By Verghese V Joseph –
All this while, life has indeed thrown up some glorious uncertainties that is until the COVID-19 pandemic hit us. All around us, the numbers are exploding.
The Corona virus is hanging like the Sword of Damocles over our heads and now is the time to take stock of hard realities and prepare our immediate family members, for any eventuality.
The best way to handle a newly uncertain life is to take action. In other words, put down some thoughts and have some emergency plans in place.
Get your household ready for COVID-19 contingency plan. As a family, you can plan and make decisions now that will protect you and your family. More importantly, take part in online masses that are streamed by your local parish or diocese. People, especially the elders, feel an obvious connect when they can see their local parish priests celebrating the Eucharist. Go beyond and participate in those offering Holy Hours, Novenas, Devotions, the Rosary, etc.
Take Family into Confidence
It might be a tough conversation but sit down with your family and talk over how you would like to handle things. If one or both of you are hospitalized, who will take care of the kids? Is there a plan for family?
Contingency Planning for Families
The parent or guardian of a child is the primary care giver and decision maker for the children in their care. This means that they make the decisions regarding who they want to care for their children in a situation where they are absent or incapacitated through illness or injury. This care can be short term or long term. This is the most natural response when a situation arises where a parent is unable to provide care to their children. It also means that the children are most likely being cared for by someone they are familiar with and have a relationship with. Guardians need to be identified and taken into confidence and provide details of same to enable contact during the crisis period.
- Earmarking money for your child in any way that you can.
- Purchasing a termed life insurance policy so that your child will have a revenue stream in the worst-case scenario.
- From an emotional perspective, revisiting your plan with your children can provide a source of comfort to everyone in the family.
We can’t promise nothing will happen to us, but we can help our children know that they will never have to worry that there won’t be somebody who loves and cares about them to help take over.
According to Chartered Accountant Sarthak Ahuja, if anyone who has passed away due to COVID-19 while in active employment, their family members and legal heirs may be eligible to receive a minimum of Rs. 2.5 lakh and maximum up to Rs. 7 lakh (updated September 2020) under the Employment Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme. If they were covered under PF with the EPFO, they were by default signed up for their life insurance cover.
The legal heirs may have to file a Form 15 with the EPF Commissioner, counter signed by the employers.
Family Toolkit to Survive During Covid Crisis
- Create a will, living will and power of attorney.
- Research and purchase the appropriate life insurance policy.
- Have financial information, such as budgets, in order.
- Create a savings plan to cover emergencies.
- Keep a document track of online accounts and passwords.
All parents living in emergency accommodation should be asked to consider if they can nominate another adult who they would want to take care of their children if they found themselves in a situation where they were either too ill within their own accommodation to care for their children or they required to be hospitalised.
The parents should be asked to ensure that their nominated person is agreeable to doing so and they should create a system in place to be activated if the need arises. A parent can nominate a number of different individuals. These potential designated carers can either be other residents or members of the community
Emergency numbers
Create your own emergency contact list. Make sure every member of the household has a current list of contacts for friends, neighbors, health-care providers and employers. It’s probably a good idea to also have information about the local public health department and other community resources.
We are well into the Covid-19 crisis but the end of the tunnel isn’t yet in sight. It’s time to put in extra effort to build a robust financial contingency plan. Let us see how we can do that.
The lockdown may help you in this to some extent, as you no longer have to bother about expenses like daily commutes and shopping. You can also try to carve out a dedicated Covid emergency fund in addition to your regular contingency fund and park your savings in a highly-liquid instrument like an FD or a savings bank account.
During the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis
- Get up-to-date information about local COVID-19 activity from public health officials.
- Create a list of local organizations you and your household can contact in case you need access to information, healthcare services, support, and resources.
- Create an emergency contact list including family, friends, and neighbors
Prepare for possible illness
- Consider members of the household who may have an increased risk for severe illness.
- Choose a room in your house that can be used to separate sick household members from others.
- Take additional precautions for those at higher risk for severe illness, particularly older adults and those of any age who have severe underlying health conditions.
- Treat pets as you would other human family members – do not let pets interact with people outside the household.
Follow UNICEF’s advice
- In a situation like this, it is normal to feel sad, worried, confused, scared or angry. You should know that you are not alone and should talk to someone you trust, such as a parent or a trusted adult, so that you can protect yourself and your health.
- Ask questions, educate yourself and listen to information from reliable sources.
- Be aware of false information and misconceptions, whether transmitted verbally or online.
- Take a break from watching, reading, or listening to news, including social networks. Listening about the spread of the viral infection multiple times throughout the day can be disturbing.
- Have some time for relaxing. Try to combine things you have to do with activities you enjoy.
- People with the virus circulate in the population and transmit it to others, often without knowing that they may be symptom-free or only have mild symptoms. That is why it is important to accept the call to stay home in order to avoid transmission and to go into quarantine if symptoms appear.
Recommendations for parents of adolescents
Children and adolescents often react in the same way as the adults around them. When adults deal with an unpleasant topic, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, with calm and confidence, they are providing them with the best support.
Parents can provide more stable support for others around them, especially for children, if they are better prepared.
There are many things you can do to support them:
- Take some time to talk to your child about the COVID-19 pandemic. Answer their questions and share facts about COVID-19 in a way that your child can understand.
- Convince your child that they are safe. Let them know that it’s okay if they feel upset. Share with them how you cope with your own stress.
- Limit your family’s exposure to news, including social media. Children can misinterpret what they hear and may be scared of something they do not understand.
- Try to maintain regular routines. Make a schedule of work activities and relaxing or fun activities.
- Be a role model. Rest, sleep, exercise and eat well. Connect with friends and family members.
Don’t forget to explain to them that by protecting their own health, they are also protecting the health of everyone around them.