There are reports in Washington state that CC and EM docs are bleaching and reusing their PAPRs–which is a violation of approved protocol, but there is such a shortage of PPEs/n95 masks it’s either use suboptimal/potentially contaminated equipment or have none at all.
At the supermarket today, a worker was disinfecting the carts. Many workers and a few customers were wearing gloves.
Anybody in areas with COVID-19 outbreak who has per-emptively stopped their kids from attending school in person?
How did the school handle such a situation?
“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.”
An hour later and UCLA has just cancelled classes until at least week 2 of spring quarter, so S will be coming home soon. D is on spring break (skiing in Canada) right now. We’ll see if her classes resume next week. It’s a bit harder to take ballet online!
Passing this along - just got this from Jet Blue.
On behalf of our 23,000 crewmembers at JetBlue, I want to thank you for flying with us. The fact that you trust JetBlue with your travel inspires us to deliver the signature JetBlue experience that has been our calling card for two decades.
I want to personally let you know that safety—your safety—is, and always will be, job one at our airline. Not only is safety built into the DNA of everything we are as a company, but that priority bears repeating in the face of any challenge, including the concerns posed by coronavirus (COVID-19). At JetBlue, we have worked for years to ensure the safety of our crewmembers and customers. Since January, our pandemic response team has been activated to ensure we are working closely with government agencies, our own infectious disease medical staff, and in coordination across the entire JetBlue family to support our customers during their travels. To that end, I want to share some of the steps we are taking.
We were the first U.S. airline to suspend our change/cancel fees across all fare types in all markets so that you, our valued customers, could book with confidence should your travel plans change. Currently, all change and cancel fees for travel through 4/30/20 are waived, regardless of when you purchased your ticket. And, there are no change or cancel fees on new flights booked through 3/31/20 for travel until 9/8/20. Our customer support team is ready to support you with adjustments if you need assistance.
We know how important cleanliness is during these times. To offer you peace of mind, we have increased aircraft cleaning each night, including the walls, windows, window shades, galleys, lavatories and floors. We are applying disinfectant that is effective against coronavirus across aircraft interiors including the places customers touch most - the tray tables, seat covers, armrests and seatbelts.
All of our aircraft are equipped with hospital-grade high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters. All recirculated air is passed through these filters before re-entering the cabin or being mixed with fresh air. All of the air in the cabin is, on average, completely changed every three minutes.
We have updated our inflight service standards. We’ve increased the availability of sanitizing wipes on board, temporarily suspended hot towel service, and you can expect to see our inflight crewmembers wearing medical-grade gloves during the service delivery to further limit contact points.
In our airports, we are disinfecting common surfaces more frequently and we are making hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes widely available throughout our terminals. We are encouraging customers to self-scan boarding passes - you can download a mobile boarding pass on the JetBlue app.
As of today, authorities have not announced travel restrictions to any destinations where we fly. Some countries, including the U.S., have restrictions in place for customers who have recently been to certain international destinations. Please monitor these closely.
You can always find our latest coronavirus information on our blog. You can also learn more about the coronavirus and specific information for travelers on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
Your confidence in JetBlue inspires us to deliver the safe JetBlue experience you’ve always known. We at JetBlue never take for granted your travel decisions and look forward to welcoming you on board soon.
Regards,
Joanna Geraghty
Joanna Geraghty
President & Chief Operating Officer, JetBlue Airways
@CTTC - there were 2 in a box. It has a filter with a tight fit.
Thanks for sharing the message from JetBlue. I’ve received a few similar emails today from businesses, including Best Buy and Target. I hope more businesses will realize that showing concern for customers’ safety is a good practice. I certainly feel more positively about businesses that do so.
Up thread I mention that I got quite a few hand sanitizers. I gave one to someone at work whom I needed a favor from (not proud of this one). Today a young woman, about D1’s age, told me how she was so busy at work that she didn’t have time to buy any and now it is too late. I told her I would bring one in for her tomorrow. She said, “Really?”
I am dealing with employees and consultants wanting to work from home when my company doesn’t have official policy yet. D1’s bank is moving people out of their Manhattan office to another location and allowing a lot of people to work from home. D2’s school is cancelling all classes until after the spring break (next week).
I’m in NJ. We have our first local case here, a 27 year old man who was at the Biogen conference. He must still live at home/have younger siblings because the high school is closed for two days of disinfecting. Not my daughter’s school-this is two towns away from us. Our school system has been robocalling requesting we all fill out a survey about online learning-do we have access to a computer, what kind of service we have, if you don’t have internet it sounds like they will offer assistance. So they are working hard to be prepared for whatever happens.
I went into NYC for a meeting yesterday and midtown was very quiet. Went out for lunch and we were almost the only table in the restaurant. My commuter lot was only half full. The company I went to visit is owned by CBS and they just instituted a travel ban, so some of the sales reps that were supposed to be at the meeting just called in. I took two cabs and they were both spotless and had the windows all down. It was a gorgeous day, though.
A bunch of my industry conferences have postponed or canceled and the ones that are still happening-companies are pulling out of. I’m supposed to go to a conference in Norway in May, and that organization just emailed to wait to book flights, they will have a decision on whether or not the program is going forward on March 24. I am not really worried about much of this. I work from home, we are pretty healthy people-but I do worry about my parents and other family. And I so was excited about the Norway trip but I think I will cancel if there is a chance that I might get sick or stuck there. I was one of the people stuck in Newfoundland for almost two weeks after 9/11 (just Like Come From Away) and I don’t want to repeat that experience.
We live in the sticks in northern New England with the mountains and the moose…and I thought the panic buying wouldn’t reach our neck of the woods for at least another week or two. Alas, even our little corner stores and family grocery stores are now out of wipes, hand sanitizer, and zinc lozenges.
I’ve gotten emails from Southwest, Delta, United, Jet Blue, Hertz, and Budget about what they are doing to handle this outbreak.
I have to rent cars for two out of town trips…hoping the rates are more reasonable than usual.
I’ve seen several schools announce that kids shouldn’t return after spring break. How does that work? If you left for a couple of days are you not supposed to get your stuff? What if you live on the other side of the US or you are an international student that went home with a friend locally??
@WayOutWestMom. There is actually a cdc protocol on this, that tells health professionals how to do this. But not optimal
One AL town (with about 10K students in city schools) has announced that if it becomes necessary to close the schools (K - 12), the parents of students without access to computers at home will be given the opportunity to check out loaner equipment with free hot spots so that all students are able to participate in online classes. About a quarter of their students qualify for free or reduced price lunches, and I’m guessing will be the ones most likely to need the loaners. Residents there voted to increase property taxes last year in order to provide more school funding. The response to the loaner plan that I’ve seen on social media has been very favorable.
Doesn’t the government have a stockpile of protective gear? They certainly had a few million N95s. Are they not enough?
I made my own.
2/3 cup of 70%rubbing alcohol
1/3 cup Aloe Vera gel
Stir.
I added about 10 drops of essential oil.
My younger child, in grad school at Stanford, just told me that Stanford is asking students to stay at home after spring break if they can. Classes will continue to be done remotely.
Too late to add to my post above, but Staples also sells clorox wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towels, TP. Might be worth checking there if you live in an area where those things are getting horded.
Netflix came out with a movie, Outbreak. 
I called my son’s College in NH today and told them I appreciate they are staying open! Only 5 cases confirmed, none anywhere near campus. They had break last week. IMO some of these schools are over-reacting.
On the other side one of the elementary schools in our district of approx 2000 students had a teacher test positive (I have 3 children in the district). Now 15 elementary kids are home in quarantine. Thank you Biogen for that conference which has now infected half of the positives in Massachusetts - what was going on at that conference - hugging?