What pandemic safety precautions are you taking?

[Alby]

If reasonable protocols are observed, why is it unsafe to visit friends and relatives? Small groups, perhaps just one or two guests, keeping a distance of six feet, strict hygiene observed (removal of shoes, sanitizing bathrooms etc).

Finally, of course, if you can find groups of friends and relatives willing to observe and stick to these protocols, then certainly. Even I might be willing, one day well in the future, to attend such gatherings if I had confidence in the people organizing them. But, for now I am telling people that the most I am willing to do is go on socially distanced walks in the fresh air away from crowded parks.

You posed the question at the start of the thread. What were you looking for exactly? An explanation for why, despite all we know about the risks of the virus, many people we see around us are no longer taking the same precautions as earlier, and a reason to think it might now be fine to do the same?

 

[antipodean]

What precautions are you taking? What are your greatest concerns? What advice can you offer regarding safety?

I am now taking a mitigated approach relative to my risk level, where I am trying to recover some normalcy to stay happy and support local businesses rather than shutting myself away completely and insisting on needlessly suffering.

Basic Precautions

• Work from home online as much as possible
• Wear mask in public at all time
• Try to respect social distancing of 2m between myself and others
• Sanitize hands frequently and wash hands with soap multiple times per day
• Spray lysoform in elevator before entering it, use keys to touch buttons
• Do not use hands to open / close doors
• Avoid enclosed public spaces as much as possible
• Avoid public transport - walk and in some cases take a taxi sitting in back seat with window down
• Shower and wash hair upon return home if I have been in an enclosed public space (e.g. supermarket, clinic, hairdresser)
• Avoid using contact lenses as much as possible (glasses shield eyes somewhat from droplets and avoids touching eyes)
• Keep healthy. Exercise, eat well, sleep well, wash well. Your immune system needs to be kept in good condition

Home Precautions

• Shoe sanitising tray, shoe racks and a stool in my palier with guest slippers available - no shoes permitted inside the house
• Alcohol gel and spray in my palier - anyone entering my home is asked to sanitize their hands and spray their clothes (e.g. technicians)
• I change from outside clothes to inside clothes when I get home and either wash my outdoor clothes immediately or "quarantine" them for 72 hours in a spare room
• Regular cleaning of floors and high-touch surfaces with lysoform. Clean house thoroughly and spray air with lysoform after any technician visit
• Maintain open windows and / or ventilation system turned on
• Clean house myself - no domestic help which may otherwise be required to take public transport and more likely to live in more crowded and high-risk circumstances

Socializing

• Meet friends only in small groups and only in outdoor settings where we can maintain distancing. At the park most people are actually pretty good at keeping their picinics and gatherings a good distance from other from other groups. Use an outdoor blanket if you must sit on the ground and wash it after use
• If taking a coffee or beer etc and need to take off mask, then make sure at least 2 meters apart and make sure no sharing of F&B items
• Avoid friends who I know are going to assados or larger gatherings or who regularily use public transport etc
• No kisses or hugs
• Keep a mental record of who I meet and where I go
• Avoid contact with elderly or at risk group persons
• If running with others, wear a sports mask

Shopping

• Where possible do it online and have it delivered - where possible order from smaller retailers or wholesalers to "spread the love" instead of getting everything from Jumbo or a big chain store
• ALL items cleaned with alcohol before bringing them into my home
• I have been clothes shopping in Palermo and generally stores have good protocols in place, I just avoid touching things as much as possible and if I do touch something I sanitise afterwards. If a shop looks crowded for its size, just don't go in.
• When I need to pay for something I use Mercadopago or bank transfer wherever it is available (is completely contactless, no handling of my card of DNI by others needed... no cash handling)
• Carry sanitising wipes or alcohol spray and tissues to clean takeaway beverage items like coffee cups or beer cans before drinking from them
• Order food via Rappi or Glovo to support local restaurants and delivery drivers - this is considered a "low risk" activity and one should apply the same precautions of cleaning all packaging with alcohol before bringing it inside and then using ones own cutlery and plates to serve it one. Always wash hands after handling and before eating

 

[sergio]

Because, unfortunately, life, and people, are much messier than that. The example of the two older couples who meet and, despite being in the highest risk group, fail to observe the most basic of the protocols--because their patience and self discipline has run out just five months into a pandemic that you and I agree could go on for years--is evidence of that. People can visit friends and relatives, and will do so anyway. Some will agree on protocols. I doubt many will be able to maintain them as long as is going to be necessary, as my neighbors demonstrate. Some will pay a price. My neighbors and their friends may already be doing so.

I agree that restaurants should be able to open with protocols and young people willing to take the risk should have the right to take that risk. Restaurants and cafés are in many cases owned, staffed, and patronized by people under the age of 40. My view is that there are two worlds now: one for young people and one for older people. If older people choose to try and cross over into the young people's world and take the same risks, that's up to them. I, personally, choose not to. The young people are the most disadvantaged by this disaster yet the least directly threatened by the virus. They ought to be given the right to take their chances to be economically active. I applaud them. It is they who will get us closer to herd immunity long before the magical vaccine.

There is no greater fan of public transport than me. But, personally, I will avoid for the forseeable future. I don't know where governments are keeping all their decomissioned sleeper carriages. If they still exist, it would be a great job creation project. But when spring comes, I am buying a bicycle.

I agree but there are people who are self disciplined and who are capable of limiting their contacts with friends and relatives without getting sick. Before the pandemic there were trains with sleepers between BA and Cordoba, BA and Tucuman, BA and Bahia Blanca, Bariloche and Bahia Blanca. There is equipment that is not utilized; carriages could be refurbished. It's obviously the safest way to travel. There's never been a better time to develop this form of transport. Ridership in private sleepers on European trains has seen an increase since the pandemic started.

 

[sergio]

Finally, of course, if you can find groups of friends and relatives willing to observe and stick to these protocols, then certainly. Even I might be willing, one day well in the future, to attend such gatherings if I had confidence in the people organizing them. But, for now I am telling people that the most I am willing to do is go on socially distanced walks in the fresh air away from crowded parks.

You posed the question at the start of the thread. What were you looking for exactly? An explanation for why, despite all we know about the risks of the virus, many people we see around us are no longer taking the same precautions as earlier, and a reason to think it might now be fine to do the same?

My reason for posting was to see what people consider reasonable protocols. They range from extreme to careless.
I see no risk in seeing one or two people at home if social distancing is maintained and careful sanitation is observed. I think resuming some semblance of normal social life is necessary for psychological well being.

 

[sergio]

I am now taking a mitigated approach relative to my risk level, where I am trying to recover some normalcy to stay happy and support local businesses rather than shutting myself away completely and insisting on needlessly suffering.

Basic Precautions

• Work from home online as much as possible
• Wear mask in public at all time
• Try to respect social distancing of 2m between myself and others
• Sanitize hands frequently and wash hands with soap multiple times per day
• Spray lysoform in elevator before entering it, use keys to touch buttons
• Do not use hands to open / close doors
• Avoid enclosed public spaces as much as possible
• Avoid public transport - walk and in some cases take a taxi sitting in back seat with window down
• Shower and wash hair upon return home if I have been in an enclosed public space (e.g. supermarket, clinic, hairdresser)
• Avoid using contact lenses as much as possible (glasses shield eyes somewhat from droplets and avoids touching eyes)
• Keep healthy. Exercise, eat well, sleep well, wash well. Your immune system needs to be kept in good condition

Home Precautions

• Shoe sanitising tray, shoe racks and a stool in my palier with guest slippers available - no shoes permitted inside the house
• Alcohol gel and spray in my palier - anyone entering my home is asked to sanitize their hands and spray their clothes (e.g. technicians)
• I change from outside clothes to inside clothes when I get home and either wash my outdoor clothes immediately or "quarantine" them for 72 hours in a spare room
• Regular cleaning of floors and high-touch surfaces with lysoform. Clean house thoroughly and spray air with lysoform after any technician visit
• Maintain open windows and / or ventilation system turned on
• Clean house myself - no domestic help which may otherwise be required to take public transport and more likely to live in more crowded and high-risk circumstances

Socializing

• Meet friends only in small groups and only in outdoor settings where we can maintain distancing. At the park most people are actually pretty good at keeping their picinics and gatherings a good distance from other from other groups. Use an outdoor blanket if you must sit on the ground and wash it after use
• If taking a coffee or beer etc and need to take off mask, then make sure at least 2 meters apart and make sure no sharing of F&B items
• Avoid friends who I know are going to assados or larger gatherings or who regularily use public transport etc
• No kisses or hugs
• Keep a mental record of who I meet and where I go
• Avoid contact with elderly or at risk group persons
• If running with others, wear a sports mask

Shopping

• Where possible do it online and have it delivered - where possible order from smaller retailers or wholesalers to "spread the love" instead of getting everything from Jumbo or a big chain store
• ALL items cleaned with alcohol before bringing them into my home
• I have been clothes shopping in Palermo and generally stores have good protocols in place, I just avoid touching things as much as possible and if I do touch something I sanitise afterwards. If a shop looks crowded for its size, just don't go in.
• When I need to pay for something I use Mercadopago or bank transfer wherever it is available (is completely contactless, no handling of my card of DNI by others needed... no cash handling)
• Carry sanitising wipes or alcohol spray and tissues to clean takeaway beverage items like coffee cups or beer cans before drinking from them
• Order food via Rappi or Glovo to support local restaurants and delivery drivers - this is considered a "low risk" activity and one should apply the same precautions of cleaning all packaging with alcohol before bringing it inside and then using ones own cutlery and plates to serve it one. Always wash hands after handling and before eating

What about food? How do you deal with fruit and vegetables?

 

[antipodean]

What about food? How do you deal with fruit and vegetables?

I order online from Endivia - various fruit and vegetable shops deliver as well. Even from super markets. It arrives the same day or the next fresh from the shop.