Are you wearing gloves and mask to the supermarket?

[Afternooninthepark]

I’m avoiding going as much as possible but had to go yesterday and noticed that a lot more people were wearing gloves and/or masks, more so than when I went three weeks ago.
I wore disposable gloves as I find they remind me not to touch my face. I wash my hands as soon as I get home and wash or wipe down the shopping. Other than that I don’t suppose there is much more I can do?

Why would shop workers be wearing gloves? They would be contaminated the second they touched anything and need changed. You don’t catch the virus via your hands. You catch it by transfer of infected respiratory droplets either breathing it in or putting your fingers (or something else - possibly cutlery/cup) which have been contaminated (and that includes gloved fingers) etc directly into your nose or mouth or very near them. Therefore the best advice is not to touch your face and wash hands thoroughly before eating definitely and as often as is reasonably possible in between with hot water and soap. Anyone who coughs or sneezes into their hand should also wash then straight away.

Gloves won’t stop the transfer of the virus onto food stuff by infected shop workers either. Masks may stop the transfer but they need to be used properly and changed regularly - particularly if they cough or sneeze into them. They also would be clinical waste and need disposed of properly to stop contamination etc not just chucked in a bin

Pardon - as a matter of fact, there is a shortage

I, frankly, find it despicable that you would carry on using PPE incorrectly and possibly raising your own risk rather than provide it to HCPs who can use it properly to help patients.

There has been a shortage world wide due to increased usage and due to the fact that the vast majority is manufactured in China. China then requisitioned the supplies despite saying they would think and are refusing to release them

Two of DH’s colleagues are on ventilators but I’ll just tell their families to blame the NHS shall I rather than individuals like you directly contributing to the shortage and potentially putting refuse workers etc at risk by not disposing of soiled gloves properly into the bargain

.As soon as you have touched something, and not changed the gloves you are no longer sterile surely?

Correct, which is why some people can get lulled into a false sense of security with gloves. I find them useful because I don't have that issue. I know the gloves are non sterile throughout (there would be no point changing them between each item, the aim in the supermarket is not to be sterile). But then when you get to the car you can remove them before spreading germs to the car etc. I think that is more effective than hand sanitiser alone.

Gobbolino, would you like me to make you a list of all the public services that are underfunded, so you can give all your money away to them? Since it is obviously totally immoral to have anything for yourself if someone working for the greater good is going without.

I don’t throw mine out for a week, after they’ve been in a bag with the Dettol wipes. So as far as CV19 goes they aren’t a hazard any more. Yes, they are plastic waste, which is regrettable but I’d rather stay alive and do something about plastic waste after all this than not.
Again, the NHS would not want what I am using. I have enough to last a shopping trip every two weeks or so and won’t be trying to buy any more.

Government briefing are currently saying please only use PPE in the correct clinical settings as it’s really not required. In other words not the supermarket. Just wash your hands!

In between putting my shopping in the boot and getting in the car? Not possible. So wearing gloves. They stop me touching my face, the mask is a visual clue to the numpty brigade round here that hey, we’re supposed to be keeping a distance from each other!
Government advice is also don’t bother trying to test people for Covid19 and letting people die in care homes. So forgive me if I don’t put much faith in Government Advice.

Since it is obviously totally immoral to have anything for yourself if someone working for the greater good is going without.

Actually, the government are asking people not to use masks and gloves and to donate them to hospitals and care settings where they are desperately needed.

Personally I do think it's incredibly immoral to be using gloves and masks when you know there are doctors, nurses and care workers doing their jobs without those things.

Mask yes - home made cloth one so I'm not using PPE needed by medical staff.

Gloves no.

And I wash my hands and practice social distancing too, obviously.

As advised by the CDC - not so I don't catch it, but so I don't spread it.
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

Comments from @Gobbolinothewitchscat and a few others are very misleading.

Firstly, any gloves used in healthcare in the EU (or UK), whether sterile or not, should have a Class 1 approval under the Medical Devices Directive, and should display the “CE” mark and an indication that they are approved for healthcare use. This means that they have been tested by an independent “notified body” to ensure that they are safe and (eg) sufficiently resistant to breaking during use.

The majority of disposable gloves that can be brought in supermarkets or DIY stores do not have a Medical Devices Directive approval and are not intended for healthcare use. They can NOT be used in a clinical setting (to do so would be contrary to EU law).

Therefore, so long as you check that gloves you are buying don’t indicate that they are suitable for healthcare, this should have not impact whatsoever on the NHS. Non-healthcare gloves are generally still fine for cleaning and other household or industrial uses, they just have not been tested in the same stringent way.

I'm not. Went to the supermarket today for the first time in a couple of weeks and they had hand sanitiser at the tills so used that before and after paying (I also carry a bottle in my pocket and used it before entering the shop and after I left), and the staff were disinfecting surfaces all the time. Did not feel worried at all, especially as there were very few people there (at 10am)

I don't wipe down the washing or anything but I wash the fruit and veg that aren't in sealed bags.

Apropos of nothing, at my supermarket the people wearing masks were the worst for refusing to obey social distancing.

No I don't and I could. As pp said gloves should be changed after touching a contaminated surface and in theory everything in the shop could have covid 19 on. Most people are wasting the gloves by using them incorrectly and they are lulled into a false sense of security - touching their phone but thinking their phone is clean as they've touched it using the gloves. I'm carrying on as normal, using alcohol gel whilst out, washing hands upon return and wiping down my phone.

Scarf inside the shop. I know it isn't a perfect seal but it lenghens the odds. Not touching their trolleys, got my own basket.

I have yet to see anyone wearing a mask properly. Gaps around them you could drive a bus through, plus the fact that they should be discarded after a few hours of use. That and the unfamiliarity with wearing gloves a absolutely leads to a false sense of security. Agree with @Gobbolinothewitchscat.

Also... not all antibac will kill COVID 19. Please please please learn the difference. And wash your hands. For the love of god. Wash your hands.

I bought a pack of 50 in March (DD travelled home after an operation, we had to change dressings ourselves and ran out of gloves), so as I have lots left I'm using them. Put them on and disinfect trolley handle (no one seems interested in the newspapers in supermarket, so easy to stand aside there and disinfect them as well). Take them off (placed in a bag) and sanitize hands before touching the car. Again after moving bags into car. Disinfect any surfaces at home the shopping has touched/I may have touched and don't touch shopping for as long as possible. It might only make a small difference but I'm willing to do it.

Anti bac is pointless unless it is 70% plus alcohol.

Leave phone in car. Phone is a vector.

A nurse I know puts hers in a ziplock bag and has said some of her colleagues wrap them in clingfilm. Apparently they still work then the packaging can be discarded before coming in the house.

Nope, don't see the point. I use hand sanitizer and try not to touch my face beforehand.

I wipe the trolley. Slather on hand sanitiser, and because it was sunny yesterday I wore sunglasses. Inside. Because that discourages me from touching my face.
I wash what groceries I reasonably can, and put store cupboard stuff 'in quarantine' in the back kitchen for two days. I do the same thing is I have a delivery.
I'm following advice given to me by some dear friends who are shielding due to transplants.
Although I slipped up last night and took a Lindt bunny out of quarantine.

I don't give a shit what the government briefings are, the government doesn't give a shit about us as individuals. That's not their job. They take care of the population as a whole. Me and my kids are asthmatic, and will be collateral unless WE shield ourselves. The same goes for everyone.

The chances of catching Covid-19 severely enough to be tested are miniscule, something like 0.027%. The chances of dying are infinitesimal, something like 0.0031%.

If i overlook the fact that your percentages bear no resemblance to any actual figures and I assume you are looking at current figures (which are far higher than the ones you quote), 3 weeks ago the number of deaths was 1% of what they are now... Has Coronavirus become 100 times more deadly in the time? Of course not.

The point is that looking at today’s figures and extrapolating across the nation when there’s a 3-4 week delay between infection and death,
and given its capacity to increase exponentially if no suppression measures are put in place means your stats ridiculously underplay its dangers, particularly if you’re in a higher risk group.

Government briefing are currently saying please only use PPE in the correct clinical settings as it’s really not required. In other words not the supermarket. Just wash your hands!

Given the Government have been behind the curve in dealing with Coronavirus, and were telling us Cheltenham etc were absolutely fine just a week or so before lockdown, I’m not sure I trust them more than other places that seem more
In control of this who are advocating masks.

No gloves, I wash my hands with soap and water before leaving the house and again when I come back in, regardless of where I've been. I also try to not touch more than I need to in the shop- so whatever I pick up goes in my trolley, try to look with my eyes.

It's up to other people if they wear disposable gloves but I wish everyone who does would put them in a bin. I've seen so many discarded on the floor now and it's a danger to wildlife, and an eyesore, not to mention that some other poor sod has to pick up after your (possibly infected) gloves and deal with them.

No mask either, no washing of products.

God no. If you wear gloves, you have to be extremely mindful of where you are putting your hands. You can’t put your hand into your pocket, handle car keys, touch your face, handle money, adjust your glasses, list is endless, and at some point you’re bound to touch your face. If you must wear them, only on one hand is recommend. That way, you have a clean hand, and a dirty hand. When you take them off, slide your fingers under the cuff to remove. There is only a small amount of evidence to suggest that masks will protect others from your breath, they will provide no protection for you at all. They are not sealed tightly to your face, so are completely ineffective, especially when they become damp from your breath. Distancing and hand washing are the most effective ways to stay healthy, masks and gloves are only good for giving me and my colleagues a good laugh about the most ridiculous examples we’ve seen that day.