Coronavirus

[John OlsenParticipant @johnolsen79199]

I'm not sure that a microwave will have much effect on any viruses (or bacteria for that matter) lurking on incoming mail. Microwaves only heat things that contain water and are of a reasonable size. (A significant portion of a wavelength.) I think you will find that if you manage to trap a household fly in the microwave, it will buzz around inside with a great lack of concern while the oven runs. Ironing the mail with an iron hot enough to almost scorch the paper would have a better effect.

John

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Circumstance forced my wife and I to use our emergency protocol last night when desperate for supplies. I drove to the nearest Spar supermarket aiming to be there after most customers are gone. Parked, on went the P3 masks and vinyl gloves. The store was just closing 'cos I'd misjudged it a bit but the staff were sympathetic to our desperation and let us in. Moments later we were back out stripping the gloves off into their bin before gettting into car and losing the masks.

Back home we washed off the two items and our hands.

Ah, that G&T was good.

pgk

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by pgk pgk on 26/03/2020 07:09:02:

Ah, that G&T was good.

pgk

Well worth risking life and limb for then.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

“We”

The ‘emergency protocol’ is flawed? Surely only one needed to be potentially exposed to the risk?

”No evidence”

Of course, there was no evidence for a lot of high health risks years before the evidence became overwhelming -smoking, asbestos, strong electro-magnetic fields and radio-activity come immediately to mind. Don’t be that evidence would be my advice. Caution is better than cure.

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Posted by not done it yet on 26/03/2020 07:34:44:

“We”

The ‘emergency protocol’ is flawed? Surely only one needed to be potentially exposed to the risk?

I was necessary for the driving and OH needed to come along to learn not to feel foolish wearing the things. Reality check that if one of us gets it then inevitable the other will too. That and she wanted to make sure I didn't buy the cheap gin….

Being serious: Due to the lack of available home deliveries we have a proper shopping trip to do and this was the practice session. Out here in the sticks we used a delivery service for years – and then the faeecs hits and the folk who depended on it can't get a slot. The risk is there but still relatively mild out in rural land (as yet) so the aim is to try and score enough supplies for a further 3+ weeks so we can batten down the hatches again. Hopefully out here the intiial panic buying has settled down. I anticipated this and got major supplies in well before it all kicked off. We've got about 3-4 weeks left but that's when I anticipate the peak around here so i want stocks to get over that hump. We all do what we think is best

pgk

[Rod RenshawParticipant @rodrenshaw28584]

Thanks to pgk pgk and Martin for their input on the virus transmission by pets issue. I will continue to walk the dog in our local country park which is hundreds of acres in extent and almost deserted at 7.00am.

Rod

[John Paton 1Participant @johnpaton1]

During this sunny weather it is good to get a good dose of sunlight too as it boosts vitamin D – sitting in the garden or at an open window if you are unable to get out in the open away from others.

It is nice to think that reduction in traffic will be making the air cleaner for city dwellers at the time that fresh air is of most critical importance.

Lets also bear in mind the sufferers of tree pollen hay fever as they also will be about to join the group of unfortunates who must particularly dread the risk of Corvid19.

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Incidently, I seem to be hearing a lot of exhortations to stay indoors! Why? Shouldn't it be to avoid other people? Or is there an increased risk with being outside?

The reason why I'm asking is that from our front wall to the public highway is about five yards/meters. Furthermore, the front faces SouthWest so sitting out on an afternoon can be quite pleasant and comfortably exeeds the 2 meter rule. And yet, and yet, I'm wondering if there's something I've missed, or that "they" are not telling us.

Peter G. Shaw

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Peter G. Shaw on 26/03/2020 10:16:34:

Incidently, I seem to be hearing a lot of exhortations to stay indoors! Why? Shouldn't it be to avoid other people? Or is there an increased risk with being outside?

The reason why I'm asking is that from our front wall to the public highway is about five yards/meters. Furthermore, the front faces SouthWest so sitting out on an afternoon can be quite pleasant and comfortably exeeds the 2 meter rule. And yet, and yet, I'm wondering if there's something I've missed, or that "they" are not telling us.

Peter G. Shaw

Everything that adds to the isolation helps. Staying indoors puts a wall between self and others. The 2 metre gap is a risk-reduction guideline, not a trustworthy safety limit. Outdoors the virus could go much further in the wind, though I think the chance of catching it that way is remote.

I may be the first forum member to have Coronavirus in the house. My daughter, who lives with me, is a key worker. Throughout the developing crisis she's been obliged to work as normal and meet people face to face. OK last night, this morning she has a temperature and cough. She looks like a person who might be starting flu.

Not panicking, I shall see how she is at lunchtime. If necessary I shall engage with the NHS Online 111 'What to do' web page. Adequately prepared I think, but time will tell.

The plan has already gone wrong – she's supposed to be looking after me!

Dave

[Roger ClarkParticipant @rogerclark]

Posted by pgk pgk on 26/03/2020 07:52:00:

I anticipated this and got major supplies in well before it all kicked off. We've got about 3-4 weeks left but that's when I anticipate the peak around here so i want stocks to get over that hump. We all do what we think is best

And with all and sundry doing the same leaves empty shelves for those of us who did not stockpile!!!!

[noel shelleyParticipant @noelshelley55608]

Hi All, As this dreaded pox l got started I began to buy more than normal, I could be described as a panic buyer/hoarder( most who know me would agree with the latter). It was MY plan ! When on monday the decree went out and my work ceased, I closed the front door and need not go out for the best part of a month. Panic buying – No, I was merely preparing for the enevitable. Last saturday and sunday at the seaside town of Hunstanton one could be forgiven for thinking it was a bank holiday – the town was packed. Common sense had not worked so the authorities HAD to act ! Some time ago I was given 5gallons of alcohol, need to know whether to wash the hands in it or mix with tonic ! As for info from China – depends on the source !

Since most of us on here are in the high risk bracket, all I can say is please be careful and God bless. Noel.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

Noel Cold water is as good a mixer as any

[Raphael GolezParticipant @raphaelgolez]

Posted by Peter G. Shaw on 26/03/2020 10:16:34:

Incidently, I seem to be hearing a lot of exhortations to stay indoors! Why? Shouldn't it be to avoid other people? Or is there an increased risk with being outside?

The reason why I'm asking is that from our front wall to the public highway is about five yards/meters. Furthermore, the front faces SouthWest so sitting out on an afternoon can be quite pleasant and comfortably exeeds the 2 meter rule. And yet, and yet, I'm wondering if there's something I've missed, or that "they" are not telling us.

Peter G. Shaw

Hi Peter, the principle behind this is to prevent the spread of the COVID19 virus from person to person. Close proximity to an infected person increases the risk of getting the infection (as far as we currently know). By doing isolation you deny the virus of potential host and spread thereby it will run its course and no one to re-infect. Currently there are no proven treatment for this other than supportive treatment (organ support, antibiotics for secondary bacterial infection etc.) Hopefully we will get our answers soon as research is on going.

1. If you are not having symptoms or proven COVID19 positive you still have to self isolate and social distancing because you are helping control the spread of the COVID19 virus and denying it of potential host. At the same time you are keeping your self safe.

2. If you have symptoms there is a guideline help line to call. If you are well and not requiring hospitalisation you will still self isolate as to still contribute to the society by not potentially spreading the virus and thereby help our fight against this issue. Symptomatic treatment and supportive measures. Provided that you don't require hospitalisation and organ support the virus will ran its course and if your immune system is well enough it will greatly help with the recovery.

3. If your are COVID19 positive you have 2 options: 1. if you are having mild symptoms and well enough not requiring hospitalisation then you have to self isolate. This is for you to protect other people from getting it and denying the virus of another potential host and thereby stopping the spread and controlling it. Unless your are very unwell and needs hospitalisation. 2. If you are unwell and requiring hospitalisation then you need to be admitted to the hospital.

Our situation is difficult in our local hospital. I was unwell with flu symptoms 2 weeks ago. I immediately self isolated very strictly ( like im a prisoner in my own home) and the only contact I have with me wife and daughter is through face time despite we are in the same house. I made one of our room as an isolate area. My food is being given to me on my doorstep by my wife. I have not been tested as when this first rolled out our hospital guidelines is to immediately self isolate and not to go to hospital unless I'm very unwell requiring admission. I have a total of 15 days strict self isolation. I might have caught this in one of many patients I see and treated. The problem is the incubation period where in there are very mild to non existent symptoms. I cleared myself and spoken to our chief of medicine colleague and I am now back to work treating patients again. Why I do this is my personal choice to continue to help sick people and to do my part to help with this issue. Re-infection is highly likely, I still practice full precaution when I go home and continue to self Isolate from my wife and daughter as I am now back working in the hospital. Hope my experience will shed light to some of your questions and also to help others here. Stay safe everyone and lets contribute to help with our situations and hopefully we all get over this soon.

Raphael

[pgk pgkParticipant @pgkpgk17461]

Posted by Rockingdodge on 26/03/2020 10:52:03:

Posted by pgk pgk on 26/03/2020 07:52:00:

I anticipated this and got major supplies in well before it all kicked off. We've got about 3-4 weeks left but that's when I anticipate the peak around here so i want stocks to get over that hump. We all do what we think is best

And with all and sundry doing the same leaves empty shelves for those of us who did not stockpile!!!!

That is unfair. When i did my original shopping there was no hint that others were stockpiling and shops were full before and after my trip. Since we are prone to being snowed in etc here we keep good supplies at all times of basics. Gov guidelines are to avoid going out so my options would be lots of little trips or one larger one in keeping with those guidelines. If regular delivery slots were available it wouldn't be necessary. Local supermarkets limit amounts on certain things and we have no need of most of those anyway. My freezers have plenty of my own grown produce so it's more contingency planning . It's also 15 miles to the nearest large stores.

I'm not going to apologise for planning further ahead than others.

pgk

[Cornish JackParticipant @cornishjack]

Raphael Val Golez 1 –

Bravo, Bravo sir! Well done both for your commitment to your profession and your impeccable commitment to the sensible guidelines recommended to us. It cannot have been easy and that you stuck with it and returned to work has value much greater than the actions themselves.

You are a credit to your profession and a lesson to the rest of us!

Very best regards

Bill

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Posted by Peter G. Shaw on 26/03/2020 10:16:34:

Incidently, I seem to be hearing a lot of exhortations to stay indoors! Why? Shouldn't it be to avoid other people? Or is there an increased risk with being outside?

The reason why I'm asking is that from our front wall to the public highway is about five yards/meters. Furthermore, the front faces SouthWest so sitting out on an afternoon can be quite pleasant and comfortably exeeds the 2 meter rule. And yet, and yet, I'm wondering if there's something I've missed, or that "they" are not telling us.

Peter G. Shaw

As far as the official statements are concerened I think the requirement is to stay at home rather than stay indoors. If you have the private space of a garden that would be construed as staying at home. By all means sit in the garden you are still isolated.

regards Martin

[Roger ClarkParticipant @rogerclark]

pgk

It wasn't meant as an attack on you personally it was just an observation of the actions some have the effect on others. My comments would have been a lot more harsh otherwise.

I apologise if you thought otherwise but as you said about planning ahead many have done and are doing that, by purchasing much larger quantities than usual and then taking up delivery slots to keep topped up, this is denying those who have to live week by week because their pensions dictate that and also those who prefer not to be selfish but I guess that is the world we live in.

Mine and my wife's health is such that we are not on the shielded list but if god forbid we come down with the virus and a decision has to be made who gets a critical bed we lose out and besides based on the stats we would not be in the 10% that recover hence I will not go to the shops.

My daughter did a small shop for us at the beginning of the week but was unable to get some items and my son did one yesterday but again couldn't get the same items, we can't get a delivery slot even though I have stayed up until 1:00 am trying on the 5 sites that deliver in our area.

I don't know when our son and daughter can do another as my son has had a new addition to the family, a 5 week old girl and my Daughters eldest son has had an operation to adjust his bite, a culmination of 10 years of braces and adjustment leading to an operation which broke his jaws in 4 places and his mouth wired up for a few months, the op was 4 weeks ago, so they are both very nervous about doing too many trips to the shops.

So that is the other side of the coin, I'm not calling those who 'stockpile/ plan ahead' names, it is their decision, they do whatever they decide to do to protect their own families, all I am saying is that every action has an effect whether it's good or not it's just sad that there are many who are in my position and much worse.

Sorry for the tome, just had to get it off my chest.

Roger

Edited By Rockingdodge on 26/03/2020 12:14:57

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

It's getting where I need to work out an emergency strategy for clipping the dogs claws…

I usually take her to get it done as it only costs £8, and doing it myself takes about a weeka s I can only do about 4 claws a day before she escapes…

Neil

[John MCParticipant @johnmc39344]

Interesting article in a newspaper recently that suggested the virus has been in the UK for a while, possibly since early January. Got me thinking about how many may have been ill already with C-19 without realising it, and now presumably immune?

Late February I felt a little unwell for a couple of days, lingering dry cough, basically the symptoms of C-19. Could I have already had it?

John

[PeroParticipant @pero]

As an introverted miserable old git with no ( geographically ) close relatives I have no personal problem with social isolation, or anti-social isolation as I prefer to call it. My biggest problem stems from my two miniature dachshunds who are very social and a magnet for everyone from small children to fellow geriatrics.

We are still allowed out in public here ( Western Australia ) although that may change. I will be perfectly happy with less outside time but the dogs definitely will not.

So while I am desperately trying to keep my distance the dogs keep stopping for their admirers, who still keep on insisting on patting them, aided and abetted by the dogs themselves.

While a long lead generally keeps me at a safe ( ? ) distance ( current recommendation is 1.5 m ) the possible transfer of the virus from an infected person onto the dogs fur and thence to me is of some concern.

I do try to pick times when there are few people about but how do you get the message across to people, especially to small children, that they should not approach the dogs. An also how do I get across to the dogs that they are no longer allowed to approach strangers and friends alike.

I'm sure there must be an engineering solution to this so if anyone has any good ideas I will be pleased to consider them. Dipping the dogs in alcohol at the end of each walk is a possibility but I doubt that they would approve!

Keep well all

Pero

[Danny M2ZParticipant @dannym2z]

I finally lost it…Was just in Safeway. Saw a man whose cart was FULL to the brim with hand sanitizers, baby wipes, soap and toilet rolls – everything that people need!! I called him a selfish A, and gave him a low down about the elderly, mums, and people who need these types of things. Told him he should be bloody ashamed of himself!

He said: “Are you finished? Cause I really need to get back to restocking the shelves now…”

* Danny *

[JAParticipant @ja]

Posted by Danny M2Z on 26/03/2020 12:45:17:

I finally lost it…Was just in Safeway. Saw a man whose cart was FULL to the brim with hand sanitizers, baby wipes, soap and toilet rolls – everything that people need!! I called him a selfish A, and gave him a low down about the elderly, mums, and people who need these types of things. Told him he should be bloody ashamed of himself!

He said: “Are you finished? Cause I really need to get back to restocking the shelves now…”

* Danny *

JA

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by Pero on 26/03/2020 12:38:58:

 

So while I am desperately trying to keep my distance the dogs keep stopping for their admirers, who still keep on insisting on patting them, aided and abetted by the dogs themselves.

…… but how do you get the message across to people, especially to small children, that they should not approach the dogs. An also how do I get across to the dogs that they are no longer allowed to approach strangers and friends alike.

 

Keep well all

Pero

 

Don't stroke the ****ing dog seems to work for me

Edited By duncan webster on 26/03/2020 12:58:08

[Martin KyteParticipant @martinkyte99762]

Posted by pgk pgk on 26/03/2020 11:38:58:

Posted by Rockingdodge on 26/03/2020 10:52:03:

Posted by pgk pgk on 26/03/2020 07:52:00:

I anticipated this and got major supplies in well before it all kicked off. We've got about 3-4 weeks left but that's when I anticipate the peak around here so i want stocks to get over that hump. We all do what we think is best

And with all and sundry doing the same leaves empty shelves for those of us who did not stockpile!!!!

That is unfair. When i did my original shopping there was no hint that others were stockpiling and shops were full before and after my trip. Since we are prone to being snowed in etc here we keep good supplies at all times of basics. Gov guidelines are to avoid going out so my options would be lots of little trips or one larger one in keeping with those guidelines. If regular delivery slots were available it wouldn't be necessary. Local supermarkets limit amounts on certain things and we have no need of most of those anyway. My freezers have plenty of my own grown produce so it's more contingency planning . It's also 15 miles to the nearest large stores.

I'm not going to apologise for planning further ahead than others.

 

pgk

Personally I feel those who ensured that they started all this with their store cupboards full rather than empty some weeks before the panic buying stripped shelves and restocking was overwhelmed, did the system a favour by taking some of the pressure off the stores at the peak of demand. We are told there is no issue of supply but there are issues of delivery and distribution. So long as you didn't swamp the system and clearly you didn't by stocking up well before the wave of panic buying you have done a good thing by reducing demand at the peak and enabling yourself to isolate more effectively. Signs are that the situation is calming down as stores limit the number of any single item and them that stockpiled at peak panic cannot store any more.

I was buying a little extra tins and dry goods some weeks ago. Do I feel I should have bought more, well kind of. Am I pleased I didn't empty the shelves, definitely.

I should like to see a priority delivery slot system in place for the vulnerable but maybe that will come.

Overjoyed at the volunteer response by the way, must be the largest peacetime army every raised in such a short time and for purely peacefull purposes too. Learned this morning about members of our Lab being recruited to work in the Milton Keynes testing centre.

Best regards Martin

Edited By Martin Kyte on 26/03/2020 13:23:06

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

It's time supermarkets introduced basket only days

[Author]

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