Join Early Retirement Today
Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 03-15-2020, 08:29 AM   #21
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 384
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlerth View Post
Has anybody else encountered data suggesting the germ spreads via food? I have not. Au contraire, I've seen reports that the virus is destroyed at temperatures of 60C (140F), and it wouldn't survive stomach acid regardless of temperature.

You might still pick it up from handling the surface of raw foods or packaging that had been coughed upon, but that's no different from touching an infected door handle. CDC keeps warning about transmitting it via inhalation, not ingestion.
+1
Dalmore is offline  
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-15-2020, 08:38 AM   #22
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlerth View Post
it wouldn't survive stomach acid regardless of temperature.
I could be wrong, but I believe that the 'stomach acid' idea has been debunked.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 10:39 AM   #23
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,819
Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy View Post
Another random issue: hobby clubs. I participate in a homebrew club and an astronomy club and both have canceled their monthly meetings for now. Which is a bummer because I had certainly brewed the first place Irish Export Stout for the quarterly beer competition.
I have to think about this next week, there are two different meetings I'd really like to attend, because I finally have some fresh beers on tap to share (had a lull in my brewing for a while).

So I'm 65, in the 'older' category, and much of the club is 20-30-40 somethings. They could be silent carriers! I don't get out much, and I've missed the last 2 or 3 month's meetings, so I really would like to make one of these.

-ERD50
ERD50 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 10:47 AM   #24
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,819
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryan Barnfellow View Post
... Once at home, I wash all the jars, cans, fruit and vegetables with hot water and soap before storing them. Can't do much with boxed things, like rice, except rub a bit with a paper towel. ...

-BB
I'm not a micro-biologist, but I have learned a thing or two from my beer home-brewing experience.

True, you can't easily sanitize a cardboard box of something, but I believe that a lot of the germs ride along on dust particles. So if you wipe the box down with a wet/damp cloth that has sanitizer on it, you are probably going a long way towards removing any contaminants from the box, and killing them on the cloth, while not actually sterilizing the box per se.

Better than nothing, at least. It's all about playing the odds, you can't really sterilize things in practice, but you can make big improvements.

-ERD50
ERD50 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 10:59 AM   #25
Moderator
sengsational's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 10,656
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katsmeow View Post
I got an email from Pizza Hut where they stressed that their workers never actually touch the food. It would seem that if you have pizza delivery the risk would be something on the pizza box but the box usually travels in a heated container so the workers don't really have much contact with the actual box.
Go long on Pizza businesses!

I had that thought when I was talking about 'life after CV" and my prediction about certifications for restaurants that never touch the food (and I mean never touch, not "only touch with gloves", which is meaningless). You watch pizzas being made and they get pulled from a super hot oven and right into the box. Even if someone sneezed over the box before hand, the surface of the pizza is probably hot enough to deactivate the virus.
sengsational is online now  
Old 03-15-2020, 11:26 AM   #26
Full time employment: Posting here.
RetiredAt55.5's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Southeastern PA
Posts: 766
I work in a school cafeteria, and we're mandated to wear disposable gloves whenever doing any food prep or serving food. I've thought about this often though - it's better than nothing, but if you touch anything contaminated, it's now on the gloves. So it could then be transferred to anything touched with the gloves.

That's why we're supposed to go in the freezer and fridge and get all needed ingredients, and then put the gloves on.

In a busy, hectic restaurant, I dunno. Even if a waitor in a sitdown is wearing gloves, they're touching everything. Same goes for retail cashiers touching the items and cash, or grocery/food delivery.
RetiredAt55.5 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 11:46 AM   #27
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Bryan Barnfellow's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Switzerland
Posts: 1,045
Quote:
Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
I'm not a micro-biologist, but I have learned a thing or two from my beer home-brewing experience.

True, you can't easily sanitize a cardboard box of something, but I believe that a lot of the germs ride along on dust particles. So if you wipe the box down with a wet/damp cloth that has sanitizer on it, you are probably going a long way towards removing any contaminants from the box, and killing them on the cloth, while not actually sterilizing the box per se.

Better than nothing, at least. It's all about playing the odds, you can't really sterilize things in practice, but you can make big improvements.

-ERD50
Good point, ERD50. Thanks.
__________________
FIREd, April 1, 2015. My Retirement Benefits Package includes: 6 months vacation, twice a year.
Bryan Barnfellow is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 12:37 PM   #28
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lcountz View Post
In the mid 70s I worked in a bakery...
Thanks for the scary story, I think.

I saw terrifying videos of dirty restaurant kitchens from the Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, but always thought I did not eat at those places. Perhaps I was just fooling myself.

With this virus which is so virulent, even if a commercial kitchen is kept clean and hygiene standards are kept, all it takes is a slip from an infected kitchen staff.

I will not be dining out for a while. No take-out either.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline  
Simultaneously both gross and healthy
Old 03-15-2020, 12:38 PM   #29
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mdlerth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: The Shire
Posts: 1,504
Simultaneously both gross and healthy

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo2 View Post
I could be wrong, but I believe that the 'stomach acid' idea has been debunked.
Not an expert myself, so I rely on what experts say. From Medical News Today:

Quote:
According to Prof. John Edmunds from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the U.K.:

“It isn’t a very pleasant thought, but every time you swallow, you swallow mucus from your upper respiratory tract. In fact, this is an important defensive mechanism. This sweeps viruses and bacteria down into our gut where they are denatured in the acid conditions of our stomachs.”

“With modern, very highly sensitive detection mechanisms, we can detect these viruses in feces. Usually, viruses we can detect in this way are not infectious to others, as they have been destroyed by our guts.”
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...myths-explored
__________________
Paying it forward is the best investment.
Mdlerth is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 12:45 PM   #30
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlerth View Post
Not an expert myself, so I rely on what experts say. From Medical News Today:



https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/art...myths-explored
This was what I was thinking of:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunk...ry?id=69578209

Myth No. 2: Drink water often to flush virus into your stomach where acid will kill it

Quote:
You cannot "flush out" the virus from your airway by drinking water. The idea that drinking water will push the virus into your stomach where it will be killed is not based on any scientific fact. But do stay hydrated.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 12:48 PM   #31
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Seattle
Posts: 6,006
Hmm, I always thought the saying was to drink water to flush the dead virus from your kidneys, just to keep your body immune system chugging along.

I never researched it but my guess was that even dead virus that is still in your body has a chance of taking up the resources of your immune system which is still needed to combat live virus.

Either that or the dead virus would keep your body producing reactions that are negative to your health, like mucous in your lungs.
Fermion is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 01:02 PM   #32
Full time employment: Posting here.
Kwirk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 524
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4181824/



MERS virus killed in 1 minute at 65c (149f). Pizza and many other cooked foods are probably safe if not touched after cooling. And, you can reheat to be sure.
Kwirk is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 01:02 PM   #33
Recycles dryer sheets
GreenEggs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 262
Quote:
Originally Posted by RetiredAt55.5 View Post
I work in a school cafeteria, and we're mandated to wear disposable gloves whenever doing any food prep or serving food. I've thought about this often though - it's better than nothing, but if you touch anything contaminated, it's now on the gloves. So it could then be transferred to anything touched with the gloves.

That's why we're supposed to go in the freezer and fridge and get all needed ingredients, and then put the gloves on.

In a busy, hectic restaurant, I dunno. Even if a waitor in a sitdown is wearing gloves, they're touching everything. Same goes for retail cashiers touching the items and cash, or grocery/food delivery.
I've always realized that, but they obviously aren't wearing their gloves while performing personal hygiene or making love, which is a huge relief to know.
GreenEggs is offline  
The Great Sloshing Acid Pit of Death
Old 03-15-2020, 01:31 PM   #34
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mdlerth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: The Shire
Posts: 1,504
The Great Sloshing Acid Pit of Death

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo2 View Post
This was what I was thinking of:

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunk...ry?id=69578209

Myth No. 2: Drink water often to flush virus into your stomach where acid will kill it
I didn't interpret that as saying the virus is acid-resistant. Sounds more like merely drinking a lot of water is not going to force all the germs into the dissolving chamber.

Of course, maybe it might if the water is in frozen cube form and accompanied by some liquor. I'll run the test and let you know!
__________________
Paying it forward is the best investment.
Mdlerth is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 01:37 PM   #35
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Nemo2's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mdlerth View Post
I'll run the test and let you know!
You may have to undertake numerous tests. After all, you'll want total confirmation of the results.
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."

The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
Nemo2 is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 01:37 PM   #36
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Sunset's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,008
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwraigty View Post
Nothing is 100% foolproof, but at many fast food/fast casual restaurants, the workers are required to wear gloves and never touch the food with their hands. DD works at Panera Bread and it is that way there.

It's a far cry from the late 70's to mid 80's when gloves didn't exist in fast food and all food was touched with bare hands. Seriously, I cooked the burger meat at McDonald's for several years. We had to touch the frozen raw meat with our bare hands to lay it on the grill. With those same hands we had to touch the lettuce, onions, cheese, buns, etc. and remove the cooked meat from the grill to finish off the sandwiches. There was no handwashing between touching the raw burger meat and anything else. We weren't allowed to leave the grill area with food down. There wouldn't have been time to wash even if we had been able to during the busiest times. It was the same at Arby's and Wendy's. I did a short stint at those places. That was the reality of food service for many years.

BTW, yes, the impact of people being afraid to go out to eat now is immediate. DD was supposed to work a 7+ hour shift today. They sent her home after just 2 1/2 hours because hardly anyone was coming in. Several other employees got sent home early throughout the day.
I wonder if the workers now wear gloves, and touch the raw meat, then make the burger
__________________
Fortune favors the prepared mind. ... Louis Pasteur
Sunset is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 02:09 PM   #37
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 384
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nemo2 View Post
You may have to undertake numerous tests. After all, you'll want total confirmation of the results.
I'll volunteer to help increase the sample size.
Dalmore is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 03:03 PM   #38
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Posts: 5,296
Th local seafood restaurant has Lobster Mondays that we enjoy (full cooked lobster). They are advertising for tomorrow you can get cooked lobster take out. Just call, give them your credit card info on the phone, pull up to the door, text them you are there, and they bring the bagged lobsters to your car. We are doing it for sure. Yum.

On the other hand I have been using Walmart grocery pick up and their website is not allowing any more pick ups for now--bummer.
harllee is online now  
Old 03-15-2020, 03:38 PM   #39
Full time employment: Posting here.
Silver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Orlando, Fl
Posts: 950
My random question for this forum is; if anyone here does develop symptoms, will you please keep us posted about how it goes? Even if it is someone else in your household with the symptoms....it would be nice to hear first hand from someone with actual experience with this virus.

Right now it seems like getting tested is not always easy, so doing a self differential diagnosis with symptoms of fever, cough, and potentially shortness of breath may be enough to be concerned about. Fever seems to be the big one since that is not common with the standard flu or a cold. The SOB apparently doesn't affect everyone, but there are certainly respiratory symptoms.

If you did get tested what was that process like, and what were the results? If the testing was positive, what were you told to do?

How do you think you got it? Were there early signs, or did symptoms come on rather abruptly? How high did your temperature go? Were there any specific OTC meds that seemed to help the most?

As with all health care concerns, everyone's experience will be different. But perhaps if
(when?) we get members with viral cases we can learn more about it from your experience. Perhaps even start a separate thread just for those effected. Let's hope that never happens.
__________________
"Some people describe themselves as being able to see things as a glass half full. For some, the glass is half empty. Me? I can't even find the f***king glass."
Silver
Silver is offline  
Old 03-15-2020, 06:20 PM   #40
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Elyria, OH
Posts: 1,937
Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTom View Post
I'm not ready to abandon the local restaurants and take-outs yet. And they are taking precautions. The place I was in yesterday had nothing on the tables; no salt shakers, ketchup bottles, tent displays with drink and dessert menus. The servers wash their hands often and extra care is being taken in the kitchen. They're seating parties at alternate tables, never next to another party.

These folks all might be out of a job soon, and we might be eating rationed food. I'm willing to support them and eat well for as long as I can.
I think most restaurants are taking extra precautions, not only with cleaning and sanitizing, but putting things away that customers normally have access to. DD told me that at Panera Bread they've removed coffee cups, lids, condiments, etc. that customers can normally help themselves to. The cashier has to give all that stuff to the customer now.

ETA: A main reason that our Governor hasn't closed the restaurants completely is that there are severe shortages of food in many grocery stores at the moment. They can't handle the additional stress if a lot of restaurant customers are suddenly forced to turn to the grocery stores for food. However, if the grocery stores can start keeping up with the demand and the shelves become full most of the time, that could also change. I've read that in some states they started out just banning dining in, then it progressed to closing the restaurants completely. I appreciate your willingness to keep supporting them. As for us, we got take out pizza today. We were going to get Chinese take out, only to find that they closed starting today through April 5th, claiming it was because of the Governor's order today. Strange and a bit of a cop out, considering they are mostly a take out place.
gwraigty is offline  
Closed Thread


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Covid-19 and healthcare workers (over 50) monte1022 FIRE and Money 14 03-02-2020 11:00 AM
COVID-19 -based going to cash jitters? stephenson FIRE and Money 164 02-27-2020 10:08 AM
A couple of simple and random questions seraphim FIRE and Money 35 04-04-2012 07:11 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:12 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.