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Don’t panic about shopping, getting delivery or accepting packages

davfordavfor
edited March 2020 in Off-Topic
Wonder about how to handle Amazon packages and trips to the store? (I have.) This article provides some advise.
So this is what you can do to disassemble the pie — to cut the chain.

You can leave that cardboard package at your door for a few hours — or bring it inside and leave it right inside your door, then wash your hands again. If you’re still concerned there was any virus on the package, you could wipe down the exterior with a disinfectant, or open it outdoors and put the packaging in the recycling can. (Then wash your hands again.)

Shop when you need to (keeping six feet from other customers) and load items into your cart or basket. Keep your hands away from your face while shopping, and wash them as soon as you’re home. Put away your groceries, and then wash your hands again. If you wait even a few hours before using anything you just purchased, most of the virus that was on any package will be significantly reduced. If you need to use something immediately, and want to take extra precautions, wipe the package down with a disinfectant. Last, wash all fruits and vegetables as you normally would.

.....if you take basic precautions, including washing your hands frequently, the danger from accepting a package from a delivery driver or from takeout from a local restaurant or from buying groceries is de minimis. That’s a scientific way of saying, “The risks are small, and manageable.”
https://washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/26/dont-panic-about-shopping-getting-delivery-or-accepting-packages/


Comments

  • carew388carew388
    @davfor Thanks for posting this timely and useful article !
  • WABACWABAC
    I go shopping when there are fewer people about. Typically mid-morning after the lines have cleared out, and before any lunch-time surge. I always ask the clerks when the fewest people are in the store. Our local Trader Joes will close the door when they think it is getting too crowded.

    Most of the stores have Purell hand wipes available. And a couple of them have staff dedicated to wiping down carts and baskets.

    If the crazier buying has abated, today I will start buying with an eye towards getting our household of three through any quarantine period that would hit if one of us should get sick. As I believe the suggested behavior is for everyone in the house to quarantine as well -- just on the other side of the sick-room door. I'm looking at a four-week stockpile rather than a lifetime supply.
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