My cat is here in my lap as I speak. His germs and those of his ancestors might be part of why I rarely get anything contagious. At least I’m willing to give him partial credit. I can’t fathom life without cats. Obviously I at least have the parasite @garland 's D mentions. I got it in my wee youth, perhaps at birth.
We’ll still need to be deciding if we go to Germany and Poland the end of April/May. Bummed to hear Poland has its first case and naturally the place we’re going in Germany seems to be the central state there. (sigh)
I’m not worried about the virus for ourselves. I’m concerned about potential quarantines messing up work life afterward.
Our school’s France trip the beginning of April is still on, but being seriously discussed with no final decision made as they watch events. Does anyone have first hand knowledge of how things are in Paris at the tourist sites? I know the Louvre reopened.
Flew twice over the weekend. All my flights were full. I saw only four masks each way and no hand sanitizer in the airport concourses (unlike during swine flu outbreak, when there was lots of hand sanitizer at Bush Houston). Our grocery stores have supplies.
I did buy some non perishable food because we don’t keep much on hand anymore. And I must confess I thought 1) what if I am quarantined; do I have enough food to stay at home two weeks? and 2) what if I get sick; do I have soup and Advil?
Lol. Well aware of toxoplasmosis theories. The kitten we adopted had to be treated for it… and she grew into the fat cat we like the least. According to some sources, earring undercooked pork or raw oysters poses a greater risk than having a house cat.
Costco had an employee stationed at self checkout who was constantly wiping down the area where self-checkers were putting their merchandise with alcohol and a paper towel. I hadn’t seen that before. The employee was very busy, with 6 separate areas to watch and clean.
Bleh. I stocked up on chicken and root veggies to make my own. I’d rather starve than eat Campbell’s soup. Ate too much of it when I was a poor student.
Well, I wasn’t seeing much impact before but I guess this is a day-by-day situation. Nearby private school closed today through the weekend because a staff person came in contact with a family member who has been diagnosed with CV. Tonight I received an email that our very active bridge center with games just about every day of the week with 100+ players at any given time has been closed indefinitely. Of course, the average age at the bridge center is not young but we have only 1-2 (?) people in our county diagnosed so that seems drastic vs. just allowing people who feel uncomfortable to not come play. So, yes, we’re starting to feel the impact.
I also observe that some ‘experts’ say be prepared, hunker down, it’s going to be bad while others say the flu is much worse, just take basic precautions and go about your day. As a person who tends not to worry too much, that’s my inclination but sometimes the messaging is confusing.
HIMOM: PURELL Advanced Hand Sanitizer Refreshing Gel, Clean Scent, 2 Liter pump bottle (Pack of 1) – 9625-04—Amazon.
Buy some little plastic bottles --Amazon has many choices–and fill them. Personalize the bottles and you have a winner.
I think this is a scenario where I would have n95 masks for self and Close family who are high risk, hand sanitizer on their persons, and put the mask on when at risk of getting that hug or kiss. The mask does act as a deterrent from others getting too close. It’s a very strong reminder that person doesn’t want close contact due to risks at hand. The mask dies not have to be worn during the entire funeral and reception. Just at strategic times. Those Danged things are very uncomfortable to wear for more than a few minutes at a time as it is. Some of those Masks are still available online but the price has skyrocketed. I bought a case for each locale a couple of weeks ago, and have noticed they are now 10-20x the price I paid.
Can’t you just put a bandana around your mouth? Play bandits? Launder it and reuse. Not sure what a commercial mask can do a simple bandana can’t.
If getting hand sanitizer is hard, can one concoct something with alcohol? Put it in a spray bottle and apply on the hands as people come it? It is not as pleasant but should do the job.
I think this is a time when I would have a very small funeral service for immediate family only now…and have the larger 1000 person gathering which could be a memorial celebration at a later date…
Just this morning, my son asked if I’d pick up some soup from the store. We don’t normally have it in the house, but he thought if we were all going to be sick it would be nice to have some. Wow were those some picked over shelves! The soup shelves were mostly bare, with maybe 10% of the shelves containing any soup. Similar deal in the TP section, but maybe 20% stock. Zero disinfectant wipes or hand sanitizer anywhere. I have no idea where the bottled water even is - we drink tap water in our refillable water bottles - so not sure what’s going on with that.
I also think that the store ran out of disinfectant cart wipes and has instead put something like baby wipes in the dispenser near the carts. The wipes did not smell at all of disinfectant or anything at all and felt like baby wipes - ever so slightly soapy but not at all astringent. If they’re temporarily using nondisinfectant wipes, they really ought to let people know so they can decide if they want to use them. My guess is that the nondisinfectant wipes would actually serve as a reasonable breeding ground for bacteria and viruses - damp and warm - and the action of wiping the handle would mean you’re just spreading around everything on the handle.
@thumper1, I was just about to say the exact same thing. Given @HImom’s chronic illness and those of her immediate family, it seems like this funeral may be too risky. Surely HImom’s father wouldn’t want his loved ones putting themselves at risk.
@HImom this is not picking on you but offering support for you- I think the hand sanitizer should not be your worry. People - no matter how many - need to cover their own needs - many will have small hand sanitizers on them, some will use a bathroom - whatever - you do not need to consume yourself with worrying about this detail.
@HImom. I totally agree with @abasket. I keep a small Purell in my pocket now. There will be washrooms for people to use.
But… In certain situations people are being told not to hug and kiss. That might be hard not to do when consoling someone during this time. I would talk to the funeral home about precautions they take.
I also agree with @thumper1. Maybe a smaller family service for now.
According to some sources, earring undercooked pork or raw oysters poses a greater risk than having a house cat. 