What are you doing to keep covid out of your home

Chook

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I have a history of being very poorly with pneumonia so at the beginning of the pandemic my husband and I talked about realistic ways to deal with this for an unknown length of time but which might turn out to be forever. Part of Mr C's job is doing risk assessments so thats what he did here.

Work: Luckily Mr C doesn't work in a high risk environment but his office has been divided up to ensure proper distancing, they have PPE and antibacterial wipes when they need them and no face to face meetings. He uses hand gel at work and thoroughly washes his hands when he gets home.

House: The very first thing we did was use a weak bleach solution to clean the surfaces in the house that might already have virus on them. After that we decided to assume the inside of the house is safe (unless, of course, we accidentally touch something after having been out before washing our hands) so the house just gets normal cleaning.

Going out to public locations: We decided that it would be prudent to wear masks and nitrile gloves when out shopping or in public but not to bother when walking the dogs but just to be careful about social distancing. Once home shoes are removed and put on shoe rack in garage and hands are washed immediately. We don't touch anything until we've washed our hands.

Things coming in to the house: Parcels are brought in and unwrapped with gloves on then sprayed or washed if appropriate. I have Asda food delivery who now knock on the door then leave the food in carrier bags in the middle of the garden. We put on nitrile gloves to get it in and unpack it. If its not needed for a couple of days it just gets put away, if its needed sooner we used a weak bleach solution on disposable cloths wipe it with before putting it away.

Its an annoying new routine but hopefully it won't last forever.
 
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Parisemo

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Wearing gloves, I sanitise deliveries and groceries with antiseptic wipes before putting them away.Has anyone any other ideas about how to keep the virus out of homes?
Even before the virus after shopping the first thing I did was wash my hands, I used antiseptic wipes on anything I purchased, wiped any door I had touched and my keys.
 

NicoleC1971

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Nothing. And I shall be sending my kids off to school as soon as possible so that they can help free their grandparents by getting immunity.
Taking my vitamin D and trying to keep blood sugars low seems more realistic.
This virus is not a storm of locusts and it hasn't passed over us. We've just lengthened the amount of time that the vulnerable and elderly have to spend under voluntary house arrest.
 

DavidGrahamJones

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I don't sanitise wheelie bin or recycling box but leave them in the garden for 3/4 days for sunlight and time to kill the virus.

This is from the New England Journal of Medicine, so not exactly shabby. As for lasting in the freezer, I've read that it thrives in freezers but some scientists are saying they need to test it. Best to give it a wipe over before freezing. From other research papers I have read they are finding large amounts of the virus on the floor of hospitals, especially in rest room areas.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973?query=featured_home
 

set-in-stone

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Max68, I haven't done click and collect, but according to a friend who has used Sainsburys, there is a van in the car park. You pull up near it, get out of the car, call out your name at the back of the van (from a distance), move back, guy leaves crates with food packed in plastic bags next to boot of your car, he goes back to van, you load shopping into car and drive off. Man from van collects up empty crates. Sainsburys seem to have it well organised, but watch out for other shoppers going to go into store, who don't always observe social distancing rule.
If it's not Sainsburys, apologies, but thought this info might help someone else.

Yep I did not park near the van. They were kind enough to take my £200 worth of shopping to where I parked the car. My only issue with Click collect and home deliveries is you cannot return an item or substitute you do not want. Or did not order for that matter. I ordered £1 men’s body wash for son and they sent £4 factor 30 Sunscreen! Doh!
It is a long form filling process online to claim back:(
 

Mr_Pot

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Yep I did not park near the van. They were kind enough to take my £200 worth of shopping to where I parked the car. My only issue with Click collect and home deliveries is you cannot return an item or substitute you do not want. Or did not order for that matter. I ordered £1 men’s body wash for son and they sent £4 factor 30 Sunscreen! Doh!
It is a long form filling process online to claim back:(
With Sainsbury's if they supply a substitute which is more expensive they charge you for it but give you a voucher online for the difference. It worked well when they substituted a £9 bottle of wine for the £6:50 bottle I ordered.
 
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set-in-stone

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At the start, I bought half a dozen 50ml bottles of sanitisers and have one to each family member. Also left some in the toilets at home.
I still carry one in my handbag to disinfect supermarket trolleys, baskets, and before returning to the car.

I mopped the hard floors with Zoflora every few days, wore masks when outside, washed hands often etc.
I have eased on the mopping. Too much hassle as I also work from home, and do most of the cooking.

I must confess I never progressed to wiping down fruit, veg, meat, and all shopping. I do use the sanitiser after opening parcels though. Other half will only open his letters and parcels after one day.
 

spendercat

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We are retired so do not need to go out. We live in a region that has been lightly affected. I put supermarket deliveries in the garage overnight. I believe 4.5 hours would be enough.
I open the post and throw away the envelopes and wrappings. Then wash my hands, and bleach the area. Contents have not been touched for at least 24 hours, so safe.
A few times I have been to the local Sainsbury’s, alone. Where I am the only person, including staff, wearing a mask. That worries me. I think the staff should wear masks. Keep wipes in the car for hands etc.
Honestly, our lifestyle has hardly changed, how sad is that?
 

Tannith

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i have just read a quote from someone shielding saying "one slip and I could get it" This sums up my feelings exactly. And if I got it I would almost certainly die. I get phases of feeling very scared indeed. Especially when I hear of so many people ignoring social distancing in supermarkets and the streets.I also fear not being able to get groceries in the future if distancing rules are relaxed in supermarkets and other public places making it impossible for the shielded to leave the house.
 

Mr_Pot

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i have just read a quote from someone shielding saying "one slip and I could get it" This sums up my feelings exactly. And if I got it I would almost certainly die. I get phases of feeling very scared indeed. Especially when I hear of so many people ignoring social distancing in supermarkets and the streets.I also fear not being able to get groceries in the future if distancing rules are relaxed in supermarkets and other public places making it impossible for the shielded to leave the house.
People are shielding because the consequences of getting the virus are worse, not because they are more likely to get it. As for the "one slip", if you have in mind something like opening the post and forgetting to wash your hands then the virus would still have to be on the post which is very unlikely.
 

bulkbiker

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i have just read a quote from someone shielding saying "one slip and I could get it" This sums up my feelings exactly. And if I got it I would almost certainly die. I get phases of feeling very scared indeed. Especially when I hear of so many people ignoring social distancing in supermarkets and the streets.I also fear not being able to get groceries in the future if distancing rules are relaxed in supermarkets and other public places making it impossible for the shielded to leave the house.

How many cases are there where you live?

You can check here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274

Where I am in West Sussex the total number of cases represents 0.14% of the population which means that 99.86% don't have it..

Depending on your age and any co- morbidities your chances of dying from it are still small ..
 

Tannith

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How many cases are there where you live?

You can check here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274

Where I am in West Sussex the total number of cases represents 0.14% of the population which means that 99.86% don't have it..

Depending on your age and any co- morbidities your chances of dying from it are still small ..
So you don't agree with Boris and all the other heads of state across the world who have put their countries in lockdown, thereby jeopardising their nations' economic survival for a long time to come? All to prevent excessive risk to the lives of their populations.
 

DCUKMod

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Mike d

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Depends on the country and the number of fatalities. Australians are totally fed up with it. Tolerance levels are being severely tested. 97 deaths is nothing on the global scale in comparison to the UK and the U.S.
 

DavidGrahamJones

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I shall be sending my kids off to school as soon as possible so that they can help free their grandparents by getting immunity.

What about the teachers, teacher's assistants, school employees and their families? The teachers I know are dreading an instruction from the government to go back because they know children will be children and social distancing is impossible. The teachers I know do not want to catch something that could kill them. Poor kids, it's not as if catching this virus is a breeze for all kids especially as there are now an increasing number of reports of children with symptoms that adults are not experiencing. These include a bright red rash all over the body and very swollen lymph glands and nodes and frequently requiring hospitalisation.

This virus is not a storm of locusts and it hasn't passed over us. We've just lengthened the amount of time that the vulnerable and elderly have to spend under voluntary house arrest.

It isn't a plague of locusts and it isn't the common cold or flu either. A locust couldn't kill me directly, just eat my food. It hasn't passed us over, it is with us all the time and this herd immunity idea will never allow anyone to be perfectly safe. The whole idea of the lock down was to ensure that the NHS was not overloaded and it looks like that was successful even though people are still dying and people are still getting the virus.
 
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JohnEGreen

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I certainly don't want the virus, but nor am I willing to allow it scare the life out of me. If it comes knocking at my door, it'll have a fight on its hands.
No you will have a fight on your hands and probably to the death, there are things this virus is doing that are only just coming to light.

Things like the risk of strokes even in young people with relatively mild symptoms as the virus attacks blood vessels and causes blood clots to form.
The link with Kowasaki disease in young children

And it has already mutated from it's original form to a more virulent form that is now the most dominant strain or form of the virus throughout the world.

It frightens me and those who hope for herd immunity to save the day in the near future are going to be sadly disappointed.
 

bulkbiker

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So you don't agree with Boris and all the other heads of state across the world who have put their countries in lockdown, thereby jeopardising their nations' economic survival for a long time to come? All to prevent excessive risk to the lives of their populations.

No I think it's the wrong strategy and as deaths peaked on 08th April hasn't been especially effective anyway.

https://www.cebm.net/oxford-covid-19-evidence-service/
 

DavidGrahamJones

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If it comes knocking at my door, it'll have a fight on its hands.

I wish it were that easy. Several years ago I had a massive internal bleed and it made me realise that although I can do everything in my power to try and stay healthy, there are some things that are not in our hands. I would like to think that there is somebody in charge of that decision, but who knows for sure?

Stay safe, you won't have a fight on your hands then.
 

zand

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i have just read a quote from someone shielding saying "one slip and I could get it" This sums up my feelings exactly. And if I got it I would almost certainly die. I get phases of feeling very scared indeed. Especially when I hear of so many people ignoring social distancing in supermarkets and the streets.I also fear not being able to get groceries in the future if distancing rules are relaxed in supermarkets and other public places making it impossible for the shielded to leave the house.
I felt like you too @Tannith . Back in early March I was panicking because I had a chest infection and was struggling with it. The thought occurred to me if my body couldn't cope with a normal chest infection then I would die if I caught coronavirus. It wasn't until maybe 2 weeks later, when I still had the illness that I realised it was COVID19 and that's why I had been so ill (but I was still at home).

We just don't know how our individual bodies will cope with it until we catch it. If I hadn't already had COVID19 then I would be as scared as you are now. Do your best to protect yourself, but at the same time don't be overly anxious.

Take care.
 
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