We’re taking steps to protect you and your home during the COVID-19 outbreak

The COVID-19 viral outbreak has had a profound impact, both across the nation and here in the Chicago area. In our recent letter from our President and CEO, Tim Willson, we outlined many of the steps our team is taking to protect your home and family during the COVID-19 outbreak. In this article, we’ll review these precautions, what is known about COVID-19 at this time, and what you can do to support and protect others in our community during the outbreak.

The technicians, plumbers, and service experts at King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing are here for you and your home. Call us now for 24/7 emergency service, and we’ll send a member of our team out to your home to help with your urgent furnace, air conditioning, or plumbing repair.

What is COVID-19?

Also commonly known as “novel coronavirus,” or just “coronavirus,” COVID-19 is a global pandemic that has recently arrived in the United States and begun to spread through communities across the nation. A respiratory disease that made the jump from animals to humans, COVID-19 has flu-like symptoms, but there is no pre-existing immunity or vaccine to protect people. Combined with its long incubation period, this makes this virus highly contagious and easy to spread unless precautionary measures are taken.

The majority of people (about 80%) who contract COVID-19 experience mild or moderate symptoms. Some people may be completely symptomless, but otherwise still contagious. In most cases, people are able to spread the virus for several days before showing signs of flu-like symptoms. This makes the virus difficult to contain, as otherwise-healthy people could be spreading COVID-19 to others without even knowing it. 

Coronavirus is typically spread in one of two ways:

• When an infected person sneezes or coughs, they expel the virus into the air. Breathed in by another person, the virus can infect them.
• The virus can survive on most physical surfaces for a prolonged period of time. Touching door handles, cellphones, or countertops, and then touching one’s mouth, nose, or eyes can lead to infection.

Certain populations—such as the elderly, those with pre-existing medical conditions, or those with compromised immune systems—are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and most likely to experience severe symptoms that require hospitalization. However, the virus has also infected and made young, healthy people seriously ill. In other words, no one is immune and we should all act smart and be careful.

According to the latest recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), you can do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19 by:

• Social Distancing: Avoid going out unless absolutely necessary and comply with our state’s shutdown guidelines. When you do go out—such as trips to the grocery store—maintain six feet of distance between you and others. Wear a face covering to prevent the spread of the disease.
• Being Cautious: Avoid touching your face while in public and wash your hands thoroughly with warm soap and water when possible. Sanitize your phone and anything you may have touched.
• Staying Home: If you’re sick, do not go out. If you’re healthy, only go outside your home and into public spaces when absolutely necessary. We can all do our part to “flatten the curve” by staying home and avoiding spreading the virus.

Our team is standing by and ready to help

King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is providing our 24/7 emergency cooling, heating, and plumbing services as an essential service. If your home or business needs HVAC or plumbing help, please give us a call right away.

As noted in our letter published last week, our team is taking several precautionary measures to protect you and your home:

• We have implemented additional sanitization and cleaning protocols in our office, warehouses, fleet vehicles and work locations.
• We have equipped field staff with necessary equipment to ensure safe working procedures in homes and businesses of our customers.
• No employees showing symptoms of COVID-19 will be working while showing symptoms, and will not return until medically cleared.
• Prior to each home visit, your technician will call to confirm the appointment. At this time, the technician will describe the increased sanitary measures and confirm nobody at the location is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or has experienced symptoms within the past 48 hours.

If you have any questions about these precautionary measures, please call us at (708) 315-2168 or email luke@kingheating.com.

Thank you for supporting our community

Throughout Chicagoland, we’ve seen people working together and helping their friends, neighbors, and even total strangers. We encourage everyone to do what they can to help our community’s local businesses during these tough times. Here are some ways you can participate:

• Restaurants are especially hard-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. If it is within your means, please consider ordering takeout or delivery from local establishments. This helps them keep the lights on and their employees working. If you are wary of ordering food, call and ask about purchasing gift cards that you can save for when the outbreak is over.
• Whether you’re buying essentials or just fun items to get you through your time with the kids at home, shop locally. Local storefronts are seeing far less foot traffic, and could really use your business.
• Be kind. From those stocking grocery store shelves to the front-line medical professionals, a simple “thank you” can go a long way to making them feel valued and appreciated.

The entire team at King would like to give a special thank you to our community’s first responders, medical professionals, and all those who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak. We appreciate you!

Finally, thank you for your continued business and support of King Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We’re proud to be your go-to team for emergency cooling, heating, and plumbing services here in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. Call us when you need us—we’ll be there.