I didn't do anything wrong....did I?

[Funkyslippers]

DD desperate to see her friend who lives a few streets away. She made brownies and we dropped them on her doorstep, went back onto the pavement around 12 feet away, DD called her and she came to the door, took the brownies and said thank you.

They then call each other while we're walking home (social distancing all the way but not many people around) and her older sister shouts in the background "her mum let her do that? That was stupid!!!" meaning we shouldn't have brough the brownies round to her house. I couldn't see anything wrong with it. I mean, the postman delivers mail to houses each day. Am I missing something? Or is she worried about eating contaminated food - we washed our hands thoroughly during the process.

I see nothing wrong with what you did, but at the same time I can understand why nobody would want to eat any food you prepared, regardless of how fastidious you are about hand washing etc. You see, you may be, but nobody outside of your household knows that and at the moment people are simply not willing to take the risk. So at worst what you did was a waste of time, but at the moment all we have is time so 🤷‍♀️. There are always people on here that will make you feel like the devil incarnate for leaving your house but not everyone feels that way. I have no choice but to leave my house with a toddler every day, I wish there was an alternative but unfortunately not. Don't let people make you feel bad.

Exactly why people like us aren't popping out to deliver brownies!

I'm sorry for your loss, but actually I don't agree with you.

How is this any different from receiving takeaway food via a company delivering to your door?

I have a letterbox and I leave the letter there until Sunday evenings when its been a couple if days since postman has been. I open my mail outside and then wash my hands after binning envelopes.....

Basically if both households are not showing symptoms then I would not worry too much.
However in order to get everybody to do the right thing (kids most importantly) it is a bad example (these are the rules...but)..
I would ignore the extreme answers (either way)

I meant to say an outside letterbox. My post does not come thru door. I have never understood why it is meant to be ok to get takeaway food at this time......

Covid can live on paper/ cardboard for 48 hours.

Sure it can but after 48 hours the amount left on there will a) be likely so degraded it poses no risk and b) if you're washing your hands anyway, as you ought to be, that would deal with it.

By all means do whatever you want, but let's not just invent rules and then claim the rest of us should be doing the same. Personally, as someone with multiple suicide attempts behind me due to OCD, the danger to me from doing anything which might cause me to relapse is greater than the negligible risk of covid 19 from post or food packaging.

Well. It was not a necessary thing to do. So yes she broke the rules and next week we will be fined if we do something similar.

The issue of whether you did anything wrong is not the point. I think everyone should be more aware that this virus is a killer. It's indiscriminate, it's getting poor people, rich people, old and young people. We have to keep safe distancing as it's the only defence we have at the moment! Have a look at the deaths in Italy and Spain and Iran! People dying from this thing, and a lot more of us are going to die. We haven't even reached the peak in the UK yet. So if you want to live, and you want your kids to live KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE.

It’s been clearly stated that the virus is not food borne, and this risk if contamination through packaging is minimal.

I don't think delivering brownies is essential travel, is it? It was silly and thoughtless at best, selfish and a downright lack of regard for other peoples health and lives at worst. All this pushing the boundaries and trying to find loopholes is what is going to keep spreading this disease and killing people. It will also get us put on a complete lockdown.

How embarrassing for you that a kid/teenager had to call you out on your behaviour

It’s been clearly stated that the virus is not food borne, and this risk if contamination through packaging is minimal.

You can say that til you're blue in the face, but apparently the armchair scientsts on MN know better.

You walking to their house was for exercise and for yours and your daughters mental health you didn't go near them.

You and DD were only trying to be kind and it's probably worth not worrying yourseves over now- the family won't have eaten the brownies, if they have touched the packaging they will have washed their hands, if they had any understanding about viruses on surfaces (which let's face it pretty well all of us have now). They would have appreciated the thought and then put them in the bin. Don't beat yourself up about it but think of another way to be kind instead. We're not used to this situation and we learn from these things.

@tootiredtoconga because some people have small kids who can not control where they are touching all the time. I do clean my posts wipe them with the antibacterial wipes. I think it’s wise to do.

A reminder for those hard of reading/hearing: it doesn't matter how long the virus can live on any surface, AS LONG AS YOU WASH YOUR HANDS before and after handling and try not to touch your face!
Soap, water combined with 20 secs of friction is sufficient to kill anything that might have transferred to your hands on touch no matter how long it might have been on whatever you have touched.

A reminder for those hard of reading/hearing: it doesn't matter how long the virus can live on any surface, AS LONG AS YOU WASH YOUR HANDS before and after handling and try not to touch your face!

^THIS.

Btw I mean washing hands, not every bloody food container, bill or farm food leaflet you might have glanced at.

So if you want to live, and you want your kids to live KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE

More scaremongering. Great.

So if you want to live, and you want your kids to live KEEP A SAFE DISTANCE

Oh for fucks sake.

I'm a scientist scientist not an armchair one! I also worked in the NHS in ICU for over a decade. What the evidence says is that the virus doesn't last long on packaging or surfaces but there's no consensus on how long this is- reports state different durations for the capacity of the virus to remain infectious on food, packaging and hard surfaces- some even state 72 hours! It's difficult for people to make judgements on this without accessing and being able to understand the research so lots of misinformation flies around. I am delivering food and prescriptions to my local community to are self isolating. I wash and hand sanitise my hands when packaging the food, clean any packaging aroudn other items with 70% alchohol then put a clean pair of gloves on to take it round to them, leaving eveything on their doorstep. The people who have needed these precriptions have complex haelth needs and I just dont think its worth taking any risk, so everything is sanitised and it comprises only essential items. I think it's sensible for everyone to take these precautions given probably won't know the immune status of people we may be delivering to. In ICU we were constantly alcohol wiping surfaces.

People are really misunderstanding the purpose of the social distancing aren't they?!

No it wasn’t essential you shouldn’t have gone and taken food from your house made with your hands! Wether you washed them or not. What part of this aren’t people understanding! Covid19 lives on surfaces for days!! Her older sister is looking out for her! We are quarantined for 12 weeks due to a bone marrow transplant in our family, we have tins dropped at the door we have to wear gloves wipe them over with antibacterial wipes leave them in the utility then go and shower! Please take this more seriously you have breathed I assume whilst cooking? Walking? Foil? Covid 19 lives on metallic surfaces longer! Please leave people to isolate

YY!! You shouldnt of done this!!! You're hands might be dirty even if you of washed them!!! U might of past the virus to youre friends from this!!!! U might of breathed on the brownies!!! its disgusting and dangerous. Anyone on mumnset would tell you so.