Food for Thought
Your days start with planning. If you are in your house, many of you are making sure there are cleaners handy for when your groceries are delivered or when you bring them home, or bringing sanitizer with you when you are out and about. Are you constantly washing or sanitizing your hands? Are you a frenzied unbagger and unboxer? Are you worried about who touched the packages when on shelf, on a truck, or even the consumers that may have shopped them before your shopper did? Do you incessantly spray everything down when it arrives or when you come home from a retail store? You are not alone, and not to worry.
The FDA actually says that there is no evidence of food packaging being associated with the transmission of COVID-19, but if you wish, you can continue to wipe down your packaging as a precaution.
Staying at Home, Even When You Don’t Want To
Did you travel like many to one of the “hot-zone states” that are one of quarantine upon entry states. Did you comply, or face a fine? Did you pay the $100-$200 out of pocket for each family member to be tested? Ends up, that quarantine recommendation just changed from the CDC.
It is hard to know what or who to believe. Things tend to change overnight, these days. It is important to stay vigilant with the things you can control and try to listen to the experts as they learn new things about this new coronavirus and communicate with the general public. It is the novel coronavirus and novel means new. There is much that the scientists continue to learn about how this virus behaves, who is most vulnerable and what treatments work with over 100 COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world,
Masks Should Be Dense. Public Spaces Should be De-Densified
We have heard a lot about the types of masks that should be worn to keep the transmission of droplets if you happen to have the virus or are an asymptomatic carrier. There will likely be mask shaming if you happen to be wearing a single-ply buff or a simple bandana based on this Duke University study. But at least you are wearing a mask.
State and community leaders are urging businesses to de-densify public spaces including buildings with high occupancy public areas, retail shops, closed spaces like elevators and public bathrooms. And then there are schools, controlled by state and county government with varying rules of engagement. Some schools have resorted to dangling plexiglass from the ceiling to control any possibility of asymptomatic carriers passing the virus to others.
Germ-Free Hands, It’s Topical
Hand washing for 20 seconds or using hand sanitizer be it gel, foam or liquid can keep germs from entering the areas of your face that are most vulnerable like your eyes, nose and mouth. As long as the sanitizer solution is in accordance with the World Health Organization’s recommended alcohol percentage, your hands can be germ-free when properly applied. This supports the use of two formulas that result in either an ethanol antiseptic topical solution containing ethanol 80% (v/v) or an isopropyl alcohol antiseptic topical solution with a final concentration of 75% (v/v).
The CDC recommends using alcohol-based hand sanitizer only when soap and water are unavailable. Final concentration of hand sanitizer is at least 60% alcohol (ethanol or isopropyl alcohol) to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. No one wants to use public bathrooms right now, if it can be avoided. You touch a handle going in and out, but can only protect with hand washing prior to touching the handle again. What can you do? Use a hand sanitizer, of course. Carry it with you, or when you get home, use what is on your countertop in your kitchen or entryways. Like Origyn’s autoSPRITZ hand sanitizer dispenser that uses a liquid alcohol solution that is 80% ethanol from the approved WHO formulation.
What We Know Now from the Experts and Scientists:
- Maintain social distancing of 6’ has been proven to help prevent the spread of any virus
- Wear a mask can protect others if you have the virus or are trying not to breath virus particles into your own system
- Wash hands regularly can help prevent infecting others and yourself
- Use hand sanitizer when hand washing is not possible. The formula should conform to the CDC and WHO recommended alcohol levels and has been approved by the FDA is an approved option for killing germs.
The Zero Touch State of Life
No one wants to touch handles with gloves or towels, and pumping hand sanitizer that doesn’t belong to you is contrary to the idea of staying germ-free. And if you are not careful, gels and foams can fall of your hands and defeat the purpose of hand sanitization. What if you could have the best of all worlds in your home and even workplace? Origyn’s autoSPRITZ offers a touch-free hand sanitizer dispenser, targeted spray with 80% ethanol, the WHO formulation most likely to kill 99.99% of germs. Its modern design works on countertops, entryways, desks and living areas so you can have a germ-free, worry-free home and work environment at the wave of your hands.
Bye Bye germs. High five to sanitized hands! At least that is one thing that is in our control!