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.

Does your friend not realise this lockdown isn't to stop people catching the virus, it's to DELAY people catching the virus so the NHS can keep up.

This is my point. A lot of perfectly healthy people seem to think they're at home because this 'killer virus' will wipe them out if they catch it, which isn't true for the vast majority. Of course, we should be making reasonable effort to prevent the spread but for most it's just like a bad cold.

I'll admit I'm probably slightly hardened to it as I'm still in contact with literally hundreds of people a week and don't have PPE. But the fact remains that not one of my 80 colleagues has been seriously ill despite several catching it and recovering, and none of our other three sites with similar employee numbers have had any serious cases.

I don't mean to be dismissive, I think I just likely have a different perspective - I think it's probs hard not to when you've been in close contact with say 300 people in the last week and then you get home and read posts from people who've been inside for a fortnight stressing about catching corona from their shoes.

My DH didn't get this either until I explained the following scenario. He goes on his walk, steps in spit from a passing infected jogger, wears shoes into the house, dog rolls on carpet where he has been standing, he strokes dog and puts his fingers on his face - Voila - he has caught it! He is taking his shoes off at the front door now!

Not saying it’s not a possibility but realistically there would be millions and millions of cases and hundred of thousands of deaths if the virus was that contagious.
As people keep on saying those in shops or are still allowed to work come into contact with people and possible contamination day in day out.

The 'it can live on surfaces for 3 days' stuff is a bit misleading. You can find traces of its RNA on some surfaces after 3 days; that's not the same as the whole virus surviving and being able to infect you after 3 days.

Someone on my local FB page was begging people not to go on bike rides as they could cycle out of the town and pick up the virus on their tyres and bring it into local streets where people could pick it up. There is reasonable precautions and then there is anxiety-in-overdrive.

@Gwenhwyfar there are multiple online videos showing how to correctly wear and take off gloves and masks. Again to me it is very easy to take a few minutes to watch a YouTube video and practise this. Have you not watched a tv show since lockdown started? Is it really so difficult to watch a video on how to wear them properly?

You can make your own mask easily ( again multiple videos online) and while it’s not medical grade if you were asymtpomatic it would stop you spreading and also stops you touching your nose and mouth when out and about. Re gloves I’m in Ireland and shops are giving them out when you arrive - I thought it was the same in the Uk? but I also have a supply from when I renovated my house. If I didn’t have this supply I would wear ordinary gloves take them off and wash them in Milton when I get home.

Again if it’s easy to do and might help why not do it. It’s all about minimising spread.

I've certainly noticed a lot of people who seem to be relaxing their restrictions when they've run out of wine/beer. 🤔

Given the rate of infections in the community is now believed to be much lower than 3 weeks ago before lockdown, I am perplexed at people doing this now when they were probably merrily cramming into packed and infested supermarkets a month ago and sending their kids to school. She’s probably a MNer.

Of course, we should be making reasonable effort to prevent the spread but for most it's just like a bad cold.
It is stuff like this. OP with all due respect, your experience of how coronavirus effects on people is anecdotal. Scientists are yet to figure out so much about it. Stop spreading comments like this with no proper evidence please because people are dying and that is a fact. And rubbish like that is infuriating to those that have suffered, lost a loved one, or work with coronavirus patients.

that is the advice that's been given after all

It’s not. The government advice does not include bleaching shopping

It does make me wonder what people’s personal exit strategies are going to be. It’s likely to be a long old haul ahead living life like this until there’s a vaccine, which even if it does come, is rightly going to prioritise healthcare workers and the very vulnerable group first. I reckon even if a vaccine comes most regular punters won’t get it for years.

All the waste your friend is creating too with the bags and wipes. The environment is still at risk of being fucked by all this shit virus or not, funny how that’s not seen as important any more by some.

All the waste your friend is creating too with the bags and wipes

I said this at work yesterday. Suddenly everyone bringing their own bags has gone out of the window. People are turning up with two trolleys full of shopping at the till, merrily announcing 'I've not been out of the house for three weeks!' and yet it doesn't seem to have occurred to them to bring bags for the huge amount of shopping they knew they were coming to do.

Stop spreading comments like this with no proper evidence please because people are dying and that is a fact. And rubbish like that is infuriating to those that have suffered, lost a loved one, or work with coronavirus patients.

I'm just echoing what the WHO says:

"Illness due to COVID-19 infection is generally mild, especially for children and young adults. Most people infected with the COVID-19 virus will experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment."

Haven't they said that 91% of people who've died had underlying conditions (an average of 2.7 conditions)? Of course, this is little consolation for those that have lost a loved one, but it likely means that most healthy individuals will likely be ok.

All the waste your friend is creating too with the bags and wipes. The environment is still at risk of being fucked by all this shit virus or not, funny how that’s not seen as important any more by some.

I'm surprised more people aren't worrying about the fact that rats can likely carry Covid19 and that waste companies are currently struggling to cope - e.g. councils relying on help from commercial waste companies and having to abandon segregation of waste streams (i.e. sending tons upon tons of dry recycling/cardboard to landfill due to lack of resource).

If you look at the what the surviving people in Wuhan do, they are very similar things to your friend.

WHO have said chances of transmission from package to person is low/very low.
We're being more careful about disposing of packaging and washing hands thoroughly after handling it but no washing fruit and veg with bleach going on here!

Well OP, the current from the WHO is that 1 out of 6 become seriously ill and develops difficulties breathing. 1 out of 6 is pretty high

“ The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough. Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don't feel unwell. Most people (about 80%) recover from the disease without needing special treatment. Around 1 out of every 6 people who gets COVID-19 becomes seriously ill and develops difficulty breathing. Older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness. People with fever, cough and difficulty breathing should seek medical attention.”

"ouncils relying on help from commercial waste companies and having to abandon segregation of waste streams (i.e. sending tons upon tons of dry recycling/cardboard to landfill due to lack of resource"

I thought they weren't going through the recycling because of the virus so it was a decision rather than a problem?
For me, rubbish collection has improved. I now have everything picked up every week whereas before general waste was only once every two weeks, a bigger problem for vermin as I don't have an outside space.

@Floatyboat

A gentle heat?!
HAHA! A gentle heat will NOT kill a virus! It would need to be over 121° for over 15 mins in order to become sterile and I'll be damned if I'm going to put my block of butter, fish fingers and bread in the oven at 121° for 15 mins!!!!

"yet it doesn't seem to have occurred to them to bring bags for the huge amount of shopping they knew they were coming to do."

There is advice not to use reusable bags. The Welsh Government has lifted the plastic bag levy for this reason.

"All the waste your friend is creating too with the bags and wipes. The environment is still at risk"

Health is more important at the moment. The environment is getting a benefit now with much less pollution, less travel, less production.

I thought they weren't going through the recycling because of the virus so it was a decision rather than a problem?

I can't speak for all companies but with my partner's employer it's directly linked to not having enough resource. Some drivers are self isolating and others have been sent to help the local council. Hence, there are drivers doing both commercial DMR and GW and tipping it all into landfill.

To get a scale of this on a commercial level, he said he has one customer from whom he collects 30 large wheelie bins of paper thrice weekly, with each bin being around 300-500kg based on whether damp paper or not. That's many many tons of paper getting buried!

Yes, some people do need to get a grip OP, these are stressful times and I hope posting about your friend has helped.

I'm still using my reusable bags. I'm shopping weekly so there is no active virus (if there ever was) by my next shopping trip either on the fabric handles or plastic bag. I put them away, wash my hands then there is no need to touch them again until the next week.

The WHO categorisation of 'mild' includes pneumonia that doesn't require hospital treatment. Moderate means requiring hospital treatment but not ICU. I have never had pneumonia but from the sounds of it it's not like any bad cold I have ever had!

I do think there are probably lots of extremely mild cases that have gone under the radar but even so, no one knows what the long term effects of infection might be and whether the virus may cause neurological damage down the line for example.

I am not saying we can all avoid it, just that we shouldn't be gung ho about getting it on the basis that it will be just a bad cold. We don't know that, and we certainly don't know this virus well enough yet to predict long term outcomes for even mild cases.

I've been cleaning my shopping. I'm quite disappointed in myself as have worked hard over the years to be less worried about germs and illness. I know it lacks logic as we have a houseful of pets who sleep o sofas and walk on surfaces. We wont be on lockdown forever and the virus will still be there so I am trying to give in to there being a randomness about it that no amount of preparation can control whilst following all present advice.