I don’t want to eat out until this is over. I got to thinking about restaurant food preparation and whether people with mild cases are still working in the kitchen. For example, last night I saw the PBS NewsHour. They did a story on the lack of visitors to San Francisco’s Chinatown. They interviewed a man who had a fortune cookie factory who said tours of his factory had ceased and he was worried about business.
Meanwhile, he is making his cookies without gloves on. Other workers in his factory had gloves but he did not.
I know I am not sick and I wash my hands a lot. I am sticking to eating at home.
I ran to the store this morning to pick something up for dinner, and there were no empty shelves on any isles. Fully stocked in the tp/medicine/hygiene/cleaning sections. The store was basically empty of people too. Disinfectant wipes available at the door and near the self checkouts.
We went out to eat yesterday and taking home some left overs and the waitress took our food at our table and put it into a plastic take out container and put the lid on… So I Purelled that top before going home…
Rumors are flying about the Boston Marathon being cancelled (like the Rome marathon and Paris half) or restricted to elites (which is what Tokyo did) but so far, no real news. 11 cases in NY; 1 in NJ so far.
We have been looking forward to seeing D1 soon. She is scheduled to give some talks at a conference in our state. We planned a weekend excursion to that city to visit with her and for her to see my Dad.
She says it is still on as of today, but if I were a betting person, I’d wager it gets canceled. Will be disappointing.
Just back from a grocery run. Plenty of canned soup. Didn’t look for purell so don’t know. Also plenty of toilet paper, paper towels, a rack full of nitrile gloves. Those were the main things on my list. I may look like an infectious disease prepper but I’m actually just another dog owner.
Another reason for the gloves is food prep to avoid absorbing the smell of onions etc. which would transfer onto my needlework. I saw a post on one of my Facebook groups this morning that went something like: “COVID-19 health tip: Wash your hands like you just ate a bag of Doritos and are about to embroider a wedding gown.”
I have a workshop scheduled next week but we were told to cancel. Now not only international fights were banned but also domestic flights. And absolutely no meetings with more than 20 people in the same room.
My friend is a physical therapist and they have a lot of older clients. She was explaining the new protocols for wiping down all doorknobs, keypads, tables, bathrooms, etc. They are doing it hourly. I asked her if that was a recommendation from the government and she said no, they just decided it was safer.
Door knobs and light switches we actually were already doing in our office,plus everything else…
We just got posters to print out to put up from our hospital system for our offices for patients. Every patient is getting screened on the phone. We are definitely slower since this all started.
Sadly, our older brother insists my dad would want as big and lavish a turnout as possible (and he’s likely right). I am not in charge if this event and it really concerns me a great deal, on behalf of me, mom, H and everyone attending. We are meeting with the funeral director tomorrow. I was pretty sure we’d have some diagnosed cases by this week but so far, none in HI.
The churches are already changing their protocols—no holy water, no communion wine, no touching.
On a positive note, I did convince my very hoarse and ill board member NOT to attend our meeting tonight but to just call in. Folks attending the meeting include me and a lung doc and lung PA.
I checked my bleach wipe inventory and realized I only had one already opened container. I picked up another large and a smaller one to put in my car at the grocery store. The pickings were slim with just a few containers left. They were out of hand sanitizer. The rice and pasta shelves were empty.
One of my kids said her office phone has been eerily quiet. She works for a divorce attorney and said it’s like people aren’t thinking about divorce just worrying about getting sick.
I checked the websites for the airline and boat charter company that I have already paid for reservations in mid May. They both state that as of now till end of March and possibly longer passengers must have a certificate of good health from a Dr signed within 5 days prior to enter the country.
I work and travel to many pediatric primary care offices. At most of them it is routine to ask upon check in if the child has traveled out of the country etc. the last 14 days. This definitely happens for several months of the year if not always - it’s protocol that has been in place long before Corona.
I spent my day yesterday in one hospital, three primary care offices and one elementary school. Saw one person with a mask and she was coughing a good bit. Which is exactly why she should be wearing the mask - to not SPREAD the droplets. Not for prevention for herself.
