Should we or should we not be wiping shopping??

[Jaem02]

I know the gov say it isn't necessary but lots of people are still wiping down or quarantining shopping. Should we be?

I’m still too lazy to put my shopping away for 3 days quarantining it :)

Yes I do. I’m in the very likely to die if I get it category (The people formerly known as shielded). Wiping down groceries and quarantining mail seems like a small measure I can take to feel safe.

Never wiped shopping at all.

Do you also wear a padded suit and helmet in case you fall over when you go out or something falls on your head?

Yes still doing it.

Do what you think is right for your circumstances.

We did for a few weeks but after the science came out that it was very low risk we stopped. My eldest daughter was so particular about it as well. She was driving me mad😂.

Never done it, never will. I take covid seriously, but that is an overreaction.

Yes, and we probably do it for the rest of my life. I'd be interested in seeing the information that says it's not necessary, as this whole pandemic has made my OCD go into overdrive... I was getting ontop of it last year. Or making a decent dent in my fear of germs and the like, and COVID has had me thinking, I WAS RIGHT! I WAS RIGHT!! CONTINUE AND DO MORE!! Obviously I'm back in therapy but I'm doing all I can to avoid getting covid and I'm running myself ragged doing so

Never done it and don’t know anyone who does.

Yes, I wipe mine down if it needs going in the fridge or freezer and it doesn't take that long and it gives me peace of mind so there's no harm. Even if Covid disappeared tomorrow I would still do it. The dirty mucky water that is left behind and the holes in packaging that I wouldn't have known about without seeing them fill with water has put me off just blindly accepting anything from a supermarket.

We did it at the beginning but stopped at the end of May when the latest research showed that the biggest risk was airborne droplets being inhaled and that picking up the virus from contact with surfaces was very low risk.

I still try not to touch my face while picking up new items etc and wash hands well after processing the shop into the cupboards etc.

Never did it.

Quite a few people on MN are obsessive cleaners. I know one person IRL who was wiping things down but she stopped ages ago.

no but! We had a delivery from a depot with a massive covid outbreak so we stripped the packaging off (on the front doorstep and recycled it) and quarantined the items in the back garden because even I can see that is a risk

Still am and will continue.

@newwnamme

If you have time to wipe down your shopping, or even time to spend mulling over whether it should or needn't be wiped, you're in a more privileged position than most people living through this pandemic.

I don't agree with this perspective at all, in countries with extreme poverty food prep takes hours.

In my opinion the people in the UK not washing their shopping are unlikely to be scavenging for scrap metal! They'll probably be doing something else equally 'privileged', perhaps driving to see a friend or watching TV or doing the ironing.

Slightly off topic, sorry. But this is not about privilege.

I never have and I don't know anyone who does either.

No. Don’t have the energy for that.

I've never done it and never will. Covid has sent people loopy.

Never done it. Haven't caught anything either.

Wow

I don't do anything like that, but I wash my hands frequently. When I get parcels, I unwrap them , recycle or throw away packaging, and then wash my hands.

No, and IMO anyone who does should probably consider whether they need help with their mental health.

There is no evidence that people are catching COVID from their shopping. If that were the case the figures would be much higher and deliveries would have been stopped not encouraged.

I’m fairly cautious as I am in the likely to die category as well, but here’s the thing. There is no point worrying about dying if you’re not actually living. And living in a bubble where everything is sanitised just in case you die is not a healthy way to live.

We’re all going to die of something, chances are the need to control your life so rigidly is more likely to kill you (through suicide etc) than COVID.

No. It was never advised by anyone (who knows about infection control).

One crazy dude made a Youtube video in March. (I watched this video as a care package I manage was getting freaked out.) Within a few minutes he made enough basic terminology errors to reveal himself as someone with no expertise in infection control so for me it was easy to dismiss, but apparently half the world found it convincing and will not be deterred, no matter how many real life microbiologists, infection control experts, or government bodies try. So here we are.