How common is transmission from surfaces and shopping etc ?

[tvwatcher]

How common is it ? How likely is it you'll pick it up from a door or from cash etc ?

We had Public Heath England out to our offices after a little outbreak. He said he wasn't that concerned about us handling the same documents etc as each other as that wasn't a big risk factor it was more, how ventilated a room was and how close people were working together. So I've taken it from that that surface transmission isn't a big risk.

Cash is generally filthy though.

Yeah I've heard that they thought it was quite likely to transmit on surfaces at the beginning of all this but now they think it's lower risk.

I remember reading something about there being no evidence of surface transmission. I do wonder if that has changed though with the new strains

Boris said this evening that you can catch the new strain through touching contaminated surfaces so I’m carrying on wiping all my shopping down and applying hand sanitiser as soon as I touch anything outside the home!

Aaaaaargh. This thread just made me wash my creme egg (in it's wrapper) with soap and water. I could have quarantined it for 48 hours but that's not possible because chocolate.

During the first lockdown I did wash the shopping and would change and shower after going to the supermarket. To be honest, one day I just shook myself and realised the risk to my mental health of that kind of behaviour was greater than the risk of getting covid so I stopped. I feel a lot less anxious and more relaxed since I stopped.

I work with someone senior at NIH in the US who told me fomite transmission was very minimal. But that was before the new variants. I’m not washing stuff aside from my hands though. I’m more worried about what’ll happen to my immune system if it’s not exposed to any germs at all than I’m worried about catch covid from a parcel.

@FlyMyPrettiesFly agree with this too. In my case, washing everything and trying to keep stuff quarantined and having green and red zones for washed and unwashed shopping (which is where it would have led for me) would have been detrimental to my never-great mental health.

There are definitely concerned about this, and I wonder if it is that the new variant lingers longer on surfaces?
Apologies (The Sun!)
www.thesun.co.uk/money/13756777/coronavirus-supermarket-touch-items/
Just seems odd that this was a thing last March, but then largely dismissed as not being much of a concern.

I have been wondering about this as well. We don’t go out at all apart from me doing the essential shopping. When I do go out, I wear masks, gloves and would use 70% alcohol to sanitise in the car. Then wash my hands when I get home. I am very careful. But still manage to catch ‘colds’ a couple of times. So I have been wondering if it have been from shop bought items or post / parcels?

@PickleSarnie

Aaaaaargh. This thread just made me wash my creme egg (in it's wrapper) with soap and water. I could have quarantined it for 48 hours but that's not possible because chocolate.

Why not just too it out of the wrapper, wash your hands, then eat it?

Boris emphasised this several times during yesterday's briefing which surprised me as I did think that it wasn't a major concern.

I was really surprised that he mentioned it, but said nothing about the need for ventilation which is vitally important and seems to get forgotten.

Boris emphasised this several times during yesterday's briefing which surprised me as I did think that it wasn't a major concern
Hmm I don’t watch the briefings-can’t see the point - but this new scare tactic is probably just that.
‘This new strain’ is an excuse for anything anyone wants to prevent that hasn’t already been.

I've always been surprised why more hasn't been made of the infection via surfaces route. You only have to have an infected person touch their mouth, then a surface, and bingo, it's infected with viral particles! I am glad (and rather surprised) Boris mentioned it yesterday. It's true for other infections like colds so why not this one?

Surface transmission is a thing.

• If it wasn't, we wouldn't need the 'wash hands' advice

• in NZ because they've had so few cases they have been able to backwards trace cases. One person picked it up from a lift button, another from a flip top bin. Both contacts we very soon after the initial touch.

• anecdotally people properly shielding alone have only had delivery shopping & pist snd have got it.

Because we have too many cases here, they don't/can't backward trace (except in rare cases) so it's hard to prove.

Currently supermarkets are high transmission places, it would be almost impossible to know if it's from airborne large droplets/airborne particles lingering/touching.

Given Doris was on about it for the first time in ages today I think they're looking into it more again. Maybe they've found the new variant is not only 'more sticky' in the air, but also on surfaces.

I still quarantine the non fridge parts of my shopping (spare room for a week or I wash them if I really need something -rare) Frudge/freezer stuff gets washed. Except veg which goes into the large veg drawer and washed when used (along with my hands). I found washing it when it arrived, really shortened its lifespan.

Post and parcels I open & tip out, dispose of the 'outer' and wash my hands.

It's all habit now & no big deal.

@EmmanuelleMakro

Boris emphasised this several times during yesterday's briefing which surprised me as I did think that it wasn't a major concern Hmm I don’t watch the briefings-can’t see the point - but this new scare tactic is probably just that. ‘This new strain’ is an excuse for anything anyone wants to prevent that hasn’t already been.

What exactly do you think he has to gain out of reminding people about this transfer route?

I’m sure nothing is 100% safe, but as previous posters have said, manically washing everything is just so stressful.

As I have little children I have had to change my mindset to thinking most things are not covered in covid. It’s so stressful worrying about everything your children might touch (lick) while out.

I’m also hoping it’s still about viral load. Yes, you could be unlucky, but if you are social distancing hopefully the ‘risk’ is lower if you pick up via your mail rather than a prolonged time indoors with poor ventilation and people shedding (ie schools etc!).

I think the lift button transmission turned out to be wrong, unless there was a different case. Cases in apartments above each other turned out to be transmitted through shared drains. Drain 'fumes' essentially travelled up the drainage system. People were advised to make sure the water traps don't dry out by running water through them daily.

Covid transmits more easily via droplets (aerosol) when we speak, sing, breathe and particularly in unventilated areas.

Fomite transmission (via touch) less so.

See this article https://unherd.com/2021/01/do-you-know-how-covid-really-spreads/?fbclid=IwAR0artKg--jRjWv59-apeeAxGI29Jx8NgP7AWD8zfQ7pmoL714gXqPPdg

@picklemewalnuts

I think the lift button transmission turned out to be wrong, unless there was a different case. Cases in apartments above each other turned out to be transmitted through shared drains. Drain 'fumes' essentially travelled up the drainage system. People were advised to make sure the water traps don't dry out by running water through them daily.

No this was in a quarantine hotel, not apartments. Haven't read anything or heard anything from f&f to say that report is incorrect.

I had started to ease back on wiping things down. Then, a few days ago there was a bit in the Daily Mail (yes, I know) about supermarkets. As part of the article there was a clip showing people queued at a checkout. There was a man there with his mask under his nose (might even have been under his chin, I can't be arsed to look for the article) who sneezed into his hand and I wondered how many times he had done that going round the shop and how many things he had picked up and put back. He did look a bit sheepish when he realised he had been filmed.

Covid or not I don't want other people's snot on my shopping, so wiping more things down again. Better safe than sorry.

Zoe's estimated daily transmission rate continues to decrease rapidly - the number is down to 46,218 today from 49,813 yesterday (-7.2% in a single day). All regions are down with London showing the biggest drop.

Sorry - wrong thread.