The grocery store is about the only place I wear disposable gloves. I do that because not picking up viruses from the products I handle in the first place is a more certain way of avoiding their infecting me than washing after I do, and is certainly better than smearing on a bit of “sanitizer”—if I had any. Disposing of gloves before I get back in my car also helps avoid contaminating the steering wheel and other surfaces. Plus, when I do wear gloves, it pretty much keeps me from touching my face; that may not work for the more oblivious, but it does for me.

Is mail a Covid-19 risk?

Not so much ...

https://raysecur.com/covid19-m...curity-threat/#touch


"Can I catch Coronavirus by touching mail?
The CDC tells us that a sender breathing into a package can’t hurt a mail handler. But what about coughing onto a parcel surface?

Can mail handlers contract COVID-19 from a paper or cardboard mail package exterior surface?

No — not unless the mail handler receives the mail package only a few hours after someone coughed on it.

Why? Two reasons.

1. Virus surviving on paper or cardboard
First, the virus cannot survive on the mail parcel’s paper or cardboard surface for very long.

The best science available, as of March 20, 2020, tells us that it can survive on paper only up to 24 hours.

24 hours may sound like a long time, but most mail takes at least 48 hours to travel from sender to recipient—double the paper-surface lifespan of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

By the time the mail reaches its recipient, any viruses present are likely to be dead or inactive (“unviable”).

2. Touching skin is not enough to contract the virus
The SARS-CoV-2 virus cannot penetrate skin (source: CDC). In order to harm a person, the virus must penetrate a permeable mucus membrane.

That’s why the WHO, CDC, NIH/NIAID, FDA, and every other major medical body in the world are warning people not to touch their mouth or face."



What about mail carriers?
If the virus can stay active as the result of a cough or sneeze on a mail package, are recipients at risk of exposure from mail carriers expectorating on a box or envelope?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

The same is true of a mail carrier picking up a parcel from a sender, shortly after the sender coughed on it.

This situation is a result of our mail collection system, and is the largest threat scenario for USPS and other mail and package delivery systems."


So, this insides of mail and packages are not so risky, as they've likely been in transit more than 24 hours. Its the just coughed on exterior surfaces that might be
contaminated by the symptomatic mail carrier, mail sender or package delivery folks.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
This phrase "social distancing," I hate it. If you even say hi to another person, he or she looks at you like "why the hell are you talking to me; go away."

Balze, maybe this will provide a bit of hope. I treated myself to a Chipotle burrito bowl the other night (fine dining in the new world ) and the skeleton crew they had working really seemed nervous, quiet, and a bit on edge. Soooooo, I made it a point of talking to each of them (all 3), not about the virus and current BS, but just how I appreciated them being there to serve me a meal I was looking forward to having. By the end of our brief conversation, I got smiles out of each of them and a thank you for coming in.

I think we're all going to have to really go the extra mile right now to try and be patient and friendly with each other while the government keeps tripping on its dick and making all of our lives difficult.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I’ve got people literally recoiling from me as I try to pass them in the aisles.

People are being told to maintain a minimum of six feet of distance between one another. So why do you find their reactions confusing? I find it confusing that you're confused by their reactions when you get too close to them.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
I see people out in the world wearing latex, rubber, nitrile, vinyl and other types of impermeable gloves continuously during their
excursions.

They don't change them or even hand-wash them between exposure to surfaces in public, ...


Unless these materials possess some kind of intrinsic, rapid antiviral capabilities of which I am unaware, how do they help?

Your skin is not permeable, true. But it does have nooks and crannies, and the area under your fingernails. Gloves don't.

I wear 'em. But when I get back to the car the first thing I do, after stashing my merchandise in the back or on the floor, is grab a disinfectant sheet, wipe-down the canister, "wash" my hands with it, wipe down everything on the car I touched, and my key fob.

Then, once seated in the car, I dispose of the disinfectant wipe, then remove and set the gloves aside if I'm done with my excursion.

Anything we buy, if it doesn't need refrigeration, goes into the garage for 2-3 days. If it does need to come inside it gets wiped-down beforehand.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Is mail a Covid-19 risk?

Not so much ...

Then goes on to explain just how it can be

E.g.: "The best science available, as of March 20, 2020, tells us that it can survive on paper only up to 24 hours."

Our snail mail and parcels go into the garage for 2-3 days before we touch them. Everything we touch in moving the stuff into quarantine gets disinfected and hands get thoroughly washed.

Yes, we're super-vigilant.

Btw: There's more than just paper products on the surfaces of those snail mail and package delivery boxes--incl. plastic. SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable for up to 72 hours on certain such materials.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:

I think we're all going to have to really go the extra mile right now to try and be patient and friendly with each other while the government keeps tripping on its dick and making all of our lives difficult.

Well said.

I make a point of thanking people for working under very stressful conditions. They seem to appreciate it.

I’ve also been tipping people I wouldn’t normally.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by PASig:
I’ve got people literally recoiling from me as I try to pass them in the aisles.

People are being told to maintain a minimum of six feet of distance between one another. So why do you find their reactions confusing? I find it confusing that you're confused by their reactions when you get too close to them.
[quote]
I would be confused because I would assume that when they entered the store they accepted the fact that people are bound to go by them in aisles that are less than 8 feet wide.

I'm pretty sure I had it back in December. It was your standard flu-like symptoms: fever, cough, chills. My mother's wake/funeral was coming up so I loaded up on Zicam to knock it down. I still felt like shit but was functional. But I had a persistent dry cough which lasted 2-3 weeks after which my MD chalked up to a post viral cough. Once the antibody test comes out I'm going to get it to see if that was actually it.


One of the interesting things that I learned recently though is that the drug being pushed to treat C-19, hydroxychloroquine works best when mixed with zinc.

And Zinc is the primary ingredient in....Zicam.

^^ I'm beginning to wonder how much demand for testing is going to start coming from people who are actually eager to take the test because they're hoping they've already had it and may therefore be immune.

Well the tests that are currently out only tell you if you currently have it, not if you have had it.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
^^ I'm beginning to wonder how much demand for testing is going to start coming from people who are actually eager to take the test because they're hoping they've already had it and may therefore be immune.

We're talking two different tests, right? One would determine if someone is positive for the Wuhan, the other is for determining the presence of antibodies. Do I have that right?

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
^^ I'm beginning to wonder how much demand for testing is going to start coming from people who are actually eager to take the test because they're hoping they've already had it and may therefore be immune.

We're talking two different tests, right? One would determine if someone is positive for the Wuhan, the other is for determining the presence of antibodies. Do I have that right?

Correct, see above.

quote:

Originally posted by ryan81986:
I'm pretty sure I had it back in December. It was your standard flu-like symptoms: fever, cough, chills. My mother's wake/funeral was coming up so I loaded up on Zicam to knock it down. I still felt like shit but was functional. But I had a persistent dry cough which lasted 2-3 weeks after which my MD chalked up to a post viral cough. Once the antibody test comes out I'm going to get it to see if that was actually it.


One of the interesting things that I learned recently though is that the drug being pushed to treat C-19, hydroxychloroquine works best when mixed with zinc.

And Zinc is the primary ingredient in....Zicam.

Choroquine acts as an ionophore for the zinc to enter the cytoplasm.

4 weeks ago. ancient history...

I've no doubt that much of the push for Mask and Glove use by regular people is Virus Theatre, to instill a sense of calm by way of perceived control and by "doing something".

Five more deaths today in Oregon, for a total of 39.

Exert from the news article:

"The five deaths included three people from Multnomah County, an 88-year-old woman, a 75-year-old woman and a 77-year-old man, as well as two men in Yamhill County, ages 90 and 94."

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
I've no doubt that much of the push for Mask and Glove use by regular people is Virus Theatre, to instill a sense of calm by way of perceived control and by "doing something".

People gloving can cause more problems, they just need to wash their hands.

Masks, they can cause more problems, but really it can help some spreading.

Kansas Legislature Pushing Back ……
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...therings/ar-BB12lDM4
The Kansas legislature has passed a bill nullifying their governors ban on Easter church services. So, people that wish to go can apparently do so without fear of the "social distance police".
I've been waiting to see if any state legislatures had the balls to push back against some of these governors actions.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
to instill a sense of calm by way of perceived control and by "doing something".

Then you should be happy they’re calming down and not cleaning out the ammo and toilet paper shelves in their frenzied panic buying—no?

We don’t have to believe something ourselves to benefit from it as long as enough other people do. I could cite many obvious examples, but that would annoy the many people who believe things I don’t. It is nevertheless true, and because we can benefit from their beliefs, what I don’t understand is why we would discourage them. Is the satisfaction we get from not even pretending to being prey to their uninformed superstitions more important than the tangible benefits of letting them try to improve the common good?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I was sent to the dollar store to pick up a bunch of coloring books for our kids, the psychology this whole pandemic is just weird to watch unfold. I’ve got people literally recoiling from me as I try to pass them in the aisles.

My dog had an appointment at the vet this morning for a shot. Protocol was to pull up, call in, tech will come out to get dog, take in to do whatever and then return to car without us getting out. When I pulled up, there was a Sheriffs Deputy waiting at the door to serve a summons to one of the techs. Said tech walks out to talk to Deputy. Some Goosesteppin' Karen walks right by my wifes open car window and screams at the tech and deputy that there needs to be 6' between them I watched as the lady roamed about the parking lot with her mask on looking for others to yell at. As far as I could tell, she had no business to be out. No groceries loaded into her car. No booze from the ABC store and she didn't have a pet either, so she wasn't there for the vet. Just gotta love how some people leave the "safety" of their home to go yell at people in public over their own personal fears. The irony will be lost on her always and forever!

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
Some Goosesteppin' Karen walks right by my wifes open car window and screams at the tech and deputy that there needs to be 6' between them I watched as the lady roamed about the parking lot with her mask on looking for others to yell at.

Wow, people are really uptight in the North.

Still very chill down here.