5 Things to Do in Quarantine When Your Family has Covid-19

There will always be multiple things to do in quarantine, regardless of your situation during the pandemic. As we approach the end of the year, many of us have been through multiple unforeseen challenges, including losing loved ones to Covid-19, testing positive to the virus yourself or living with family members or roommates who have Covid-19. 

If a member of your household has fallen sick from the virus, it would be best to limit contact with them as much as possible. But there are a variety of activities you can do while taking care of your loved ones in quarantine or to relieve the stress already caused by the pandemic. 

1. Cook Foods You Don’t Normally Cook 

Have you ever turned your back on cooking tedious meals or baking cakes and pastries just because you don’t have time in between going to work, running errands and spending time with friends and family? Well, take this moment as an opportunity to focus on activities you don’t usually get to do and see how that turns out. Cooking foods you cannot buy anywhere else or you’d want to put your own spin into is definitely a great way to start. 

2. Virtual Get-Togethers 

If you miss the energy of your friends or all those late night social gatherings you enjoyed before the pandemic, then meet up with your friends online. Whether it’s on Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Skype or FaceTime, this does not have to be a bad time to connect with friends and family. We just need to improvise. 

3. Movie Marathons

Some of us may be working from home while others may be in between jobs right now. The wonderful thing about working remotely, however, is that you can easily transition from work  to binge watching your favourite shows or movies over dinner to relieve the stress of a busy day. To give you ideas, we compiled a list of some of our staffers favourite movies and shows to binge-watch: 

• Harry Potter
• Twilight 
• Rush Hour
• Lord of the Rings
• Star Wars
• Westworld
• Shrek
• Sex Education 
• Stranger Things 
• Never Have I Ever 
• Disney Princess Classics
• House MD

4. Game Night

Stepping back from the traditional idea of game night that consists of friends and family huddled around a board game in a main living space, quarantine has given prominence to virtual games. One of which has caught the attention of 100 million people around the world. Among Us has become one of the most popular games this year with 60 million people playing the game every day by the end of September 2020. 

But if you want to take it a step up, virtual reality (VR) is another way to go. Oculus provides a range of experiences all in one device. With a VR headset, you can play games, exercise or even watch Netflix in a virtual reality setting of your choice. 

5. Read a Book 

As much as some of us need to socially interact with others, others may be more comfortable in the peace and comfort of a solitary space. If that’s you, now may be the best time to expand your horizon over concepts you are curious about but never had the time to look into. Sometimes that means going down a rabbit hole of online resources, or keeping it simple and reading a book instead. Whether it’s feeding your curiosity about life, learning how to manage your anxiety, building motivation or just entering a world of fiction to entertain yourself, reading is a hobby anyone can get into. Here are some of the books our staffers love to read:

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Fountain Head by Ayn Rand 
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
• Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 
• The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
• The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde 
• Eckhart Tolle Books
• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger 
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom 
• Letting Go by David R. Hawkins 
• The Beautiful Poetry of Donald Trump by Robert Sears
• Against Our Will by Susan Brownmiller 
• Dare by Barry McDonagh
• Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon
• I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream by Harlan Elson 
• Evolve Your Brain by Dr. Joe Dispenza
• How to Fall in Love with Anyone by Mandy Len Catron 

We hope these tips will help ease your time in quarantine. For more ideas on how to take care of your mental health during these shorter and darker days indoors, review our five tips to beating the winter blues this season.