#This is how you should grocery shop during the coronavirus pandemic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lonelyreputation · 4 years

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The List

A/N: Happy afternoon/evening/morning to wherever you find yourself on this planet! I had planned on posting this ~next week, but I’m trying to be better at posting fics sooner instead of having them sit in my docs for like 2 weeks after I finish sdljfk so here’s this one! I also can’t find the original request or else I would link it, but below is a summary! And it’s allllll fluff !

Thanks a million for all your support!! 💖💫 I really appreciate every reader, every like, every reblog, and every reply that I’ve ever received 🥺 It really makes my heart melt lsdjflk

Also, as I’m sure most of you are aware, there was a devastating explosion in Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday that killed hundreds and injured thousands. Here’s a really informational text post explaining the explosion with additional resources to help. And if you have the means, here is the link to donate to the Lebanese Red Cross.

REQUEST: Going grocery shopping with your husband Shawn during corona and running into fans

Let’s Chat!! | MASTERLIST

Warnings: Coronavirus (please remember to wear your masks!!!)

Word Count: 2.3K

“Do you have the list?” You mumbled through your mask.

Shawn shut the driver’s side door close as he slipped the elastic strings of his mask around his ears, “I thought you had it?”

You looked at him in disbelief as the two of you walked toward the front of the grocery store, “You said and I quote,” you cleared your throat to lower your voice, “Of course, I have the list Y/n, I’m not irresponsible.”

He rolled his eyes at the glare you sent him as he took out a clorox wipe from a ziplock bag to wipe down the handle of the shopping cart before he put his hands on it, “Tomato tomahto.”

“Shawn, we’re in the middle of a pandemic,” you glared at him again as the two of you entered through the automatic doors, “We need specific things and can’t keep running back and forth to the store.”

“I––Yeah, you’re right, sorry.”

For a second you forgot you were wearing a mask, so you just smiled at him as a response. But when you realized that all he could see were the crinkles at the corner of your eyes, you patted his bicep, “It’s alright, let’s just get what we need and then leave.”

Shawn nodded as he pushed the cart over toward the produce section. You picked out some lettuce, peppers, apples, and other assortments of fruits and vegetables. As you were tying a knot around a plastic bag you had put asparagus in, Shawn’s voice caused your head to turn his way.

“How do you pick out an avocado?”

“How do you––What?”

Shawn stared down at the avocados, eyebrows pulled together as he scratched his chin, “Like, I know there’s something about the color and feel of it, but I don’t wanna touch them and then put them back.”

He had a point, you thought. There was a fear factor about touching a piece of fruit––of touching anything in the grocery store––and putting it back on the shelf that could potentially put someone at risk of getting sick.

“I guess just grab a few?” You pulled down another plastic bag from the dispenser, wiggling your hands inside to fully open it and holding it out to Shawn, “We’ll eat the softer one’s first and just keep an eye on the rest of them.”

Shawn nodded as he picked up a few avocados and placed them in the bag you held open for him. Once Shawn had put six avocados in the bag you gave him a look silently asking him if he really needed all of the avocados.

“I like avocado toast,” he gave you a cheeky wink, “And it’s not like we can put them back.”

You let out an exasperated sigh, knowing full well he was grinning under his mask, as he pushed the cart forward, “What else do we need?”

“I would know if we had a list.”

“I said I was sorry!”

You tilted your head and gave him a deliberate look that showed you didn’t believe him. You heard him let out a faux disgruntled sigh as he looked at you with nothing but love in his eyes. Shawn continued to push the cart forward and you told him to jokingly get whatever he wanted since the list was long forgotten.

And he took your lighthearted joke to heart as the two of you went up and down the aisles. Shawn grabbed various cereal boxes you didn’t even know he liked to eat, seven different kinds of pasta noodles––They’re on sale, Y/n––snacks ranging from potato chips to dried kale flakes, and spent more than enough time in the baking aisle.

You stood next to the cart that Shawn abandoned as you watched him walk up and down the aisle; front teeth biting down on his bottom lip in concentration as he leaned in close to the shelves with squinted eyes, reading the labels.

“You’re serious about this?” You warily looked at the way he was so concentrated.

“Of course,” he said unfazed as he turned his head over his shoulder to give you a duh look, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It’s just so…” Your words trailed off as he whipped his head back around and bent his knees to squint at the labels on the bottom shelf, “Unexpected.”

Shawn let out a little triumphant ah ha as he picked up bread flour from the bottom shelf. He shrugged his shoulders at you as he dropped the bread flour in the cart, “Everyone seems to be making sourdough bread.”

For what felt like the millionth time since you stepped foot in the grocery store, you let out a sigh, “That doesn’t mean you should.”

Shawn glared at you, “My mom said she would FaceTime me to help.”

Your eyes crinkled as you laughed out loud and pushed the cart down to the cleaning supplies aisle. You picked up the limit of two packs of paper towels, two packs of toilet paper, but the store was unfortunately out of clorox wipes.

After you picked up those essential supplies, you went down to pick up some bread, eggs, and then down to the milk. You opened the fridge door, took a gallon of milk out, but before you could fully close the door, Shawn offered up his spaced-out thoughts.

“What’s the difference between one percent and two percent milk?”

“Shawn, I don’t know,” You turned around and saw his nose an inch away from the glass of the fridge, “And get your nose away––You don’t know who’s touched that surface.”

He moved his head back, but it was still too close then what you would’ve liked, “There’s so many types of milk…And like, non-milk’s…Have you ever tried pea milk?”

You now remembered why you always left Shawn at the house when you went food shopping.

“You usually like fat-free milk in your cereal–––”

“Shawn––Are you Shawn Mendes?”

Shawn pulled his head completely away from the glass and took a few steps toward you as to put some distance between the fans and him, “Uh––Yeah––Hi, how’s it going?”

Even with their masks on, you could tell that they were trying really hard to hold in their excitement. While the three of them looked to be various ages, you could tell that they were sisters.

“We’re so good––”

“––As good as you can be in a pandemic––”

“Are you grocery shopping?”

The last question made you laugh because if being in a grocery store wasn’t obvious enough, you also had a cart full of food. But you knew that they really admired Shawn’s music, that they were also probably nervous, and just trying to make conversation with him.

“Yeah,” Shawn smiled at them as he gestured to you, “Y/n forgot the list though––”

“You said you had it!” You cut him off and turned your attention to the fans, “He’s always so forgetful.”

“You guys are too cute––”

“––Yeah like your wedding pictures were to die for––”

“What song did you have your first dance to?”

Like how you directed your attention to the trio of girls, the youngest of the sisters directed this question at you.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis was our first dance song,” you blushed at the memory that was just a little under a year ago, as you looked up at Shawn, who was already looking down at you with idolization shining bright his eyes for you, “He stepped on my dress a few times.”

Shawn scoffed and the idolization in his eyes turned into bewilderment, “You stepped on my shoes.”

“Tomato tomahto,” you shot his words back at him.

“That is really funny––”

“––That song is so romantic––”

“Can we get a picture?”

The two older sisters apologized and silently berated the youngest sister saying how they probably didn’t want to be bothered while out; especially in a pandemic. But Shawn reassured her that it was fine.

“Okay, so let’s…” Shawn was trying to strategize the safest way to take a picture with fans, “Let’s do this as socially distant as possible…Hmm…Okay so how about I get behind you girls and you aim the camera up so you’re able to see me in the distance?”

They all agreed with wide eyes and vigorous nods of their head, verbalizing their gratitude toward Shawn and how he was being so compromising and careful with the current situation. You stood by the cart as you witnessed the oldest sister stretch her arm out so she was able to get her sisters and Shawn, who was standing more than six feet behind them, all into the picture.

“I really appreciate you girls being so understanding with taking the picture and not having it be…normal. We’ve––” Shawn gestured his hand between you and him, “––been quarantining pretty intensely, but I still don’t want to risk you all––or my wife––getting infected.”

Just like the picture, the sister’s understood his concerns.

“Really, thank you so much–––”

“––This has been the highlight of my quarantine––”

“When are you releasing new music?”

You let out a laugh that your mask, thankfully, muffled as all the sisters continued to talk over each other, but were interrupted when the youngest would blurt out a question.

Shawn’s laugh was more hearty and audible to the fans, “I’ve been writing more,” Shawn gave you a side glance, “I’ve had some good inspiration lately.”

Once they all thanked Shawn again, they were trotting off to wherever they came from. Shawn was silent for the remaining of the shopping trip, only offering his opinion every now and then when you asked him a question. Checking out was a breeze, and soon enough you were walking outside with the bags, placing them in the back of Shawn’s car.

The two of you opened your doors, stepped into the car, but before you buckled up, you held your hand out to Shawn who was already squeezing hand sanitizer into his hand. You thanked him as you rubbed your hands together, the alcohol smell pungent in the car.

“Alright there?” You clicked your seatbelt in place as Shawn started the car.

He placed a hand on the back of your seat as he looked through the back windshield, “Yeah, just…It was nice seeing some fans…Almost forgot I was famous for a minute.”

“You might’ve forgotten that you’re famous, but your fans will never forget you.”

He tried to contain the growing smile by biting the corner of his bottom lip as he looked over at you. You offered him a shining smile and with a shake of his head and a small chuckle, he placed a hand on your thigh and gave you a slight squeeze.

The rest of the ride was silent and you pulled out your phone to scroll through Twitter while Shawn sang along to the radio. You were mindlessly scrolling, not really paying attention to your timeline, but then you saw an update account retweet the picture of Shawn at the grocery store with fans. You clicked on the profile and saw that there was a link to the full Instagram post.

You were directed from Twitter to the Instagram app and smiled at the picture’s caption.

Ran into Y/n and Shawn Mendes at the store! They were very cute, but Shawn forgot their food list! Y/n kept teasing him. And they were both wearing masks! And before anyone says anything about the pic, Shawn was more than 6 ft away and stood behind us. He also said that he and Y/n had been quarantining intensely! We love our quarantine King and Queen Y/n and Shawn Mendes ✨ 💖💫

You decided to humor yourself and read the comments. And while almost all of them were positive, there were still some people commenting on how they thought you and Shawn weren’t actually married and it was still just for PR.

Someone did comment: What supermarket? I’m tryna meet Shawn 👀

But the fan, the oldest sister, who you met just under an hour ago at the supermarket responded: Sorry! Not going to give out their private info just in case they live in that area!

You smiled at the thoughtfulness of her response and hearted the comment.

Before you knew it, you were back at your house washing your hands, and bringing in the grocery bags. You unpacked the groceries one by one, putting vegetables in the fridge as Shawn put the seven different kinds of pasta away in the pantry.

You walked back to where the grocery bags were on the floor, pulling out carrots and red peppers, when you saw a corner piece of white paper slightly sticking out from the top of your husband’s back pocket.

“Shawn?” You asked cautiously, not sure if your eyes were betraying you or not.

He peeked his head over his shoulder, “Yeah?”

Your eyes drifted down to his back pocket, “What’s that?”

Shawn followed your gaze and turned his head down to his backside, with a frown on his face, as he reached a hand into his pocket. And just as you expected, he pulled out a crumpled white piece of scrap paper, the one you knew you wrote your food list on.

His eyebrows were scrunched together, reading over the list, and then his eyes widened when he realized what he was reading. He looked up at you with an apologetic look, “Now also wouldn’t be the time to tell you that I forgot to buy pasta sauce?”

Your shoulders fell, just as fast as your mouth, as you looked at him with wild eyes, “You bought seven different kinds of pasta and didn’t buy any sauce?!”

taglist: @fallinallincurls @alina--jpeg @adelaidestreets @5-seconds-of-mendes @particularnarry @now-that-i-saw-u @turtoix @shawnsmutal @vinylmendes @mendesficsxbombay @lights-on-mendes

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thebibliosphere · 5 years

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I don't want to stress you out so feel free to just delete my message if this is a topic you're avoiding! I was wondering how you're handling all the panic around coronavirus. I'm immunocompramised and even 'the common cold' will knock me on my ass for weeks and the only reassurance I'm hearing is that it doesn't kill healthy people. I'm trying to reassure myself that people are more likely to wash their hands& the like during the outbreak, but I was hoping you might share some thoughts?

Immunocompromised solidarity fist bump. I too am only just now getting back on my feet after the cold I caught two weeks ago, and I do mean back on my feet in a very literal sense. That shit knocked me six ways from Sunday and now suddenly people are telling me it’s March. Amazing.

That said, when it comes to coronavirus, I’m treating it like every flu season. Which is to say, the usual annual fear and preparedness that comes from being immunocompromised and surrounded by privileged, healthy people who don’t seem to understand the importance of handwashing and covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze all of the time, not just when we’re facing a possible global pandemic.

What I am having to factor in now, however, is other people’s panic, and the fact that healthy and able-bodied people are buying up medical supplies that disabled and chronically ill people need to use, sometimes on a daily basis, despite the fact that things like paper face masks really won’t protect them from something like the COVID-19 virus, not least of all because they don’t know how to use them, and don’t know how to take them on and off without the risk of contamination. Same with vogmaks. Vogmasks should never be used to prevent the spread of illness, firstly because their filter doesn’t work that way (it’s not small or well fitted enough) and secondly because as a reusable mask, it’s a high risk of contamination every time you put it on, especially given that vogmask comes with a fitted filter, and washing the mask renders the filter into mulch. So using a vogmask in a contagion type situation is highly not recommended, and if one has to be used, it should be discarded immediately afterward. This hasn’t stopped people from panic buying them in droves, however, and as of March 2nd 2020 the official store is still out of stock, meaning that people like myself who need them to go outside due to pollen and air pollutant risks aren’t able to get our hands on them. Heck, we can’t even get our hands on regular paper masks, and the ones that are available are selling on Amazon for $200 a pop and are not properly made and are not certified medical grade. Fuck, even my SIL’s hospital where she works is running out of masks, all because people are panic buying.

Which sure was the long way round of me saying, I’m more pissed than worried.

Oh sure I’m worried, but no more so than I am for usual cold and flu season because every year is a potential risk to my health and longevity of life. And while I think some worry is healthy and entirely understandable, I also think it’s important not to let it escalate to full-blown “gargling with bleach” panic, which yes, is apparently a thing people are asking google if you should do. Cause, y’know, can’t catch coronavirus if you’re dead...

Being alert and aware is good, being prepared is good, and sure, it’s probably a good idea to make sure you’ve got some extra meals in the freezer and an extra package of two of toilet paper in the house just in case all of humanity grinds to a halt for a few weeks. (also stock up on any meds you might need) But I’m also not lying awake at night worried about it. I’m far too busy lying awake at night worried about my own body and the things it’s capable of all on its own. So yeah, am I more at risk from something like COVID-19? Yes. Am I worried about it? Yes. Do I find it completely callous, ableist and utterly monstrous to hear able-bodied and healthy people saying things like “don’t worry, it’s only going to kill the weak”, abso-fucking-lutely. I’m legit one more comment like that away from drowning a motherfucker.

But I’m also trying very hard not to let panic and fear rule my life. Which is basically how I’ve been living for the last 5 years anyway if I’m honest. It’s so very, very easy at the moment to look around and be consumed by terror, and if I’m honest, it happens to me at least ten times a day before I’m able to reel it back in and do what I can about it. Which in this instance, is taking care of myself, and taking a few extra precautions here and there to avoid potential sickness.

So yeah, I don’t know if any of this is reassuring, cause honestly, I’m not sure how to reassure myself sometimes. But I also acknowledge that anxiety and stress take a toll on my immune system, and I need to do what I can to stay calm and not weaken an already fragile vessel any further. So I’m taking my meds, I’m practicing good hygiene habits, I’m avoiding people where possible, and generally just trying to live my life as safely and as best I can in a world where people cite the death of people like me as an acceptable statistic provided they make it out all right. Sad, pissed, and resolved to outlive every one of the motherfuckers if it’s the last thing I do.

Take care of yourself. I know you will, but take extra care of yourself. Be kinder than usual, allow yourself to rest more, stock up on your meds if you can, get some extra food in the freezer so you don’t have to expend energy going grocery shopping. And toilet paper. Trust me, you never want to run out of toilet paper while in self-imposed quarantine.

#petaluhsims #chronic health tag #I hope some of this makes sense #I have a lot of complicated thoughts on the matter #and most of them are me trying to curtail the white noise of panic

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fuck-customers · 4 years

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I actually have a few Fuck Customers, and 1 Fuck Coworker stories.

The Fuck Coworker story:

The psychotic, hypocritical, Preacher's Wife I work with has been saying very racist things against the Asian community since the pandemic started. I finally snapped and said "The Coronavirus is no excuse to be racist." and "The Chinese have suffered enough." to her. She replied with "NO THEY HAVE NOT!". This woman is supposed to be a Christian! The Bible teaches "Love thy neighbor!" not "Be a racist bitch!". I reported her to the store director... But I'm not sure if he talked to her...

Now to the Fuck Customer stories:

1. At the beginning of all this insanity, I was taking an older gentleman's groceries out to his car. I commented "Woah! This is crazy!" and he WENT OFF ON ME. Literally saying "You stupid, punk, kids! You should be grateful that you've got a job!" and bitching for nearly 10 minutes about how I'm complaining about working. He even called my boss and told him that I was complaining about having to work. I had to explain to my boss what I actually said. I wanted to tell the customer "Which job, asshole? The one where I come to work and bust my ass during a pandemic that puts my health, and the health of my grandmother at risk? Or the one where I go home to and take care of my, aging, grandmother who has health issues ON TOP of the fact that BOTH of our immune systems are slightly compromised due to the depression caused by my mother's recent death?"

2. A few weeks ago, we changed hour hours to open at 8 a.m. I had just clocked in at 7. I'm standing there with the Preacher's Wife working on my morning check list when the Bread Guy goes to the door to go to his truck. He talks to someone outside and a minute later, an old woman comes in to the store. We ask her "Can we help you?". She asks "Can I just do my shopping for an hour?". We tell her no, that we're not open yet, and she goes back outside to wait. I wanted to look at her and go "Are you fucking kidding me? Do you not see the sign on the door that says we open at 8? That means WE OPEN AT 8! That precious hour I have before you bastards flood the store is meant for sanitation! Now, respect hour hours of operation and STAY THE FUCK OUTSIDE!".

3. A woman called the store before we opened to talk about the Curbside Service. No big deal, right? The office manager is the one on the phone with her. The woman explains that she doesn't have internet or a smart phone, so she wants us to take her list, rewards card and bank card, and do her shopping for her. The office manager asks the store director if we'd even be able to do that. He has her tell the woman that we don't have any spare employees that could do that. The woman flips out and yells at the office manager "IF I GET THE CORONAVIRUS, I'M SUING YOU!" before hanging up. The store director, Preacher's Wife, store trainer, and I are all standing there as this happens... We all got a good chuckle from that. Like, seriously? How the fuck do you think that will go down in court? I'll tell you, it won't. We're not responsible for your stupidity.

4. This last Sunday (on 04/19), we had a truck come in that actually had toilet paper. Not really a big deal, we knew it would sell fast... But, we also have a limit on paper products. That means, if you want toilet paper or paper towels (or whatever), you had better choose the 1 you want most, because that's all you're allowed to get. We have signs EVERYWHERE on that aisle. An old woman came in and had toilet paper, paper towels, napkins and tissues in her cart. Our Social Monitor was making her rounds, saw the woman and told her about the limit. This woman, literally, THREW A TANTRUM. She began throwing stuff onto the shelves, cussing out the Social Monitor, and yelling "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WIPE MY ASS?!". Without missing a beat, the Social Monitor tells her to pick the toilet paper. A couple of minutes later, she comes up to the register, still throwing a shit fit. She cusses out the cashier and throws her groceries back into her cart before I even have a chance to bag them. The transaction ends and I politely ask her "Would you like some help out with that?", to which she yells "NO!" and storms out of the store with her cart.

5. Just today (04/21), I had 2 old ladies make me want to vomit. Every day, the courtesy clerks are supposed to deep clean the restrooms at 7 am, 10:30 am, 1:30 am, and 5:30 pm. Because I'm a girl, it often takes me FOREVER to get the men's room done (because there's ALWAYS someone in there!)... But today, the ladies won the trophy for being gross. At the 7 am cleaning, an old woman came into the room before I could finish. She does her business, then goes straight for the door. I notice she's wearing gloves, but I still got grossed out. The least she could have done is wash her gloves before touching the handle that I had just cleaned. A few minutes later, I'm called to the front to sack a bit. I tell the cashier (the Preacher's Wife) about the woman and that she might want to wear gloves when dealing with her groceries because I can guarantee that she did not change her gloves after using the restroom. I straight up refuse to sack for the woman and walk off the front so I can go mop the restrooms. A few hours later, at the 1:30 cleaning, I'm working hard on the women's room again. Another old woman comes in, does her business, then goes straight for the door. This woman was NOT wearing gloves. This time, I was so grossed out, I literally yelled "REALLY? We're in the middle of a pandemic and you people still REFUSE to wash your hands?" as the door closed behind her. Of course, after both women did that, I sanitized the door at least 3 times each. You people are told day in, day out, to wash your fucking hands. There are signs on the mirrors that say something along the lines of "WASH YOUR HANDS like you've been handling jalapenos and you need to change your contact lenses!" with a picture of jalapenos on them! I understand teaching kids to do it. They're kids! They need to learn! WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REMIND ADULTS TO WASH THEIR HANDS!

And trust me, those are just the stories that stick out the most. I've got tons of others involving people trying to make this thing a religious and political thing... Including 1 old woman who told me "I'm ready to go to heaven!" with a straight face...

#tw #trigger warning #submissions #fuck customers #fuck co-workers #fuck retail #fuck coworkers #submission

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Sunday, August 22, 2021

US keeps ban on nonessential border crossings to slow COVID (AP) The U.S. government on Friday extended a ban on nonessential travel along the borders with Canada and Mexico to slow the spread of COVID-19 despite increasing pressure to lift the restriction. U.S. border communities that are dependent on shoppers from Mexico and Canada and their political representatives have urged the Biden administration to lift the ban. In addition, Canada recently began letting fully vaccinated U.S. citizens enter the country. But the Department of Homeland Security said in a tweet Friday that the restrictions on nonessential travel were still needed to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and the delta variant. It extended the ban until at least Sept. 21. The travel restrictions have been in place since early in the pandemic in March 2020 and repeatedly extended while allowing commercial traffic and essential crossings to continue.

Booming business at dollar stores shows the widening gulf between haves and have-nots during pandemic (Washington Post) Kyle Dishman can’t afford to shop at the local grocery store anymore. Instead he goes to Dollar General, where he can make $40 stretch into a week’s worth of groceries and the occasional can of motor oil for his Chrysler 300. He sticks with pasta, frozen pizza and canned vegetables, fully aware that “any food you can buy for only $1 is not the greatest for you.” But Dishman says prices have gone up so much that he’s started rationing his food. A growing number of Americans are relying on dollar stores for everyday needs, especially groceries, as the coronavirus pandemic drags into its 18th month. Chains such as Dollar General and Dollar Tree are reporting blockbuster sales and profits, and proliferating so quickly that some U.S. cities want to limit their growth. Foot traffic at Dollar General is up 32 percent from pre-pandemic levels, far outpacing the 3 percent increase at Walmart. Analysts say the explosive rise of dollar stores is yet another example of how the pandemic has reshaped the economy and widened the gulf between the wealthiest and poorest Americans. “It’s a striking disparity: In this country, there is now dollar-store land and there is Whole Foods land,” said Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), a nonprofit advocacy group. “And if you live in Whole Foods land, it’s very hard for people to understand just how desperate circumstances are for the rest of the country.”

More Americans now say government should take steps to restrict false information online than in 2018 (Pew Research Center) Amid rising concerns over misinformation, Americans are now a bit more open to the idea of the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online. Roughly half of U.S. adults (48%) say the government should take steps to restrict such misinformation, even if it means losing some freedom to access and publish content. That is up from 39% three years ago, with Democrats driving much of the increase. Meanwhile, a majority of the public continues to favor technology companies taking steps to restrict online misinformation.

Hurricane Grace hits Mexico's Gulf coast, weakens; 8 killed (AP) Hurricane Grace hit Mexico’s Gulf shore as a major Category 3 storm before weakening on Saturday, drenching coastal and inland areas in its second landfall in the country in two days. At least eight people died, authorities said. The storm had lost power while crossing over the Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, swirling through Mexico’s main tourist strip, but it rapidly drew in power from the relatively warm Gulf of Mexico before reaching the Mexican coast again late Friday. At least eight people, including children, died and three were missing after mudslides and flooding, said Cuitláhuac García, governor of Mexico’s Veracruz state. García said 330,000 people lost power in the storm but it was gradually being restored.

Haitian quake victims rush aid sites, take food and supplies (AP) Haitians left hungry and homeless by a devastating earthquake swarmed relief trucks and in some cases stole desperately needed goods Friday as leaders of the poor Caribbean nation struggled to coordinate aid and avoid a repeat of their chaotic response to a similar tragedy 11 years ago. The attacks on relief shipments illustrate the rising frustration of those left homeless after the Aug. 14 magnitude 7.2 earthquake, which killed nearly 2,200 people, injured more than 12,000 and destroyed or damaged more than 100,000 homes. The frustration over the pace of aid has been rising for days and has been illustrated by the growing number of people crowding together at aid distribution sites. But Friday was the first time there was such widespread stealing.

UNICEF warns millions of Lebanese face water shortages (Reuters) More than 4 million people in Lebanon could face a critical shortage of water or be cut off completely in the coming days, UNICEF warned, due to a severe fuel crisis. Lebanon, with a population of 6 million, is at a low point in a two-year financial meltdown, with a lack of fuel oil and gasoline meaning extensive blackouts and long lines at the few gas stations still operating. “Vital facilities such as hospitals and health centres have been without access to safe water due to electricity shortages, putting lives at risk,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement. “If four million people are forced to resort to unsafe and costly sources of water, public health and hygiene will be compromised, and Lebanon could see an increase in waterborne diseases, in addition to the surge in COVID-19 cases,” she said, urging the formation of a new government to tackle the crisis.

Ethiopia's Tigray crisis: US accuses Abiy's government of blocking aid (BBC) The US international development agency has blamed the Ethiopian government for a shortage of humanitarian aid in the country's conflict-torn Tigray region. USAID accused the government of "obstructing" access to Tigray, as it warned that food aid was set to run out this week for the first time. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of famine amid the conflict between government and rebel forces. USAID called on the Ethiopian government to "immediately allow humanitarian assistance". It noted that aid trucks have been unable to leave the town of Semera in the neighbouring Afar region—currently the only accessible land route into Tigray. About 100 trucks of aid are needed in Tigray each day, yet just 320 have managed to reach the region since the end of June, a UN spokesman told the BBC. "At least two important aid organizations have already run out of food," said Saviano Abreu from the UN humanitarian agency, Ocha. "Without urgent and unimpeded food assistance, there will be an imminent threat to the lives of over 400,000 people in Tigray already in famine-like conditions and over 1.8 million people now in emergency levels of hunger could slide into starvation," he said.

In Kabul, a fearful wait for US to deliver on evacuation vow (AP) Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan waited nervously on Saturday to see whether the United States would deliver on President Joe Biden’s new pledge to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who aided the war effort. Biden faces growing criticism as videos depict pandemonium and occasional violence outside the airport, and as vulnerable Afghans who fear the Taliban’s retaliation send desperate pleas not to be left behind. The Gulf nation of Bahrain on Saturday announced it was allowing flights to use its transit facilities for the evacuation, an option that should ease pressure after the U.S. faced issues Friday with its facilities at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar rapidly filling up. The backlog forced flights from the Kabul international airport to stop for several hours. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, said it would host up to 5,000 Afghans “prior to their departure to other countries.” So far, 13 countries have agreed to host at-risk Afghans at least temporarily, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Another 12 have agreed to serve as transit points for evacuees, including Americans and others. But the growing question for many other Afghans is, where will they finally call home? Already, European leaders who fear a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis are signaling that fleeing Afghans who didn’t help Western forces during the war should stay in neighboring countries instead. The desperate scenes of people clinging to aircraft taking off from Kabul’s airport have only deepened Europe’s anxiety.

Taliban took Afghanistan but face cash squeeze (AP) The Taliban face a frontal challenge in cementing control of Afghanistan: Money. Despite their dominant military blitz over the past week, the Taliban lack access to billions of dollars from their central bank and the International Monetary Fund that would keep the country running during a turbulent shakeup. Those funds are largely controlled by the U.S. and international institutions, a possible leverage point as tense evacuations proceed from the airport in the capital of Kabul. Tens of thousands of people remain to be evacuated ahead of the United States’ Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw its troops from the country. But the Taliban also do not currently have institutional structures to receive the money—a sign of the challenges it might confront as it tries to govern an economy that has urbanized and tripled in size since they were last in power two decades ago. The shortfall could lead to an economic crisis that would only fuel a deeper humanitarian one for the roughly 36 million Afghans expected to stay in the country.

The Taliban is flaunting captured U.S. weapons that may be worth billions. Can it use them? (Washington Post) As the Taliban swept into power across Afghanistan, it captured many millions, perhaps billions, of dollars worth of U.S. military equipment that had once belonged to Afghan forces. Footage from areas captured by the militant group shows bedraggled but celebratory fighters in control of U.S.-made guns, armored vehicles and even Blackhawk helicopters and drones. Beyond the flashy hardware, experts are also concerned that the extremist group would now be in charge of sophisticated technology, including biometric devices used by the U.S. military to identify Afghans who assisted Americans and allies. It’s an impressive haul for a group that was once dismissed as a band of rural Luddites when it emerged in the 1990s. But despite its austere interpretations of Islam and rejection of much of modern society, the Taliban has shown flexibility when it comes to technology. It is already active on the Internet and social media. And its fighters are no strangers to U.S. military equipment. “The Taliban have already been using sophisticated military equipment that they have captured from Afghan national security forces in recent years,” said Robert Crews, an expert on Afghanistan at Stanford University. “They have used everything from night vision goggles and scopes to sniper rifles and armored vehicles and artillery.”

Battered Airlines Owed Billions as Governments Withhold Cash (Bloomberg) Airlines are owed almost $1 billion across 20 countries as governments seek to hang on to hard currency, depriving the industry of vital cash at a time when travel has been devastated by the coronavirus crisis. Figures published by the International Air Transport Association show that Venezuela is withholding a further $4 billion that’s been outstanding for years and may be permanently lost to carriers. Lebanon, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are the worst offenders among other states, accounting for 60% of the $963 million deficit, according to IATA.

#headlines #news

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altamont498 · 4 years

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How to shop safely during Coronavirus/Covid-19 (from your friendly neighbourhood retail worker)

Observe hygiene measures 🧼 - use hand gel going in/out of any store and use trolley/basket cleaning facilities if they are available;

Follow social distancing measures ↔ - Stay 2 meters (6 feet) away from anyone you don’t live with. This includes shopworkers. If someone’s in your way, wait for them to leave, or politely ask them to move aside;

Wear a face covering/visor if you can 😷 - Wear it properly (up over your nose) and keep it on while you talk to people (enunciate!). Again, this includes retail/service workers too. If you can’t wear a mask/visor for whatever reason, please ensure you follow the previous point at all times; REMINDER: Retail workers may ask you to lower your face covering to check you’re old enough to buy certain goods or to cross-reference your I.D photograph. Please don’t be insulted when we do this. Just put your I.D down on the counter, stand back and lower your mask for a moment. You can put it back up again as soon as we confirm you are who your I.D says you are.

Buy only what you need 🛒 - There is no need to panic buy, and panic-buying only harms everyone in the long-run. Also, respect any limits against panic buying and don’t try to evade them (e.g. going to other tills, splitting transactions, etc.);

Travel local for essential reasons only 🚗 - Avoid long-distance travel if you can, and you should only really travel out of your town/area if you have a very good reason to do so. For example, to go to work or school. Also only go out when you really need to. While it can be frustrating being stuck at home all the time, retail stores (both essential and non-essential) aren’t there to be a replacement for Disneyland or a trip to the zoo every day of the week. Only go shopping in a particular store if you truly need something, or allow yourself one absolutely non-essential shopping trip a week.

Shop alone if you can 🕺 - Especially in stores where there’s an upper limit on how many people can be in at any one time. If you have to bring kids with you, make sure they can understand and follow the rules and stay with you at all times. If they can do neither of these things, consider leaving them with a nearby relative/childminder or bring a friend or relative who can wait with them outside if you can or it is safe to do so;

Use card or contactless payment where you can 💳 - Reduce cash handling if you can by paying with your debit/credit card or through contactless payment (e.g. your card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.) Some stores may also offer shopper cards which you can preload with cash and use like a gift card. NOTE: You may not be able to buy certain goods with these cards (e.g. medicine, fuel, tobacco, etc.) so keep an alternative close-by.

Be prepared to wait ⏲ - Especially as we’re getting into the middle of the holiday rush right about now, you should be prepared to wait in longer lines for longer times. You may also need to wait outside stores if there is a limit on the maximum amount of people allowed in a store at a time. Help others to beat the rush by adhering to point 6, and avoid hanging about - have your payment and bags ready (if you brought some) and keep alert – avoid taking/making calls, texting, etc. if possible.

Remember that stores/locations might not be able to provide all services that they normally can 🙅‍♀️ - Depending on any applicable localised restrictions or company policies, store staff might not be able to provide all services they normally can, or they may be changed in certain ways to ensure the safety of everyone. For example, a store might be forced to operate on click & collect only due to local restrictions. Or a grocery store may ask that customers pack any bags they’ve brought from home by themselves if they can. Or a hair salon may no longer be able to accept walk-in appointments. These measures are to keep everyone safe. Please respect it if staff can’t do something for you at the moment.

Feeling sick? Please stay at home 🤒🏠 - If you (or someone you live with/are in a support bubble with) isn’t feeling well, please don’t come in. Especially if you have the symptoms of Covid-19 (new continuous cough, fever, change in your sense of taste/smell). Please make alternative arrangements to use online grocery delivery services or to get a friend to shop on your behalf. If you have the symptoms of Covid-19, please make sure to avoid chemists/pharmacies especially, as this can not only put key workers/services out of order and disrupt people’s supplies of essential goods and services, but can also put the extremely vulnerable (elderly, pre-existing condition, etc.) at an incredibly dangerous level of risk.

Please be kind ❤ - The Covid-19/Coronavirus pandemic still hasn’t gone away yet, and while it may be frustrating having to follow all these different rules every time you go out shopping, we’re still in the middle of this war. So please be kind to retail workers and other customers. 😊

#a1tam0nt #red's retail job #retail worker #christmas #winter holidays 2020 #coronavirus #covid-19 #pandemic #psa #signal boost #health and safety #queued

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keepingupwithfundies · 4 years

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BuB 921: A Promise Ring & Unexpected Delivery!

Restrictions are eased in Tennessee, but the Bates family decides to keep staying at home for now. The Stewarts take Layla for a walk and discuss her health. Nathan shares some news with his brothers. Erin, Chad and Carlin work together on a surprise for Zach & Whitney, who have been keeping the boutique afloat.

-T

At the Bates home, lockdown restrictions have been listed and the family is working to finish some projects. Kelly says lockdown was difficult, and they have a lot of projects to do. The family is tackling the front of the house and the yard as well as taking down their christmas lights (it's summer! kelly jokes). Kelly says that as stores are opening, Kelly is asking about getting more of the family together, since they'd been carefully staying apart due to COVID. But as restrictions are lifting, Kelly wants to see her kids. Gil says not yet, probably, and watch as they increase the gathering numbers. He jokes around 40 should be ok, and Kelly says he just didn't want to buy the groceries.

At Carlin and Evan's, the Stewart family is heading out for a little walk. Carlin says dealing with COVID as first time parents is stressful. Layla had been having some issues with her breathing, and the Stewarts have been working with her doctor to try to figure things out. They learned Layla had a small hole in her heart, but she is still having struggles. They've been nervous bringing her in during the pandemic, but they have been doing it and hope for the best. Carlin says she's been overwhelmed with the joy of Layla and the stress of her health conditions. Evan says nothing matures you like parenthood.

At Erin and Chad's, their yard is full of their playing kids. Chad is pushing Carson in the swing. Chad says he asked Bradley if he misses Bradley and Kaci and he said yes. Erin says they were worried about the boutique at the start of the pandemic, but people did a lot of online shopping and Zach & Whitney worked like crazy to make it work. Erin says she and Carlin want to take them a gift to show their appreciation for all they do. Erin calls Carlin and they decide to plan a getaway and drop off a basket for them. Erin asks if Carlin would be up to help watch the kids, and Chad jokes "why not? what's a few more?" They all decide this is a good idea, and they'll go ahead with it.

Nathan, Lawson, and Trace arrive at the barn to visit their horses. Lawson and Nathan had been in Arkansas, but since restrictions had started to lift, they returned to Tennessee to see their family and their horses. They groom their horses and prepare to ride, and they talk about what they've been doing. Nathan says he's been training pilots, and every 45 days he used to go to the Philippines with MedicCorp but since the coronavirus he's just been training pilots. Trace asks Lawson if he has any new relationships, and Lawson jokes he's starting things up again with an old flame, Music. They then turn to Nathan, and ask about the ring he's wearing. Nathan explains it's a promise ring, there's someone in his life, but he isn't talking about it to the public. Nathan says it is time to settle down, and move along with life, career and maybe marriage. He says the time is coming that he leaves the bachelor crew. Nahan asks if Trace is recovering or back in the saddle. Trace jokes that he is back in the saddle, trying to grow from his last relationship and trying to heal. The guys head off on the trail, and Lawson says these times together are so important since they don't know when it'll happen again.

At Zach and Whitney's, Bradley and Kaci bounce on the trampoline and Khloe sits with Whitney as she works. Whitney says having 3 kids, a business, and your husband working full time during a pandemic is crazy. Whitney and her kids play Mother, May I? and Whitney says they've just spending time outside, trying new games and having fun. Meanwhile, the Paines are driving to run up to their porch and do a drop off drive by. Whitney is in the backyard, and Erin text that there is something on the porch. The kids head to the porch, and find the basket. There is snacks, candles, and a card. Whitney is touched, and she calls Erin to thank her. Erin says giving a gift is so fun, and you leave more excited and feel good when you give a gift, and she hopes Zach & Whitney will know how much they really appreciate them.

#recap #Bringing up Bates #BuB Season 9

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getengage · 3 years

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How to Attract Customers in Retail Stores During COVID-19?

COVID-19 has shown retailers that their past strategies for footfall increase are no longer effective. To offset in-store traffic loss due to COVID-19, retailers need innovative solutions.

This blog is written to help retailers navigate the difficulties of COVID-19 with seven working ideas to increase footfall to your retail store.

But before that, let's understand what is footfall in retail marketing.

What is footfall in retail marketing?‍

Footfall meaning: Number of people who enter a store or venue in an hour. Also, footfall means the number of customers you get to your retail outlet per hour, week, and month on average.

Knowing the footfall to your retail store can help you decide how many products you need to stock, which days of the week are best for promotions, and what type of promotional offers work well.

What Is A Retail Store And What Is Retail Marketing?

A retail store sells goods and services to the end-users, called customers. And retail marketing is the process of promoting awareness and interest in retail goods and services to generate sales from potential customers.

Let's now look into the seven ideas to increase footfall to your brick-and-mortar retail store.

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‍How to increase footfall in retail during COVID-19?

The pandemic has drastically impacted customer behavior. People prefer shopping online to brick-and-mortar purchases, and consumers are limiting their spending on a range of items - investing only in essentials is the norm now (McKinsey).

What's more, customer loyalty is plunging awfully. If retailers do not have a come-back strategy, it's going to be hard to stay on top of the game. On top of that, to pull off a rulebook on how to increase footfall in retail during COVID-19 is no easy feat.

That is why I have compiled seven ideas to increase footfall to your store. Read on and be enlightened!

1.Abide by COVID-19 protocols for footfall increase

As a preliminary step, be well-informed of the COVID-19 protocols. Don't implement this merely under the government norms, instead take extra measures to show customers that you care!

Most importantly though: adhere to these guidelines religiously and never forget customer health is your top priority. Endorse contactless service at all possible points so as not to let any opportunity slip by.

And here are other things you’d want to implement in your brick-and-mortar store for footfall increase.

Have an automated entrance

Deploy hygiene counters

Fix thermal sensors in the entrance

Have an isolation space for those showing symptoms of the coronavirus

Lay an inner pathway that customers could use in your shop

Fix sneeze guards in the checkout counters

Ensure to have ventilation systems

Do give your customers the ease of a comfort room

2. Run in-store promotions to boost store traffic

Wondering how to attract customers to your store?

Well, discounts are a perfect way to attract new customers and retain existing ones. When you want to increase customer traffic in a brick-and-mortar store, give customers an offer that only works inside the store.

For example, Target's program, Cartwheel offers 5% to 50%, off specific items when customers shop in-store to increase foot traffic.

Much like the aforementioned example, there are various other ways to endorse in-store promotions. Below are a few techniques brick and mortar retailers can use to increase foot traffic in their store:

Offer a “Bring your family or friend” discount – this gives your customers a valid reason to visit your store. And when this takes on a chain reaction, you may rapidly increase the customer traffic.

Surprise your consumers with free samples of your products. This would allow them to try some new brands and products.

If you’d want to reduce your excess stock post the quarantine time, try running a multi-buy campaign.

Use Ingage to boost store traffic! Get your personalized demo here.

3.Enhance in-store shopping experience with digital signages

If you are wondering how to increase footfall in restaurants, or any retail outlet for that matter, digital signages are your best bet. They are innovative and amazingly powerful when it comes to empowering your customers in-store.

Digital signage is a type of advertising that uses a video screen to display marketing messages. They can be used for attracting customers, conveying information, and promoting merchandise.

If you are wondering how to increase footfall during COVID-19, then consider these ideas to increase sales in retail stores:

Offer surprise discounts like “pay what you want” – this will make your customers feel valued and loved by encouraging them to visit more often.

Giveaway free samples so that customers get an opportunity to try new brands/products.

Also, if you have excess inventory post quarantine time, run multi-buy campaigns.

Some more examples of how digital signage is used for ways to increase sales in retail stores are as follows:

Grocery stores and supermarkets use digital signage to show recipes, make grocery lists, or serve as an information center.

Retail outlets in malls that have fashion sections can display the latest trends on their screens so customers know what’s new. This helps them pick out something they might like quickly.

Some restaurants showcase menus on screens while others even project live cooking shows! These displays help with menu navigation too; helping a diner decide between chicken tikka masala or steak tartare by showing pictures of both dishes at once.

4.Leverage beacon notification to attract customers to your store

The beacon technology is a way to implement a tracking system indoors. A beacon is an inaudible signal that can be tracked and act as the trigger for other events like sending notifications about deals, discounts, or new products.

Beacon technology helps with driving footfalls by giving customers an indoor mapping experience of your store's inventory. This ensures they always know where they are going and what’s around them. The navigation reminds them of their proximity to items on display so there’s never any confusion over whether something is nearby or farther off.

Beacon notification also increases customer engagement; through this tech, users get notified of discounts, deals, and new arrivals as they move around the store.

Along with this technology, you can also use geofencing so that when a customer enters your store's radius, they get an alert on notifying them of specials in the area or location of products while providing directions to their desired product.

You should consider implementing beacon notification for attracting customers from all over because it is cost-effective and easy to set up. They're compatible across devices such as phones, tablets, laptops, etc., which means footfall increase is just one step away!

5.Train your salespersons to become the shopper's friend

Educating your salespersons on how to be consumers’ friends is important. They should be knowledgeable about what products are popular and in-demand so that they can help the customers find exactly what they want while at the same time giving guidance on how to save money by telling them where discounts and deals can be found.

It's an excellent way of building customer relationships and increasing traffic to retail stores.

For instance, Denver’s Cherry Creek does an exemplary job on this. The customer has penned the experience thus:

“One of my friends was getting married in a couple of months and stopped by the store where he and his groomsmen were getting their tuxedos. He was greeted by name and with a cold beer. Handshakes and hugs all around. When we left, I turned to my friend and asked, “Do you know them?” He said, “Yeah, they’re helping me with my tux.” (Source: Vendhq)

6.Reconceptualize the checkout counters

Customers abandon their purchases because of long lines at the checkout. With the pandemic out there, this could be one of the reasons why the retail foot traffic is diminishing. (The Baymard Institue)

To overcome this hassle, and add another way to increase footfall in retail stores, you can reconceptualize the checkout counters. Some ideas are adding more till counters, or installing in-app checkout. This way customers don’t have to wait in queues for long periods and can make the purchase right there and then.

7.Encourage BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-up In-store)

True, consumers are inclining to online purchases as opposed to in-store shopping, but you can turn it to your advantage. In fact, an ICSC report cites that 69% of customers who went to collect their orders eventually bought additional items.

To implement BOPIS for your retail store, you need to have a centralized platform that allows you to manage orders, sales, and customers. This helps you to deliver a personalized customer experience.

In combination with BOPIS, another way to promote footfall into the store and drive sales in retail is by bringing your website in-store. And this will be a good move if you have multiple stores and not all the stock in one place.

So people could browse your eCommerce site in-store for products they want but which aren't available at their local shop. If they show interest, you can then let them know that associates can place an order for these items, then deliver them individually to their home when ready of course!

This is yet another savvy way to increase footfall to your retail store.

How to calculate footfall in retail?

Now that you know how to increase footfall to your retail store, you must know how to calculate footfall in retail as well.

This is because, when you know how to calculate footfall in retail it can help you with many retail metrics like:

How to plan your store for peak footfall times?

How much stock you need in the store and how often you'll need to restock it?

What products are selling well on an hourly basis? This is so crucial information for retailers that will help inform decisions about where to place certain items or which ones may be more popular than others etc.

When stores should have promotions (if they want), discounts, and raise weekend sales?

It can also help you gain insights such as how many people are coming into your store per hour and how much money is being spent.

Also, calculating the number of customers that enter your store provides valuable information about how many chances you had to make a sale. By dividing your transactional sales by the footfall data, you can determine what percentage of shoppers that came into your store made a purchase (your conversion rate).

Retailers can calculate footfall using "Beam Break" technology. Most retailers have the main entrance, and typically install an infrared beam across it. As each customer walks in the store, they get a count and by dividing it by two, retailers can see how many people come to their stores.

Learned how to increase footfall in retail during COVID-19?

We hope this blog gave you an insight into how to increase footfall in restaurants, malls, and other retail outlets.

Increase footfall in retail during COVID-19 with Ingage! Get your free demo here.

But to get a detailed blueprint, I suggest you read the White Paper we have compiled. It has research from experts in the industry to help you increase footfall.

Here's a gist of what the White Paper covers:

How have pandemics catalyzed technological innovations

Customer sentiment and behavior during COVID-19

An omnichannel customer engagement strategy to drive sales in retail and footfall

The ultimate roadmap to increase retail footfalls

How to build the perfect loyalty program to turn foot traffic into brand ambassadors?

I'm sure that whatever questions were unanswered in the blog would be answered in this intense research-backed White Paper. Download your free copy now and bring in more foot traffic and increase your retail sales!

#footfallmeaning #footfallincrease #footfallinretailmarketing

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nickgerlich · 4 years

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One Year Later

It was a year ago today, the 2nd of March, that my world changed. I had been reading online of this mysterious coronavirus, how it had originated in China and somehow crossed oceans and thousands of miles of land.

And how it had arrived in the US.

I noted on Facebook a friend who teaches at University of Washington say that their campus classes had been suspended. A few other universities around the country started making similar announcements. I knew something was up.

I walked into my Principles of Marketing class that morning and made a prophetic statement: “Class, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Be prepared for this class to go online on a moment’s notice.”

They looked at me incredulously, and then I continued with my lecture as planned. But one week later on the 9th of March, WT’s President Wendler made it all very real: He said that effective immediately professors were urged to go online, but at least for the moment, could continue in their desired format. Spring Break was one week hence, and in just a matter of days, the other foot dropped: We were going completely 100% online.

And I have not stepped foot into a classroom since then.

During this time, the US has been inundated with cases. As of today, we have had more than 29 million documented cases and are leading the world, and have as many cases as the 2nd- through 5th-place nations together. Because we’re Number 1, right?

Worse yet, we have had more than 500,000 deaths. And all this from something that naysayers said was no different from the common flu, and was no more deadly. Thank God we have all those social media statisticians and infectious disease experts to guide us through this.

For those keeping score, we are now at an overall infection rate of 10%, and a case mortality rate of 1.79%. This is about 18-times that of the seasonal flu, yet a far cry better than the 3.5% mortality rate we had last summer, before doctors had a clue about how to treat COVID patients.

And then there are all of the supply chain problems, panic buying, quarantine, lockdown, business closures, masks, one-way aisles at the grocery, and everything else that are forever etched into the collective memory. We’ll have stories to tell the grandkids for a long time.

So my question at the one-year mark is simple: How has your life changed? I’ll go first, because my students can respond on our online discussion boards. I’m very interested to read everyone’s insightful comments.

It’s hard to even know where to begin, but I have grown rather accustomed to WFH. In fact, I like it more than I did before. A lot more. I realized just how much I can get done when I do not have the usual distractions of the office place. While I am scheduled to return to campus duties for one class this coming Fall semester, I have resolved to do the vast majority of my work from home, and keep my F2F presence minimal.

After all, I can also say that I have not been sick in more than a year, which ironically makes the last 12 months the best one-year period of my life. I am that guy who gets sick if he comes within earshot of anyone carelessly spreading germs. At my age (62), I’m not interested in boosting my immunity, as many of the naysayers argued we should do. I am only interested in preserving whatever immunity I have remaining. And I am sure as hell not going to “take one for the team,“ as Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick said we old timers should be willing to do.

I’ll file that under “Someone never ever getting my vote.” Grumpy old man? You betcha.

I have learned to shop a lot more warily, not coming within close contact of strangers, always disinfecting my hands upon exit, and only shopping when absolutely necessary. None of this running-to-the-store-for-one-thing that had become commonplace in my household. Once every seven to 10 days is sufficient.

Concurrent is the increased number of meals prepared at home. All those groceries need to be used, and I found a new hobby through all of this: cooking. It’s great fun, I have Alexa turn up some Sinatra, and I make a mess.

Add to this is the rarity of dining outside the home, and if so, then only at places with abundant spacing, excellent ventilation, and few other customers. I would never go to a place that has not enforced the mask rule. If I see employees wandering around with bare faces, I find the exit.

If I have need to travel, I do so completely in stealth mode, with a cooler and box full of food, and electronic check-in and digital keys as I have written about before. Nobody knows I am there except for the database.

Basically, I learned the fine art of hermiting. I learned how to Zoom. I learned that between those Zoom sessions, social media, and my phone, I had plenty of human contact. That doesn’t exactly qualify me to be the next Unabomber (thank God), but it means I picked up a lot of self-reliance and independence in the last 12 months.

On a somewhat darker side, the politicization of the pandemic has caused me to be a lot more suspicious of people, and maybe even somewhat judgmental. I learned that I just cannot trust my fellow citizen to get on board with safety measures and protocols. You know what they say about opinions. But if you cannot support your opinion with facts--true, documented facts--then you do not have a seat at my table of discourse. Denying the virus would be like trying to convince me the world is flat and that the Apollo 11 astronauts filmed everything in a studio.

There. If confession is good for the soul, then I should have a great day.

On the flip side, I have become a stronger person. I am firmer in my resolve to trust experts, the people who know more than me, and to trust their professional judgment. I am good with that. Sheep don’t question their shepherd, but educated people know how to ask important questions as well as how to sift through the findings and recommendations to make informed conclusions.

Finally, I have learned that all of my actions are not based on fear, as the naysayers love to taunt. No, my actions are based on respect--respect for a virus that has killed more than half a million Americans, respect for people who truly know what they are talking about, respect for science and its methodologies, respect for the fact that knowledge continues to evolve and we will know more tomorrow than we know right now.

Yeah. I’m good. How about you? It took a year to get here, but through all of it, I have emerged a better person.

Dr “Upward And Onward“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #pandemic #COVID-19

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misskarizzaapril · 4 years

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Spiritual guidance during pandemic

October 30,2020

Fear. Anxiety. Uncertainty. Three words to summarize my thoughts and feelings about the COVID 19 pandemic. It has been already seven months since the lockdown in the Philippines has started to prevent the widely spread of the coronavirus. I, myself is afraid to go out since I might catch the virus and eventually will have drastic effects to my body that might lead to serious illness or death. I am anxious because I’m worried about my family’s safety especially to my senior citizen mother and disabled brother who are living in the province. As we go through this pandemic, even hugging our loved ones tends to be uncertain.

Hope. Faith. Love. As the bible says in 1 Corinthians 13:13, Three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.” Words to look up into during this pandemic. Our hope that this pandemic will end sooner and our everlasting faith in God that He will protect us no matter what and our love to each other that will result to solidarity in fighting this COVID 19 battle. This pandemic thought me how to be patient and wait for Gods plans and be more spiritual by praying the rosary every day wishing for everyone’s safety.

Life goes on. We need to move on even with this pandemic. We need to adjust to the new normal in order to survive and somehow enjoy life amidst pandemic. Although we can’t do now what we previously do such as traveling, family and spiritual gathering, we should always keep in mind that this will end in God’s time. We need to continue working and studying for our economy and also for our well-being. As part of my elective Integral Human Development in my MBA journey, we had a chance to listen from Brother Andy Simeon regarding spirituality during pandemic. He shared his experience on his Covid journey and how he managed the wake of his mother remotely because he can’t go to his mother’s wake due to his condition. Amidst his experience, I can see that he is still hopeful and all he can do is to trust God through prayers and reflection. I was inspired by his story because he came out strong through his experiences. At the end of the day, during quarantine, all we can turn to is God who is always there listening and watching us especially whenever we had life circumstances.

During this pandemic, I learned to prioritized doing essential things such as going to the malls to do groceries only unlike pre-pandemic shopping for clothes, shoes and other non-essentials. Whenever I go to work now, I don’t do my make-up anymore since my face will be covered with masks and no one will see and judge how you look. After work, I go home directly as compared to eating out for dinner during pre-pandemic times. During these times, I came to realized that yes everything is temporary and the only temporary is change. What we used to do before could not be done again sooner that’s why we need to cherish each moments with our friends and family whenever we had the chance to be with them. Instead of always using my mobile phones whenever I am with them, I will bond with them and make happier moments with them. With the current pandemic, I learned to hold on to my faith to become stronger so that I can win this battle. Although it is very risky going outside and my work requires me to go the office daily, all I can do now is to pray so that He will protect me always. I guess that is what faith means, even there is an uncertainty in our life now, I still believe that God will calm the storm and will never forsake us.

#ihd

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brooklynmuseum · 4 years

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Stronger Together

Weekend Roundup of Resources for our Community 

What’s up Brooklyn?! We’re back with another list of resources for you and yours. The impacts of this pandemic are far-reaching and deeply felt here in Brooklyn. We know there are many needs not being met, and many who are willing to help out where they can. Now more than ever, it is essential that we come together as a community to support each other with social solidarity, even if we are physically distant. Check out new opportunities to support and be supported in this week’s roundup. Let’s do what we do best in Brooklyn… spread love.

If you have questions, or have more you wish to see or to spotlight, reach out. We want to hear from you. Please email [email protected].

Also, text 'COVID' to 692-692 to get important COVID-19 related updates sent straight to your phone. You can text 'COVIDESP' to get updates in Spanish.

Follow Our Elected Officials For News:

The Mayor has a new Daily Message available on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube every morning. If your constituents have questions, comments or concerns, they want him to respond to, they can send them using the hashtag #AskMyMayor

The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President provides the most up-to-date information and resources to Brooklynites. Follow these pages regularly and follow Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams on social media for real-time updates.

Follow updates and news from Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo on Facebook and Twitter. Cumbo serves as the Council Majority leader for Brooklyn’s 35th District- Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bed-Stuy.

Follow New York City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, representing Brooklyn 36th District- Bedford Stuyvesant and Northern Crown Heights on Twitter , Facebook, and Instagram for important updates regarding COVID-19 updates.

Congresswoman for the 9th District, Yvette D. Clark is working hard in Congress to support our local communities. Follow the Congresswoman on her Twitter to receive updates on what is going on in Washington DC and resources available in your ‘hood!

Stay up to date with information provided by Governor Cuomo. Follow our New York State governor on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for up to date information regarding new health guidelines closures, and executive orders.

Follow updates from the NYC City Immigrant Affairs office on Twitter interested in renewing your DACA application form. Call ActionNYC at 1-800-354-0365.

Local Business Highlights of the Week:

Known for their traditional Senegalese cuisine, Cafe Rue Dix takes pride in incorporating fresh ingredients and bold spices to create some of the best fran-senegalese dishes in NYC located right in Crown Heights. Take out is available from 12-9pm, and if you’re cooking or working at home, try their signature coffee and hot sauce for a real pick me up.

While we dream of what will come, Berg’n is asking their fellow patrons, who have the means during this time, to donate any tips they would give while visiting this local hang-out. You can donate to their phenomenal team by clicking here.

Census

There’s still time! Complete the 2020 Census today at my2020census.gov.

It's not too late to RSVP to host a Census Text-a-Thon in your district on April 20th. Participating in a Text-a-Thon from home is an easy and safe way for New Yorkers to do something positive for our City. NYC Census 2020 will provide access to the peer-to-peer texting tool, Hustle, and will provide all the technical support necessary for people to volunteer to text. RSVP to host a Text-a-Thon in your district on April 20th by emailing Katya Murphy or Jason Reischel. Support for Artists, Freelancers, and Gig Workers

Freelancers in NYC: If you're facing nonpayment issues, file a complaint through NYC Consumer Affairs, which has a list of worker’s rights!

The Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund is set up to help those pursuing careers as artists or arts administrators whose income has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This fund is for those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

Solidarity 4 Service, is a grassroot effort to connect individuals to each other in efforts to provide relief for those who are unemployed or underemployed due to COVID-19. For more information, visit their Support for Service Industry/Gig/Freelance Workers intake survey.

The NYC Low-Income Artist Freelance Relief Fund has intentons to collectively raise funds to provide emergency and preventative resources to artist who are at finical ris and low-income BIPOC, trans/GNC/NB/Queer artist and freelancers.

Creative Capital has created a resource fund which helps artists find various national, state and local grants, mental health assistance.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund is helping entertainment professionals meet coronavirus-related expenses and other challenges brought about by the evolving pandemic.

The Jazz Foundation of America provides jazz and blue artists with an experienced social worker to assess his/her situation and provide rapid assistance.

Queer Writers of Color Relief Fund is offering finicial assistance to queer writiers to at least 100 writers, each writer reciveing $5,000.

The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund is a direct response by the India Center Foundation to offer support to South Asian arts workers impacted by COVID-19.

Dance NYC is offering one time grants for dance making organizations with an annual operating budget between $25,00 and $500,00. Eligibility is determined based upon loss of income or incurred expenses due to COVID-19.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has issued guidance on applying for the $75 million it was allocated in the CARES Act. If a nonprofit cultural organization has received NEA support in the last four fiscal years, they are eligible to apply for a direct grant. Apply by April 22!

For another roundup of resources for artists, check out artnet’s recent article.

Resources for children and families

For updates regarding the Coronavirus and New York City public schools, visit New York City Department of Education Coronavirus Communicaications page.

As the weeks of staying at home stretch on, they are taking their toll on many of us. The mindfulness app HeadSpace has teamed up with New York State to offer free guided meditations and other resources to support the mental wellbeing of New Yorkers during this crisis.

For many, pets are more than just animals — they are a part of the family. As members of your family, they should be included in your emergency planning process. Make sure your disaster plan addresses what you will do when an emergency requires you to leave your home, leave your pet at home, or prevents you from returning home. Visit NYCEM pets planning for more information

No Kid Hungry is offering emergency grants to support local school districts and nonprofit organizations in their efforts to ensure kids get the nutritious food they need. Fill out this grant request form here.

Did you know that you can use your Snap benefits to order groceries online? Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits can be used to shop online for fresh produce and groceries! Use your EBT card to shop securely for fresh produce and groceries at participating stores in the New York City area.

One Week of Free Groceries: The Department of Probation, Neighborhood Opportunity Network (NeON) Nutrition Kitchens, in partnership with the Food Bank of NYC and the NYC Young Men’s Initiative (YMI) have opened five kitchens -- one in each borough -- to distribute free food, available to any New Yorker who needs it.

Women.NYC, which is powered by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, released a downloadable guide for free and low-cost tech courses in New York City.

DOE Graphics Library: A collection of graphics on the DOE's recent announcements that can be shared with families and educators, in all 9 DOE languages

For more information about remote learning, activities for students, and technical support go to schools.nyc.gov/LearnAtHome

While Family Justice Centers are physically closed, anyone can call any of our borough centers for help with safety planning, mental health and planning, legal help, or help in connecting to law enforcement agencies. For more information please visit the Mayor's Office to End Domestic and Gender Based Violence or call our 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-621-4673.

Ways to Volunteer and Serve

Visit New York Blood Center to find out how you may be able to donate plasma for those who have recovered from COVID-19.

For Individuals/Organizations/Companies offering to DONATE PPE, visit NYC Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Donation Portal.

Help Now NYC is providing New Yorkers with opportunities to find out how they can help others affected by COVID-19 and help New Yorkers find organizations that will help them receive COVID-19 related assistance.

The NYC Share Your Space Survey is critical to helping the City prepare for emergencies and outreach to all of the City's communities. Organizations citywide are encouraged to participate.

NYCEDC is currently seeking businesses with the ability to quickly source and/or make needed medical supplies (e.g. face shields, gowns, ventilators, masks, and other products as needed) to support the City’s COVID-19 response.

Deliver meals and emergency food bags to home-bound elderly living in a variety of Brooklyn neighborhoods (car recommended) with Heights and Hills. Learn more here.

Corona Couriers is a collective of cyclists willing to courier supplies to people in need for free, using low contact methods. Email [email protected] if interested.

Here, you may find a source guide specifically for immigrant communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: Please help by passing it along. Also, FYI, this week is Immigrant Heritage Week!

For People in Need

Domestic Violence: If you are experiencing domestic violence, you locate nearby resources online using NYC HOPE, the City’s Resource Directory for services for survivors. Check out NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based violence to attain more resources for survivors during COVID-19.

For individuals with disabilities, visit the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. More information may be found NYC Mayor’s Office of Disabilities Twitter, as well as contacting representatives at 311 or visitor connect via video phone at 646-396-5830.

DOITT has developed a portal, to help guide the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The portal is available in 11 languages and allows New Yorkers to self-report COVID-19 information and will help New York City both better communicate with affected people and identify areas that may need enhanced response. Inputs are confidential. People without internet access or who need help, can call 311.

Possibly Mimbres. Standing Figure, 1100-1000 B.C.E. Stone, pigment). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4528. Creative Commons-BY

#strongertogether #brooklynstrong #covid-19 #covid relief #corona virus #community #art museums #nyc #brooklyn #brooklyn museum #community resources #artists #resources

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marilynmbli114 · 4 years

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The 13 Best Pinterest Boards for Learning About disinfection cleaning service

Excitement About Household Items You Should Clean Daily

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If you are looking Office spaces cleaning services More Bonuses after somebody with coronavirus or you are heading out the grocery shop or other public locations, you may require to take additional care with your laundry. Immediately eliminate and wash clothes or bed linen that have blood, stool or body fluids on them. Use non reusable gloves while handling stained products and keep soiled items far from your body.

Read and follow directions on labels of laundry or clothing items and detergent. In general, using a regular laundry cleaning agent according to washing device instructions and dry thoroughly utilizing the hottest temperatures advised on the clothing label. Bleach, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide are all great examples of items that can disinfect.

When it boils down to it, use a household cleaner liberally and often in your house to assist decontaminate and sanitize your home, ridding it of bacteria. Mixing cleansing items can be extremely toxic. Do NOT mix bleach with vinegar, ammonia or rubbing alcohol. All of these mixes can be harmful to your health.

Three ready-to-use Zep cleaners have been included to the EPA's List N. Nevertheless, they presently must be acquired in cases of four bottles from many online merchants. That might be more than most homes need. Zep Antibacterial Cleaner & Disinfectant zenwriting.net/c6stoxi752/what-is-covid-disinfection-it-is-the-practice-of-disinfecting-all-of-the with Lemon, Zep Spirit II Ready-To-Use Cleaning Agent Disinfectant, and Zep All-Purpose Bathroom Disinfectant Cleaner are all quats-based, suggesting they are safe on most difficult nonporous surface areas, and are List N-certified to eliminate the virus that causes COVID-19 in 60 seconds.Pine-Sol InitialMulti-Surface Cleaner has actually received List N certification.( In typical usage, it is diluted by.

What Does The Best Household Disinfectants To Buy For Covid Do?

the ratio of cup per gallon of water.) It is safe on a lot of impermeable surfaces, but not on aluminum or copper, nor on unsealed wood. Considering that we first updated this guide to address the coronavirus in March 2020, we have actually found and evaluated two brand-new promising List N hard-surface disinfectants, Pure Hard Surface Area and Force of Nature.Pure Hard Surface is a broad-spectrum disinfectant that's extensively utilizedin health care, lab, janitorial, and dining establishment settings. It also has an extremely brief List N dwell time of 1 minute against the coronavirus, making surface disinfection quick; and it has a five-year service life. A minimum of two Wirecutter staffers (guide co-author Tim Heffernan and personnel author Thom Dunn )have actually utilized it during the pandemic, and can validate that it's odorless, has no effect on tough bathroom and kitchen surface areas, and does not negatively affect fabrics( although it is not certified to decontaminate them). The chief retail supplier, Purely Better, might have it offered sporadically, as might some groceries, medical suppliers, and other outlets; Tim found his gallon jug at a tattoo-supply shop. A representative informed us that they are dealing with increasing retail supply, with a rough timeline of late 2020 or early 2021. Meantime, we recommend it if you find it.Force of Nature is a disinfectant system that is List N accredited for ridding tough surface areas of the coronavirus.

Special amongst the disinfectants we have actually taken a look at, you make the disinfectant yourself using devices the business sells as sets. You fill a little electric-kettle-like gadget with tap or bottled water, include a salt-and-vinegar option from pre-measured capsules, and turn it on. This enters into a spray bottle( likewise offered) for giving. Hypochlorous acid is wide-spectrum disinfectant that is utilized in industrial settings and as a topical disinfectant on wounds, and is safe for use on the majority of difficult surfaces and bleach-safe materials. Nevertheless, with a dwell time of 10 minutes, it is slower-acting on the coronavirus than a number of https://neconnected.co.uk/how-to-get-your-office-spaces-cleaned-routinely/ our picks, suggesting lots of waiting around for it to do its work. We worry that the continuous expense of pills would start to add up for many families. Below are the all-purpose cleaners we tested in an earlier variation of this guide. None are considered disinfectants, so while the https://zenwriting.net/c6stoxi752/andquot-how-dangerous-is-covid-19-andquot-the-latest-and-greatest-clean-up pandemic is ongoing, we are not advising them as a very first option. That stated, all of them include surfactants, a class of substances that break up fats and make them soluble in water. Our tests incorporated all-purpose cleaners 'ability to get rid of numerous discolorations and soils on difficult surface areas and pans, including cooking oil, white wine, baked-on tomato sauce, soap residue, and crayon on walls( which none worked at removing). Method All-Purpose Cleaner, our previous runner-up, performed nearly as well as Puracy and is generally more widely available.Clorox Green Works Multi-Surface Cleaner was a middle-of-the-pack entertainer in our tests, as was Mrs. The Formula 409 does include quaternary ammonium, or" quats, "a widely-used disinfectant that's used in numerous of our choicesabove. But it is not on the EPA's List N for authorized coronavirus disinfectants. Both in your home and at work everybody is getting used to sanitizing any place we go. But not all disinfectants are equally reliable against coronavirus. In addition, they should be utilized appropriately to eliminate the virus. Coronavirus survives on surfaces for differing lengths of time. The following list can use guidance: The Epa( EPA) has a list of more than 350 disinfectants that can kill coronavirus. epa.gov/ pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants -use-against-sars-cov-2 Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Clorox Disinfecting Spray Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner+ Bleach Klercide 70/30 Lonza Formula Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist Lysol Heavy-Duty Cleaner Disinfectant Concentrate OxyCide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner Peak Disinfectant Wipes Peroxide Multi Surface Area Cleaner, Disinfectant and Glass Cleaner Purell Expert Surface Disinfectant Wipes Sani-Cloth Prime Germicidal Disposable Wipes The EPA uses guidance on" contact time "or for how long the cleansing product has to remain on a surface area to eliminate the virus. Contact time can range from pretty much right away to approximately thirty minutes, though lots of products require 10 minutes. If you do not have access to any of the EPA-approved products, diluted bleach can be used. Prepare a bleach option by blending: 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water Contact time for this use is 10 minutes.

#covid updates

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charlottexcxl041 · 4 years

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Does Your covid cleaning servies Pass The Test? 7 Things You Can Improve On Today

How To Disinfect Everything During Coronavirus for Dummies

youtube

If you are caring for somebody with coronavirus or you are heading out the grocery store or other public places, you may require to take additional care with your laundry. Right away get rid of and clean clothes or bed linen that have blood, stool or body fluids on them. Use non reusable gloves while handling stained products and keep soiled items far from your body.

Read and follow instructions on labels of laundry or clothing products and detergent. In general, using a typical laundry detergent according to washing device directions and dry completely using the warmest temperatures suggested on the clothes label. Bleach, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide are all good examples of items that can decontaminate.

When it comes down to it, utilize a household cleaner liberally and typically in your house to help sanitize and sterilize your house, ridding it of bacteria. Blending cleansing items can be really hazardous. Do NOT blend bleach with vinegar, ammonia or rubbing alcohol. All of these combinations can be hazardous to your health.

3 ready-to-use https://neconnected.co.uk/how-to-get-your-office-spaces-cleaned-routinely/ Zep cleaners have actually been added to the EPA's List N. Nevertheless, they presently should be bought in http://genoacityretirement.com/how-to-clean-the-coronavirus/ cases of 4 bottles from a lot of online sellers. That might be more than the majority of households need. Zep Antibacterial Cleaner & Disinfectant with Lemon, Zep Spirit II Ready-To-Use Detergent Disinfectant, and Zep All-Purpose Bathroom Disinfectant Cleaner are all quats-based, meaning they are safe on most difficult nonporous surface areas, and are List N-certified to get rid of the infection that causes COVID-19 in 60 seconds.Pine-Sol InitialMulti-Surface Cleaner has actually received List N accreditation.( get more info air duct cleaning In typical use, it is diluted by.

Unknown Facts About Household Items You Should Clean Daily

the ratio of cup per gallon of water.) It is safe on most nonporous surface areas, but not on aluminum or copper, nor on unsealed wood. Given that we first updated this guide to resolve the coronavirus in March 2020, we have actually discovered and evaluated two brand-new promising List N hard-surface disinfectants, Pure Hard Surface Area and Force of Nature.Pure Hard Surface area is a broad-spectrum disinfectant that's extensively utilizedin healthcare, lab, janitorial, and dining establishment settings. It also has an extremely short List N dwell time of 1 minute against the coronavirus, making surface area disinfection quick; and it has a five-year life span. At least two Wirecutter staffers (guide co-author Tim Heffernan and personnel writer Thom Dunn )have used it throughout the pandemic, and can validate that it's odor-free, has no influence on tough bathroom and kitchen surface areas, and does not negatively impact materials( although it is not licensed to sanitize them). The primary retail supplier, Simply Much better, might have it readily available sporadically, as may some groceries, medical suppliers, and other outlets; Tim discovered his gallon jug at a tattoo-supply shop. A representative told us that they are working on increasing retail supply, with a rough timeline of late 2020 or early 2021. Meantime, we suggest it if you find ittefcu.org/2020/07/ it.Force of Nature is a disinfectant system that is List N licensed for ridding difficult surface areas of the coronavirus.

Distinct among the disinfectants we've looked at, you make the disinfectant yourself utilizing equipment the company sells as packages. You fill a small electric-kettle-like device with tap or mineral water, add a salt-and-vinegar service from pre-measured pills, and turn it on. This goes into a spray bottle( also offered) for giving. Hypochlorous acid is wide-spectrum disinfectant that is used in industrial settings and as a topical disinfectant on wounds, and is safe for use on a lot of hard surface areas and bleach-safe materials. Nevertheless, with a dwell time of 10 minutes, it is slower-acting on the coronavirus than a number of our choices, meaning great deals of lingering for it to do its work. We fret that the ongoing expense of pills would start to accumulate for lots of households. Below are the versatile cleaners we checked in an earlier variation of this guide. None are thought about disinfectants, so while the pandemic is ongoing, we are not suggesting them as a first option. That said, all of them contain surfactants, a class of substances that break up fats and make them soluble in water. Our tests encompassed versatile cleaners 'ability to get rid of several spots and soils on tough surface areas and pans, consisting of cooking oil, red wine, baked-on tomato sauce, soap residue, and crayon on walls( which none worked at removing). Technique All-Purpose Cleaner, our previous runner-up, carried out almost along with Puracy and is generally more commonly available.Clorox Green Functions Multi-Surface Cleaner was a middle-of-the-pack entertainer in our tests, as was Mrs. The Formula 409 does consist of quaternary ammonium, or" quats, "a widely-used disinfectant that's employed in several of our picksabove. But it is not on the EPA's List N for authorized coronavirus disinfectants. Both in the house and at work everyone is getting utilized to sanitizing any place we go. However not all disinfectants are similarly efficient against coronavirus. Furthermore, they should be utilized appropriately to kill the virus. Coronavirus lives on surfaces for differing lengths of time. The following list can use guidance: The Epa( EPA) has a list of more than 350 disinfectants that can eliminate coronavirus. epa.gov/ pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants -use-against-sars-cov-2 Clorox Disinfecting Wipes Clorox Disinfecting Spray Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner+ Bleach Klercide 70/30 Lonza Formulation Lysol Clean & Fresh Multi-Surface Cleaner Lysol Disinfectant Max Cover Mist Lysol Heavy-Duty Cleaner Disinfectant Concentrate OxyCide Daily Disinfectant Cleaner Peak Disinfectant Wipes Peroxide Multi Surface Cleaner, Disinfectant and Glass Cleaner Purell Specialist Surface Area Disinfectant Wipes Sani-Cloth Prime Germicidal Disposable Wipes The EPA provides guidance on" contact time "or the length of time the cleaning item has to remain on a surface area to eliminate the infection. Contact time can vary from practically immediately to up to 30 minutes, though lots of items need 10 minutes. If you do not have access to any of the EPA-approved products, diluted bleach can be used. Prepare a bleach service by blending: 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water or 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water Contact time for this usage is 10 minutes.

#best way to clean covid

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moodboardinthecloud · 4 years

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Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful

Here’s how to pull yourself out of despair and live your life

Tara Haelle

Aug 16·13 min read

https://elemental.medium.com/your-surge-capacity-is-depleted-it-s-why-you-feel-awful-de285d542f4c

Itwas the end of the world as we knew it, and I felt fine. That’s almost exactly what I told my psychiatrist at my March 16 appointment, a few days after our children’s school district extended spring break because of the coronavirus. I said the same at my April 27 appointment, several weeks after our state’s stay-at-home order.

Yes, it was exhausting having a kindergartener and fourth grader doing impromptu distance learning while I was barely keeping up with work. And it was frustrating to be stuck home nonstop, scrambling to get in grocery delivery orders before slots filled up, and tracking down toilet paper. But I was still doing well because I thrive in high-stress emergency situations. It’s exhilarating for my ADHD brain. As just one example, when my husband and I were stranded in Peru during an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that killed thousands, we walked around with a first aid kit helping who we could and tracking down water and food. Then I went out with my camera to document the devastation as a photojournalist and interview Peruvians in my broken Spanish for my hometown paper.

Now we were in a pandemic, and I’m a science journalist who has written about infectious disease and medical research for nearly a decade. I was on fire, cranking out stories, explaining epidemiological concepts in my social networks, trying to help everyone around me make sense of the frightening circumstances of a pandemic and the anxiety surrounding the virus.

I knew it wouldn’t last. It never does. But even knowing I would eventually crash, I didn’t appreciate how hard the crash would be, or how long it would last, or how hard it would be to try to get back up over and over again, or what getting up even looked like.

Psychiatrist and habit change specialist Dr. Jud Brewer explains how anxiety masquerades as helpfulelemental.medium.com

How to Live When Your Mind Is Governed by Fear

In those early months, I, along with most of the rest of the country, was using “surge capacity” to operate, as Ann Masten, PhD, a psychologist and professor of child development at the University of Minnesota, calls it. Surge capacity is a collection of adaptive systems — mental and physical — that humans draw on for short-term survival in acutely stressful situations, such as natural disasters. But natural disasters occur over a short period, even if recovery is long. Pandemics are different — the disaster itself stretches out indefinitely.

“The pandemic has demonstrated both what we can do with surge capacity and the limits of surge capacity,” says Masten. When it’s depleted, it has to be renewed. But what happens when you struggle to renew it because the emergency phase has now become chronic?

By my May 26 psychiatrist appointment, I wasn’t doing so hot. I couldn’t get any work done. I’d grown sick of Zoom meetups. It was exhausting and impossible to think with the kids around all day. I felt trapped in a home that felt as much a prison as a haven. I tried to conjure the motivation to check email, outline a story, or review interview notes, but I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t make myself do anything — work, housework, exercise, play with the kids — for that whole week.

Or the next.

I know depression, but this wasn’t quite that. It was, as I’d soon describe in an emotional post in a social media group of professional colleagues, an “anxiety-tainted depression mixed with ennui that I can’t kick,” along with a complete inability to concentrate. I spoke with my therapist, tweaked medication dosages, went outside daily for fresh air and sunlight, tried to force myself to do some physical activity, and even gave myself permission to mope for a few weeks. We were in a pandemic, after all, and I had already accepted in March that life would not be “normal” for at least a year or two. But I still couldn’t work, couldn’t focus, hadn’t adjusted. Shouldn’t I be used to this by now?

“Why do you think you should be used to this by now? We’re all beginners at this,” Masten told me. “This is a once in a lifetime experience. It’s expecting a lot to think we’d be managing this really well.”

It wasn’t until my social media post elicited similar responses from dozens of high-achieving, competent, impressive women I professionally admire that I realized I wasn’t in the minority. My experience was a universal and deeply human one.

An unprecedented disaster

While the phrase “adjusting to the new normal” has been repeated endlessly since March, it’s easier said than done. How do you adjust to an ever-changing situation where the “new normal” is indefinite uncertainty?

“This is an unprecedented disaster for most of us that is profound in its impact on our daily lives,” says Masten. But it’s different from a hurricane or tornado where you can look outside and see the damage. The destruction is, for most people, invisible and ongoing. So many systems aren’t working as they normally do right now, which means radical shifts in work, school, and home life that almost none of us have experience with. Even those who have worked in disaster recovery or served in the military are facing a different kind of uncertainty right now.

Americans are faced with more risk than ever. Understanding how the brain navigates this new reality can build…elemental.medium.com

Life Is Now a Game of Risk. Here’s How Your Brain Is Processing It.

“I think we maybe underestimate how severe the adversity is and that people may be experiencing a normal reaction to a pretty severe and ongoing, unfolding, cascading disaster,” Masten says. “It’s important to recognize that it’s normal in a situation of great uncertainty and chronic stress to get exhausted and to feel ups and downs, to feel like you’re depleted or experience periods of burnout.”

Research on disaster and trauma focuses primarily on what’s helpful for people during the recovery period, but we’re not close to recovery yet. People can use their surge capacity for acute periods, but when dire circumstances drag on, Masten says, “you have to adopt a different style of coping.”

“How do you adjust to an ever-changing situation where the ‘new normal’ is indefinite uncertainty?”

Understanding ambiguous loss

It’s not surprising that, as a lifelong overachiever, I’ve felt particularly despondent and adrift as the months have dragged on, says Pauline Boss, PhD, a family therapist and professor emeritus of social sciences at the University of Minnesota who specializes in “ambiguous loss.”

“It’s harder for high achievers,” she says. “The more accustomed you are to solving problems, to getting things done, to having a routine, the harder it will be on you because none of that is possible right now. You get feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, and those aren’t good.”

That’s similar to how Michael Maddaus, MD, a professor of thoracic surgery at the University of Minnesota, felt when he became addicted to prescription narcotics after undergoing several surgeries. Now recovered and a motivational speaker who promotes the idea of a “resilience bank account,” Maddaus had always been a fast-moving high achiever — until he couldn’t be.

“I realized that my personal operating system, though it had led to tremendous success, had failed me on a more personal level,” he says. “I had to figure out a different way of contending with life.”

That mindset is an especially American one, Boss says.

“Our culture is very solution-oriented, which is a good way of thinking for many things,” she says. “It’s partly responsible for getting a man on the moon and a rover on Mars and all the things we’ve done in this country that are wonderful. But it’s a very destructive way of thinking when you’re faced with a problem that has no solution, at least for a while.”

That means reckoning with what’s called ambiguous loss: any loss that’s unclear and lacks a resolution. It can be physical, such as a missing person or the loss of a limb or organ, or psychological, such as a family member with dementia or a serious addiction.

“In this case, it is a loss of a way of life, of the ability to meet up with your friends and extended family,” Boss says. “It is perhaps a loss of trust in our government. It’s the loss of our freedom to move about in our daily life as we used to.” It’s also the loss of high-quality education, or the overall educational experience we’re used to, given school closures, modified openings and virtual schooling. It’s the loss of rituals, such weddings, graduations, and funerals, and even lesser “rituals,” such as going to gym. One of the toughest losses for me to adapt to is no longer doing my research and writing in coffee shops as I’ve done for most of my life, dating back to junior high.

“These were all things we were attached to and fond of, and they’re gone right now, so the loss is ambiguous. It’s not a death, but it’s a major, major loss,” says Boss. “What we used to have has been taken away from us.”

Just as painful are losses that may result from the intersection of the pandemic and the already tense political division in the country. For many people, issues related to Covid-19 have become the last straw in ending relationships, whether it’s a family member refusing to wear a mask, a friend promoting the latest conspiracy theory, or a co-worker insisting Covid-19 deaths are exaggerated.

Ambiguous loss elicits the same experiences of grief as a more tangible loss — denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance — but managing it often requires a bit of creativity.

A winding, uncharted path to coping in a pandemic

While there isn’t a handbook for functioning during a pandemic, Masten, Boss, and Maddaus offered some wisdom for meandering our way through this.

Accept that life is different right now

Maddaus’ approach involves radical acceptance. “It’s a shitty time, it’s hard,” he says. “You have to accept that in your bones and be okay with this as a tough day, with ‘that’s the way it is,’ and accept that as a baseline.”

But that acceptance doesn’t mean giving up, he says. It means not resisting or fighting reality so that you can apply your energy elsewhere. “It allows you to step into a more spacious mental space that allows you to do things that are constructive instead of being mired in a state of psychological self torment.”

Expect less from yourself

Most of us have heard for most of our lives to expect more from ourselves in some way or another. Now we must give ourselves permission to do the opposite. “We have to expect less of ourselves, and we have to replenish more,” Masten says. “I think we’re in a period of a lot of self discovery: Where do I get my energy? What kind of down time do I need? That’s all shifted right now, and it may take some reflection and self discovery to find out what rhythms of life do I need right now?”

She says people are having to live their lives without the support of so many systems that have partly or fully broken down, whether it’s schools, hospitals, churches, family support, or other systems that we relied on. We need to recognize that we’re grieving multiple losses while managing the ongoing impact of trauma and uncertainty. The malaise so many of us feel, a sort of disinterested boredom, is common in research on burnout, Masten says. But other emotions accompany it: disappointment, anger, grief, sadness, exhaustion, stress, fear, anxiety — and no one can function at full capacity with all that going on.

Recognize the different aspects of grief

The familiar “stages” of grief don’t actually occur in linear stages, Boss says, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance are all major concepts in facing loss. Plenty of people are in denial: denying the virus is real, or that the numbers of cases or deaths are as high as reported, or that masks really help reduce disease transmission.

Anger is evident everywhere: anger at those in denial, anger in the race demonstrations, anger at those not physically distancing or wearing masks, and even anger at those who wear masks or require them. The bargaining, Boss says, is mostly with scientists we hope will develop a vaccine quickly. The depression is obvious, but acceptance… “I haven’t accepted any of this,” Boss says. “I don’t know about you.”

Sometimes acceptance means “saying we’re going to have a good time in spite of this,” Boss says, such as when my family drove an hour outside the city to get far enough from light pollution to look for the comet NEOWISE. But it can also mean accepting that we cannot change the situation right now.

“We can kick and scream and be angry, or we can feel the other side of it, with no motivation, difficulty focusing, lethargy,” Boss says, “or we can take the middle way and just have a couple days where you feel like doing nothing and you embrace the losses and sadness you’re feeling right now, and then the next day, do something that has an element of achievement to it.”

“Our new normal is always feeling a little off balance, like trying to stand in a dinghy on rough seas, and not knowing when the storm will pass.”

Experiment with “both-and” thinking

This approach may not work for everyone, but Boss says there’s an alternative to binary thinking that many people find helpful in dealing with ambiguous loss. She calls it “both-and” thinking, and sometimes it means embracing a bit of the irrational.

For the families of soldiers missing in action in Vietnam that Boss studied early in her career, or the family members of victims of plane crashes where the bodies aren’t recovered, this type of thinking means thinking: “He is both living and maybe not. She is probably dead but maybe not.”

“If you stay in the rational when nothing else is rational, like right now, then you’ll just stress yourself more,” she says. “What I say with ambiguous loss is the situation is crazy, not the person. The situation is pathological, not the person.”

An analogous approach during the pandemic might be, “This is terrible and many people are dying, and this is also a time for our families to come closer together,” Boss says. On a more personal level, “I’m highly competent, and right now I’m flowing with the tide day-to-day.”

It’s a bit of a Schrödinger’s existence, but when you can’t change the situation, “the only thing you can change is your perception of it,” she says.

Of course, that doesn’t mean denying the existence of the pandemic or the coronavirus. As Maddaus says, “You have to face reality.” But how we frame that reality mentally can help us cope with it.

Look for activities, new and old, that continue to fulfill you

Lots of coping advice has focused on “self-care,” but one of the frustrating ironies of the pandemic is that so many of our self-care activities have also been taken away: pedicures, massages, coffee with friends, a visit to the amusement park, a kickboxing class, swimming in the local pool — these activities remain unsafe in much of the country. So we have to get creative with self-care when we’re least motivated to get creative.

“When we’re forced to rethink our options and broaden out what we think of as self-care, sometimes that constraint opens new ways of living and thinking,” Masten says. “We don’t have a lot of control over the global pandemic but we do over our daily lives. You can focus on plans for the future and what’s meaningful in life.”

For me, since I missed eating in restaurants and was tired of our same old dinners, I began subscribing to a meal-kit service. I hate cooking, but the meal kits were easy, and I was motivated by the chance to eat something that tasted more like what I’d order in a restaurant without having to invest energy in looking through recipes or ordering the right ingredients.

Okay, I’ve also been playing a lot of Animal Crossing, but Maddaus explains why it makes sense that creative activities like cooking, gardening, painting, house projects — or even building your own imaginary island out of pixels — can be fulfilling right now. He references the book The Molecule of More, which explores how dopamine influences our experiences and happiness, in describing the types of activities most likely to bring us joy.

“There are two ways the brain deals with the world: the future and things we need to go after, and the here and now, seeing things and touching things,” Maddaus says. “Rather than being at the mercy of what’s going on, we can use the elements of our natural reward system and construct things to do that are good no matter what.”

Those kinds of activities have a planning element and a here-and-now experience element. For Maddaus, for example, it was simply replacing all the showerheads and lightbulbs in the house. “It’s a silly thing, but it made me feel good,” he says.

Focus on maintaining and strengthening important relationships

The biggest protective factors for facing adversity and building resilience are social support and remaining connected to people, Masten says. That includes helping others, even when we’re feeling depleted ourselves.

“Helping others is one of those win-win strategies of taking action because we’re all feeling a sense of helplessness and loss of control about what’s going on with this pandemic, but when you take action with other people, you can control what you’re doing,” she says. Helping others could include checking in on family friends or buying groceries for an elderly neighbor.

Begin slowly building your resilience bank account

Maddaus’ idea of a resilience bank account is gradually building into your life regular practices that promote resilience and provide a fallback when life gets tough. Though it would obviously be nice to have a fat account already, he says it’s never too late to start. The areas he specifically advocates focusing on are sleep, nutrition, exercise, meditation, self-compassion, gratitude, connection, and saying no.

“Start really small and work your way up,” he says. “If you do a little bit every day, it starts to add up and you get momentum, and even if you miss a day, then start again. We have to be gentle with ourselves and keep on, begin again.”

After spending an hour on the phone with each of these experts, I felt refreshed and inspired. I can do this! I was excited about writing this article and sharing what I’d learned.

And then it took me two weeks to start the article and another week to finish it — even though I wanted to write it. But now, I could cut myself a little more slack for taking so much longer than I might have a few months ago. I might have intellectually accepted back in March that the next two years (or more?) are going to be nothing like normal, and not even predictable in how they won’t be normal. But cognitively recognizing and accepting that fact and emotionally incorporating that reality into everyday life aren’t the same. Our new normal is always feeling a little off balance, like trying to stand in a dinghy on rough seas, and not knowing when the storm will pass. But humans can get better at anything with practice, so at least I now have some ideas for working on my sea legs.

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hansoulo · 4 years

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“A pandemic has taken the lives of more than 100,000 Americans and put more than 30 million out of work, and to top it off, there has been an almost 30-day, caught-on-tape spree of police and vigilante violence against black people. For some, it may feel like the nation is on the brink of near-biblical levels of chaos.

The responses across the nation, whether you call them riots (and you shouldn’t) or whether you call them protests, uprisings, unrest, or rebellions, are being covered by local and national news and social media. As a journalism professor who has studied and experienced media coverage of protests for years, I have watched repeatedly how poorly these events are conveyed by the media and understood by the public. Here’s what people watching the news must understand in order to get what’s truly going on, and keep your faith in America nominally intact in the process.

First, it’s important to understand the mandate of the news, and that is to get eyeballs on the screen, whether that is your television screen or the one in your hands. Networks focus on spectacle: fires, people crying, and broken windows, instead of the larger story. In most cases (such as with the Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, protests a few years ago), property damage and fires are limited to a small area, and even during those times many people are just milling about, but shaking camera angles and tight shots want you to believe that every reporter is an extra in Saving Private Ryan and every protest looks like Kanye’s “No Church in the Wild” video.

In reality, these protests are usually not completely consumed with chaos. Nighttime coverage will seldom show a full city map demonstrating that, two blocks over from a street that looks like a “city engulfed in flames,” there’s a CVS still open for business. The press flocking to dramatic images as a protest metaphor is not a new phenomenon.

Further, much of the property damage attributed to protesters is often the result of police action or inaction in the face of lawful public behavior, something I’ve witnessed from Ferguson to the far-right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia. Tear gas canisters can still burn your hand hours after they’ve been launched by police, flares are thrown by riot response teams with reckless abandon, let alone live munitions and flash grenades.

Sometimes buried at the end of post-protest reports by local authorities is the fact that police munitions often start fires at protests, but this is seldom reported by the press, and there have been surprisingly few protesters arrested for arson relative to the fires that erupted during the unrest. Which is more likely to set row houses ablaze, three teenagers in face masks with “No Justice, No Peace” signs or two smoldering tear gas shells sitting on a pile of dry leaves and newspaper for two hours?

This is not to suggest that some protesters don’t cause violence or property damage, but observers, let alone journalists, should be making distinctions between the various actors that are actually on the scene during civil unrest. You have the aforementioned police who are armed. Then you have chaos agents and anarchists who infiltrate peaceful protests with their own agenda. This isn’t conspiracy theory; in Minneapolis alone, videos have emerged of strangely dressed people just engaging in wanton property destruction. No one knows who they are, but it seems unlikely that they are protesters.

Then you have your run-of-the-mill opportunistic criminals. When the police are so occupied harassing and corralling peaceful protesters and the streets are filled with smoke, it’s pretty easy to break into a Verizon store, a beauty shop, or a grocery store and take what you want. These people are often conflated with actual revolutionaries, who are protesters that target actual structures and symbols of abuse and oppression. For protesters who are angry about violent, unaccountable police in Minneapolis, overtaking and burning down the Third Police Precinct is a specific act of revolt. This is a fundamentally different action than using the chaos from two blocks over to raid a liquor store.

And, of course, none of these actors should be confused with the hundreds of men and women peacefully protesting who are usually subjected to violent reprisals by police. Which is why “they’re burning their own community” narratives are so misleading and dangerous. It’s irresponsible to not distinguish which “they” is being talked about.

Which brings us to perhaps the most important thing to understand about how to watch protests: the context of what kind of protest garners police response. Over the past three months, the 24-hour cable networks have extensively covered mostly white armed men and women threatening police and politicians at state capitols across the nation over coronavirus lockdown policies.

How often have you seen police in riot gear? In fact, police seldom use force or even present in force (protest shields, black helmets, etc.) when conservative or right-wing groups protest. When is the last time you saw a group of anti-abortion activists get tear-gassed? Yet with left-leaning groups, and especially groups of minorities, their protests are often met with shows of force. Right-wing groups spit in the faces of police in regular gear in Michigan, while SWAT teams show up like Storm Troopers for chanting teens in Minneapolis.

This lack of context is even more corrosive when national press coverage chooses one staging area of protest over another. People are marching in Phoenix, Arizona; Columbus, Ohio; and New York City in solidarity with George Floyd, and in Brunswick, Georgia, for Ahmaud Arbery, and in Louisville, Kentucky, for Breonna Taylor. Seven people were shot during the Louisville protests, but 24-hour news coverage is blanketed with images of burning buildings in Minneapolis as if that’s the default of protests instead of the outlier.

So what should be your main takeaway as an American concerned about the future of the country? Protests are not simply stories of “good guys” and “bad guys” no matter where you fall on the political spectrum. There are actors all operating simultaneously, and all too often local and even national reporting only covers the story of the local politicians and police who have a vested interest in presenting themselves as overwhelmed and beleaguered as opposed to negligent and incendiary.

Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who pinned George Floyd by placing his knee on the man’s neck for almost nine minutes, has been arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter by local authorities. By all accounts, whether it’s Minneapolis (or Louisville or Brunswick), if the police and vigilantes who committed these acts of violence were consistently arrested and charged, it’s highly likely that these protests would be less volatile.

More importantly, the focus and amplification of property damage over the lost lives that sparked unrest to begin with is a reflection of the press’s ghoulishly misplaced priorities. As a news consumer, you don’t have to feed the beast. You can choose to follow men and women on the ground covering events as concerned citizens. You can sift through the dross of hot-taking, moralizing pundits and pay attention to the data on the ground about what causes protests. (This was all but predicted five years ago.) You can refuse to submit to goodthink and stop using words like riot, protest, and resistance interchangeably.

In other words, you can be a sincere, informed American citizen, and recognize that your fellow Americans are hurting and expressing their pain. It does not have to be filtered and sanitized through the state or the press to be legitimized.”

#blm #black lives matter #justice for george floyd

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justforbooks · 5 years

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How to practice social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic

Not everyone can work from home or cease traveling. Here’s what you can do when circumstance forces you to be out and about during the COVID-19 outbreak.

In theory, never leaving home during the coronavirus pandemic is the most effective means of prevention. It reduces your chance of infection and quickly contains the disease’s spread. A recent study in Science found, for example, that this kind of distancing is even better than widespread travel bans or restrictions.

In practice, however, it’s not always possible to hole up. Your circumstances may not afford you the luxury of working from home or avoiding public transit. And sometimes life happens and you just need to get on a plane.

The good news is that tamping down the coronavirus isn’t an all-or-nothing game. There are still many ways you can practice responsible social distancing even when you have to be out and about in the world. In addition to the basics—don’t touch your face, and wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds—here are some other tips, collected from half a dozen experts, to follow in different areas of your life.

The bottom line: don’t stress too much. It’s equally important to “keep some sense of sanity,” says Moses Turkle Bility, an assistant professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at the University of Pittsburgh: “Your mental health and well-being affect your immune system.” Do what you can and develop habits you can stick to, but don’t panic if you can’t do everything.

Here's what you should do when you...

take public transit

take flights or long-haul bus and train rides

are sick

need food

work out

leave and come back home

have kids

What to do when you take public transit

Stagger commute times. If you can’t drive or walk where you need to go, consider commuting by public transit during off-peak hours. Spreading out commute times, even by a small amount, can help reduce transmission risk from overcrowded subways and buses, says Julie McMurry, an assistant professor in the College of Public Health at Oregon State University, who created the popular Flatten the Curve web page with tips to contain Covid-19.

Avoid surfaces. While in transit, avoid touching poles and handles. Some recent research in a pre-print paper suggests that the virus can survive on hard surfaces for up to three days, although there is still no evidence that it is transmitted in this way. You can also wear gloves or create other makeshift barriers to stay protected, but they should be removed as soon as you are back indoors.

What to do when you take flights or long-haul bus and train rides

Monitor the coronavirus stats of your community and destination. With help from the CDC website, educate yourself about places to avoid—up until the minute you board. Information is changing “so quickly, in the matter of hours,” says Lin H. Chen, president of the International Society of Travel Medicine and an associate professor at the Harvard-affiliated Mount Auburn Hospital. It’s also important to check your hometown’s statistics so you know if you could have been exposed to the virus. Reconsider your travel if the risk is high.

Stay six feet away from people (as much as possible). The CDC’s six-feet rule might not be possible if you’re waiting in line to get to your seat, but there’s no need to rush to your boarding-area queue or crowd around a coffee shop.

Wear a makeshift mask (if it gives you peace of mind). It’s still unclear whether wearing a mask in public will reduce a healthy person’s risk of contracting coronavirus, says Chen, but the extra protection doesn’t hurt. The caveat is if you’re not used to masks, you might fidget with it and thereby break a cardinal rule of coronavirus prevention: don’t touch your face.

Take a shower after you arrive. When you get to your destination, take a warm soap-and-water shower before interacting with people or lounging around too long in common spaces. “Soap and water is one of the best disinfectants,” says Bility. A bath is more comprehensive than hand-washing when you’ve been in contact with a lot of different surfaces. Avoid rewearing your travel clothes again until you’ve washed them.

What to do when you are sick

Stay at home. If you are sick (with something other than the coronavirus), reconsider whether you need to be out and about. The coronavirus is most threatening and more likely to result in complications when contracted along with another disease, says Fenyong Liu, a professor of virology at the University of California, Berkeley. With a weaker immune system, you will be more vulnerable. Exposing others to whatever you have, especially if they are immunocompromised, will make them more susceptible as well.

Wear a makeshift mask. But for essential trips, such as to go to the doctor, wear a mask or other makeshift barrier across your nose and mouth to protect others. Even a scarf or other cloth is better than nothing for reducing the spray of droplets when you cough or sneeze. Of course, the tighter the barrier the better, says McMurry. Do not, however, hoard surgical masks, which need to be reserved for front-line health-care responders. “That backfires for everyone,” McMurry says.

Call an ambulance. If you suspect you have coronavirus, call for an ambulance instead, says Liu. Traveling on public transit puts fellow passengers at too much risk. You could also contract another infection.

What to do when you need food

Get it delivered. Always opt for grocery or restaurant delivery if you have access to those services. It will reduce the flow of people circulating in-store and the chance of community spread. When the food arrives, wait for the delivery person to leave before you pick the package up. (Many delivery apps give you the option of specifying such instructions.) This minimizes delivery workers’—and the community’s—exposure to potential germs as they go from one home to another.

Use self-service checkout. If you have to go to the store, minimize contact with other people.

Decontaminate your packages. Once you’ve received your delivery or bought your food in-store, figure out a decontamination procedure. This might be overkill right now, says McMurry, “but it’s really important that everyone consider this a dry run.” Build the habit for when things get worse.

That means if you have a porch or other outside area where you can safely leave your packages, keep them there to air out for several hours. Again, experts don’t know how long the virus survives on surfaces, so the longer the wait you can afford, the better. Wear gloves or create a makeshift barrier when opening your package, and discard the outer layer. Or simply wash your hands diligently after you’re done handling it.

Wash and disinfect items before storage. After unwrapping the packages, use warm water and soap to scrub any washable items. While no specific studies have shown the effect of water and soap on the novel coronavirus, the combination is known to work against envelope viruses in general, says Bility. The soap damages the envelope and renders the virus ineffective. For other items that can’t be washed, use friction to wipe them down with soap and water or alcohol. The evaporative action of the alcohol inactivates the virus. (The EPA has also published a list of disinfectants that work.)

Opt for cooked over raw foods. Cooking produce is the safest way to guarantee decontamination, says Liu. But diligent washing with can also be a good defense.

What to do when you work out

Opt for in-home or outside exercises. Forgoing regular exercise can be challenging for mental health, especially during high-stress times such as this one. So consider developing routines that avoid the gym. Gyms are breeding grounds for many types of germs, which could weaken your immune system, but the heavy breathing and confined spaces also heighten the risk of coronavirus spread. Jog outside; do yoga in your bedroom; find in-home, equipment-free alternatives.

Avoid peak hours. If you do need to go to the gym, try to shift your workout schedule. Just as you should avoid peak hours on the subway, staggering workout times can help reduce risk of transmission.

Avoid high-contact equipment. Also avoid gym equipment that requires long periods of handling, like weights, and opt for things that don’t, like treadmills. Disinfect the equipment before and after use, and don’t wipe the sweat from your face with your hands during your workout.

Shower immediately after. A generally good rule regardless, but particularly important for disinfecting your body. You want to minimize the time you spend with potential contaminants on your clothes and skin.

What to do when you leave and come back home

Run errands together and during off-peak hours. Try to get as much done as possible in one fell swoop. “You want to minimize the number of trips, then stay home for as long a period of time as you can,” McMurry says. Also, try to avoid crowds by going to stores and public places early before work or late at night. In general, reduce the amount of time you spend in locations where you don’t know the level of infection, says Bility.

Don’t mix “outside” and “inside” clothes. Every time you get home, change your clothes—and shoes—and wash them as soon as possible. If you have the option, you can also leave coats and other hard-to-wash items outside to disinfect in the sunlight. “This is especially true for people that are in areas of high risk,” McMurry says.

Create a dedicated reentry zone. That staging area for packages is good for humans too: in addition to changing clothes and taking off shoes, use this space to disinfect your phone and keys. Phones, in particular, can be hard to disinfect, so consider putting yours in a thin plastic bag when you leave home. Wipe it down with soap and water or alcohol once you take it back out.

Take a shower after every outing. Of course, jump in the shower right away if you can. Children especially have a tendency to touch their faces, so bathe them with soap and water. If you don’t have time, at a bare minimum wash your and their face and hands, says Lauren Combe, a registered nurse and president of the National Association of School Nurses.

What to do when you have kids

Don't exaggerate or panic. Explain coronavirus in an age-appropriate manner, says Mark Reinecke, a clinical psychologist and director of the Child-Mind Institute. But “maintaining a sense of perspective becomes critically important.” Don't freak out if your kid coughs or dwell for hours on coronavirus coverage. Your kids want to feel secure.

Demonstrate good habits. Teach kids how to cough and sneeze into the crook of their arm and thoroughly wash their face and hands while singing “Happy Birthday” twice, says Combe. If you’re tired of the same song, pick something else easy for kids to remember, like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the ABCs.

Get creative with playdates. If their schools have closed, kids are prone to quickly develop cabin fever and feelings of isolation. Use technology creatively: give them permission to FaceTime or play video games with friends, Reinecke says. Online social activities can help maintain and foster friendships. You can also opt for no-tech solutions like board games and crafts with the family. If you do end up hosting a playdate, keep the group small, make sure the other kids are not sick, and don’t share utensils, says Combe.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS #COVID-19 #My Lockdown Diary

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