Should I risk Christmas shopping? Not been shopping since March!

[Beebityboo]

There are a few things my DC's have asked for for Christmas that will be difficult to get online, and may require picking up from a physical shop. I'm disabled (though wasn't shielded and according to my Dr's my disability isn't a risk factor, but I also have a BMI of 36) and have managed to avoid needing to go to a physical shop since March.
Would you risk Christmas shopping right now? Particularly because I don't drive, so would need to either get a bus or a taxi there and back. But I also want to ensure my DC's have the few things they have asked for and have a really nice Christmas because they have had a really terrible year. I just don't want catch Covid in the process!
Guidance/thoughts appreciated!

If you have put this much time and effort into keeping safe until now, don't risk a reasonable chance of infection by public transport and shops. The shop that has the item will most likely post you the item if you pay the postage, especially if you tell them your circumstances.

@gebruiker

If you have put this much time and effort into keeping safe until now, don't risk a reasonable chance of infection by public transport and shops. The shop that has the item will most likely post you the item if you pay the postage, especially if you tell them your circumstances.

Yes this is the overall feeling I have, I seem to have avoided it so far and don't want it now, especially this close to Christmas. I may call the shop and ask them.

I have been food shopping a lot and don’t really worry about it. But I went to an outdoor busy shopping centre recently and left almost immediately because the larger shops were packed full of folk browsing.
However - if I was going to a small shop - which had something ready for me to collect - I wouldn’t classify that as high risk. You are likely to be in the shop for a very short period of time so the chances of catching anything are very low. I would definitely go by taxi rather than public transport . They should have masks on and a plastic screen between you .You could check with the taxi firm whether or not their drivers have been tested .

@PoulePouletteEternellement

Wow, EmbarrassingAdmissions - I had no idea such a service existed! Do lots of people use them? Are they properly reliable and trustworthy? (Guess there's not reason why they should be less honest than other couriers, etc?)

A fair number of people I know do and they haven't had problems. No guarantee of how it is in other areas tho' - and, yes, variation can be substantial.

Thanks. Though I just looked into their services and (here) my local cab firm would be considerably cheaper for deliveries.

If it wasn't the week before Christmas I'd say go, but at the minute I expect shops will be busy so not a good option if you're nervous about it.

Rather than going at 9am, the other option is to go later - a friend was the only person in our local M&S food department at 6pm last Thursday (late night opening but the other shops in town had given up and shut).

@TheDailyCarbuncle

A taxi wouldn't be safer because the risk is so incredibly small that measuring which is safer doesn't make sense. Essentially both bus and taxi are the same - almost no risk at all.

There are lots of people in your position - unnecessarily scared by a government (and health professionals) who thought throwing some people under the bus by destroying their mental health was worth it in order to make people comply.

If you can manage to go out, it would be great. But agoraphobia is very very tough to deal with so don't be too hard on yourself if you find it hard. Would it be better to start small and go to a local shop to buy something?

A taxi is perfectly safe unless the taxi driver has covid. Then it isn't. Apparently 15 minutes in a car leads to high levels of virus in the air. However, this can be mitigated by opening all the windows and both you and the driver wearing a mask. Then I would safe it is safer than the bus which usually has no windows open and half the passengers probably not wearing masks.

@gebruiker

If you have put this much time and effort into keeping safe until now, don't risk a reasonable chance of infection by public transport and shops. The shop that has the item will most likely post you the item if you pay the postage, especially if you tell them your circumstances.

I study statistics and risk for a living there is absolutely NOT a 'reasonable chance' of infection so please don't unnecessarily feed a fear by stating something that just isn't at all in any way true.

There is a very tiny risk of infection. Very very tiny. There are so many variables that have to be stacked up one on top of the other for you to get infected from one single trip that statistically it's safe to consider it almost impossible to get infected. The risk isn't zero, but it's so close to zero that you can safely consider it to be zero. I am saying this with genuine knowledge behind it.

I am so entirely sick of people being made to feel they are in constant danger when they are not. The fallout from that is just as bad as the fallout from the virus itself, if not worse.

I think that depends where the OP lives and who they come into contact with.

No it absolutely doesn't. There have to be a lot of conditions lined up for the OP to not only come in contact with an infected, infectious person, but for her to be in contact for long enough to get infected herself. People seem to believe that there just has to be someone in the vicinity with covid and bam it's a sure fire thing. It really really isn't.

I also have a relative on the covid wards in the local hospital. There are hundreds of people (excluding ICU) needing hospitalisation. I really don't think the risk is almost zero. I think if the OP is in tier 1 that is very different to being in tier 3 or high tier 2 area. In those areas, prevalence will be significant. I agree with not scaremongering, but the OP has put a lot into keeping themselves safe for 9 months so it clearly matters to them. Why take unnecessary risks with only weeks to go until they are vaccinated presumably?

@TheDailyCarbuncle

No it absolutely doesn't. There have to be a lot of conditions lined up for the OP to not only come in contact with an infected, infectious person, but for her to be in contact for long enough to get infected herself. People seem to believe that there just has to be someone in the vicinity with covid and bam it's a sure fire thing. It really really isn't.

I heard an expert explaining that the viral load needed for infection with this virus is much lower than other viruses so the exposure actually needs only be quite minimal. They likened it to grains of sand. Some viruses you need a mug load thrown at you, others a handful, this virus needs a couple of grains. I definitely don't mean to scaremonger, but it is their decision and I don't like it when other people scorn caution in others who are more risk-averse. Everyone should be able to set their own level of risk without being told they are doing wrong.

I would not wish to be in the middle of the Christmas shopping this year unless it was absolutely necessary for something you couldn't get online.
It just about being sensible, not scared, giving up your rights or anything else people spew, it's just about being sensible.

@TheDailyCarbuncle how do you square the very tiny risk that you refer to with the fact that in the ship my husband works in 17 out of 20 staff have tested post over the last three days?

This is despite major efforts to be as Covid secure as possible, PPE, deep cleaning, appts only, limited customer appts at any one time, temperature screening etc etc..

Lets not unnecessarily feed a fear I agree with Daily on this.

Op has stated she is suffering from heightened anxiety, so much so she has agoraphobia. This sort of phobia can be "paralysing"; severe panic attacks, extreme avoidance of situations, unable to function normally in social or work settings. This has been primarily triggered by the pandemic, causing an unreasonable fear of going out as the risk of death appears huge or "likely".

The uncomfortable truth is that a BMI of 36 should cause far more fear of death or co morbidities.

It seems disingenuous for posters to dissuade Op from going out and feeding into the Op's severe risk aversion of catching cv and dying.

Op it won't help to put pressure on yourself to go to the shop but I think it would do you the world of good. Presumably your dc aren't isolating at home so your risk assessment of going in a shop appears skewed.

I hope you're able to break the vicious circle of agoraphobia. Planning your trip to the comic shop in detail before you go will help you feel in control. I hope you can do it.

[quote Chaotic45]@TheDailyCarbuncle how do you square the very tiny risk that you refer to with the fact that in the ship my husband works in 17 out of 20 staff have tested post over the last three days?

This is despite major efforts to be as Covid secure as possible, PPE, deep cleaning, appts only, limited customer appts at any one time, temperature screening etc etc..

[/quote]
I thought the answer to this would be obvious but clearly not.

In terms of risk there is an absolutely massive difference between a bunch of people seeing each other every day, working together all day, and a person taking one single trip to a shop. Surely you can see that? If it's hard to understand then compare a taxi driver to a person who takes one single trip in a car. Even if the taxi driver is an extremely safe, careful and competent driver and the person who takes one single trip is a terrible driver, the chances of the taxi driver being in an accident are far higher. It's purely a matter of numbers - does that make sense? Another way to think of it is that if I roll a dice 10 times my chances of getting a six are higher than if I roll it just once.

@gebruiker

I also have a relative on the covid wards in the local hospital. There are hundreds of people (excluding ICU) needing hospitalisation. I really don't think the risk is almost zero. I think if the OP is in tier 1 that is very different to being in tier 3 or high tier 2 area. In those areas, prevalence will be significant. I agree with not scaremongering, but the OP has put a lot into keeping themselves safe for 9 months so it clearly matters to them. Why take unnecessary risks with only weeks to go until they are vaccinated presumably?

You have to try to separate the actual numbers of people in wards to the actual risk the OP is facing, because you're completely mixing them up.

If there are 100 people in my local hospital having been in car accidents, that doesn't mean my chances of being in a car accident are automatically higher.

Now, if there are 100 people who were in accidents on the same stretch of road, then I can say that my risk of an accident is higher if I go on that stretch of road.

At the moment, one of the most risky behaviours you can engage in, in terms of getting covid, is going into hospital (ironically).

The OP is not going into hospital. She is taking one trip into town. The actual risk posed by doing that activity (not by covid as a whole) is almost zero. That doesn't mean she definitely won't get covid, but if she's going to worry about covid then she should worry about getting knocked down too because that's also a risk. The odds that she will be absolutely fine, that nothing will happen to her and she'll come home safe and well, are absolutely overwhelming. Millions upon millions of people do exactly that every day. It is not a risky activity. So making the OP think it is isn't sensible, because it's just not true.

I would call the shop or see if a friend or neighbour can help you. Or even send your daughter to get it herself? If she's asked got it, it won't be a surprise anyway?

I'm not saying this because I think the risk of shopping is high. As long as you keep your distance, wear a mask and sanitiser, it's not a risky activity, imo.

But if you genuinely have agoraphobia, I really don't think now is a good time to be challenging yourself like this. Especially as you're vulnerable to Covid. If you go out and have a panic attack people will have to get close to you to help you, putting both you and them at risk. You need to start going out at quiet times with someone on hand to support you. Not in a stress in Christmas week.