# Does anyone else know of anyone personally who has taken virus precautions too far? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 7, 2021, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372 "2021-03-07T03:29:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/21 "2021-03-07T18:59:22Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My mother thinks that my brother and I are taking covid precautions to far. > > And for the household where the nephew wants to sanitize everything: tell him to look up how long it takes to kill covid at what temp, and suggest to the Mom that she slide the hot pizza into a preheated oven for a bit before serving it. This may make them both happy. > > I lack the usual levels of stomach acid, and the gut is chock-a-block full of the receptors covid uses to enter cells. Even if it’s not a significant risk for the population at large, I’m worried about eating the virus. I plan to stop heating my takeout after I’ve been vaccinated. But for now, takeout involves a brief cook at home. > > I’m quarantining the beans for a couple of days, since the virus isn’t very stable. I have enough space to let groceries sit in the basement before putting them away on the shelves. Ground meat needs to be cooked anyway, and anything it touches before that should be cleaned due to bacterial risks that predate covid, so I’m not taking any new precautions with ground meat. This is an interesting reaction to a respiratory virus. We get it be breathing in particles in the air. Hence the need for masks and social distancing, especially with respect to coughing and sneezing, which can travel over twenty feet. Have there even been any documented cases of people getting covid from touching things, or is this just an over abundance of caution? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/22 "2021-03-07T19:02:03Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > Exactly. I live in a community that has fought masking and distancing from the start, so there’s a significant trust issue, as well. I don’t trust that any person I come in contact with isn’t riddled with the virus. Therefore, my single, working from home self has had my groceries and other necessities delivered for over a year, and I rarely feel the need to leave the house for anything. I’ll determine my own level of acceptable risk, thank you. So you must at least trust the individual that delivers your groceries. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/23 "2021-03-07T19:16:52Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > So you must at least trust the individual that delivers your groceries. I don’t interact with that person. I’m not overly concerned with fomite transmission, and since I’m not a homesteader I do need to bring in supplies somehow. I’m comfortable with delivery. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/24 "2021-03-07T19:20:01Z")
I suppose it’s all about levels of comfort, isn’t it? I’m a teacher, so I’m around kids all day, but I don’t really worry about most interactions, as long as everyone’s wearing masks, and I can be as little as a foot or two from the students at times. I guess I’ve just learned to adapt. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/25 "2021-03-07T21:48:04Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > This is an interesting reaction to a respiratory virus. We get it be breathing in particles in the air. Hence the need for masks and social distancing, especially with respect to coughing and sneezing, which can travel over twenty feet. Have there even been any documented cases of people getting covid from touching things, or is this just an over abundance of caution? In bad cases it infects the gut, not just the respiratory track. There seem to be some cases where the primary infection is the gut. I’ve heard of people who were hospitalized whose first symptoms were all gastrointestinal, and who only developed respiratory problems later. Municipalities measure the level of covid particles in sewage. I read somewhere that anal swabs are a more reliable diagnostic test than nasal swabs. It’s generally extremely difficult to know for sure how someone caught a disease. For obvious reasons, no controlled experiments have been conducted on humans, yet, documenting the spread. Epidemiological data indicates that the primary method of transmission is aerosol. I don’t believe there have been any cases known for certain to have been spread by food, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I’m not sure there’s even a case known for certain to have been transmitted by coughing. That’s just not an easy thing to prove. And as i mentioned, i lack the stomach acid that most people have. The stomach acid which likely kills it in food before it can infect the intestines for most people. And it’s known that the intestines are rich in the receptor the virus uses to enter cells. I’m not suggesting that you take these precautions, because you probably have robust stomach acid. But I’m going to keep doing this until i can be vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/26 "2021-03-07T22:05:39Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I hope I don’t derail the thread, but isn’t “a couple times a week” a lot of fast food? I assume for most people (I know there are exceptions) McDonald’s and the like is a once a month or so experience. …once a month? 1 in 3 Americans eat fast food _daily_. > **[CDC Reports Over a Third of Americans Eat Fast Food Daily](https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2018/fast-food-daily-habit.html)** > > Despite negative health effects of a diet high in fat and sodium, 24 percent of adults over 60 eat fast food daily, since it is readily available and cheap. Its cheap, convenient, and readily available. Twice a week sounds pretty normal (personally I’m once a week at the moment), once a month sounds like its outside the norm. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/27 "2021-03-08T01:25:19Z")
If people were only eating fast food once a month the entire fast food industry would collapse. Its like that joke either George Carlin or Jim Gaffigan said > Nobody admits to eating fast food and yet McDonalds claims they serve billions a year. Somebody is lying! ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/28 "2021-03-08T02:34:32Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > In bad cases it infects the gut, not just the respiratory track. There seem to be some cases where the primary infection is the gut. I’ve heard of people who were hospitalized whose first symptoms were all gastrointestinal, and who only developed respiratory problems later. Municipalities measure the level of covid particles in sewage. I read somewhere that anal swabs are a more reliable diagnostic test than nasal swabs. > > It’s generally extremely difficult to know for sure how someone caught a disease. For obvious reasons, no controlled experiments have been conducted on humans, yet, documenting the spread. Epidemiological data indicates that the primary method of transmission is aerosol. I don’t believe there have been any cases known for certain to have been spread by food, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. I’m not sure there’s even a case known for certain to have been transmitted by coughing. That’s just not an easy thing to prove. > > And as i mentioned, i lack the stomach acid that most people have. The stomach acid which likely kills it in food before it can infect the intestines for most people. And it’s known that the intestines are rich in the receptor the virus uses to enter cells. > > I’m not suggesting that you take these precautions, because you probably have robust stomach acid. But I’m going to keep doing this until i can be vaccinated. Thanks for the explanation. I am probably too dismissive of the hand cleaning precautions and what not, as I think that even if it hits people gastrointestinally first, I’m guessing it still entered through the airways. I’m no doctor, but I do pay attention to kinds of evidence that comes to light. Whatever it is, we’re going to need to watch out for each other for at least a few months longer. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372/29 "2021-03-08T03:52:41Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Have there even been any documented cases of people getting covid from touching things, or is this just an over abundance of caution? There have been a few cases of people getting covid from touching things. It’s rare, but it seems to have happened. Here’s some info. > [@Despite hearing this on NPR, I can't stop disinfecting!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-hearing-this-on-npr-i-cant-stop-disinfecting/929210/30): > > Post 17 says: As I noted in a previous post: Because it doesn’t account for all the cases and because it’s possible, so my question would be why rule out possible infection from contact with an object. I went searching for more information on the elevator button incident. I found that there are actually 2 elevator button incidents, the one in New Zealand and [one in China](https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20200903/coronavirus-on-surfaces-whats-the-real-risk). WebMD lists two possible cases of contact transmisson while the Salon article lists two possible cases of contact tr… This thread is very much like this thread. > [@Despite hearing this on NPR, I can't stop disinfecting!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/despite-hearing-this-on-npr-i-cant-stop-disinfecting/929210): > > It’s a habit now…muscle memory. People have different comfort levels for different reasons. As long as it’s not hurting that person or anyone else, I’m good with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-know-of-anyone-personally-who-has-taken-virus-precautions-too-far/937372.md?page=1)