I made a mistake

I really hate to say I was wrong but I was wrong. My friend, Jocelyne in Oakland, after reading yesterday’s blog, sent me a wonderful article: Flattening the Curve: A Conversation About the Pandemic With an Epidemiologist and Infection Control Specialist by Boaz Hepner. https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/blogs/312890/a-conversation-about-the-pandemic-with-an-epidemiologist-and-infection-control-specialist/ It is a long read but worth every minute. Boaz lives in Los Angeles and the epidemiologist that he interviews is also in Los Angeles. She says a number of times that her answers pertain to that area and the timing is not the same for every area of the world.

I can sum up her advice in a one sentence: wash your hands often and don’t touch your face. The wearing of gloves she says is not only not necessary but can actually make things worse. She emphasised that the virus is transmitted by droplets. The droplets are heavy and do not stay in the air. They quickly fall to the ground. So the keeping 6 feet distance almost insures that even if a person sneezes or coughs and doesn’t do it in an elbow, it won’t go that distance. She says the virus stays on paper an hour or two and both the mail and packages are packed a couple of days before arrival. She agrees that the virus will stick to door handles and elevator buttons but their life is a couple of hours. If you touch either without wearing gloves: wash your hands and don’t touch your face. Wear a mask only if you are sick and absolutely have to go out–there is no alternative. But the N95 that everyone is after is pretty useless, she adds. A good mask should seal off you nose and mouth.

Read the article, I believe you will be well-informed by a scientist and not have to continue to read opinions from people like me!!!

My friend, Barbara here in Paris, asks why I titled yesterday’s blog: Day 20. She rightly said the confinement started two weeks ago today which makes it Day 15. I said Day 20 because a week before Macron imposed ‘le confinement’, he asked all French people to stay indoors, wash their hands and stay 2 meters apart if they went out. I took it seriously. A lot of people didn’t. In fact, it’s been a month since I self-quaranteened when I got a cold. So in my mind, it’s Day 20 since we were first asked to voluntarily stay indoors!!! And now it’s day 21.

Thank you for your forgiveness. This is a very serious disease and I will be more careful what I write in this blog.

A bientôt,

Sara