Coronavirus

[Constantbee]

As we are a small and sensible (?) bunch here on the Forum, I hope I won't be accused of starting another wave of panic buying by saying that isopropyl alcohol is the main ingredient of hand-sanitizer, and that it can be bought online easily. It is not in a gel form, just a thin clear liquid, but it should o the trick. Use at your own risk. Don't resort to drinking the stuff in a fit of gloom!

e had a go at making our own sanitizer the other day: 3:1 isopropyl alcohol to aloe vera gel. Didn’t work very well. Turned out lumpy because the aloe vera didn’t dissolve. Back to the drawing board

I already use isopropyl alchohol (C3H80) on a lint free cloth to hygienically clean keyboards and touch screens. All the evidence says it's the best thing for the job. Lint free means the cloth doesn’t give up any fluff when it’s used btw. Years of working on disgustingly gunky keyboards up and down the country in offices where you daren’t open the fridge door in case something green and weird creeps out and strangles you left me with an aversion to the unknown

And did you know … I also use C3H80 on a similar lint free cloth to buff up old 12 inch vinyl LP’s. It’s very effective at removing the accumulated dust of ages from the grooves

[muzzer]

Any recommended makes?

[Petrushka]

The Guardian has provided a list of cultural events cancelled due to Coronovirus.

Scroll down a bit for the classical ones

It's an ill wind...

The Berlin Philharmonie is closed until March 31 but live concerts are continuing without an audience. What's more the Digital Concert Hall is free.

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DCH-Newsletter%2012032020%20%20EN&utm_content=DCH-Newsletter%2012032020%20%20EN+Version+A+CID_55843f93f19763272c4aaee79c2dc4f8&utm_source=Email%20Newsletter

[Dave2002]

e had a go at making our own sanitizer the other day: 3:1 isopropyl alcohol to aloe vera gel. Didn’t work very well. Turned out lumpy because the aloe vera didn’t dissolve. Back to the drawing board

Is there anything wrong with soap? One antipodean expert reckons that regular soap is pretty much the best stuff to use anyway. However, if you want something to carry round with you, then maybe gel is a good idea, though if water is available you could take a bar of soap.

[Serial_Apologist]

I have been telling myself that the British are much more level-headed than most countries and that there's still a vestigial 'we can take it' ethos left over from WW2. Then I walked into my local supermarket a couple of hours ago and immediately saw a sign asking people not to plunder the shelves and hoard food. Too late - people have stripped them bare of rice, pasta, beans etc.

There should be a limitation imposed to 2 only of any product in all retail outlets for a designated period of a month, say.

[Bryn]

Seems to me this mught just be needed:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/301397

[johnb]

I bought a couple of commercial 1 Ltr Rubbermaid 75% alcohol hand rub refill bags from the UK Rubbermaid website. They are intended for use in wall mounted dispensers but the valve can be unscrewed so they can be used to fill empty standard 250ml liquid soap pump action bottles.

I was interested to learn that the new guidance is not to call 111 when someone has a cough and high temperature but to self isolate for seven days and only contact 111 if symptoms worsen, etc. The somewhat alarming thing is that these people will not get tested for Covid-19 so there will be no data on the spread of the infection.

Incidentally, a chap from PHE was interviewed on Newsnight and said that people with Covid-19 are not infectious before they start exhibiting symptoms. This contradicts what other people have been saying.

[Constantbee]

Any recommended makes?

It doesn't seem to be sold under a brand name, but is freely available as ISO Propanol Alcohol IPA, under different strengths. It's not expensive and a little goes a long way. hth.

[Constantbee]

Is there anything wrong with soap?

That would be my cleanser of choice, but for hard surfaces it's not practical, that's all.

[Darkbloom]

That would be my cleanser of choice, but for hard surfaces it's not practical, that's all.

White vinegar is an excellent disinfectant and all-purpose cleaner. Mix it with water in a spray bottle.

[johnb]

Today I attended a (semi-)mobile Intravitreal Clinic for an eye scan and injection (Wet AMD). I sort of expected hand sanitizers beind placed everywhere and people expected to use them. I didn't see any.

[LHC]

Today I attended a (semi-)mobile Intravitreal Clinic for an eye scan and injection (Wet AMD). I sort of expected hand sanitizers beind placed everywhere and people expected to use them. I didn't see any.

Well, people have been stealing them from hospitals, so perhaps they had hidden them away.

With regard to panic buying, the supermarkets near me seem to be stocked as usual, and I received my weekly internet shop yesterday with no problems, and with everything in stock, including toilet roll, so it may be regional thing.

[Dave2002]

That would be my cleanser of choice, but for hard surfaces it's not practical, that's all.

I hadn't realised we'd moved on to "deep cleaning" yet. I expect any number of regular household cleaners would do the job for surfaces, though it could be hard to decide which surfaces to clean. Maybe table tops and hand rails would be ones to tackle first, if concerned. Othewise hope that time wold take its toll, and degrade any viral components which fell on surfaces.

Just to return briefly to soap - here is the article which claims it is effective as almost anything else - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/de...=pocket-newtab

[muzzer]

Thank you, most helpful on the isopropyl. I didn’t know white vinegar disinfected as well. What a marvellous substance. Dirt cheap too.

On the wider subject of this virus, it’s most worrying, if unsurprising, that this government seems set on a “smarter than the other guys” approach. If in a month’s time the hospitals can’t cope and there’s no full data on infection rates such as I imagine is needed to plan proper emergency provision, then I shudder to think what will happen at large.

Invisible enemies are the scariest.

[Joseph K]

Seems to me this mught just be needed:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/301397