Hi Gene, how’s your hygiene? Today is apparently Global Hand-washing Day, so it’s the ideal day on which to talk about my portable washing kit – and why it exists in the first place. I’ve always had a distrust of other people’s personal hand hygiene – and there are two particular examples that spring to mind of where that distrust brings itself to the fore:
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Tales from the pandumbic – part 10
Delivering danger to your (neighbour’s) door! Back in July, I purchased some items online from Asda, and at the final step, when faced with the delivery options, I chose a ‘named day’ for delivery. This costs a small amount more than standard delivery, but it ensures that the delivery will take place on the specified day. It meant I could select a day on which I would be home all day, rather than have the goods arrive when I’m not in. Well, that’s how it’s supposed to work in theory…
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 9
Don’t stand so close to me It’s already mandatory to wear masks or face coverings on public transport here in the UK, and from 24th July it will also be mandatory to wear them in shops – and after a trip to the shop a few days ago, that date can’t come around soon enough for me.
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 8
Fools and their social distance are soon parted I’ve just nipped to the shop to get some bread and a few other bits and pieces, and having gone around the store and picked up what I wanted, I headed for the checkout area. I reached the checkouts, and stopped at the appropriate line marking, just as someone else arrived ahead of me from another aisle. He went straight up to the belt and began unloading his shopping from the basket. That all sounds fine so far, doesn’t it?
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 7
The perils of popping to the postbox There are a number of different web-based portals for different industries that aim to connect suppliers with customers – be those customers end-users, or other businesses looking to use subcontractors. In the courier industry, there are several.
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 6
The disinfection deception In The Fomite Trap, I offered a simple explanation of what a fomite is – but to recap, a fomite is something on which traces of a virus can be deposited by someone who is infected, later to be picked up by someone else who is uninfected. The fomite trap I was talking about was an A4 plastic sleeve that people had to put their hands inside to retrieve other fomites, such as pens.
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 5
When the days roll into one Since the pandemic hit, and especially since the UK went into lockdown (such as that lockdown is), I’ve been looking on Facebook a lot more than I used to – and earlier this week when I did so I saw this photograph, posted by my sister, when my niece was about to start her online English lesson:
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 4
Communication confusion For some time now, the standard slogan we’ve been hearing and seeing from the government of the UK has been “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save Lives.”
Read MoreTales from the pandumbic – part 3
The fomite trap Before delving into this tale, it is important to understand that a ‘fomite’ is an object or surface, onto which a virus can be deposited by one person, and from which it can therefore be picked up by another, who may then go on to become infected if they – perhaps inadvertently – touch their face before washing their hands. And so we come to the fomite trap:
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