(03-11-2020, 10:41 AM)Langdude Wrote: I wonder if there are some of you who would be prepared to provide a summary of things to do or think about as we go about our daily lives. Some of you are doctors or researchers that can provide some tips. I know I need to wash my hands and avoid large gatherings; anything else? Anything I should keep on-hand as I go places? Anything I should be worried about the store running out of (as of yet, we have not joined the CostCo swarm)? And, as I asked before, do I need to worry about our savings or IRA?
I assess my risk as about 20% for death if I get the disease. My one, overriding necessity is to not get sick. At the very least, I want to duck under the wave of illness that is currently rising. My concerns & effort & inconvenience is much higher than someone in your position.
Except for a few required instances, I am not going anywhere. I am working from home only. Groceries were delivered to my house, and I thoroughly disinfected them. US mail or any delivery (and the mail box) is treated as potential infection sources (I don't put them on shared or eating surfaces; I wash my hands after handling them). We have a gardener, and I am conscious of what he might touch that could potentially have virus from him. No one is going to come in my house. When I have gone out in public and come home, my shoes are left at the door, my clothes into the washer, and me into the shower. If I'm out I have a mask & gloves & disinfectant wipes with me, if I feel I need them.
For someone in their 30s or younger, I don't think you stand much risk other than an illness. Just don't interact with any 50+. Call, don't visit, the grandparents. Do their shopping for them, but leave the items on the doorstep (or at least take off your shoes) and remind them to clean them off and then wash their hands. For their own good, don't hug them. If you're under 30 and don't have contact with 50+, don't hoard. You don't need 10 sets of disinfectant wipes. if you might be sick, don't go out in public.
If your kids are cared by older people, find a different solution.
One of the problems with the numbers we have seen is a lack of information about age versus seriousness of the disease. For instance, what is the rate of a serious case of the illness for under-40 per case. If that were less than 1% (as deaths are), then it doesn't much matter public-health-wise if you get sick. The critical thing for you is not to expose the 50+ people.
[See my post a few posts later where I give some numbers]
I am not a physician. These are just my opinions.