@thumper1 I don’t know if they can travel. If they can’t, problem solved. one is from China the other from Korea. I think that is INFECTED not infected.
@doschicos. Haven’t heard that from anyone yet. We get notices etc etc. Just bought some to have. We are not talking alot here. Most of the hospitals have bought up the supplies anyway. Don’t think they are lacking in anyway at this point. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to purchase any. But many things we order for daily use and our common stock have limitations on them now.
Mostly hand washing like crazy. And yes, 25 seconds is super long! I use the singing the “happy birthday” song twice in my head technique otherwise I’m not doing it for long enough.
I’m also much more vigilant of wiping down the cart at the market, traveling with bleach wipes, purell, etc…
I’m also back to having extra paper towels handy to turn off faucets and open doors in public restrooms after I’ve hand washed.
Really all things I should be doing every winter during flu season.
DD had dinner with her friend who had returned from the NYU Florence program last night. She told DD that the European airports checked passengers’ temperature, asked questions related to travel, etc., said that there was no screening of any kind entering the US. DD flew home this morning to see an ailing grandmother, told me TSA agents were making fun of people wearing masks.
The entire grocery store is like a hot zone. So many people touching so many things and then at the end those touch screens to pay. Yuck. I stop by the sanitizer wipe station on my way out of the store and wipe down my credit card and anything else that’s been touched or out, like car keys.
@marrast. Maybe carry your own thermometer with those plastic slips on them. I really don’t know if I want someone from the airlines doing this and not cleaning the actual thermometer between passengers. That could be an interesting way to spread things…
Thanks, @Knowsstuff. I’m not travelling, just reporting what DD’s friend told her about her return from Europe to the US. However, the video that I have seen depicts airport officials using forehead thermometers. They probably pose issues as well…
Well that is better but I would just carry my own since I have then anyway in the house. Not traveling anywhere either
Yuck. Sounds like a great way to spread germs, especially since you know those workers aren’t washing their hands in between every single person tested. I wondered if that was going to happen when the Chinese sent healthcare workers door to door to test people - sounds like a bad idea. Especially with something like this new coronovirus which appears to be contagious even when people aren’t showing symptoms.
@milee30. But they need to do something. Damn if you do and Damn if you don’t, I guess.
A few more cases now in the US today for people that didn’t travel or know anyone that have. USA should have tests sites set up like every state now in a few days. Illinois just got like 3 more sites going.
Testing is not a bad idea. Presumably, those showing symptoms are more contagious than an asymptomatic carrier. Checking the temp will screen the worst offenders with a simple method. It doesn’t catch everyone doesn’t translate to it is useless.
They’re like a radar gun. They just point it at your head. No touching.
However, I did read a report by one journalist in China that said he’d bring his own thermometer with him because sometimes those forehead gun thermometers weren’t accurate and he didn’t want to get hauled off into quarantine.
Our U is sending kids home from Italy. My D is in Europe, but not in a hot zone (right now). They have flights to Italy booked in 2 weeks, so scrambling like crazy to get them switched and find another affordable (warm) destination.
One problem: the kid in Florence can’t get a flight back to the US. She is away for the weekend, and has to get back to Florence to pack stuff and be out in 2 days. And get a flight.
hoping the rest of Europe doesn’t become a hot zone!
Non of those forehead thermometers are that accurate. They are just close enough. But for accuracy you would go rectal , armpit and oral. So for fast scans the forehead would be OK. But if I was told to go to quarantine I would demand another method that is more accurate to be used. At least as a check.
Then that goes back to the old - it’s not accurate enough to be helpful, so why are we spending time and money on this? Plus, even if they’re not touching people, again, creating a bottleneck where people have to gather in close proximity to be “screened” is putting people at higher risk for being breathed on and coughed on… all for a meaningless thing.
We have those infrared surface temp scanners at work and although they’re a fun toy, they’re not all that accurate even on surfaces that are easy to read, like metal. Can’t imagine they’d be accurate on people.
@lucyvanpelt We were in the same position. Its a scramble to get tickets out of Rome now that are not amazingly expensive. Cheaper ones can be found but its a chore to find them. Our D left Italy this AM to Paris and will fly directly back to the US in a few days. Best to you in your decisions.
I’m hearing that both SMU and Columbia are pulling ALL study abroad kids home. No matter if they are in a country with active COVID cases or not. My D is in a country with (so-far) relatively few cases (less than 5 total in the country). Apparently, this is based on the CDC memo that schools should “Consider postponing or canceling student foreign exchange programs.”
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/student-foreign-travel.html
@Charlotte44 what a bummer. good luck to you. hope she is ok and can find a way to finish her semester.
Why do we have to take our shoes off at the airport? 
I read that one country was using those infrared in a certain city - don’t remember the details given all I’ve read but I think it was China. Of all the people scanned on the city streets, they only found one positive cases that way despite scanning thousands and thousands.
Would the airline not let them rebook given the circumstances?
Seems inconsistent with what we are hearing out of our government. Also seems a bit extreme.