Other practical concerns - COVID-19

These are little issues that keep cropping up in my mind and wonder if others are thinking about them too, and what you plan to do.

1) Dentist - I have an appointment next week. My gut says don't go, tradeoff between disease  & teeth-cleaning seems to go one way.

2) House cleaners - I am inclined to stop the service, to avoid exposure to people in my house as well as to the cleaning crew. But I am also aware that house cleaners don't have much or even any financial buffer - so should I keep paying them? What are others planning to do? 

3) Dog walker - same general deal as house cleaner, ramped up a bit as my walker is over 60. What are people planning?

4) Vet appointment. My dog needs shots, not rabies this time. Go / re-schedule?

5) any practical thoughts like this on other people's minds?

I put this under science & tech as wasn't sure where else to put it. 


I’ve been wondering, if they close schools but groups of children congregate on playgrounds or basketball courts or wherever, seems like it defeats the purpose of closing schools. And having seen two middle school girls pass a can of soda back and forth yesterday, I’m thinking young people on average might not be practicing the common sense measures I assume are being drilled into them by adults. 


HatsOff said:

These are little issues that keep cropping up in my mind and wonder if others are thinking about them too, and what you plan to do.

1) Dentist - I have an appointment next week. My gut says don't go, tradeoff between disease  & teeth-cleaning seems to go one way.

2) House cleaners - I am inclined to stop the service, to avoid exposure to people in my house as well as to the cleaning crew. But I am also aware that house cleaners don't have much or even any financial buffer - so should I keep paying them? What are others planning to do? 

3) Dog walker - same general deal as house cleaner, ramped up a bit as my walker is over 60. What are people planning?

4) Vet appointment. My dog needs shots, not rabies this time. Go / re-schedule?

5) any practical thoughts like this on other people's minds?

I put this under science & tech as wasn't sure where else to put it. 

 I don't know, these are tough questions.  

Do you have a lot of personal contact with your dog walker?  If the answer is no, I would think you would be ok.  

I think I would probably stop the house cleaners since you don't really know where they are going or what they are touching and, if they come when you are not there, you don't know what their health condition is. Sucks for them though.


HatsOff said:

These are little issues that keep cropping up in my mind and wonder if others are thinking about them too, and what you plan to do.

1) Dentist - I have an appointment next week. My gut says don't go, tradeoff between disease  & teeth-cleaning seems to go one way.

2) House cleaners - I am inclined to stop the service, to avoid exposure to people in my house as well as to the cleaning crew. But I am also aware that house cleaners don't have much or even any financial buffer - so should I keep paying them? What are others planning to do? 

3) Dog walker - same general deal as house cleaner, ramped up a bit as my walker is over 60. What are people planning?

4) Vet appointment. My dog needs shots, not rabies this time. Go / re-schedule?

5) any practical thoughts like this on other people's minds?

I put this under science & tech as wasn't sure where else to put it. 

 I think we all need to decide where to draw the line. The media bombardment and avalanche of stats is making us all a little nuts. Should you avoid crowds in small, poorly ventilated places? Sure. But that doesn't mean you can't go to the supermarket or get your hair cut or stop at the gas station. There are nearly 9 million people in NJ and more than double that in NY, so the number of confirmed cases is a tiny fraction.

Take reasonable precautions, wash your hands, etc., but I don't think it's time to move to a cave In East Nowhere.


If your income is stable, consider continuing to pay the cleaners, with the understanding that the first visit or two back will be longer than usual due to extra dust and grime?


Should you decide to cancel your house cleaners, you should still pay assuming you are still getting paid regularly.  That's my plan should I decide to forgo the house cleaners for a time or two (or even 3)


Dentist seems okay to me.  They are taking precautions already against infection and transmission.


Thanks everybody for the input - much appreciated. So far not cancelling cleaners but if I need to do so will pay them as long as my own finances permit, and will also proceed with the vet appointment, dentist etc. 

Are others thinking through these kinds of issues though? E.g what heynj said about kids - if the kids are hanging out together, closing of schools seems pointless. I wondered about that from Japan, they closed schools but kept a lot of childcare options open. Which seems to have missed the point.


You could probably talk to your cleaners and ask them to focus on cleaning surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. Request they use disinfecting cleaners.

The only way the crew could spread the disease is if one of them was infected and not practicing precautions. Don't assume they've gotten all the information about how to prevent disease spread. The CDC website has posters and flyers you can download here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html

They come in different languages. If you're really concerned, maybe print out a few and give them to your house cleaners. Put one on the fridge. Tell them it's something you're sharing with anyone who comes into your house.  

If they're cleaning surfaces with good cleaning agents, unless they proceed to cough all over your kitchen counters after cleaning them you're probably okay. If you're concerned and can get hold of a few masks, you could ask them to wear one while cleaning. In the small chance one of them is sick it would prevent a cough or sneeze from blowing virus all over a room.


mrincredible said:

You could probably talk to your cleaners and ask them to focus on cleaning surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom. Request they use disinfecting cleaners.

The only way the crew could spread the disease is if one of them was infected and not practicing precautions. Don't assume they've gotten all the information about how to prevent disease spread. The CDC website has posters and flyers you can download here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/factsheets.html

They come in different languages. If you're really concerned, maybe print out a few and give them to your house cleaners. Put one on the fridge. Tell them it's something you're sharing with anyone who comes into your house.  

If they're cleaning surfaces with good cleaning agents, unless they proceed to cough all over your kitchen counters after cleaning them you're probably okay. If you're concerned and can get hold of a few masks, you could ask them to wear one while cleaning. In the small chance one of them is sick it would prevent a cough or sneeze from blowing virus all over a room.

Thanks, good ideas. They came today so it's too late for this week, but good ideas for next week. My husband will be at home so I can ask him to talk to them. They are fabbo and extremely meticulous so prob not a problem. And no masks here - frankly if I could find any (and I'm not looking) I'd keep them in reserve in case somebody in the family got sick. I'm anti-stockpiling. grin though I did get in a few extra pantry things.


I think people are  misunderstanding the school closing.  First, they would still be teaching but remotely over computers, so the kids would be expected to "attend" the classes.  Second, the point is to not have 600 kids, teachers, and staff together since we are trying to slow the spread of the virus.  Small groups getting together might also spread it, but more slowly.  We are not going to stop the spread overall.  Forget that idea.


FWIW: Rutgers has a hardship application that would allow students to apply to stay on campus during this closing.  Rutgers is also keeping offices/labs open, but encouraging remote work/meetings, and forbidding in-person meetings of more than 15 people.

https://president.rutgers.edu/public-remarks/letters/important-update-university-operating-status-regarding-covid-19


And interesting opinion to not close K-12 schools, as well as other perspectives.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/10/opinions/osterholm-coronavirus-interview-bergen/index.html


My university is still actively discouraging telework. I can't fathom this to be honest. I'm staff, and my job could easily be done online. Indeed my typical day is I drive to campus, sit in my office, work on the computer, and do phone calls. There tend to be a few f2f meetings but they could easily be done via teleconferencing.

Faculty and students are working remotely, so I really can't understand why staff are excluded from telework.


sprout said:

And interesting opinion to not close K-12 schools, as well as other perspectives.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/10/opinions/osterholm-coronavirus-interview-bergen/index.html

The perspective to close them:

Schools in particular are hotbeds of infectious disease transmission; the 2009 swine flu pandemic in the US, for example, dipped significantly during the school summer holidays and resurged rapidly when pupils returned to school in September.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/11/will-spring-slow-spread-of-coronavirus-in-northern-hemisphere

Some people argue to keep schools open because closing them is inconvenient. 

But I look at it this way. If corporations who are not known for altruism or wasting money are allowing their workers to work from home, to promote social distancing, then why hesitate in allowing kids to stay home? Are they less worthy than corporate workers?


WHO has published a neat booklet for schools and parents with guidelines and suggestions for working through this period with students at all ages K-12. If you wish, I'll post the link. I think it came out last week. 

Makes a point of explaining different ways to handle playtime, and how to handle discussions with restless children. 


Someone raised a concern today I hadn’t even thought of - so many children in so many towns rely on the two meals a day provided in school, often as their only “real” meals. And many students are sent home with a backpack of food for weekends. If schools close, that’s a real concern for a lot of families. Ugh. I heard on NPR that lots of towns in Italy are providing and delivering food to citizens in quarantine, particularly the elderly. I do not imagine our towns are set up for that. 


Heynj said:

Someone raised a concern today I hadn’t even thought of - so many children in so many towns rely on the two meals a day provided in school, often as their only “real” meals. And many students are sent home with a backpack of food for weekends. If schools close, that’s a real concern for a lot of families. Ugh. I heard on NPR that lots of towns in Italy are providing and delivering food to citizens in quarantine, particularly the elderly. I do not imagine our towns are set up for that. 

 What do they during school vacations?


I’ve always understood the backpacks discreetly distributed on Friday afternoons have their contents expanded over school breaks. And in summer, many of the children are in camps or other day care-ish programs that provide meals. (Many years later, I found out a family I went to school with often had literally no food in their fridge and kitchen cabinets, and I have never forgotten about that.)


BG9 said:

Heynj said:

Someone raised a concern today I hadn’t even thought of - so many children in so many towns rely on the two meals a day provided in school, often as their only “real” meals. And many students are sent home with a backpack of food for weekends. If schools close, that’s a real concern for a lot of families. Ugh. I heard on NPR that lots of towns in Italy are providing and delivering food to citizens in quarantine, particularly the elderly. I do not imagine our towns are set up for that. 

 What do they during school vacations?

 They feel hungry a lot, probably.


BG9 said:

Heynj said:

Someone raised a concern today I hadn’t even thought of - so many children in so many towns rely on the two meals a day provided in school, often as their only “real” meals. And many students are sent home with a backpack of food for weekends. If schools close, that’s a real concern for a lot of families. Ugh. I heard on NPR that lots of towns in Italy are providing and delivering food to citizens in quarantine, particularly the elderly. I do not imagine our towns are set up for that. 

 What do they during school vacations?

 There is a Summer meal program at, I think, DeHart Community Center.


Heynj said:

Someone raised a concern today I hadn’t even thought of - so many children in so many towns rely on the two meals a day provided in school, often as their only “real” meals. And many students are sent home with a backpack of food for weekends. If schools close, that’s a real concern for a lot of families. Ugh. I heard on NPR that lots of towns in Italy are providing and delivering food to citizens in quarantine, particularly the elderly. I do not imagine our towns are set up for that. 

I believe the memo from SOMSD said that they were working with their vendor to come up with a plan for free/reduced lunch recipients.  There are also over 100 people signed up bia a parenting center list to help provide food to food insecure families in the event of a closure.  I think the bigger issue is child care for parents who must work outside the home (and shouldn’t be relying on retired relatives under the circumstances).


Bergen county is closing schools...yet keeping food service open for kids with free/reduced if they choose....just for pick up.......so its possible in some schools, pretty much most kids will come regularly anyway....but for those that aren't in walking distance, they have to pay for transportation to get the food...


re: dentist from my social media:

"Everyone! Please stop going to the dentist unless you have an emergency. Dental offices are NOT equipped for this kind of situation and it will be the easiest way to get the COVID-2019. We produce aerosols when we use the “drill” and the virus remains in the air, on the surfaces etc. There are news and recommendations from ADA ( American Dental Association) and from CDC regarding how to get ready to deal with this situation but as of now you can’t be sure that your dentist even had a chance to read about this, less chance they had the time to prepare. It will happen at one point and all dental offices will be equipped for this kind of situation just not now.
This is my PERSONAL opinion as a dentist, that has nothing to do with ADA or CDC recommendations."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41368-020-0075-9?fbclid=IwAR1kkiZF_qOwtI2W8FjiqvzBwpu0LAP8iV23rywShXCs5GvPCjNMzfY0rT8

Your mileage & dentist may vary.


before the chicken pox vaccine, parents would go to chicken pox parties...when 1 kid got sick, they would have a party with that kid...to get everyone else sick and get it over with.....

i'm tempted to expose my self to covid 19.....just to get it over with...its not practical for millions of people to be constantly prepared for months in case they are exposed/quarantined/get sick.  One guess was that this could go on for 9 months.....

and whats with the run on bananas and witch hazel?

witch hazel is only 14% alcohol.  bananas only last a few days, maybe 5 if you can tolerate mushy.


I’ve just posted this in the main covid-19 thread, also.


Families with children, and people who like technical reading, this was just posted on my covid-19 course site: link to case study on children in China who contracted the virus. Please note they present differently to adults, and often do not test positive to the usual tests. Children require testing by rectal swabs.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0817-4?fbclid=IwAR3ciKLAJv-fRsCsMMdpMzXcrROEqWb4n_opy5mY7Sm9e0pT-iymEHbpO6M

In children, the authors believe there’s a possibility of fecal-oral transmission. 


I set up an Uber to pick up someone who was just discharged from a hospital. The Uber driver messaged me to ask what the hospital visit was for.

My first reaction was "what a nosy parker." Then I realized he was concerned that he was picking up someone who might be carrying something. I explained it wasn't anything like that.

It was a little eye-opening into someone's perspective.


I bring eggs out with me when I visit my parents.  Now I’m stuck with ambitious hens and no visiting the family for a few weeks.  We’ve been making cookies, I’m going to try my hand at chocolate mousse next.  But pretty soon I’ll be cooking up scrambled eggs for the dog


Disney Theme parks are closed. The resorts and the Disney Springs retail and dining area remain open. 

Surprisingly you can still book a hotel room at one of the resorts. It makes sense to leave it open for travellers who are stuck there, but to accept new reservations right now seems odd. But I guess some people stay in the resort hotels even if they're not going to the parka.


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