My son and I went out to breakfast today at our local diner and it was great to see the servers and busboys washing their hands every 15 minutes or so but the only caveat was that none of them washed their hands for 20 seconds at a time so who knows how effective this really is/was?
Another Westchester school closing: Masters in Dobbs Ferry. No confirmed cases. Closing a week early for spring break out of an abundance of caution.
^That should do it, a week early and a week of break gives 14 days.
About washing hands 20 sec, does 20 sec include the time you are apply the soap? Like 10 sec rubbing hands with soap and 10 sec rinsing it off?
@Iglooo, it’s a two week break, so this is now actually three weeks, PLUS a bonus/travel day. School is still planning to reopen on schedule following break - on March 31. However, a college fair originally set for that evening has been cancelled.
I think the school, which has a boarding population, made the smart choice. But boy do I need to go shop for teenager-food now. 
^That should be fun. You probably have to push two carts.
The virus came to my township. My precautions are no longer abstract.
There’s no magic to 20 sec. I think it’s all about rubbing your hands vigorously with soap and then rinse them off completely.
And make sure to get under your nails!
We went out for dinner twice this weekend - both restaurants were crowded, including an Asian restaurant. Did food shopping yesterday - sold out of hand sanitizer and toilet paper. The toilet paper thing is just strange to me.
No masks or gloves on people, and we are in a county with I believe 4 cases at this point.
My husband did say when he went to get his hair cut the other day the normally crowded barber shop was empty. The owner said his business is taking a hit.
For handwashing, watch the WHO video on it. I do an abbreviated version of that. Wet hands first, apply soap, scrub into lather, scrub in between fingers and around thumbs, then rinse again. Overall time should be about the time you would sing happy birthday twice.
My department has decided to work from home wherever feasible, or to stagger/shorten hours in the office. We are going to do a videoconference for our status meeting today.
I tried to get my husband to work from home and he said “Can’t today. Look at the markets. It’s going to be crazy.”
My D21 is at a college interview as I type. LAC in the northeast. She has four other visits lined up through early June right now: one at another northeast LAC, one at a northeast University (way up north), one at a CO LAC, and one at a midAtlantic LAC. Curious to see if they will all happen.
I told D21 to offer her foot instead of her hand to the interviewer this morning (foot bump). She thought that would be horribly unprofessional and that the interviewer might think she was trying to kick him or her. I told her that given the circumstances, her interviewer would likely understand if she explained first and didn’t just go for the shoes. I think she’s just going to wait until the interviewer makes his or her move though. I’ll find out what happened in half an hour or so.
Well, now you know who might be signing off on fraudulent ESA forms so pets can fly for free.
Everyone was just silent? No one spoke out about the ethics and billing issues?
@JanieWalker… No, no foot bumps… She might trip the interviewer… Lol… No issue just saying hi and she’s not shaking hands in light of the outbreak.
Most of the colleges in the east coast are on spring break now. 2 of my daughter’s friends flew to CA to visit her, they said the plane was quite empty. I asked them where they will stay, they said in D’s dorm room. I was really surprised and told D they can’t do that, she lives with 2 other roommates and it’s not considerate to her roommates to just have her friends crashing in the dorm like that. And the room is so small to begin with, and ESPECIALLY her friends are boys. She said it’s very normal and both her roommates have done the same thing, even more kids and she didn’t mind when they had their friends crashing her dorm. She said this is very common. Is this true?
Anyways, the reason i am posting here is because I feel like with the the virus going on, it’s really not smart to cramp so many people in the same room even though it’s “normal”. So I booked an Airbnb apartment (2 bedrooms with 4 beds) for the boys.
They are so happy that I did, they really didn’t want to sleep on the floor of a dorm room. But apparently, D and her 2 roommates are also joining the boys at the Airbnb after they went out to a party. Ha, so much for not cramping everyone in one place.
But I am happy that the kids in college seem to just do their normal college thing and not too worried so much about the virus. It maybe a good idea or a bad idea, depending on if anyone has been infected. Hoping for the best
Oh my, the arm and foot bumps, just no. When I greeted new and old patients I did not shake hands. A genuine smile with a vocal greeting and a slight head nod worked very well. Also keeping a smile and eye contact the whole time. A warm, polite greeting.
A colleague who was on a conference call with our county health department reported that a concern here is getting up-to-date information to the Amish community. We are in Chester County, about halfway between Philadelphia and Lancaster, and a few municipalities have fairly sizeable Amish populations. Government health websites (local, county, state, CDC) and TV or radio news don’t work for that population. Written info sheets are being distributed to bishops, but it’s hard to keep current as conditions evolve so quickly.
I went to the local Amish market on Saturday and it was packed, as usual. The employees have always worn gloves; I don’t know if any additional safety practices have been implemented.
Our “Take Our Daughters & Sons to Work Day” event just got cancelled.
Just no touching. No foot bump or handshake. Maybe a small wave or a head nod. Any reasonable person should understand.
@Nhatrang at my D’s school it is common for people to have overnight guests in the dorms, even of the opposite sex. My D’s suite mate has her boyfriend over often, my D has had her best friend visit (a male), and my D fairly often crashes in other dorms because she just kinda hates hers.
I was in the ER with a relative Fri night. It was empty. I left the room several times and there was literally no one in the waiting room or checking in. Barely any patients in the ER rooms either. It was strange as it’s a smaller regional hospital but I’ve been to this hospital ER many times and its usually always packed, esp on a weekend night. The Dr came in and immediately put out her hand for a handshake. I was quite surprised. I shook it but washed my hands immediately after she left.