I wrote about hard choices yesterday. It was prompted by a scenario that is unlikely to ever happen to me. Thank goodness. But I thought the whole issue of hard choices was very appropriate to the current situation.
I’ve asked myself what I would do if I thought someone near me might be sick with Covid-19. Say I’m out shopping and a person next to me coughs. Will I panic? Will I think badly of them for going into public when they are sick? Is it just an allergy? Or is it the corona virus?
I have bad hay fever right now and have felt a little conspicuous while out shopping. I’ve wondered if people have wondered if I were sick and thought badly of me for exposing them. I feel like I should wear a sign that says “It’s just an allergy.”
Some sites recommend staying at least six feet away from other shoppers. But how practical is that in reality? Plus they say a sneeze can easily travel 20 feet. And new research shows that in reality, a sneeze can travel up to 200 feet thanks to something called a “multiphase turbulent buoyant bubble.”
Well that’s just great. Makes sneezing into the crook of your arm absolutely essential.
A lot of people are looking into home delivery of groceries. I’m kind of fussy. I’m not sure I want someone else choosing which head of lettuce I should eat or which tomato I might like best. And even then, you are not assured you won’t be exposed.
I read some recommendations for accepting home deliveries.
- Have the delivery person drop off the stuff outside of your house.
- Do not tip them directly. Do it online.
- Wash everything once you bring it inside. Rinse the produce and wash the hard skinned produce with soap and water. Wash all packaging with soap and water.
- Wash the counter tops with soap and water where you set the items before you washed them.
- When you are finished, wash your hands with soap and water.
- Do not touch your face until you have washed everything, including your hands .
The CDC says that because the outer coating of the virus is a lipid (basically a fat), the soap pretty much tears it apart and kills the virus. Good rinsing, after washing with soap for at least 20 seconds, is also essential as it washes the soap with the viruses suspended in it from your hands. Leave any soap on your hands and you leave the virus. It’s a good bet that not all of the little buggers will succumb to the soap. It’s the way of the world. Organisms adapt.
For me, deciding to use a grocery delivery service would be a hard choice (I said I was fussy, maybe I should have made that FUSSY). I’m most likely to continue to do my shopping in person. But I’m immune system compromised. I lost my spleen in an accident a couple of years ago. Also, I am 67 years old. I’m fairly fit, but fitness only takes you so far.
We are all going to have to make some seriously hard choices in the next year or so. Hopefully, there will be enough good and reliable information out there for us to weigh the odds and make the best choices we possibly can.
The CDC still says the best thing you can do is NOT panic. I believe this is true. So far I have not. I hope it stays that way.
Maddie's Mom Writes 