If you have no one vulnerable at home do you still wipe down all your shopping

[ssd]

When you bring it home?

I have been doing this but I forgot last night after getting something at local tesco, now I'm terrified I've brought the virus home

If we could have avoided it, by spending a few minutes wiping down the shopping, blooody hell that would be a few minutes well spent

I think the point is no one is going to avoid getting it because they washed their shopping. How you guys caught it, especially if someone is still ill, which indicates a viral load, so a prolonged time spent with someone who has it, is to be confirmed but it would not have been via your shopping,

@darkforceofexcesszeal

which virologists

This one

www.researchgate.net/profile/Lisa_Cross3

From the scientific board of FPA

Food Packaging Forum is recommending consumers to consider either (i) washing all packaging immediately when it enters the household with soap and water, (ii) alternatively, transferring packaged goods from the packaging to cleaned containers for storage, and then discarding the packaging, or (iii) quarantining the items for up to three days in the household before touching them again. These recommendations apply to items bought in stores and delivered to homes, such as mail order groceries or meal delivery services, etc

www.foodpackagingforum.org/news/packaging-could-be-involved-in-spreading-novel-coronavirus

There have been others in the media & on various websites, but I don't recall their names.

Even if the risk is small, why take it if you're vulnerable?

@Bluntness100

it would not have been via your shopping,

Continually stating your opinion as fact, doesn't make it correct. You're not qualified to make statements like that.

@IncrediblySadToo.. thanks for posting the links. thought i had misinderstood the doctor/virologist on the radio when he said how long the virus survives on surfaces and as a pp says upthread, that's lab conditions only so maybe the doc said that but i didn't hear it. But obvs not!

never, i think that's ridiculous. if it's that contagious we are all doomed as we'd have to be doing a lot more than wiping the shopping down. i always make sure i wash my hands after i've unpacked and frequently throughout any time in kitchen which i already did so i don't give it any thought at all really.

The CDC has now revised its info to say it doesnt spread easily from packaging and other surfaces. The previous links from @IncrediblySadToo are old and from when we had less information about the virus

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html

The UK has also never advised us to wash or quarantine shopping/deliveries

I’ve never wiped down my shopping. Don’t worry.

You're not qualified to make statements like that

I think like most people who have the ability to critically think then it’s incredibly obvious it’s not spreading through inanimate objects, if it was we would all have had it, because the overwhelming majority of people don’t wash or quarantine stuff that comes into their houses.

However no one is stopping you doing so. If you feel it is necessary then continue to do so. The rest of us will not.

I don't wipe my shopping down...

@IncrediblySadToo

bluntness may not be ‘qualified’ to comment but she is correct. Also as she says, she is able to critically assess evidence as it appears in the public domain and make intelligent judgement from it. Again correctly.

I am qualified to comment - I also have a degree in microbiology, a masters in biomedical technology and a PHD in Virology. I have about 5 times as many publications as Lisa and they are specifically covering the spread of multi-drug resistant bacteria and viruses in hospital and community settings.

The Channel4 programme she is on is covering microbial cleanliness generally - and personally I think very typical of a channel 4 ‘ratings gainer’. Were this a bacterial issue we would be having a different discussion but it isn’t.

There is obviously no issue with doing the cleaning if you want....There is a BIG issue of spreading unnecessary fear and worry as evidenced by this post. It is not fair to make people worry in this way when it isn’t necessary. It isn’t helpful for anyone I don’t think.

Nope. Never did either. Waste of time.

It's an example of people having too much information that they don't understand/can't analyse.

I've seen posts on here with people saying they won't eat soft fruit because it may spread the virus with others saying they wash the fruit in soapy water or put in a milton solution

Its why we had all those histrionic posts about people sitting on benches spreading the virus and God forbid, eating on a bench.

Oh, and the person quarantining mail for 3 days then opening it outside using tongs was a highlight

There are so many people on Mumsnet who think that they are COVID experts because they’ve read a few things and completely misinterpreted them. They don’t possess the analytical skills to translate it properly and make these bonkers decisions out of fear.

You see them jump from thread to thread spreading their batshit crazy advice. God knows what their day jobs are (if they have one) as they don’t possess critical thinking skills.

“At this point, there’s no evidence that transmission is happening through food packaging. That said, we know the virus can remain viable on surfaces for hours or even days, so there’s a hypothetical risk of transmission through touching a contaminated surface and then touching your eyes, nose or mouth,” Marcus said

Donald W Schaffner, a food microbiologist and professor at Rutgers University, Right now there’s no evidence that [the virus is] spread through food. There’s no evidence that it’s spread through food packaging. That doesn’t mean that we might not learn new evidence tomorrow that would change our thoughts on that

Like WHO saying they didn't think H2H transmission could happen🙄

I don't recall the names of the other virologists who recommended washing your shopping, but it wasn't just Lisa (and yes, overall it was a pretty typical crap C4 program.)

@Snakes

I would love someone to link to a reputable source to confirm it cannot be transmitted this way. But so far have yet to find one. Your credentials sound impressive, but in the nicest possible way, this is a chat site on the internet- you could be anyone.

It would be fabulous if someone could prove it cannot be transmitted in this way, if they could I'd happily stop washing the shopping (for my house & 2 that are officially shielding) but all of the information that's out there states the length of time it can survive in various surfaces and even with 'half life' etc it's still there for a while. I'd rather wash the packaging before the food goes in the fridge than wash my hands every couple of minutes while cooking & making a coffee etc.

If it's not transmittable on packaging Then why do they keep saying about washing your hands after handling packaging of any kind?

@dementedpixie

Yes, the CDC says, it doesn't transmit EASILY that way, not that it doesn't transmit that Way AND they are still learning more.

*COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning about how it spreads. It may be possible for COVID-19 to spread in other ways, but these are not thought to be the main ways the virus spreads.

From touching surfaces or objects. It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about this virus*

We are wiping groceries. Takes 5 minutes and just gives me peace of mind. DH has asthma and is most at risk out of all of us.

Interestingly, the BBC decided to run a story on this today:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52040138

Prof Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is recommending wiping down groceries...

""For contained or packaged goods, either store them for 72 hours before using them - or spray and wipe plastic or glass containers with bleach [carefully diluted as directed on the bottle]."

"For unwrapped fresh goods, which could have been handled by anyone - wash thoroughly under running water and leave to dry," she adds."

I’ve never wiped shopping down. I haven’t met anyone in real life who does this apart from one absolute crazy lass who also believes in alien abduction.

I’ve always wiped shopping down. I have two good friends in real life who I know are doing this - one is an NHS pharmacist and the other has a Cambridge science PhD.

And your point is, @ChippityDoDa ?

Everyone is entitled to make their own assessment of risk and choose to minimise it.

I’ve never wiped shopping down. I haven’t met anyone in real life who does this

My dp does it. We don't live together and not seen each other since mid March. If he carries on this nonsense we won't be seeing each other for quite a while! I'm not going to stay with him if he's going to be fussing around with bleach every five minutes.

@Divoc2020 Did you miss the bit in that article that says there is no evidence CV is spread through food or food packaging?

I've never wiped down my shopping.

In the 2 weeks prior to lockdown, I also spent a lot of time visiting my Nan in hospital (she didn't have covid but I was entering a large hospital where there were cases). Then, the weekend before, she was home and I was visiting/staying with numerous nurses coming and going. I have been fine.

Honestly, don't worry-it won't make much,if any difference.

@IncrediblySadToo
I would love someone to link to a reputable source to confirm it cannot be transmitted this way. But so far have yet to find one. Your credentials sound impressive, but in the nicest possible way, this is a chat site on the internet- you could be anyone.
Absolutely fair point - this is precisely why I have stayed away from every Covid thread! I’m not linking to my online profile tho, sorry.

re: study to prove it cannot happen: ’m afraid you are asking for something that it isn’t possible to get. Proving a negative in this way is basically impossible. And as I have said, it IS possible to transmit a virus this way...just very very very unlikely.

You do understand that the state of fear that people like the OP are living in is horrible, harmful and not at all helpful? There are clearly people who just think ‘cool, washing my shopping is no big deal and better safe than sorry’ - fine. Then there are people genuinely terrified of missing something and killing their whole family

I can promise you that the stress this generates will be significantly worse for overall health than the potential risk of catching Covid.

I think if people wish to wash their shopping or quarantine it, then they should be left to get on with it.

As the bbc article says there is no evidence it can be spread this way. Any studies on the virus living on surfaces has been done under lab conditions, and the sheer stats globally would cement the fact it’s not transmitted this way, everyone would have had it. Because most people do not wash their shopping or quarantine it.

It’s a simple logical deduction if most people don’t do it and it’s not spreading like wild fire across the population, it’s simply not transmitted this way. If it was, it would be easy to prove and we would all know it.

However these facts do not mean people have to stop doing it. If it makes them comfortable then they should absolutely continue, but be able to recognise they are doing it more for their mental health than any other reason.

@snake

Absolutely fair point - this is precisely why I have stayed away from every Covid thread! I’m not linking to my online profile tho, sorry.

I didn't, & wouldn't, ask you to. Even though I'd love read more from you

re: study to prove it cannot happen: ’m afraid you are asking for something that it isn’t possible to get. Proving a negative in this way is basically impossible

Yes I know. I thought I'd clearly said that, but maybe not as I kept having to redo my post.

And as I have said, it IS possible to transmit a virus this way...just very very very unlikely.

Not denying it's not a huge risk. But none the less it is still A risk and certain people who keep stating all kinds of things aren't possible and that people are crazy are a wind up.

More than one poster has lost a shielded parent and the only contact they'd had with life outside of their homes was their shopping delivered to their doorstep.

You do understand that the state of fear that people like the OP are living in is horrible, harmful and not at all helpful?

Yes, which is why I said what I said to her!

There are clearly people who just think ‘cool, washing my shopping is no big deal and better safe than sorry’ - fine

Yes, it IS fine, but I'm fed up of being told there is NO risk by people who are NOT qualified to make such statements and that it's crazy/batshit

Then there are people genuinely terrified of missing something and killing their whole family. Yes, I know.

I can promise you that the stress this generates will be significantly worse for overall health than the potential risk of catching Covid

It's not good for overall health, no, but Covid for many of us would be far worse.

The nastiness by some posters needs to stop whether that's on the shopping, schools or other threads.

When the infection rate is lower, when the hospital survival rate is higher & when they start admitting people earlier then maybe it won't feel so necessary to be so careful, but right now I'll mitigate any risk I can. 🤷🏻‍♀️