Subj : Isolation Diary To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Wed Apr 15 2020 10:01:00 Hi Nancy! > Here in Iowa the school closures have been extended through April 30th. > They local school boards are scrambling to find ways to get the Seniors > to graduate on time. MP>> Here they are doing distance learning (via the internet or some MP>> sort of computer lesson plans). In Indiana, they have closed out MP>> for the year and have promised that all Seniors who have kept up MP>> with their school work will get diplomas. BM> Hopefully Indiana's early closing doesn't cause problems: semester BM> hours (and the like) are based on so many clock hours in the classroom, BM> so they can't use that designation. Prior to this last term they BM> could, just for this last academic term they could not. I know, BM> technicalities, but. NB> Here in NY, there was an announcement/decree/whatever that the NB> hours stipulation would be waived for this school year.... it's NB> still unknown here whether or not school will reopen or just be NB> closed for the rest of the school year.... That waiver makes sense, plus it's not like just about everywhere else in the country isn't having the same problem. ...Did a quick bit of looking and appears Iowa is also allowing waivers at local discretion -- try to keep as close to established rules and regulations as possible but if need be do it. (Make sense.) > I didn't buy any fruit -- had some left from last week -- so I didn't > need to touch any of that. MP>> I have been craving oranges lately but am afraid to buy any fresh MP>> fruit or veg, even though it'd probably be good for me to do so. MP>> I am not real sure how one would sanitize one without poisoning MP>> oneself... it is not like you can take a clorox wipe to most MP>> fruit and veg without it being absorbed. :O BM> I've just been rinsing with a dish detergent. ...OK, a little BM> Google-fu: how to clean fruits and vegetables to remove viruses BM> USA Today: BM> https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2020/03/27/coronavirus-can-wa BM> s hing-produce-prevent-covid-19-spread/2901725001/ BM> Don't bleach the veggies or use chlorine on the fruit. No BM> disinfecting wipes or isopropyl alcohol, either. These are not safe BM> for human consumption and could make you sick. BM> And if you digest enough soap, it could be toxic. Soaps and BM> detergents are designed for washing hands or for washing dishes and BM> they're not designed for washing food. If you don't get it all off BM> it might cause an upset stomach. BM> Oops! Rinse well. Plus you mentioned oranges which have a peel. The BM> peel is removed and discarded. You'd want to clean the outside peel BM> even though being tossed away to not transfer any nasties on the BM> outside to your hands and consequently to the fruit inside. BM> Sort of same for melons: one discards the rind but cuts through it to BM> get the the inner flesh. BM> The main recommendation experts shared with USA TODAY along with BM> guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to BM> rinse produce under running water before eating it. NB> And that's what I've been doing.... just running water is pretty NB> efficient at cleaning things... :) And safer for you than the NB> more stringent sorts of cleaning, which have their place, but not NB> for food you are about to eat.... ;) There are times and places for everything! Using scouring powder doesn't make sense to clean food. Water alone doesn't seem enough though 'a quick rinse' is frequently all that is needed. A highly diluted dish or hand soap, rinsed under running water, seems like more than sufficient. BM> As for vegetables: "cooking vegetables would also 'take care of the BM> virus'." NB> Yup, that works too.... :) And one might cook some fruits as NB> well... :) Compote?! ...Not coming up with the word right now but a short stay of the fruit in boiling water is used to make removal of the outer layer easier. I don't know if hitting the fruit and vegetables with steam would work -- thinking the steamers sold some time back to clean stoves, kitchen counters, etc. BM> S.N.: I read maybe a month back where drinking something hot BM> (coffee, tea) will kill the virus in your mouth. I drink coffee in BM> the morning anyway; in winter like to have tea in the afternoon (no, BM> not just at 4 o'clock!). NB> Hmmm... a nice ginger tea would probably be pretty effective, NB> too... :) Plus healthy! ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... PHYSICALLY PFFFFFT! --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .