To think some people need to get a grip!

[CurrentBun1981]

There are clearly those who are being far too nonchalant about the current situation, but tbh I'm probably encountering more of the slightly hysterical/OTT types right now.

For example, my friend has been frantically discussing on FB how best to sterilise her shopping and has implemented some ridiculously elaborate system of debagging shopping in the garage, putting the bags in the outside bin, wiping everything down with sanitising wipes, then walking back to put these in the bin too, before then leaving everything in quarantine for a couple days in the garage fridge. She's now worried about whether she's already brought the virus into the house on her shoes or her dog as she hadn't thought of that till she read it, and is discussing this on FB right now, trying to make another process involving outdoor footwear, indoor footwear, and 'transitional' footwear (presumably slippers from garage into house or something).

Her view is that she wants to go 110% in ensuring she doesn't catch it, which is fine. However, she doesn't do anything like this in any other areas of her life, which I suspect is the same thing for many others acting similarly.

For example, I've never seen her check the tyre pressure on her car and am 100% certain she doesn't do this weekly as is recommended. I'm pretty certain she doesn't know the legal tread depth and how to check it as she often needs new tyres at MOT stage (presumably illegally low on tread at this point).

What is it about this recent crisis that's invoking fear in the types of people who rarely use their car mirrors except to check their make up?

I'll concede that theoretically you could probably bring the virus into your house on your feet if you stepped in somebody's spit etc, but the likelihood has got to be tiny, and this is all ultimately to avoid catching a disease which will give the majority of victims 'mild' symptoms and is statistically extremely unlikely to kill her in the unlikely chance she catches it - I'm convinced the government might just let us crack on and catch it if it wasn't for the unmanageable strain on the NHS.

The state of her car isn't relevant.

It absolutely is when the whole point is how many people are disproportionately concerned about corona. If my friend was careful in every other aspect of her life it woudn't be as surprising.

I know about food poisoning but where has this come from. Have animals that have been experimented on been sold as meat at wet markets. Something has happened.

It's not the first coronavirus. We've already had outbreaks of others. It's likely that it's mutated to affect humane too and the wet market environment has facilitated transmission.

There seems to be this idea that “we all have to get it” knocking around. I really disagree -we should all be desperately avoiding it if at all possible. If only to protect others if you’re not worried about yourself.

Prof Costello at the select committee today was talking about how we would potentially need 4 or 5 waves of infection before getting to herd immunity levels. In this wave alone we have already seen nearly 15000 deaths and its very far from over. We need to suppress it as far as possible until there’s a vaccine.

Given what we know about the virus surviving on surfaces I would think that washing / quarantining stuff coming in to the house is pretty rational. If you don’t want to do it - fine. Not sure why there’s a need to criticise those who do.

On my way to work today I saw two amazing examples of risk assessment and perception...

A city centre cyclist with a surgical mask but no cycle helmet

A hospital Dr, sat on a bench with his surgical mask on his forehead whilst he smoked a cigarette

Both made me to myself

Also, my colleague with a BMI of 40 who is currently shit scared that they are increased risk of dying no shit sherlock

A city centre cyclist with a surgical mask but no cycle helmet

You mean the unnecessary mask, right?

Magic hats are really more for psychological security than any significant risk reduction. In the hierarchy of things a cyclist can do to make themselves safer a helmet is just a little higher than a lucky rabbit’s foot.

Whenever I read 'high BMI' I always think 'high big mac ingestion' for some reason. 🤔

Except we don’t actually know much about it surviving on surfaces as there has not been enough research. If they did the same minimal amount of research on cleaning products being used and concluded that the risk of illness from accidental inhalation or ingestion of the chemicals used appeared to be greater than the risk of getting covid 19 from shopping bags, what then? Or if research showed that poor disinfecting practices actually just spread the virus over a larger surface area and potentially increased the chances of accidentally picking it up?

And what if lungs weakened by cleaning chemicals are more at risk from covid 19 pneumonia?

This made me chuckle. I've been pretty obsessed with trying not to catch it but then found myself cycling along a busy road full of lorries etc with my small child on the trailer bike behind me. Something I would never do normally!

@Blibbyblobby I worked in A&E for 15 years and we will have to agree to disagree about the prycle helmet offers

*protection a cycle helmet

From the WHO. Soap and water is good. No need for nasty chemicals. From what I’ve read, the results vary according to the surface - hard to take a sample from cardboard but on hard surfaces it has a pretty well defines half-life. Anyway, apologies if the picture doesn’t work. It’s my very first one! Link to page is: www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses

It has been advised that you keep a separate pair of shoes outside that are your 'shop's shoes, and yes you should clean your shopping when you bring it into the house, godknows who has touched / sneezed that tin of beans before you picked it up. I separate shopping so keep all non perishable goods in the car boot for 72 hours before bringing it into the house. To be perfectly honestly I dont think you should be judging anyone right now if they feel they are doing their best to keep their family safe and well.

Also, my colleague with a BMI of 40 who is currently shit scared that they are increased risk of dying confused no shit sherlock

It might seem weird to people who don’t live with severe obesity but it really does feel different knowing you might have a heart attack or stroke in 30 years as opposed to a virus that will kill you NOW. Maybe a bit like smokers who continue to smoke knowing it will probably kill them in future but might stop if something was going to kill them tomorrow.

YABU. The science doesn’t know enough about Covid19 yet and it’s mutations. You might think your friend is being over zealous but I believe you’re being too complacent because that’s more fashionable.

If it makes her happy so be it. I don't blame her and im also making very similar steps to avoid this b disease getting into my home. I sanitise everything that comes into my home, i even change my clothes if ive gone for walk, clean dogs lead. Take shoes off, wear 4 different coats and wash and exhange them continously. This disease is a killer, because it's invisible people seem to think they are invincible. I know im not so I'm taking lots of steps to limit us catching it.

@NurseJaques

Indeed we will. Out of interest, how did you count the people who didn't wear helmets and also didn't need to go to A&E?

I’m not being funny but how is it going to infect you from a coat? I take off my shoes when I get home and if my clothes touched something I would take them off and wash them but the virus isn’t going to jump onto a coat and into your mouth/nose/eyes and infect you without you touching your face surely

And tbh you don't sound like a very good friend dissing someone who's obviously scared for her life. We are all scared right now, we may lose people we know and care about. Cut the woman some slack and maybe start thinking about how you should be getting on with your own stuff. Nows not a time to hate on mates

* sorry I misread the soap and water bit. Disinfectant for surfaces *

Also didn’t mean to bold the whole thing!

MigginsMs it depends. If you have been on a crowded train for example there could have been people coughing on you (some on purpose as it's a new sport). It won't live there forever and I don't regard it as a huge risk but obviously it is real. If you touch your coat and then touch your face (which we all do ALL the time)

I think it depends if she or someone in her household is vulnerable or at heightened health risk. If she is then she's doing her best to protect them. Probably to lengths most of us wouldn't be prepared to or don't have faciltiies to do. For instance I, like many people, don't have a garage or space for a spare freezer.

I personally couldn't be bothered but I think I already have the virus and provided I get through it relatively mildly I will be glad as I think it will mean I will be likely to be freer sooner if they will have a test for antibodies available. Not that I think we know yet whether immunity will last. But I do think people will end up being in a place where they wish they had had it rather than wanting to be isolated for 6 months or more.

The question will be whether that amount of effort will be sustainable over a very significant period. The time when risk will rise again will be post lockdown when everyone starts circulating again. And then second wave in the winter.... And so on.

In everything we do we make risk assessments. Balancing effort/cost against the risk. Where you draw the line is a matter of opinion. I don't wash shopping though I do wash my hands after it is delivered. I mostly won't be using this stuff for a day or so and that means any traces of the virus will likely have died.

On the other hand I have no children at home now. If I did I'd be much more careful and I wouldn't let someone tell me I couldn't.

Most diseases are invisible. I don't spend hours worrying about getting cancer or having a stroke or a heart attack, even though there are things I can do to mitigate my risks of all of these things, and any of them might kill me.