DD’s high school is preparing for the virus by… putting ONE box of tissues in each classroom.
That ought to do it, right?
I know we aren’t supposed to touch our face, but I couldn’t help smacking my palm to my forehead when DD told me that one.
Went voting this morning in metro Detroit and there were no virus prep things. We were all huddled around a small table filling out ballot request forms and there was no hand sanitizer.
Not surprising but a little disappointing.
Earlier today, I heard the executive director of the organization for which I work say he doesn’t want to overreact, he’s getting information only from legitimate sources such as the CDC and health departments, and he still shakes hands with people because he doesn’t want them to feel bad. Aargh!
We haven’t had any snow day yet so the school takes 1 of the 3 days to let the student off so the school can be thoroughly cleaned. Not a bad idea i suppose.
Here in NorCal (where there are quite a few cases of community transmission) I’m working from home (by choice, though I don’t work with many other people anyway). Cancelled a trip to a conference this week that would have involved flying cross-country and interacting with lots of people (the conference itself wasn’t cancelled, which I think will prove unwise, though all the associated social events were). Cancelled an international trip later this month for MIL (in her late 70s) who had planned to visit us. I will probably also cancel a planned trip to Europe scheduled for mid April depending on what happens in the next week or two. Definitely no going to the movies or busy restaurants and currently debating whether to stop going to the gym for the next few weeks as well (I certainly would have done so already if it wasn’t just outdoor swimming). I shudder to think about the idea of going to somewhere like a basketball game or Disney right now.
Schools have cancelled “non-essential” events and school trips. Prom, theater performances, etc will all be cancelled. Curiously enough high school sports is deemed “essential”, though I think we may see further restrictions by the end of the week. Not sure what will happen with the kids at their colleges, but I’d guess the one here in CA probably won’t restart in person classes as scheduled next quarter and so we’ll have at least one and possibly both back here for a while. I’d guess this will last until roughly the end of April or early May before dying down, so am a bit less worried about their summer plans at least for the moment, though I’m not booking flights yet (D had planned to go to Europe in July, S to Washington DC from June to August).
When you read about what’s happening in Italy, I think its foolish to consider any of these precautions to be “overreaction”. We are relatively young and don’t have any health issues to worry about, but there are plenty of people we know who are older and/or have pre-existing conditions. I just ask myself how I would feel if I ended up being responsible for one of them dying. If one of them was a family member I would be telling them not to go out anywhere except dog walking and would be limiting my own contacts even more than I already am.
D1’s pysch conference in San Antonio was canceled. We are disappointed not to see her, but understand completely. She wanted to see my Dad, who is frail these days, but it’s probably best that the visit not happen just now.
Some exercise activities can be done without going into a gym or having significant contact with other people, such as outdoor running, bicycling, hiking, paddling, rowing, etc… Or outdoor swimming in lakes, etc. if you can stand the temperature this time of year.
Sorry if this has been addressed, but a question…when people talk about Clorox wipes, I’m assuming they mean with bleach? Are the bleach-free wipes also recommended for Corona virus? What about regular Fantastik spray that kills “99.9% of germs”? Personally, I have Clorox bleach spray, just wondering if it’s bleach only for cleaning effectively?
Outdoor swimming (albeit in a heated pool) is definitely a year round activity here.
I also wonder why Fantastic spray and other brands were not included on the list. What do the other sprays have that they don’t as far as ingredients or potency goes, I wonder.
I’m an election moderator in my town. I politely requested a Purell station at the entrance and exit of our polling places…and some extra sanitizing wipes.
They told me…they are unable to get Purell or any other kind of sanitizer now. They have tried.
They will get us extra wipes…next I’m going to ask for two extra poll workers to do the wiping of our booths and pens.
Can’t believe a municipality can’t get Purell or GermX or something.
Amid coronavirus fears, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is extending its spring break by a week until March 29 so that UWM can prepare to move the majority of its classes online following the extended spring break.
A UWM employee was tested Monday for the virus.
From a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter’s tweet.
Voted today in Michigan
The bottle of hand sanitizer was behind the table where the workers were. Nothing set out for voters.
I used my personal hand sanitizer in the car as soon as I got out.
@gemini2727. You want the 99%,ones. They will also list everything they kill right on the packaging
@thumper1. It’s getting hard to get anything now. My medical office put in some orders of like purell or the like with other things and it’s like the lottery if the order goes through.
@suteiki77. Antivirals, germicide, antibacterial. The colorox 99% wipes are almost the same strength and kills the same things my hospital grade wipes do or very similar BTW.
Other products that will the coronavirus on hard surfaces: hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (at least 70% alcohol in solution)
Per the CDC
EPA List here–https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-03/documents/sars-cov-2-list_03-03-2020.pdf
Lysol is on the list but Fantastick is not.
You can find hydrogen peroxide wipes in stores right next to bleach wipes. (H2O2 will kill all noroviruses–so bonus!)
NOTE: Lens cleaning wipes are alcohol-based but they don’t contain enough alcohol to be effective as a disinfectant. (They are only 40% alcohol. This was confirmed late last week by my optometrist.)
So the woman who industriously scrubbed down her tray table, chair arm (but her seat buckle) with a lens wipe while flying in the seat next to D1 last week–you only spread any germs further and didn’t disinfect a thing. (D1–who is a physician dealing with the coronavirus outbreak–thought about informing the person she had likely just contaminated D1’s seat, but she shut mouth and just rolled her eyes instead.)
My sister in Phoenix had a wake up call about this. Last year they suspected one of her sons had the flu; when the pediatrician came in to examine him and do the swab to test the pediatrician was (in her words) wearing practically a hazmat suit - full gown and face shield. Two days ago her other son went in to the same pediatrician for a flu test and my sister was surprised to see the doc in just a simple surgical type mask which we know doesn’t prevent inhaling the new coronavirus. When my sis mentioned it to the doc, the doc said it’s almost impossible to get protective gear now so they’re rationing as best they can. Yikes.
Lack of protective gear for docs on the front lines is inexcusable.
My husband talked to two German dental students getting their degrees in Poland. They wanted to do dental internships in Vietnam. Yea. A problem. Poland may be closing the border. They’re German. And they want to go to Asia. Through an American company! What are the odds this will happen 
? The Germans also told my husband there are Italians in their dental program. Italians who can’t go home. And are now living in a country that may close the border. Brave new world…
I cut my nails very short for easier scrubbing under the nail.