Corona Virus Now Spreading

LTS3

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What is your opinion on health care workers, especially those who work in hospitals, wearing their scrubs outside of work to run errands, get lunch, ride public transportation, etc? They're potentially exposing the general public to viruses, bacteria, and germs through their scrubs / work clothes.
 

artiemom

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What is your opinion on health care workers, especially those who work in hospitals, wearing their scrubs outside of work to run errands, get lunch, ride public transportation, etc? They're potentially exposing the general public to viruses, bacteria, and germs through their scrubs / work clothes.
When I was working, I wore hospital scrubs, which I took home to wash. That was way before Covid.

The hospital began a policy of not being able to wear the hospital issued scrubbed outside of the hospital. They started issuing color coded scrubs per department. I do not really know the purpose of color coding scrubs...
I would think that rule is now in effect in all the hospitals. At least, I would hope it is.

As far as PPE, The staff is well covered for contagious patients. I can imagine what the protocols are now as far as cleanliness. I have visited doctors and dentists offices since the pandemic began, and I feel safe. I know what the safety measure they are going through, to keep the virus at bay, and to keep everyone safe.

But, with Covid, I think I would change my clothes, every day while I was in work. I would take
"transit" clothing, change into scrubs when I got into work, and change before I went home, putting the used scrubs in the hospital laundry. I would also throw my transit clothes into my home laundry, and jump into the shower, immediately when I got home.

I understand where you are coming from, and your concern.. It is a valid one. I really do not know what the answer to it is. Health care workers should have transit clothes... but as far as going out for lunch, coffee, a quick trip to get a snack, lunch, etc.... it is complicated.

Honestly, I do not feel there is that much of a risk associated with their clothing... unless they have been exposed to bodily fluids. In that case, an immediate change of clothes is required... but on the whole, I do not feel there is an increased risk associated with this...
At least not anymore than that of taking public transportation to work... I think as long was we are following proper guidelines, masks, etc.....

It is a no win situation... Health Care workers are exposed to so much, are so limited with free time.. I am sure scrubs are in short supply, also......Some areas, I am sure, will be required to change into clean scrubs upon exiting the area...

Hospitals have strict contamination guidelines. I would not be overly concerned about it..

I guess I am rambling... need some coffee
 

Joan M

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I would think most, if not all, hospitals have this pretty much covered. I spoke with someone a couple of months ago who works in a hospital with COVID patients and asked if he felt safe at work. He said there are so many safeguards in place, he feels far safer at work than he does going to the grocery store.
 

LTS3

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I see scrubs as PPE. I can see wearing clean scrubs to work but not dirty scrubs to grab lunch or to go home. I wear scrubs at work (I work in a research lab, not in the medical field) and scrubs aren't allowed to be worn outside of the facility because of concerns of spreading contamination and pathogens. Changing out of scrubs is required if you are leaving the facility for any reason (going to get lunch, a meeting, etc). Some places require a full shower and clothing change before leaving. The only exception is if the building is evacuated for an emergency. This is true for many labs across industry.

:2cents:
 

pearl99

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Agree with above. When I worked in the hospital with contagious type patients we always wore PPE when ordered and changed between patients. I always kept a spare clean uniform in my locker in case of getting bodily fluids on my uniform.
In the ICU they provided us with scrubs which we changed into and out of at the beginning and end of shift and if needed during.
In homecare I wore my own scrubs and again had spares in my car for when needed, and used PPE when needed.
And of course changed clothes when getting home.
I never had time to go out for lunch or errands because sometimes did charting during lunch, and often took a short lunch because of the workload.
I think the risk is quite low because healthcare workers are aware of all this and do what is needed to not spread contamination.
 

pearl99

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Oh the other thing I forgot to mention is every job I had that had patient contact as a nurse we only got 30 minutes for lunch, so there was no time to go out for lunch. I think that’s probably still true for hospital jobs.
 

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Yesterday I was at the vet for the first time since everything started. Back in May/June they were doing curbside service. Now they're completely back to normal---no masks, everybody in the exam room, etc. They do try to keep appointments so that there isn't a crowd in the waiting area, but they always do that because their waiting area is small. I swear there's gonna be an explosion of cases in this state and everybody will be like "uh, we don't know how this happened".
 

mightyboosh

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There is now a 3k fine for people who refuse to wear masks here in the UK:
They were chatting about this on the LBC radio channel and were saying that only 30 or so people have been fined so far for not wearing a mask, which if true is negligible. In other words, no one is policing it so a heftier fine won't make any difference.
It's just what I heard so maybe worth an opinion or two on here.
 

denice

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In Ohio they aren't required for kids under 10 but I think most kids will wear one if the parents approach it right. I know some kids are more oppositional then others but most kids will respond to some variation of the grown ups are wearing them and you are getting to be a big boy or girl. Add to that having a mask with a favorite character or animal on it and most kids will wear one without making it a huge battle. Of course I wouldn't put a mask on a baby.
 

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Masks required for over age 2 in IL. Maybe 2 and up. Definitely by 3! I haven't seen a lot of kids in the grocery store, but they do seem to be wearing masks when I do see them.
 

MoonstoneWolf

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My husband, two boys, and I have all been exposed to somebody with Covid19 (not the same person). None of us has gotten it. We only found out they had it AFTER we were around them!!

What shocks me is stuff I hear on this forum. About how vets aren't open or other "essential" businesses aren't open. I had no idea that some countries or US states were dealing with this. I can't imagine not being able to go take my cats to the vets in an emergency. Or not being able to be seen by a doctor. In Maryland where I live, we only have a couple "hot" spots and they are no where near me. In my community, we come and go as we please pretty much. You'd never know anything was going on except for the masks and even then, if somebody isn't wearing one, nobody says anything.
I would kind of think that at this stage all of us have in one way or another been exposed to it. It's now what? 7 months. 8 months? I find it hard to believe that in this amount of time grocery shopping and other essential trips we haven't been around others who had it or carried it. Especially if it spreads as quickly or even quicker then what they claim.
 

denice

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t am sure at some point I have gotten it on my hands, that is how widespread it is where I live. So far either all the handwashing and hand sanitizer has done it's job or if I got some of it in my respiratory tract it has been a small enough amount that it didn't take hold.
 

DreamerRose

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I would kind of think that at this stage all of us have in one way or another been exposed to it. It's now what? 7 months. 8 months? I find it hard to believe that in this amount of time grocery shopping and other essential trips we haven't been around others who had it or carried it. Especially if it spreads as quickly or even quicker then what they claim.
We may not have been exposed as much as you think. In a previous post, I mentioned that quoted data is cumulative, not current. In my town, only 112 people out of 100,000 people have active Covid-19, which is 1% of the local population. If those 100 people are quarantined, my chances of coming into contact with them is slight. Here's a new type of dashboard. It differentiates between cases 14 days old and those within the past 14 days.

Covid-19 in Naperville
 
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