After last nights national address from ScoMo, it's clear that Australia is not going to try and eradicate Coronavirus, so we are on the slow-burn 'curve-flattening' route that will potentially expose the entire population. In 2 weeks it is going to be everywhere, and there will be no spare beds in ICU so the mortality risk will increase significantly. The last thing any of us want is to be laying in a hospital corridor or at home slowly suffocating from pneumonia without a respirator. Therefore, the impetus is on individuals to avoid personal infection until the vaccine is available.

I'd like people to share ideas in this thread about what they are doing to avoid infection. I basically see two parts to this. Social distancing, and personal infection prevention control. I think it's helpful to hear what others are doing and know we're not in this alone, plus I figure there are a few things to learn from each other.

1) Social distancing

All my family is now taking the isolation issue seriously, there has been enough data and media discussion now for them to become concerned. I'm working from home, my wife starts teaching her school class via video from home, and all my kids are doing uni or high school via video conferencing as well. In principle, we've implemented a house lockdown, with no visitors coming in - it will be interesting to see how hard this is to maintain over the coming weeks. We're getting out for some excercise, but keeping well clear of anyone else. A point of discussion is how much risk is there if my daughters want to go for a walk with their friends. How far apart do they need to be from each other? if one of them coughs, and the other is standing downwind, how risky is that? Should they all be wearing a face mask because of that risk?

One of my daughters tutors high school students, both at our house or their house until now. We need to figure out what to do about that, and if she should stop. Another has a part-time job as a medical receptionist, which I think is the gaping hole in our defensive line, she's also the one with the constantly running nose.

We've haven't figured out what to do about the boyfriend yet. He has a sick sibling, so he's not coming over at the moment. On one hand, it seems weird to be thinking about limiting contact, but then the problem is that everyone has these connections, and when you link them all together, it maintains a path for the virus to continue spreading everywhere.

2) Infection prevention protocol

This is interesting. Again, as the virus spreads over the next couple of weeks, the likelihood that a person stacking shelves at the supermarket is infected becomes very real. The virus can live for hours, even days, on hard surfaces. Some people in this forum are removing all clothes and having a shower every time they enter the house. At the moment we are simply washing hands well whenever we come home, but now I'm thinking about the groceries. I know some people are disinfecting every item they buy. Since I have a 2-week buffer of food in the house, I'm thinking an alternative could be to quarantine groceries for a week. Also need to think about phones, front door handles, etc, and get a cleaning routine going on there.

Curious to hear others remarks.

A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

Cross contamination , the check out chook (like mature age) made me stand on the x , but didn't know to use sanitizer after touching other customers cards/ groceries, then packing my groceries and potentially contaminating every thing she touched , self serve or any coffee shop would be the same , the workers aren't being diligent enough in their hygiene practices.
So minimize human contact at super market , scan pack your own and santize your hands asap, don't buy take away coffee etc .

the receptionist has to go. You have tick all the boxes but the social contact.

I'm screwed my wife is a practitioner.

If the aim is not to isolate the community and 'flatten the curve', you don't really need to go to that trouble. I would stay away from your elderly parents as much as possible and make sure that they had a good supply of food.

Unless you completely isolate, completely, you will get it. Its just a question of when. If you wait long enough, herd immunity will take care of it and you won't get it, but how long is that? How long before you get it, and then want to stay away from your parents to ensure that they won't get it. What if someone else passes it to them?

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stoff said..
A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

same ..i eat heaps of garlic and onions , mostly healthy stuff .

^^^ FN, true, but the other part of this is limiting contact enough so that as a community we can limit the health system overload that occurs. Just how limiting does that need to be? Will be interesting to see how much 'flattening' we actually get as a result of this week's policy announcements. A shame it will take two weeks to see the impact.

Not sure if Peter Doherty should have put this on the table?

"we need a rapid antibody test for people who've had the virus and recovered".

Why? Because such people, who may not have shown any symptoms and not know that they've had the virus, "are perfectly okay to go out and work and live and do anything - they won't spread the disease".

www.smh.com.au/national/nobel-prize-winner-says-virus-curve-will-flatten-in-couple-of-weeks-20200324-p54dib.html

Im prepared, went to the shop and bought Doom Eternal, so that will keep me off the street today on my day off, till I go to work tomorrow.

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bazz61 said..

stoff said..
A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

same ..i eat heaps of garlic and onions , mostly healthy stuff .

hey Bazz im sure the fifty thousand italians with Covid 19 ate onions and garlic

I have a large plastic box in my court yard, in it lives my plastic bag with keys, pass, pen. I take the bag out when I leave for work and put it in another tub inside the car. I get to work and walk in wearing normal clothes, these go in a bag and I change into scrubs and take out my pen and pass, my phone goes in a ziplock bag.

I then spend all day dealing with various people, body fluids, crises (some Corona related, some not). The fear and stress is palpable at work, I like most hospital doctors have been watching this unfold like a slow motion car crash. This week we cancelled every surgery at a large tertiary hospital due to a cruise ship that had 300-700 unwell passengers, only to say everything was fine an hour latter. We've cancelled everything other than cancer/possible cancer surgery and maternity. Patient care is already being compromised so we can minimise contact/free up beds/reduce PPE usage. At the end of the day I strip and shower, change into my normal clothes, pass/pen go in ziplock bag and into my paper bag and home I go.

As a FYI.
-Covid-19 lives in the air for 2-3hrs, surfaces for hours-days.
-You need ~15 seconds of exposure to an infected person to acquire it.
-~50% (based on data from the Diamond princess and Northern Italy) of people who have it, are asymptomatic.
-~10% of infected people in Italy and Spain are doctors and nurses.
-By wearing a mask in public you don't really reduce your chance of contracting it, really you need a gown, head cover, goggles, your mask needs to be put on correctly, not be touched (at all), changed every ~2hrs and all of this needs to be removed correctly otherwise it's wasted. Even then.......see above.
-By wearing a mask in public, you've taken away a mask for of a doctor performing surgery/Intubating a Covid-19 patient/nurse caring for your loved one/cleaner decontaminating the room prior to you entering.
-Sadly every other emergency does not stop due to this, no one knew 9 months ago not to fall pregnant/have that STEMI/develop cancer, these people are going to suffer (some already are).
-In people under the age of 40 death is rare, almost all the deaths are in people >65, 70% of deaths are men.
-In some studies 90% of people placed on ventilators eventually die....

What should you do?
-Donate blood.
-Donate PPE to your local GP practice or hospital if you've got it.
-Stay the **** home.
-Don't panic buy (Australia produces enough food for 75 million people....).
-Don't spread conspiracy theories/hoaxes.
-Help people >65yo self isolate.
-Make sure when this is over the politicians who allowed this to happen are lined up against the wall and taken to account for the deaths they've caused.

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Cobra said..

bazz61 said..

stoff said..
A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

same ..i eat heaps of garlic and onions , mostly healthy stuff .

hey Bazz im sure the fifty thousand italians with Covid 19 ate onions and garlic

V
V
but I bet they don't have a daily ... 1 table spoon of protein powder , 1 ts chia seeds ,1 ts pumkin seeds , 1ts linseed , handfull mixed berries mostly blue berries gotcha etc , banana, hand full spinach or kale , thrown into a blender with coconut water , or soy almond milk , thats my lunch most days , got a few sniffles but nothing real major on last 15 month project , every one else got sick flu ....

Select to expand quote

bazz61 said..

Cobra said..

bazz61 said..

stoff said..
A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

same ..i eat heaps of garlic and onions , mostly healthy stuff .

hey Bazz im sure the fifty thousand italians with Covid 19 ate onions and garlic

V
V
but I bet they don't have a daily ... 1 table spoon of protein powder , 1 ts chia seeds ,1 ts pumkin seeds , 1ts linseed , handfull mixed berries mostly blue berries gotcha etc , banana, hand full spinach or kale , thrown into a blender with coconut water , or soy almond milk , thats my lunch most days , got a few sniffles but nothing real major on last 15 month project , every one else got sick flu ....

don't get me wrong Bazz they are fantastic things to fuel the body. our family don't eat any of that and none have had a flu in years.
my wife works with sick people everyday, myself i avoid sick people to the point i get up and move away.
i remember a professional soccer player telling me, if you're fit you'll never catch a flu.

who knows.. i believe healthy sleep no extra sugar & salt and low stress are key factors to a healthy life
but i drink alcohol so it kind of throws things out the window.

if i was to have a bet, i bet people that have lost their jobs and families under financial stress will increase their chances of catching it
no matter what they eat.

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bazz61 said..

Cobra said..

bazz61 said..

stoff said..
A lot of people think it does nothing but I'm going to throw it out there, Vitamin C.

I'm prone to chest infections and a few years ago had pneumonia 2 years in a row, once requiring emergency hospitalisation. Now at the slightest hint of a cold I hit the vitamin c at 2000mg a day. Seems to work for me and there is some evidence out there that at high doses it can help.

Currently there are 3 clinical trials underway in China using it intravenously against Covid-19.

edit: I should add that I don't think it will stop you getting Covid but it may prevent it from becoming full blown pneumonia

same ..i eat heaps of garlic and onions , mostly healthy stuff .

hey Bazz im sure the fifty thousand italians with Covid 19 ate onions and garlic

V
V
but I bet they don't have a daily ... 1 table spoon of protein powder , 1 ts chia seeds ,1 ts pumkin seeds , 1ts linseed , handfull mixed berries mostly blue berries gotcha etc , banana, hand full spinach or kale , thrown into a blender with coconut water , or soy almond milk , thats my lunch most days , got a few sniffles but nothing real major on last 15 month project , every one else got sick flu ....

Bazz, did you do some blind trials to find out which parts of your plan makes the difference, or did all your other colleagues have kids?

Like all psuedo science, maybe there is something in it, and maybe there isn't.

V
V
lol no trials , did have a sick kid in the house ... but a firm believer in what you put in your body , especially gut health effects your general health , since giving up gluten no more head aches clearer mind , plus more . many thanx to the Asian doc that advised me .

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LBax said..
I have a large plastic box in my court yard, in it lives my plastic bag with keys, pass, pen. I take the bag out when I leave for work and put it in another tub inside the car. I get to work and walk in wearing normal clothes, these go in a bag and I change into scrubs and take out my pen and pass, my phone goes in a ziplock bag.

I then spend all day dealing with various people, body fluids, crises (some Corona related, some not). The fear and stress is palpable at work, I like most hospital doctors have been watching this unfold like a slow motion car crash. This week we cancelled every surgery at a large tertiary hospital due to a cruise ship that had 300-700 unwell passengers, only to say everything was fine an hour latter. We've cancelled everything other than cancer/possible cancer surgery and maternity. Patient care is already being compromised so we can minimise contact/free up beds/reduce PPE usage. At the end of the day I strip and shower, change into my normal clothes, pass/pen go in ziplock bag and into my paper bag and home I go.

As a FYI.
-Covid-19 lives in the air for 2-3hrs, surfaces for hours-days.
-You need ~15 seconds of exposure to an infected person to acquire it.
-~50% (based on data from the Diamond princess and Northern Italy) of people who have it, are asymptomatic.
-~10% of infected people in Italy and Spain are doctors and nurses.
-By wearing a mask in public you don't really reduce your chance of contracting it, really you need a gown, head cover, goggles, your mask needs to be put on correctly, not be touched (at all), changed every ~2hrs and all of this needs to be removed correctly otherwise it's wasted. Even then.......see above.
-By wearing a mask in public, you've taken away a mask for of a doctor performing surgery/Intubating a Covid-19 patient/nurse caring for your loved one/cleaner decontaminating the room prior to you entering.
-Sadly every other emergency does not stop due to this, no one knew 9 months ago not to fall pregnant/have that STEMI/develop cancer, these people are going to suffer (some already are).
-In people under the age of 40 death is rare, almost all the deaths are in people >65, 70% of deaths are men.
-In some studies 90% of people placed on ventilators eventually die....

What should you do?
-Donate blood.
-Donate PPE to your local GP practice or hospital if you've got it.
-Stay the **** home.
-Don't panic buy (Australia produces enough food for 75 million people....).
-Don't spread conspiracy theories/hoaxes.
-Help people >65yo self isolate.
-Make sure when this is over the politicians who allowed this to happen are lined up against the wall and taken to account for the deaths they've caused.

Good info from the front line.
I have said this before I am in France and the doctors have been saying what you have said above for a month now. The doctors in Italy and Spain before that. As you said this is like watching a slow motion car crash but over and over again. I am sorry but this is only the start for you.
Words from a top doctor in Paris here about a week ago went something like this.
Please stay home we are already over run and tired. We were warned,we warned the govt. But now is not the time for blame. Now is the time for action. Please stay home. Please help each other and the people around you. There will be a time for blame and some serious questions need answering. We need to test but cant because they are in limited supply.For now please stay home. Dont wait for the govt to tell you.
This was just before the confinement. He was sleeping on his feet between the questions.
There is still very little testing going on.

i dont reckon tis worth worrying about it between family members in the household. If one of my family gets it we all will i reckon
Your daughter may want to consider not being a medical receptionist.! Iguess if they gave her full ppe with a face sheild, mask and cap etc
And your daughters boyfreind cant come over? sounds like a win to me

A doctor friend just forwarded me an email from Britain's NHS, for the protection of medical staff.
There are a few interesting precautions besides hand hygiene, distancing and surface cleaning.

The virus doesn't survive above 27C temp. So drink lots of hot drinks through the day, avoid icy drinks.
Swallowing liquid helps dislodge the virus from your throat and esophagus, sending it into the stomach where digestive acid instantly kills it.
So between hot drinks, swallow a few mouthfuls of water every 15 minutes or so.
Exposure to direct sun for a while will kill the virus on clothing.

Select to expand quote

oldtelefart said..
A doctor friend just forwarded me an email from Britain's NHS, for the protection of medical staff.
There are a few interesting precautions besides hand hygiene, distancing and surface cleaning.

The virus doesn't survive above 27C temp. So drink lots of hot drinks through the day, avoid icy drinks.
Swallowing liquid helps dislodge the virus from your throat and esophagus, sending it into the stomach where digestive acid instantly kills it.
So between hot drinks, swallow a few mouthfuls of water every 15 minutes or so.
Exposure to direct sun for a while will kill the virus on clothing.

I've heard the temperature story before. Makes you wonder how it survives in India, Indo and the Mid East...?

On the central coast the numbers are doubling every two days, last thursday we had 7, monday was 19 and today wednesday is 38. Hope this doesn't represent the infection rate as in 10 days we will have 1,200 and another 10 days after that 40,000. Gosford hospital has 14 intensive care beds.

Select to expand quote

oldtelefart said..
A doctor friend just forwarded me an email from Britain's NHS, for the protection of medical staff.
There are a few interesting precautions besides hand hygiene, distancing and surface cleaning.

The virus doesn't survive above 27C temp. So drink lots of hot drinks through the day, avoid icy drinks.
Swallowing liquid helps dislodge the virus from your throat and esophagus, sending it into the stomach where digestive acid instantly kills it.
So between hot drinks, swallow a few mouthfuls of water every 15 minutes or so.
Exposure to direct sun for a while will kill the virus on clothing.

Sorry, are these sorts of stories legit or are people forwarding them as 'a friend of a friend said...'.

This all seems like absolute BS and does nothing good by reposting it.

"Yes, it does seem that the virus cannot survive above 27 degrees!"

but doesn't our body run at 36 degrees or something?

FFS, this gets old pretty quickly especially when it seems to be quoted as someone in authority, but is it really or just a retelling?

here we go, some light reading for those without doctor friends:

www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters

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Main said..

oldtelefart said..
A doctor friend just forwarded me an email from Britain's NHS, for the protection of medical staff.
There are a few interesting precautions besides hand hygiene, distancing and surface cleaning.

The virus doesn't survive above 27C temp. So drink lots of hot drinks through the day, avoid icy drinks.
Swallowing liquid helps dislodge the virus from your throat and esophagus, sending it into the stomach where digestive acid instantly kills it.
So between hot drinks, swallow a few mouthfuls of water every 15 minutes or so.
Exposure to direct sun for a while will kill the virus on clothing.

I've heard the temperature story before. Makes you wonder how it survives in India, Indo and the Mid East...?

debunked as a myth though, and I wonder how this myth propogates. Who makes up this **** and what do you think is gained by making it up?

www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Covid-19-List-of-NSAIDs-ibuprofen-anti-inflammatory-medicines-drugs-to-avoid-published-after-French-man-dies-in-Nice
A few young healthy people have died in France now. Most seem to be have been taking Ibuprofen. Similar cases in Paris. As it says you cant buy Ibuprofen over the counter here anymore.

Body odour and poor personal hygiene is the way to go. If you look like a proxy tramp no one will want to go 50 meters of you.

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LBax said..
I have a large plastic box in my court yard, in it lives my plastic bag with keys, pass, pen. I take the bag out when I leave for work and put it in another tub inside the car. I get to work and walk in wearing normal clothes, these go in a bag and I change into scrubs and take out my pen and pass, my phone goes in a ziplock bag.

I then spend all day dealing with various people, body fluids, crises (some Corona related, some not). The fear and stress is palpable at work, I like most hospital doctors have been watching this unfold like a slow motion car crash. This week we cancelled every surgery at a large tertiary hospital due to a cruise ship that had 300-700 unwell passengers, only to say everything was fine an hour latter. We've cancelled everything other than cancer/possible cancer surgery and maternity. Patient care is already being compromised so we can minimise contact/free up beds/reduce PPE usage. At the end of the day I strip and shower, change into my normal clothes, pass/pen go in ziplock bag and into my paper bag and home I go.

As a FYI.
-Covid-19 lives in the air for 2-3hrs, surfaces for hours-days.
-You need ~15 seconds of exposure to an infected person to acquire it.
-~50% (based on data from the Diamond princess and Northern Italy) of people who have it, are asymptomatic.
-~10% of infected people in Italy and Spain are doctors and nurses.
-By wearing a mask in public you don't really reduce your chance of contracting it, really you need a gown, head cover, goggles, your mask needs to be put on correctly, not be touched (at all), changed every ~2hrs and all of this needs to be removed correctly otherwise it's wasted. Even then.......see above.
-By wearing a mask in public, you've taken away a mask for of a doctor performing surgery/Intubating a Covid-19 patient/nurse caring for your loved one/cleaner decontaminating the room prior to you entering.
-Sadly every other emergency does not stop due to this, no one knew 9 months ago not to fall pregnant/have that STEMI/develop cancer, these people are going to suffer (some already are).
-In people under the age of 40 death is rare, almost all the deaths are in people >65, 70% of deaths are men.
-In some studies 90% of people placed on ventilators eventually die....

What should you do?
-Donate blood.
-Donate PPE to your local GP practice or hospital if you've got it.
-Stay the **** home.
-Don't panic buy (Australia produces enough food for 75 million people....).
-Don't spread conspiracy theories/hoaxes.
-Help people >65yo self isolate.
-Make sure when this is over the politicians who allowed this to happen are lined up against the wall and taken to account for the deaths they've caused.

Sincere good luck. Thanks for the post. You and all your colleagues are the "firefighters" of this challenge. Don't get me started on the government response to this...oh and the section of the community who simply can't see past the themselves. Ummm, as for what I'm doing : staying home and vegetating with vege patches as per another thread. Well done to those who are enacting positive change, your contributions are all vital.

LBax - so many thanks to you and your fellow workers.

We got some PM2(?) masks because we were facing the fires and preparing to fight them - are they any use if they have been used or sitting around in a firefighting kit?

I'm moderate risk and sitting at home on the acreage, with my wife who is now working from home, but we do need to go out every few days.

Another Aussie just died,
and Prince Charles has tested positive

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lotofwind said..
Another Aussie just died,
and Prince Charles has tested positive

Crikey, imagine if it bowled over the Queen.

Select to expand quote

LBax said..
I have a large plastic box in my court yard, in it lives my plastic bag with keys, pass, pen. I take the bag out when I leave for work and put it in another tub inside the car. I get to work and walk in wearing normal clothes, these go in a bag and I change into scrubs and take out my pen and pass, my phone goes in a ziplock bag.

I then spend all day dealing with various people, body fluids, crises (some Corona related, some not). The fear and stress is palpable at work, I like most hospital doctors have been watching this unfold like a slow motion car crash. This week we cancelled every surgery at a large tertiary hospital due to a cruise ship that had 300-700 unwell passengers, only to say everything was fine an hour latter. We've cancelled everything other than cancer/possible cancer surgery and maternity. Patient care is already being compromised so we can minimise contact/free up beds/reduce PPE usage. At the end of the day I strip and shower, change into my normal clothes, pass/pen go in ziplock bag and into my paper bag and home I go.

As a FYI.
-Covid-19 lives in the air for 2-3hrs, surfaces for hours-days.
-You need ~15 seconds of exposure to an infected person to acquire it.
-~50% (based on data from the Diamond princess and Northern Italy) of people who have it, are asymptomatic.
-~10% of infected people in Italy and Spain are doctors and nurses.
-By wearing a mask in public you don't really reduce your chance of contracting it, really you need a gown, head cover, goggles, your mask needs to be put on correctly, not be touched (at all), changed every ~2hrs and all of this needs to be removed correctly otherwise it's wasted. Even then.......see above.
-By wearing a mask in public, you've taken away a mask for of a doctor performing surgery/Intubating a Covid-19 patient/nurse caring for your loved one/cleaner decontaminating the room prior to you entering.
-Sadly every other emergency does not stop due to this, no one knew 9 months ago not to fall pregnant/have that STEMI/develop cancer, these people are going to suffer (some already are).
-In people under the age of 40 death is rare, almost all the deaths are in people >65, 70% of deaths are men.
-In some studies 90% of people placed on ventilators eventually die....

What should you do?
-Donate blood.
-Donate PPE to your local GP practice or hospital if you've got it.
-Stay the **** home.
-Don't panic buy (Australia produces enough food for 75 million people....).
-Don't spread conspiracy theories/hoaxes.
-Help people >65yo self isolate.
-Make sure when this is over the politicians who allowed this to happen are lined up against the wall and taken to account for the deaths they've caused.

Mate thanks for serving on the front line hope you and your colleges remain well take care.

Ran into a hospital doctor in Bunnings the other day buying gloves FFS couldn't get supplies support the medicos its going to get ugly.