Covid-19 and Our Pets

My point is that the CDC itself doesn't seem exactly sure of certain facts, how can they be sure? We are still flying blind with this virus. OTOH, you are expected to use common sense. The odds of being struck by lightning is very small. But the odds go waaaay up if you stand under a tree in the middle of a lightning storm.

Licking and kissing our dogs who lick and kiss everything they encounter while on walks is a lightning storm.

No argument there. If you observe where a dog's tongue goes you will not let it kiss or lick you. I'm close to my dog, but not that close.

cthia wrote:My point is that the CDC itself doesn't seem exactly sure of certain facts, how can they be sure? We are still flying blind with this virus. OTOH, you are expected to use common sense. The odds of being struck by lightning is very small. But the odds go waaaay up if you stand under a tree in the middle of a lightning storm.

Licking and kissing our dogs who lick and kiss everything they encounter while on walks is a lightning storm.

There reports out today that a Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo (New York City) has tested positive for Covid-19 and that up to six other big cats may also be ill.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52177586

The tiger is believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic employee. Asymptomatic people are problematic. It is lucky for them, but not so much for the people caught in their wake.

A bit of common sense . . .

It was unlikely Covid-19 would jump from bats to humans. Yet it did. How did it do so? I don't know for a fact, but I can speculate it was provided the perfect storm.

If it was able to "jump" from bats to humans, surely it can jump from dogs and cats to humans if given the perfect storm. We aren't nearly as close to bats as we are to our pets. Engagingly close. Licking and kissing our pets who are infected or who have just licked something infected is the perfect storm . . .

Virus: How can I get to that human from this dog. I can't "jump" that far. I need a bridge. Ahhh! You didn't tell me you would carry me there on your tongue. A tongue bridge! How quaint!"

We Americans keep such a close proximity to our pets. And there are millions of them here. We even interact with our neighbor's pets. We are the most prolific pet owners in the world. How many dogs are in China?

DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES

I was Lab Manager for an engineering firm for over 15 years. We had a department which was part of Hazmat's early response team. I'm certified to wear a full SCBA suit. I headed both environmental departments. Decontamination procedures are normal for me. Properly obtaining water samples w/o cross contamination and ruining the sample before you even test it, contains a rigorous, exacting number of steps. Contamination comes very easily. In my case as lab manager, only several thousand dollar tests were on the line. Now, lives are on the line.

I have cloth affixed to my outside door knobs with rubber bands. Cloth traps the virus.

Prepare an area in your home that will allow you to exercise proper methods.

I've got a separate sink used exclusively for this. Set up before going out, I placed a plastic bag over the faucet knobs and I make sure the faucet itself is where I want it so I don't have to touch it to swing it to where I want it.

You should be following CDC guidelines and wearing gloves and a mask. Place them on before leaving your home. Make sure your hands are completely dry before putting on gloves or masks. Grab your keys at the last minute before exiting. Touch as few objects as possible on your "necessary" trip.

Remember, anything you touch may be or can become infected. Most cash registers are touch pads which work with thin gloves on.

Returning home, enter house with gloves. Carefully remove one glove with the other, being mindful NOT to tear it or touch the inside of the glove. Discard in a safe place. (Not your regular trash receptacle. Kids and yourself may go in there looking for something. Besides, you don't want to leave infectious materials in your home.) Pretend both gloves are contaminated. With one finger of the clean hand, place the finger carefully INSIDE the remaining glove, careful not to touch the outside of the glove which may be contaminated, then slowly pull off and discard. Wash hands immediately.

Also, your keys may have become contaminated. Have a preplanned place to set your keys until they can be properly decontaminated, using gloves along with warm soapy water.

Keep keys in a safe place. Do not touch keys with bare hands before decontamination.

AVOID TOUCHING FACE BEFORE PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

Good advice cthia. A couple of points though. Don't wash a modern vehicle remote in warm soapy water. Maybe carefully wipe it with an alcohol wipe?
My overall solution is simpler. Lock our front gate that is 200 metres from the house, don't go out, or accept visitors for several months. Get groceries and such delivered to that gate, leave them in sunshine, then wipe them with a soapy water solution.
We do have the advantage of having a big old house in eight acres of beautiful woodland and gardens to occupy us.

Daryl wrote:Good advice cthia. A couple of points though. Don't wash a modern vehicle remote in warm soapy water. Maybe carefully wipe it with an alcohol wipe?
My overall solution is simpler. Lock our front gate that is 200 metres from the house, don't go out, or accept visitors for several months. Get groceries and such delivered to that gate, leave them in sunshine, then wipe them with a soapy water solution.
We do have the advantage of having a big old house in eight acres of beautiful woodland and gardens to occupy us.

I suppose an alcohol wipe will do. I'm just not certain how well alcohol itself will work. In my field, a wash is used beforehand using distilled water. Then an alcohol bath. Distilled water is not necessary here, of course, but I'm not certain some sort of wash isn't.

The solution in my social circle is to wrap the remote in a thin layer of clear plastic, affixed with scotch tape at the back. Remove the possibly contaminated plastic properly after returning home. Prepared before you leave the house.

IF you cannot do without the remote altogether.

Daryl wrote:Good advice cthia. A couple of points though. Don't wash a modern vehicle remote in warm soapy water. Maybe carefully wipe it with an alcohol wipe?
My overall solution is simpler. Lock our front gate that is 200 metres from the house, don't go out, or accept visitors for several months. Get groceries and such delivered to that gate, leave them in sunshine, then wipe them with a soapy water solution.
We do have the advantage of having a big old house in eight acres of beautiful woodland and gardens to occupy us.

I guess that is the UV in the sunshine
- how long does that take [seconds, minutes, hours?]
- what about cloudy days - how much is the UV reduced?


[EDIT]
Just been looking this up. Turns out that the answer is probably don't bother.

- UVA & UVB get thru ozone layer but don't seem to do the biz
- UVC would do the biz [with sufficient amount], but is stopped by ozone layer - fortunately for us!!
- UVC is being used in specialist purposes [cleaning buses] in enclosed, people free, areas!!

this is quite a good article on subject
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200327-can-you-kill-coronavirus-with-uv-light

Funny that, because repairing the "hole in the ozone layer" is a work in progress, it turns out that solar UV is stronger in the Southern Hemisphere than the north. Possibly ten times more, research is still going on as to how long is needed. In many modern vehicles the remote also is needed to deactivate the engine immobilizer (double negative, I know), so it's not just a convenience. In a worst case you may find that the remote is close enough to allow you to start the car, you go across town and stop it, later on it won't start to come home.

Adding to the DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES above.

Wash clothing immediately after going out. I wear all white, because I plan to use bleach.

Tip: Smartphones will operate from a ziplock freezer bag. Place the mic at the end of bag that opens, in case you need to talk. Bags with the slide knob to open are better, they are easier to open wearing gloves. I carry as less stuff with me as possible. I pay with a bank card which I keep in a ziplock bag as well. I leave my wallet at home. I handle the bank card by the edges only and wipe it down after each use.

DO NOT TAKE UNNECESSARY PHONE CALLS WHEN OUT. IF YOU MUST TAKE A CALL, USE THE SPEAKERPHONE IF YOU CAN. YOUR HANDS MUST REMAIN AWAY FROM YOUR FACE.

I saw a woman walking her dog the other day. She had no gloves or mask. The worst thing is she was not paying attention to her dog because she was busy with her smartphone. Surfing, texting, whatever. Her dog stopped and licked something someone discarded. Then he found what appeared to be a piece of a burger. When she realized what was going on, she took it out of his mouth and took a few scolding whacks at her dog, right in his mouth. The poor dog didn't know what he did wrong. She probably allowed him to do these same things before the pandemic. She's angry at the dog. The dog should be angry at her. Now her hands are contaminated for certain, as is her phone with doggy saliva. Hopefully not contaminated with Covid-19.

Ignorant humans create the perfect storm.

My dog stays home. No more walks until this thing is over. He is limited to his own yard.