I’m starting to wonder if the holiday spike is even worth the risk

I have been exposed at school. Hubby was exposed at hockey. We tested negative.

(accidental double post)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2020 05:58PM by ColoKate63.

No, and I’m averaging 12-15 shops daily since August.
My precautions:
1. Double-masking with a N95 under a cloth mask
2. Strict social distancing
3. Hand sanitizer and wiping my steering wheel, gearshift, etc
4. No lengthy (>15 minutes) video shops - so no new homes, no car sales, and limited apartments.
5. Weekly testing at our (free) community drive-through site
6. Flu shot
7. I stopped this past Thursday, because my metro area moved to Red.

No. I always wear a freshly laundered mask and disposable (one use) medical grade plastic gloves. Different set of gloves for each and every interaction. Hand sanitizer in the car, used on keys, steering wheel, etc. . No one but me ever drives my car. (NO valet parking shops!). I have been doing garage, banking and gas/conveniences stores and self-storage shops mostly since restarting in September. No shops from March 12 to September 12. With the local surges I am considering taking only bank shops in December. Banks here have Plexiglas shields at every staff position.

Fortunately, I have not.
I kept to a heavy schedule of gas station inspections (with other things mixed in) from late July until 11/10, taking strong precautions and I do live in an area that had numbers down until very recently. Pulled the plug on 11/10 to have two weeks before seeing some family members for Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, will work until 12/10, and will do the same for Christmas as I did Thanksgiving.

I'm concerned, but I can't just stop.

No. I have not caught the covid while mystery shopping, merching, auditing, working at early and late jobs, or while doing anything else. Like many others, I have disposable masks and gloves, appropriate cleaners everywhere, and... most important... I use them as directed.

If I had it, it was not from mystery shopping. I was exposed at a rare social event that I attended in Sept. that was postponed from the Spring. The woman sitting directly next to me tested positive two days later. I waited to get tested to see how I felt, took my temperature daily and quarantined a few days. I had muscle aches, headache, stomach issues, but no temp and no cough, so who knows. I never did get tested. I was annoyed at myself for letting my guard down at this country club event. It was held outdoors, which was good, but when I mystery shop, I wear a mask, carry wipes everywhere, wipe everything I touch etc. There, I relaxed and just thought it would be good, but beware...it lurks where you don't expect.

I am anticipating a huge surge on cases in this area when folks who traveled return from the holiday. So, I am considering not doing MS in December.

Since I've only done phone/online shops since March, no.

Having said that, I'm pretty upset with salesmen/repairmen, etc. who come to your front door without a mask. This has happened several times. I'm sure they know there is a pandemic. I believe twice, they even came into my garage (with its door open) to try to talk to us. Um. NO. That's not okay. How do these people know if they're not visiting a vulnerable person.

Out of fear, we've decided to close the garage door even (some people just walk right in to try to talk to you).

Have seen airport pics pre-Thanksgiving. Lots of travelling happening. I get the feeling the country is tired of following "recommended" COVID safety rules at its worst moment. I understand people are tired of this. We are too. But, it does suck that many seem to be giving up on "rules" just as we're peaking into the winter. Do be extra, extra careful if you're vulnerable.

Close off those "loopholes" (maybe think of a checklist) where less conscious virus people or situations may infect you. We even have a family friend we're sort of avoiding. She doesn't seem to care and often forgets to wear a mask.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2020 08:12PM by shoptastic.

My County Commissioners decided that they didn’t Iike the mask mandate, so two months ago they decided to pull out of our County Health System. So... no organized testing, no statistics, no overall information going out to people.
They finally saw the light a few weeks ago: we have 3 ICU beds left in a population of 240,000. Three. And a case positivity rate of almost 15%. Just got this information today.
I’m not doing any local shops until at LEAST April.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

My County Commissioners decided that they didn’t Iike the mask mandate, so two months ago they decided to pull out of our County Health System. So... no organized testing, no statistics, no overall information going out to people.
They finally saw the light a few weeks ago: we have 3 ICU beds left in a population of 240,000. Three. And a case positivity rate of almost 15%. Just got this information today.
I’m not doing any local shops until at LEAST April.

That's scary. I know some states/cities have those makeshift field hospitals. Not ideal.

Calling one's local officials to put pressure on them can help with COVID safety. My state and a neighboring city have had some shady statistical practices that've been reported on. I assume it's worse than what's reported on top of my 10x rule.

10x rule means whatever the official case count is, I multiply it by 10. A lot of people are asymptomatic and don't get tested. I've seen some scientists estimate it can be as bad as 20x, but I use a more modest 10x rule.

We're hunkered down during Thanksgiving. Scared of the spread and crowds (esp. those who just don't care anymore).

I wonder if some people (the ones who have no particular difficulty with masks) who prefer not to wear masks are expressing their displeasure at the denial of rights. In this situation, masking is a form of treatment. People should be free to accept of decline treatment. Forcing them to wear masks is forcing them to accept a treatment they might not choose for themselves. Please do not throw tomatoes; I wear masks.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I wonder if some people (the ones who have no particular difficulty with masks) who prefer not to wear masks are expressing their displeasure at the denial of rights. In this situation, masking is a form of treatment. People should be free to accept of decline treatment. Forcing them to wear masks is forcing them to accept a treatment they might not choose for themselves. Please do not throw tomatoes; I wear masks.

a.) "individual rights" argument - I don't think individual rights can be a defense/applies, as we've discussed before, because your simply breathing at me with COVID could kill me.

I tend to think of it like smoking. You don't have the right to smoke next to me in a restaurant, because that behavior is not just dangerous to you, but also to me. And, this is different from the flu, because it's a novel virus that we don't have widespread herd immunity from (and vaccines - ...yet) and 10x deadlier in terms of case fatalities. So, I don't think one can use a flu non-masking comparison either.

I do wonder if people would still adopt a "rights" argument if COVID killed infants and toddlers/kids mostly between the ages of 1 month and 10 years old? I think after 250,000 child deaths from COVID, mask mandates might be law (I could even imagine parents pointing guns at people to stay away without a mask). Anyone objecting at that point just because it was uncomfortable to wear a mask would be pretty rotten, imho. But, since it's the elderly who mostly die, for some reason people don't care.

b.) It's partially political. I'll leave it at that to honor forum etiquette. There are some who don't wear them to support a particular person, who has previously encouraged people to not wear them.

Remember Benjamin Franklin? He once said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

This was issued in a different time, but the essential principal is the same.

It is good for censorship, surveillance, and other intrusions. Over time, people become desensitized and will no longer mind being owned pawns of their governments.

If you dislike smoke, stay at home and let the smokers smoke. If you fear covid, stay at home. If you don't like pee-ey water, stay out of swimming pools. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen... and clever ones remember that Truman was fond of the little saying.

Please do not throw tomatoes at this mask-wearing cynic/skeptic.

Let's not derail a very good and potentially informative thread and the intention of the OP please, with debating the merits of mask wearing. That was not the purpose of the thread.

@KA047 wrote:

Let's not derail a very good and potentially informative thread and the intention of the OP please, with debating the merits of mask wearing. That was not the purpose of the thread.

Thanks for the reminder.

I re:'d Shopetal in a GC section thread.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/23/2020 11:49PM by shoptastic.

I did safety/precaution shops at grocery stores throughout the pandemic. No problem. Perhaps you should make inquires to the "essential workers" to find out how many got the virus.

I have traveled all over Texas doing audits and shops. No COVID. I do wear a mask when I go into a audit/shop because my agreement states I have to. I don’t wear it in my car. I wash my hands before and after each shop/audit with a sanitizing wipes and sanitizer. I wash my masks daily and rotate their use. I also carry a UV wand, but I did that before COVID because I do hotel shops

UV wand? I wand one!

They need to be used properly/carefully. Don't want to blind yourself!

@whosear wrote:

I did safety/precaution shops at grocery stores throughout the pandemic. No problem. Perhaps you should make inquires to the "essential workers" to find out how many got the virus.

My husband is a manager at Wal-Mart, hasn't missed a day of work (excluding his scheduled vacations). I worked midnight's for a while at Wal-Mart when all mystery shopping stopped. My aunt is a RN, working on a Covid floor & in a rehab facility. My husband & youngest daughter have flown from Chicago to Houston(my 6yr old has a genetic disorder that typically causes a compromised immune system)
We have not had Covid.

My husband & I only wear masks when absolutely required. Never outside. Our kids play year round sports & attend in person school.
We don't use hand sanitizer, and wash our hands with soap/ water on a normal, not OCD type schedule. We use only vinegar to clean our home. We don't vaccinate our children. They ALL, even the one with Glycogen Storage Disease, have AMAZING immune systems.

Vinegar, you say? Remember the tale of Four Thieves Vinegar? Vinegar was combined with rosemary, eucalyptus, clove, and cinnamon essential oils (or possibly other essential oils) and the pungent mix protected grave robbers from the plague. They exchanged their recipe (which might have been lost or altered in the oral tradition or simply somewhere in time) for freedom from punishment for their crimes. As for the soap: the mechanics of pushing the surfactant on the skin and removing the debris is more important than including a germicidal agent. Toning the skin after is good for some people.

*off soapbox now*

That is encouraging! We live in a toxic world, and you/your family are healthy.

I have only chosen shops where I can get in and get out quickly and always mask and sanitize. I have done a few outdoor restaurants, but no indoor locations. Many regular places I shop have pivoted to take out shops, which I will gladly complete. No COVID, thank goodness.

About the people flying this holiday, my daughter is on a plane right now coming home for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and Hannukah, and New Years and beyond. Many colleges like hers have closed this week not to re open until some time in January so all the out of state students are on planes these days flying home. She was very worried about the trip especially after seeing photos of crowded airports on TV but called from her airport tonight to tell me it was a ghost town.
I have only done post office shops and stopped doing the one near me where they have one clerk and an hours wait on line. So far so good. Hoping to make it unscathed through the holidays to the hope of a vaccine early next year. The end of this pandemic is finally seeming a probability and not just a hope.

We flew last Monday (substantially before the holiday) with no problem. Return home on the Monday after Thanksgiving, when I hope the majority of the holiday travelers have already passed through.

My spouse works in administration at an airport. The more people travel, the more reports come in with employees testing positive. The airport knows there will be a spike in employee infections in a few weeks based on previous ratios of travel to infections. I know people who are sick right now with Covid. These same people complained about wearing mask, and often would not be wearing one even when it was required (but not enforced) at a place we would be at the same time occasionally. I always kept my distance (usually in a different area of the building). One of them continued to go to a gym when allowed. Anyway, you can't be too careful. I am convinced the more you place yourselves in high risk situations, it is just a matter of time before you get it. Look at how many no mask wearing White House events occurred before everybody started getting infected.

I don't live my life in fear, never have and never will. I look at actual science and talk to professionals who are on the frontlines. Personal I will only where masks at stores that won't let you in without one and enforce it assuming I need something in that store I can't get elsewhere where I don't have to put my health at risk by wearing a mask. I don't wish to argue on this with anyone. I put this too links up to back up my opinion with fact based high level science. If I need to make money and do a shop where the store or business enforcing it fine but it is very limited time and my choice. I wash my hands normal. I believe in allowing my immune system to work by being exposed to germs and building up immunity. Here is the science:
[www.healingwithouthurting.com]

[www.meehanmd.com]

@1forum1 wrote:

My spouse works in administration at an airport. The more people travel, the more reports come in with employees testing positive. The airport knows there will be a spike in employee infections in a few weeks based on previous ratios of travel to infections. I know people who are sick right now with Covid.

Son's roommate got on a plane with Coronavirus and was symptomatic. He also told nobody he was positive for 3 days. Super-spreader event unfolding right now. So far, 20+ direct contacts, over 100 known indirect contacts. All positive so far, no negative tests. Still waiting on many tests to come back in the next 24 hours

Thats just awful. How is your son?