCzas czytania: 6 min.

Dear AuPair.com community,

Given the worldwide concerns about the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus, we decided to deal with the topic from the Au Pairs’ and the Host Families’ perspective. Being the Au Pair program an international project which involves people from all over the world, our priority is to inform our users about how this virus is going to affect the Au Pair program. We know that you have many questions and we will do our best to clear the possible case scenarios when it comes to au pairing.

We will provide you with technical information about the virus and will give you an overview of the measurements taken by most countries. We are going to update our information in order to keep you informed about the situation. In any case, there is no need to panic!

What is the Coronavirus

Before beginning to delve into the details, we recommend all our users to get the information only from reliable sources. The Internet is blowing news concerning the Coronavirus: always check and verify what you are reading.Taking advantage of the situation and spread the panic even more is extremely easy, let’s try to avoid it!

The World Health Organization explains that the COVID-19 belongs to a whole family of Coronaviruses, transmissible between animals and people.

The virus spreads from person to person, through the droplets of mouse and nose, on objects and surfaces, through contact with respiratory droplets.The symptoms are of respiratory nature, including fever and cough, and they can get worse causing lung problems.

The incubation period is the time between catching the virus and beginning to develop the symptoms and it can last from 1 up to 14 days.

When did it spread

As the majority of us knows, the COVID-19 (first) appeared in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei Province of China, in December 2019. The origin of the virus is still unknown but there may be a connection with the animal markets of the city. The bond with animals lies at the hearth of other viruses, suchs as the MERS and the SARS.

After seriously affecting China, it quickly spread all over the world: from Japan and South Korea (where it already reached its peak, according to the health minister), to Europe (especially Italy), Africa (Egypt) and the Middle East (Iran).

Numbers

The virus is particularly aggressive towards older people and those with already compromised health and the mortality rate is now around 3,5%.

According to the Italian Health Ministry, there have been 109.557 cases in the whole world so far and 3.809 deaths, of which 3.123 in China. Check the daily updates here.

Case scenarios for Au Pairs and Host Families

Au Pairs who are already au pairing abroad: there is no need to worry and to leave before time. Follow the instructions of your Host Country and you will be fine.
Au Pairs who are going to travel to the red areas: avoid unnecessary trips. You’ll definitely have the occasion to visit those places once the situation will come back to normal.
Au Pairs who are going to work abroad in the next weeks/months: keep updated with the Host Countries’ regulations and with the travel companies. Ask your Host Family about the situation.
Host Families from the read areas: ask the institutions if it’s advisable to hire an Au Pair now and consider to put out the Au Pair stay. AuPair.com can help you figuring it out.
Host Families who hosts Au Pairs from the red areas: if the Au Pair doesn’t show any symptoms or hasn’t been back in her hometown in the last weeks there is no need to worry. You may consider to prolong her stay, if she is supposed to leave the next days.
Host Families who already signed a contract and want to quit: think about it and don’t take decisions that you may regret. Keep updated with the news and eventually decide to postpone the stay.
Families who are worried for their kids: kids appear not to show any symptoms. Older people are more likely to have complications.

How is the virus going to affect the program?

The worldwide economy is already facing the huge effects of the epidemy and there will be direct - temporary - consequences for the Au Pair program as well.

Less registrations from the affected area: in order to respect the measures taken by every country, there may be a minor number of Au Pair jobs or Au Pair candidates who come from the “red zones” for the moment.
Impossibility to travel: again, given the measures taken by the countries, there may be serious restrictions to travelling. We suggest to check the travel companies to get updates.
Problems in getting a visa: there may be delays due to the impossibilities of embassies to submit visa documents. Please, check the Host Country’s embassy website in order to know whether they are working regularly or not.
Language schools may be closed, according to the area. Call your Host Family and ask them for more information about it.

Update: measures taken in every country

Being China the first area affected by the virus, its government already took the necessary precautions some months ago in order to contain it. People are monitored everyday, they are obliged to wear face masks and to pass a daily healthy check. Cities have been locked down, public gatherings have been suspended.

In February, the virus began to spread in Europe as well, especially in Italy,

Italy is the European country with the majority of cases registered (7985, of which 724 are now healthy, whereas 463 died). Italy had already blocked the flights from and for China in January. At the moment there are strict measures which forbid people to travel to or to leave their hometowns. Schools and Universities will be closed until the 3rd April, so all the public events are forbidden.

As for Italy, many countries have adopted the same restrictions on travels and large gatherings, such as the US.

The UK responds to the outbreak with a forced 14-days quarantine for all the people who travelled to the red areas.

Prevention

Let’s keep it simple. Preventing the virus is possible, we just have to take care of ourselves and to follow these steps. They can really make the difference!

Wash your hands - how many times have you told your Host Kids to do that? It’s time for you to lead by example.
Avoid touching your face (eyes, nose and mouth): if you don’t wash your hand, you shouldn’t touch your face. It’s actually something that we should never do. No news!
Maintain at least 1 meter distance: especially in crowded places. The new indications suggested 4,5 metres.
Don’t cough and sneeze on the face of somebody else - again, no news!
Avoid crowded places, especially if you already feel ill.
Don’t panic: viruses like panic, don’t feed them!
Don’t waste face masks. The WHO suggests to wear a mask only if you have the symptoms or if you are in contact with a person who has the virus! Don’t waste the masks! There are people who really need it.
If you have been to the contaged areas, stay at home for 14 days. It’s just a means to prevent the eventual diffusion of the virus. It’s time to check all the series on your Netflix list, 14 days can go very fast.

This situation is pretty new for everyone but we can really help each other taking all the prevention methods seriously. It’s a sign of respect for all the people who already have a compromised health and for the professionals who are working nonstop in clinics and hospitals. Let’s try to do our best! #stayathome

We are going to keep you updated with all the information concerning the Au Pair programs and the restrictions in every country. Stay tuned!