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Covid

DF died, belongings?

9 replies

willhall · 03/05/2020 12:22

DF died two weeks ago in a care home with Coronavirus. He room was sealed for a week according to the rules and then cleared by the staff. His belongings have all been bagged up.

We are travelling to his home town for his funeral tomorrow and will collect his things from the home while we are there.

Aside from all the emotion and sadness, my anxiety is at its height. My main concern is that his belongings may somehow be contaminated. It sounds awful as I want the comfort of handling his personal items but I am frightened of bringing the virus home to either mine or DMs.

Such a difficult time and I wonder if I am being over anxious or am I at risk? Do I need to take major precaution?

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Connie222 · 03/05/2020 12:28

Does your mum have somewhere she can leave the bags untouched for a couple of weeks?

I’m so sorry Flowers

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4forkssake · 03/05/2020 12:42

I'm so sorry for your loss Thanks. I think the best thing to do would be to isolate his belongings for a period of time to make sure they're ok

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Pipandmum · 03/05/2020 12:43

They have already been left for a long enough time but if you're worried they have been infected by staff moving them then just collect the bags with gloves on and leave them for another week. It's terrible having to go through his things but in can be cathartic too. It brought back many happy and also bittersweet memories when I did it for my parents.

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Theweasleytwins · 03/05/2020 12:46

Are you my Mum? Begins with an S

If not, I'm not sure what she is doing with my grandads possessions

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Saucery · 03/05/2020 12:56

I don’t think you are at risk but understand the anxiety. I would have bags ready to pop the ones in from the care home, wearing gloves, then store them for a further week or so. Flowers

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willhall · 03/05/2020 17:50

WeasleyTwins - no, not yours (mine are wee ones), sorry your family is going through this too.

Thanks for your comments. It's such a difficult time, there are so many "can't do" things during this lockdown time and especially as he died with virus.

I think I'll have to collect his stuff in my car, and take back to my house and put in shed. It's just another injustice to his memory.

My anxieties and fears are at their peak due to the stress.

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FredaFrogspawn · 03/05/2020 17:54

www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-coronavirus-last-on-surfaces#different-surfaces

Very recent research suggests no more than 7 days at the most for virus out of body. Can you keep it in bags until then?

I am so sorry about your granddad.

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ChippityDoDa · 03/05/2020 18:11

So sorry to hear this, how terrible for you. If it helps, my DH had coronavirus (thankfully he is a youngster and recovered well) and once he was better I got him to bag up all towels, bedding and clothes. I left them for 7 days and then washed everything on hot (using gloves to get the clothes out.) I then sprayed and wiped everything with dettol (using gloves) and all was fine. I didn’t catch it - as far as I’m aware! I used an extra cup of white vinegar in the machine in with the usual liquid wash. Probably an old wives tale but my gran swears it kills germs! Didn’t do any harm!

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owlstwooting · 04/05/2020 07:09

Sorry to hear about your dad

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