what to do to protect from corona

The Quarantine Zone
21

My favorite hand- washing meme is “wash your hands like you just ate a giant bag of Cheetos.” Since I don’t wear contacts but do eat Cheetos more often than I care to admit to a bunch of smarty-pants Dopers, that one gets the point across for me.

That said, I’ve accepted that there’s a reasonable chance I’ll get the virus, but as a healthy thirty-something, I’ll survive. I get the flu shot every year more out of a sense of duty than a fear for myself; I obviously don’t want the flu, but the risk calculus would be different if I were thinking only of myself. I’m trying to do what I can to protect the people who are really at risk, and I feel the same way about Coronavirus.

22

I like this, it makes exactly the right point.

23

Sure.

Tell me where to find one.

The store I work at has bare shelves there, too, along with the hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, aloe vera gel, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and aspirin all being sold out.

We do, however, still have some toilet paper. At least we did yesterday. And soup. We still have soup.

My sister and I looked on-line for thermometers last night - could find nothing with a shipping date earlier than April 30 which is pretty useless.

Dammit, I always forget one damn thing when planning for the zombie apocalypse!

24

I heard it as “wash your hands like you just chopped up a bunch of halepenos and need to take out your contact lenses.”

25

These items are typical official advice, and certainly beneficial. Currently the official stance by most health care authorities is COVID-19 spreads mainly through physical contact and respiratory droplets, as from a cough or sneeze.

If that was the case, unless someone within 3 feet sneezed in your direction, or unless you didn’t sanitize your hands, you would not get it.

However the rate of spread might possibly indicate there is some aerosol transmission, IOW micro-droplets that stay suspended in the air. This is debated but some documented cases would seem to support this. E.g, one person infected 16-18 others in the German nightclub https://postofasia.com/after-one-contaminated-16-at-berlin-nightclub-coronavirus-fears-develop/

The outbreak in New Rochelle NY started at a synagogue, where one person infected many others: Coronavirus: New York Creates 'Containment Area' Around Cluster In New Rochelle : Shots - Health News : NPR

The method of transmission is still being investigated but it seems unlikely that one person sneezed directly on 16 others. Some recent studies show a significant fraction of influenza transmission may be via aerosols. : Study confirms flu likely spreads by aerosols, not just coughs, sneezes | CIDRAP

The “basic reproduction” or R0 number of COVID-19 is maybe 2.3, vs influenza at about 1.3. This implies COVID-19 is more contagious, although not nearly like measles which has an R0 of 18.

The average incubation period of COVID-19 is about 5-6 days with some outliers to 11-14 days. This differs from influenza which averages 2 days. That means a person infected with COVID-19 and having no symptoms could contaminate others for at least 5-6 days and maybe 11 days before he became obviously ill. Before he became ill it is less likely he’d be sneezing or coughing, yet the disease is spreading rapidly.

Official recommendations say avoid “large gatherings” or “mass gatherings”. The typical definition of this is 1,000 or more people. However in the above nightclub and synagogue cases, there were far less than 1,000 people present. It would appear there’s some risk from social, religious or community gatherings where hugging, handshakes, or close physical proximity are common - maybe in groups no larger than 50.

Besides washing your hands, not touching your face and cleaning surfaces, it would help to maintain 6 ft (about 2 meters) distance between other individuals. However this is not always possible.

26

I work in a grocery store. If the home delivery side of the grocery business were to have a sudden spike in business that lasted for days it would be quickly overwhelmed.

27

Apologies if this is not the best thread, but I thought GQ the appropriate forum.

What are your thoughts re: the potential harm of being exposed to the virus? The mortality rates provide an incomplete picture, as I understand those most at risk are the very old, very young, people w/ respiratory ailments… If you are reasonably healthy, and - say - aged 20-60, is the risk really that much worse than catching a bad cold or the flu?

That is not to say we ought not take precautions, if for no other reason that to slow the spread, to avoid overloading care facilities.

28

Wash hands, eat healthy, and hit the gym (moderately).

29

I went to Walgreens yesterday to get a single roll toilet paper (they are slightly cheaper than the ones at Family Dollar. They were All Out. People are panicking and I’m not. Do we really need to never leave the house?

30

Here’s a readable article summing up things. Basically, there are two scenarios: You live in a country like China that took urgent, extreme measures to shut down transmission, get emergency facilites up and running, etc. and might have a death rate around .5% or less. Then there are countries like Italy that just let it roll. The death rate in such a situation will be 3%+. (Note that Italian doctors are already deciding who gets ventilators and such. I.e., who will live and who will die.)

So either a modest number of people, a lot of whom are merely sick or a very large number of people a decent group of whom are going to get real sick and since health care will be overwhelmed a lot more people will die

The US seems to be in the later category.

31

“A bad cold” is nowhere near as bad as a bad case of actual flu.

The information is limited at this point, but best case scenario seems to be double the death rate of “a bad flu season”. Which is nothing to sneeze at, that can be pretty bad. And while the old and those with chronic health problems are most at risk there have been some relatively healthy young people killed by this, as also happens with the flu.

On a more positive note: there was a report today of a 103 year old woman in China who is recovering from covid-19 and is going home to finish recuperating. However, it should be noted she was an unusually healthy 103 year old woman.

MOST people who get this infection do not get seriously ill and do recover. Please do focus on that at least some of the time.

32

Depends.

Different locations will be impacted to a different degree. Supply lines could be disrupted so even if you are leaving your house, going to work, and your particular location isn’t seeing a lot of sick people you might have trouble getting this or that particular item. So stocking up a little bit makes a lot of sense in case the stores are out of an item for a few days. You also may have reduced choices in some things at the store. Any vital - like required daily medication - you should have a supply on hand. Other locations might really have a LOT of sick people and quarantine/lock down will be needed to regain control of the situation. Sorry, but it’s all a bit of a dice roll at this point.

I suspect some of the panic buying is because people want to be able to DO SOMETHING rather than just wait around for this to roll into their neighborhoods. If they were told that wearing pink ribbons and bells and doing jumping jacks was beneficial every street corner would look like a Morris dance convention. (So maybe it’s just was well no one has suggested that.) People aren’t being given a task to do that gives them a sense of control, so they’re trying to assert control by gathering resources.

Just a theory. May or may not have any basis in reality.

33

Must make a note here that she lived through BOTH the 1918 pandemic and the 2020 pandemic. :eek:

34

Yes, it is.

35

I see what you did there.

36

I get the rubbing alcohol and stuff, but … aloe vera gel? Why in HELL’S name is anyone panic buying aloe? Virus quarantine gives you a sunburn?

37

DIY hand sanitizer when mixed with rubbing alcohol.

38

Wear glasses. I don’t always wear my glasses. Sometimes out of vanity or the situation, but I have been wearing them constantly now as a form of protection from transmission of any disease through my eyes. It’s certainly not perfect but better than nothing in my opinion. Of course, the glasses must cleaned frequently as well.

39

Constantly wash your hands and avoid touching your face as much as possible. Having containers of those disinfectant wipes helps because they are so handy. You don’t have to find a bathroom every time you clean your hands. Avoid large events, especially ones that attract tourists. Avoid public transportation, cruises, and international flights. At work, wipe down your phone, keyboard and other equipment several times a day.

Oh, I almost forgot, pray for some good old fashioned luck.

40

Am I hallucinating or did I read Hannity says its all a hoax?