Adding my location :-) - Just curious - getting take out food during Covid-19

[SereneHome]

On 6/1/2020 at 11:49 AM, mlktwins said:

I'm not trying to start anything - I promise.  Just curious if people are eating out/getting take out or just cooking at home?

Please keep in mind, that we are the only support right now for my 85 year old dad and the main support for my 93 year old in-laws, so we have been extra careful with all of this.

We have not eaten anything from a restaurant since before March 13th.  If we did, we already know to be really careful with containers, etc. coming into the home.

But...is anyone worried about getting take-out at all?  I'm curious for us too, but my 93 year old in-laws are really, really wanting a meal from Long Horn Steakhouse.  My FIL talks about it all the time.  We have been buying their groceries (wiping them down and everything) so they are well fed.  I have also been making them some meals.  But...they ask about this every time we talk to them.  I guess, with their age, we haven't felt safe because I don't know what the people handling the food are actually doing when they cook.  I see so many people touching theirs masks all the time, moving them up and down, and then touching things. 

Anyway, any information is welcome :-). 

Adding my location to see if it makes a difference :-)!  I live in Northern Virginia, which currently has 40% of the cases in our state and my county has the 2nd highest number of cases in the state. Our positives are rising, but we have are doing a lot of testing at the moment.   

I was an eating-out addict.  We haven't done ANY take outs since March 11th. At all! We had a huge town campaign going about supporting local restaurants, but I just couldn't.

I just don't trust it. I see how people handle their masks and their faces. I am sure it's no different than what they were doing before Covid, but for some reason I just don't want to take any chances now.

I am beginning to forget what my favorite Panera sandwich tastes like 😞  On a side note - our grocery budget has trippled since March

[dsmith]

We are overly cautious, but we've had a Covid-19 death. We only order food that can be reheated when it gets here. No salads or sandwiches that can't be heated. The deli up the street from us has a great Friday night meal deal - 4 huge pieces of chicken parm, a half-tray of penne vodka, 5 really large meatballs and a loaf of semolina bread, for $31.95. We get it about every other week. They drop it at our door, we immediately remove the plastic covers from the aluminum trays and put foil over, or if it is in plastic containers switch it over to an oven safe dish, wrap the bread in foil, and heat for about 10 minutes at about 300 degrees. If we order pizza we throw the boxes in the oven for 10 minutes or so. It took a few weeks before we would consider ordering food in. Many people we know do order salads, etc. and don't switch the containers or reheat. The rates in our area have continued to go down but we are in one of the early hot spots in the country. (Bergen County NJ) In general I have seen many people starting to relax the rules, maybe too much. There have been parties, people seeing friends without masks, etc. We will probably be the last in our county to relax our guard...

[ktgrok]

15 hours ago, Pen said:

 

Well, heating masks to 170 F in oven is supposed to deactivate virus, so I would think that bringing fries or baked potatoes or ? and steaks back up to hot in a 350 F oven would be pretty good to deactivate virus too. 

Not so helpful for salad.  

Id go for soup options if any , and make salads at home. 

Good point. Heating it up would make me feel better. 

Of course, what I want is an iced Americano or a Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew with Sweet Cream, lol. 

1 hour ago, SereneHome said:

I was an eating-out addict.  We haven't done ANY take outs since March 11th. At all! We had a huge town campaign going about supporting local restaurants, but I just couldn't.

I just don't trust it. I see how people handle their masks and their faces. I am sure it's no different than what they were doing before Covid, but for some reason I just don't want to take any chances now.

I am beginning to forget what my favorite Panera sandwich tastes like 😞  On a side note - our grocery budget has trippled since March

Yeah, our grocery budget went way up, between Shipt costing more, tips for every delivery, and never eating out. 

[QueenCat]

On 6/1/2020 at 3:53 PM, mlktwins said:

OP here!  I updated my original post with our location to see if that changes anything.

Adding my location to see if it makes a difference :-)!  I live in Northern Virginia, which currently has 40% of the cases in our state and my county has the 2nd highest number of cases in the state.  Our positives are rising, but we have are doing a lot of testing at the moment.

Even with that, I would get the Longhorn for them. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

7 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Good point. Heating it up would make me feel better. 

Of course, what I want is an iced Americano or a Starbucks Nitro Cold Brew with Sweet Cream, lol. 

Yeah, our grocery budget went way up, between Shipt costing more, tips for every delivery, and never eating out. 

I have gone to Starbucks a couple of times lately for iced drinks. 

[Terabith]

2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

I have gone to Starbucks a couple of times lately for iced drinks. 

I mean, I'm more cautious than anyone I know in real life but less cautious than some on this board.  But, given what we know of transmission through surfaces, I think the absolute risk from Starbucks is quite low.  I mean, it's not zero, but it's a risk level I'd be comfortable with if, you know, I drank coffee.  

[Pen]

Your MIL is ill with CV19 or something else or you don’t know?

whatever it is I hope she will be okay and that your FIL and others won’t catch it.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Just now, Terabith said:

I mean, I'm more cautious than anyone I know in real life but less cautious than some on this board.  But, given what we know of transmission through surfaces, I think the absolute risk from Starbucks is quite low.  I mean, it's not zero, but it's a risk level I'd be comfortable with if, you know, I drank coffee.  

I don’t drink coffee but their Guava  Iced White Tea (with half the sugar) is quite tasty. 

[Terabith]

2 minutes ago, Pen said:

Your MIL is ill with CV19 or something else or you don’t know?

whatever it is I hope she will be okay and that your FIL and others won’t catch it.

I thought she said that she fell?

[Shoeless]

I've gotten McDonalds once and some wrapped to-go brisket sandwiches from Bucees once.  Restaurants are terrible around here.  If they were of better quality, I'd have gone a bit more often. 

Get your elders some Longhorn if that is what they are craving. It's very low-risk and will bring them great joy. 

[ktgrok]

Ok, so...back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not? Thats my sincere question. 

Also, it isn't an official item, but for those who are low carb and want something summery, the "pink drink" made from the passion iced tea, vanilla sugar free syrup, and cream, is amazing. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

We went through Wendy's drive thru a couple of times; this was when all employees wore masks and gloves and all of the extra cleaning precautions were in place. Once the precautions became lax and we saw employees with no PPE, we stopped going there. When we had to go out-of-town, we went through Chik-Fil-A drive thru. That was a wonderful experience and I had no worries about safety. Everyone had PPE and employees were actively cleaning all work spaces. I also ordered special crepes from a local restaurant for my daughter for Mother's Day.  My DS ordered from the local Applebees once after it reopened for curbside service.

As you can see, we haven't ordered much. It's a source of guilt for me as every day there are requests to support local and chain restaurants to help them maintain economic viability.

[Joker]

I don’t understand all the whys behind it, but it truly seems like take out food is extremely low risk. When we were at the beginning of this, a worker at the local Chick fil A ended up getting Covid. We didn’t have a surge of cases from it even though it is just as packed as all the Chick fil A’s.  I was honestly worried but nothing came of it. It’s partly why I started feeling more relaxed about getting take out food. I haven’t heard of it being an issue anywhere.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

Ok, so...back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not? Thats my sincere question. 

Also, it isn't an official item, but for those who are low carb and want something summery, the "pink drink" made from the passion iced tea, vanilla sugar free syrup, and cream, is amazing. 

I’m on Team Just Say No, having just yesterday finished “reading” (On Audible) “The Great Influenza,” where (spoiler alert), scientist Paul Lewis died of Yellow Fever, which he was studying, after smoking a contaminated cigarette. Holy freaking germ transmission, Batman! (This is non-fiction, BTW.) 

[Joker]

I will say that Starbucks would bother me because it’s all sippy cup lids now. I would take the drink home and put it in my own cup. Drinks with straws that I unwrap don’t bother me but the sippy cup does give me pause.

[ktgrok]

26 minutes ago, Quill said:

I’m on Team Just Say No, having just yesterday finished “reading” (On Audible) “The Great Influenza,” where (spoiler alert), scientist Paul Lewis died of Yellow Fever, which he was studying, after smoking a contaminated cigarette. Holy freaking germ transmission, Batman! (This is non-fiction, BTW.) 

Yeah. I mean, I get it is lower risk than many things. And for hot foods I can reheat, sure. 

But for cold stuff, like my coffee desire, I just can't bring myself to do it. I got as far as the drive through line the other day. Then saw the prices. I realized that I'd be waiting in line for 5-10 minutes for the priviledge of paying $5 for a small cold brew coffee that could potentially put my family in the hospital. When I could go home and with zero wait time make one for less than $1 without risking a deadly virus. 

At that point, even at low risk, it just made no sense, to me, in that moment, to get it. I got out of line and went home and used my Nespresso to make myself an iced americano. I also added some cans of the Nitro Cold Brew to my next online order (it isn't nearly as good as the fresh stuff...don't bother, lol). 

Now, were I going to be out a long time, and got super thirsty, I'd maybe get something, and wipe down or use hand sanitizer on the cup, and a fresh straw. But that still leaves the question of if the virus were in the coffee, and contacting my mouth. So...bleh. 

And I'm probably on the far end of normal on this anyway, as since my son's celiac diagnosis we don't eat out or order out hardly ever anyway due to cross contamination plus picky eater. He's gotten sick from the two places he actually likes (Olive Garden and Pizza Hut) so kind of pointless. Plus gluten free stuff doesn't hold up well over time in my experience. 

[ktgrok]

10 minutes ago, Joker said:

I will say that Starbucks would bother me because it’s all sippy cup lids now. I would take the drink home and put it in my own cup. Drinks with straws that I unwrap don’t bother me but the sippy cup does give me pause.

Huh, last I was there (which granted was months ago now) it was still straw lids for an iced americano, sippy lid for cold brew with cold foam. but...I prefer a straw so I don't drink all the foam first, so I just ask for that kind of lid/cup. But i"m not in an area that is big on getting rid of straws. (which honestly, not to derail, but a plastic cup and lid are not exactly environmentally friendly to start with, wasn't sure why the straw was the one part that was a big deal)

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Ktgrok said:

Ok, so...back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not? Thats my sincere question. 

Also, it isn't an official item, but for those who are low carb and want something summery, the "pink drink" made from the passion iced tea, vanilla sugar free syrup, and cream, is amazing. 

 

I would currently only go with what can be reheated or cleaned. 

Or for cold drinks on the go,  things in bottles where I can clean the bottle off. 

[Pen]

Straws:

Our area got rid of plastic straws and I don’t have a personal reusable straw.  I’m not sure if I’d consider an iced drink in a cup with straw while out with a personal straw currently.  The virus seems known to survive well in frozen conditions. 

Some cases have manifested with gastrointestinal symptoms and I don’t know if we know that it cannot start out by attaching to ACE2 receptors in digestive tract. Has research been done on that? 

[mumto2]

2 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Ok, so...back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not? Thats my sincere question. 

Also, it isn't an official item, but for those who are low carb and want something summery, the "pink drink" made from the passion iced tea, vanilla sugar free syrup, and cream, is amazing. 

Ok, you just gave Dh and I a conversation starter as we pick our way through what we are willing and unwilling to “partake” in.  I think the hand touching mouth is referring to the discussion on the church/communion thread.  That is what hubby and I discussed.   Fwiw, While living in England a C of E was my family’s place of worship for many years.

Our conclusions........

The hand touching or being very close to your mouth gives us pause because it is going to be near many other exhaling mouths at almost the same time.  So if I am first in line and the hand is clean at that moment I am close to it I am fine with it.  That said every single person who goes before me increases my risk because the more people who exhale on the hand giving the wafer the higher my risk.  If hands are being cleaned between each family group the risk diminishes.  My concern is making sure the hand is clean.

Now your cold drink......let’s say it got coughed into so CV virus are inside the liquid and on the packaging.  The risk is probably in what you do with your now infected hands not the consumption of the actual cold drink.  Do you never set it on a surface and touch the surface to your nose,  Do you wash your hands after consuming and never touch your face............Because you are consuming not breathing in the virus you really should not be able to catch it from your ice tea going into your mouth to your digestive track.  I will admit you could somehow inhale/ choke while drinking and take the virus into you lungs but that is slim. I don’t want to consume the virus and take the risk......but this is our conclusion. 😉

We have been and will continue to be selective in where we do our pick up.  I am still having it placed in my trunk btw.  We have only used small businesses where we are confident about precautions.  We are ordering things that are not damaged by reheating.  I put it in the oven in my dishes when I get home for at least 10 minutes at 300.  I clean all surfaces, my hands etc after handling the packaging. For pizza I ask that it not be cut,  move it on to my pizza pans and reheated.  Cut it myself.

Edited June 3, 2020 by mumto2

[mlktwins]

9 hours ago, Pen said:

Your MIL is ill with CV19 or something else or you don’t know?

whatever it is I hope she will be okay and that your FIL and others won’t catch it.

Thank you!  No CV19 - she fell at home.  She seems to be good.  Just a little mini crisis :-)!

 

[mlktwins]

9 hours ago, Terabith said:

I thought she said that she fell?

Thank you.  Yes, she fell.  All seems well at the moment.  Just a mini crisis :-).

 

[SereneHome]

So I completely gave up on trying to understand all the science behind this stupid virus or trying to keep up with any recommendations or trying to figure out what's safe and what's not. The way I am approaching is with paranoid optimism. i can survive without take out food (although if you asked me this back in Jan I would have probably faint at the idea), so why take a chance of having another pair or three of hands touching something that will be coming inside of my house or my body. Do I think we'll get Covid from my favorite Panera sandwich? I am thinking not. But again, I can survive without it for now.

Although I think now is much safer to be venturing into the world than let's say 6 months from  now. Now most people are still diligent enough. But that will wear it out soon and my guess is a month from now, it won't be as "safe". I could be wrong, I've been wrong before

[Spryte]

2 minutes ago, SereneHome said:

So I completely gave up on trying to understand all the science behind this stupid virus or trying to keep up with any recommendations or trying to figure out what's safe and what's not. The way I am approaching is with paranoid optimism. i can survive without take out food (although if you asked me this back in Jan I would have probably faint at the idea), so why take a chance of having another pair or three of hands touching something that will be coming inside of my house or my body. Do I think we'll get Covid from my favorite Panera sandwich? I am thinking not. But again, I can survive without it for now.

Although I think now is much safer to be venturing into the world than let's say 6 months from  now. Now most people are still diligent enough. But that will wear it out soon and my guess is a month from now, it won't be as "safe". I could be wrong, I've been wrong before

“Paranoid optimism.”  I love that!  Can I steal it?

[ktgrok]

33 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

 

Now your cold drink......let’s say it got coughed into so CV virus are inside the liquid and on the packaging.  The risk is probably in what you do with your now infected hands not the consumption of the actual cold drink.  

But why do we think this? 

If I touch the coughed on package, and then touch my mouth, why is that a risk, but the coughed on liquid in my mouth is not a risk?

[KungFuPanda]

21 hours ago, dsmith said:

We are overly cautious, but we've had a Covid-19 death. We only order food that can be reheated when it gets here. No salads or sandwiches that can't be heated. The deli up the street from us has a great Friday night meal deal - 4 huge pieces of chicken parm, a half-tray of penne vodka, 5 really large meatballs and a loaf of semolina bread, for $31.95. We get it about every other week. They drop it at our door, we immediately remove the plastic covers from the aluminum trays and put foil over, or if it is in plastic containers switch it over to an oven safe dish, wrap the bread in foil, and heat for about 10 minutes at about 300 degrees. If we order pizza we throw the boxes in the oven for 10 minutes or so. It took a few weeks before we would consider ordering food in. Many people we know do order salads, etc. and don't switch the containers or reheat. The rates in our area have continued to go down but we are in one of the early hot spots in the country. (Bergen County NJ) In general I have seen many people starting to relax the rules, maybe too much. There have been parties, people seeing friends without masks, etc. We will probably be the last in our county to relax our guard...

DH grew up and went to school there. We still get the magazine from his old high school. I don’t know how they’ve tracked us down through every move, but they’re diligent. 😂

[mlktwins]

3 hours ago, The Accidental Coach said:

We went through Wendy's drive thru a couple of times; this was when all employees wore masks and gloves and all of the extra cleaning precautions were in place. Once the precautions became lax and we saw employees with no PPE, we stopped going there. When we had to go out-of-town, we went through Chik-Fil-A drive thru. That was a wonderful experience and I had no worries about safety. Everyone had PPE and employees were actively cleaning all work spaces. I also ordered special crepes from a local restaurant for my daughter for Mother's Day.  My DS ordered from the local Applebees once after it reopened for curbside service.

As you can see, we haven't ordered much. It's a source of guilt for me as every day there are requests to support local and chain restaurants to help them maintain economic viability.

Yes, this is my concern.  I see people around here, and our cases are rising, and they are either not wearing masks or putting their hands all over their masks.  I've not seen it at a restaurant because I haven't been to one, but I'm not sure it will be any better.

 

[ktgrok]

and, our daily cases in my county yesterday doubled from what they were averaging. Kind of glad I didn't get the coffee. 

[mumto2]

21 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

But why do we think this? 

If I touch the coughed on package, and then touch my mouth, why is that a risk, but the coughed on liquid in my mouth is not a risk?

The virus sitting on your face could be inhaled putting it into your respiratory system........the digestive tract is essentially closed and leads to gastric acid.  Eyes and ears are also a vector.  

The virus on your face can be inhaled via the nose, enter their eyes......possibly the ears.  All of which are transmission points.  Entering via the mouth leads to gastric acid so it is dissolved.

I am going with safe into the mouth until someone gives me a reason to believe otherwise.  Honestly I posted this just to get others input. I haven’t been buying cold or hot drinks but really miss them.  Going to be honest and say we had a real debate regarding buying more ice cream in tubs from Publix recently....I cleaned my tubs outsides well.    I ran out of pre Covid ice cream......yogurt was another debate.  

Edited June 3, 2020 by mumto2

[mlktwins]

26 minutes ago, SereneHome said:

So I completely gave up on trying to understand all the science behind this stupid virus or trying to keep up with any recommendations or trying to figure out what's safe and what's not. The way I am approaching is with paranoid optimism. i can survive without take out food (although if you asked me this back in Jan I would have probably faint at the idea), so why take a chance of having another pair or three of hands touching something that will be coming inside of my house or my body. Do I think we'll get Covid from my favorite Panera sandwich? I am thinking not. But again, I can survive without it for now.

Although I think now is much safer to be venturing into the world than let's say 6 months from  now. Now most people are still diligent enough. But that will wear it out soon and my guess is a month from now, it won't be as "safe". I could be wrong, I've been wrong before

Yeah...so this is our problem/dilemma!  We (me, my DH, and both my 14 year old boys) actually don't feel safe eating out at the moment.  And...we didn't realize how much we ate out before all of this (and I don't like to cook), but we have chosen to eat at home for the time being.  We are really, really craving our favorite things, but we can survive without for now.  My in-laws (I should say my FIL) really want the Long Horn - and I totally get that.  We can get it for them.  But...if they get sick (and FIL is very frail), we are exposed and I take care of my dad.  So...for us, it is not just go ahead and do it.     

[SereneHome]

34 minutes ago, Spryte said:

“Paranoid optimism.”  I love that!  Can I steal it?

Steal away 🙂

[SereneHome]

7 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

Yeah...so this is our problem/dilemma!  We (me, my DH, and both my 14 year old boys) actually don't feel safe eating out at the moment.  And...we didn't realize how much we ate out before all of this (and I don't like to cook), but we have chosen to eat at home for the time being.  We are really, really craving our favorite things, but we can survive without for now.  My in-laws (I should say my FIL) really want the Long Horn - and I totally get that.  We can get it for them.  But...if they get sick (and FIL is very frail), we are exposed and I take care of my dad.  So...for us, it is not just go ahead and do it.     

I had 3 grandparents who lived into their 90s. By the time they hit 90 I was always telling my mom - let them do whatever the heck they want - they earned it and also, it seemed like they felt that "whatever happens, happens" at that point. Your FIL might feel the same - it might be totally worth it for him to get the meal that he wants bc at 93 - you don't want to be missing out on ANYTHING you want.

But I do totally understand your concerns!

Oh and as far as you not liking to cook - I think in the last 3 months we have tried every frozen entry from TJ bc you know....cooking for 5 people  - every day - that's just tooooooo much for me 🙂

[ktgrok]

48 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

The virus on your face can be inhaled via the nose, enter their eyes......possibly the ears.  All of which are transmission points.  Entering via the mouth leads to gastric acid so it is dissolved.

I am going with safe into the mouth until someone gives me a reason to believe otherwise.  Honestly I posted this just to get others input. I haven’t been buying cold or hot drinks but really miss them.  Going to be honest and say we had a real debate regarding buying more ice cream in tubs from Publix recently....I cleaned my tubs outsides well.    I ran out of pre Covid ice cream......yogurt was another debate.  

So in that case, say, touching the packaging and then touching your mouth would NOT be a transmission risk? But touching your nose is? Because I'm not seeing anything that has said that, you know?

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by Ktgrok

[Guest]

1 hour ago, SereneHome said:

So I completely gave up on trying to understand all the science behind this stupid virus or trying to keep up with any recommendations or trying to figure out what's safe and what's not. The way I am approaching is with paranoid optimism. i can survive without take out food (although if you asked me this back in Jan I would have probably faint at the idea), so why take a chance of having another pair or three of hands touching something that will be coming inside of my house or my body. Do I think we'll get Covid from my favorite Panera sandwich? I am thinking not. But again, I can survive without it for now.

Although I think now is much safer to be venturing into the world than let's say 6 months from  now. Now most people are still diligent enough. But that will wear it out soon and my guess is a month from now, it won't be as "safe". I could be wrong, I've been wrong before

That’s pretty much where I am wtr any decisions about COVID/risk. Hair color is a really pertinent example. I just had my dd color my hair from a box (or, from two boxes, lol, because my hair is so thick and long). Do I really think it’s likely the ONE day I finally go to the hair dresser, masked, with them masked, will be the day I pick up COVID? Well, no, not really. But, since it is *possible*, and since there’s nothing saying I must go get my hair colored, I’m just not for now. 

[mumto2]

12 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

So in that case, say, touching the packaging and then touching your mouth would NOT be a transmission risk? But touching your nose is? Because I'm not seeing anything that has said that, you know?

 

First,  I honestly have to question if most would just touch their mouth.  I watched a gloved properly masked gentleman walk out of a store the other day, remove the mask, and rub his nose vigorously with his gloved had. Ick!  He made me reflect on my personal slip ups.  My slips are mostly getting long hair out of my eyes and away from my nose. Stranglers from my pony tail.   By slips I mean unmasked inside my car which is pretty well disinfected, frequently done, as in anytime we pick up something we clean well.....so really s/b a safe place.

I think the question is can the virus enter the respiratory system via beside the mouth?  Moves it to getting inside the mouth from beside ......can it via mouth breathing?  Yes, it could I believe.... but your mouth really isn’t designed to pull air from beside the opening, your nose does by nature of design.  When you are eating could live virus remain in your mouth to be inhaled separately from the food you are swallowing.  Yes..........the chance is there.  Would saliva possibly clear it into the digestion process?   I do think the number  entering that way would be lower....I am still not consuming the iced drink out.  I have thought about this too much......
 

Btw, no studies about point of entry on face that I know of.    

[Pen]

There are ACE2 receptors in mouth

 

What is the ACE2 receptor, how is it connected to coronavirus and why might it be key to treating ...

 

May 14, 2020 · The ACE2 receptor allows the virus that causes COVID-19 to infect ... ACE2 is present in epithelium in the nose, mouth and lungs.

 

 

 

 

Single-cell RNA expression profiling shows that ACE2, the putative receptor of COVID-2019 ...

Single-cell RNA expression profiling shows that ACE2 , the putative receptor of COVID-2019, has significant expression in nasal and mouth tissue, and is ...

 

and also:

 

 

Intestine: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200504091438.htm

[Pen]

Eyes also thought to be means of infection entry.

[mlktwins]

2 hours ago, SereneHome said:

I had 3 grandparents who lived into their 90s. By the time they hit 90 I was always telling my mom - let them do whatever the heck they want - they earned it and also, it seemed like they felt that "whatever happens, happens" at that point. Your FIL might feel the same - it might be totally worth it for him to get the meal that he wants bc at 93 - you don't want to be missing out on ANYTHING you want.

But I do totally understand your concerns!

Oh and as far as you not liking to cook - I think in the last 3 months we have tried every frozen entry from TJ bc you know....cooking for 5 people  - every day - that's just tooooooo much for me 🙂

I totally agree!  My FIL is very social and knows all the people at the various stores and restaurants he goes to.  At 93, we certainly weren't stopping him - even though I don't think he should be driving.  My dad was happy playing poker and bingo with all his friends at his apartment building 6 days a week.  Before COVID-19, they pretty much all did their own thing.  But...this is different than anything we've experienced before :-(.  My dad's apartment building (mostly independent elderly people) has closed off all community rooms and cancelled all activities.  I worry when they start opening them up again.  He is not good about washing his hands and he may or may not wear the masks I've made for him.  I'm really just done worry about all the people -- LOL!

And...we have run out of TJ Orange Chicken (I had a ton in my freezer).  Need to get more of that!!!  

 

[mumto2]

51 minutes ago, Pen said:

There are ACE2 receptors in mouth

 

What is the ACE2 receptor, how is it connected to coronavirus and why might it be key to treating ...

 

May 14, 2020 · The ACE2 receptor allows the virus that causes COVID-19 to infect ... ACE2 is present in epithelium in the nose, mouth and lungs.

 

 

 

 

Single-cell RNA expression profiling shows that ACE2, the putative receptor of COVID-2019 ...

Single-cell RNA expression profiling shows that ACE2 , the putative receptor of COVID-2019, has significant expression in nasal and mouth tissue, and is ...

 

and also:

 

 

Intestine: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200504091438.htm

🤢. There goes my food theory.  The mouth’s  ACE2 receptors  make sense definitely a worry.   Setting that issue aside I am still questioning how to get the virus to your intestines without so much damage that they can multiply.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Pen said:

Eyes also thought to be means of infection entry.

Eyes are definitely a place of entry I believe.  Read something somewhere.  All are wearing glasses when out in my family.  Haven’t seen ears talked about lately.
 

I just want to say how grateful I am for these threads with this group of cautious individuals and I am happy to read imput for the less cautious.  Outside of my immediate family very few people are as cautious as the people here or as well informed.  I read these threads an feel a sense of companionship that I don’t feel irl.....it’s comforting.

[mumto2]

13 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

And...we have run out of TJ Orange Chicken (I had a ton in my freezer).  Need to get more of that!!!  

I have one bag left.😉  I am able to get a brand called Innovasians delivered via Publix that is more expensive but quite good.  Our TJ’s has a huge line every time we drive by.

[Pen]

5 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

🤢. There goes my food theory.  The mouth’s  ACE2 receptors  make sense definitely a worry.   Setting that issue aside I am still questioning how to get the virus to your intestines without so much damage that they can multiply.  

 

 

Eyes are definitely a place of entry I believe.  Read something somewhere.  All are wearing glasses when out in my family.  Haven’t seen ears talked about lately.
 

I just want to say how grateful I am for these threads with this group of cautious individuals and I am happy to read imput for the less cautious.  Outside of my immediate family very few people are as cautious as the people here or as well informed.  I read these threads an feel a sense of companionship that I don’t feel irl.....it’s comforting.

 

I have not heard ears suggested before this.  Hmmm.  

 

I don’t know how it would survive digestive system, but since it has been cultured from feces and apparently spread from faulty sewage systems (iirc), in some apartment blocks, it seems it must be able to.   Maybe it starts multiplying before it reaches stomach acids and there’s too much to deactivate it all.  Or maybe acidic environments are not especially a problem for its survival. 

 

[Storygirl]

We have had takeout a couple of times per month, and although I am glad to get a break from cooking, the process we go through when we get the food home is cumbersome enough to usually make me think that it was not necessarily worth it. We still do it though, occasionally, and mostly from Chik-fil-A, because DD18 works there. In fact, we are having CFA tonight, because she is done working at 6 pm and will just bring some sandwiches home with her.

Here is what we do...

We do not set any of the bags on the counter but put them on the floor or a chair while we unpack them. We wipe down the outside of drink cups (when we get drinks) and sauce containers with a disinfectant wipe. We dump the fries and sandwiches/nuggets onto sheet trays and pop them in the oven for a few minutes, until they are piping hot again. I try to dump things out without touching the food (sometimes this is easier than others) and then I put each wrapper directly into a garbage bag held by DH or one of my kids, so that it is right next to me. If using straws, we might have one person open the wrapper, while another person with clean hands pulls the straw out and puts it into the cup. Then toss the straw wrappers. The garbage bag with all of the wrapping gets taken to the garage, and everyone washes their hands before we put the warm food onto plates.

We have also gotten some pasta from an Italian place. It was family sized, so we dumped the container into a dish of our own and then put it in the oven to reheat. A salad in an aluminum container was included, and we wiped that container down with a wipe, then served the salad out onto our plates. Salad can't be heated, so that is riskier.

@mlktwins From Long Horn for the in-laws, I believe I would probably do this. I would order the food and bring it to my own house first and replate it in some disposable aluminum foil pans in the following manner.

I would make sure my counter was very clean and had wiped down the new tin pans ahead of time and have them ready for when I arrived with the food. I would carefully transfer the food from the restaurant containers to the new disposable ones. This is best as a two person job, with one person responsible for handling the bags and wraps from the restaurant, and the other responsible for handling the food and the new containers, so that you don't touch the restaurant bags and then right away touch the clean containers.  Then take it to them and have them reheat it before they eat it.

I would not bring any salads but only food that can be reheated. Although if one of the things they love is the salad, I would be flexible about that. Or make them a salad yourself that you can send with the meal. If they like steak, order it slightly underdone, so that when it reheats, it does not get too well done.

I agree with trying to make it happen for them, even if it is out of your comfort zone. I think you are doing a great job of looking after your loved ones. Our parents in their 80s live hours away, so we are not the ones who are helping them, and we appreciate SIL who is doing the necessary things for my in-laws.

My 86 year old dad is out and about daily and is not keeping himself sequestered, and there is nothing I can do about that. I think that your loved ones are being appropriately cautious, and an occasional take out meal is comparatively low risk for them, if you put the food in different containers, and they reheat it.

[katilac]

2 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

So in that case, say, touching the packaging and then touching your mouth would NOT be a transmission risk? But touching your nose is? Because I'm not seeing anything that has said that, you know?

You also said back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not?  First, I'd say that the drink itself is much less likely to be contaminated in the first place if they are wearing masks. And the virus doesn't multiply in food the way bacteria does. Glove protocols are harder to follow, so maybe a bit more likely to be on the cup, but the risk of transmission via a contaminated surface is actually really low. There aren't any documented cases to date; breathing in the presence of people who have it seems to be the biggest risk by far. 

Now, to the question above, about touching packaging and then your mouth or nose: apparently neither one is a big risk, but my personal preference would be to pour the drink into my own cup. I haven't been able to find any articles distinguishing between takeout food vs drink, but I have a few thoughts based on what I did read. Food is low risk plus generally goes directly into your mouth, and you're supposed to be using disposable cutlery (or your own).  Depending on the cup and how you  drink, the surface may be pressed up against the outside of your mouth. You're breathing near the cup as you drink, and of course breathing near the outside of your mouth, so I would consider that to be somewhat higher of a risk than eating food. Still quite low risk, but I personally would go ahead and pour it into my own cup. Super easy to just keep a couple of extra cups in my car, so why not? 

Would I drink cold coffee from Starbucks? Hmm, I'd be less inclined to cold versus hot, based on heat killing the virus. Again, I can't find anything related to ordering drinks specifically, but I've seen a few experts say they would skip salads and cold sandwiches and I'm inclined to do the same (bc this is cold brew and never heated, correct?). I do think the risk would still be really low, but I have a lot of things I will return to before that. It's partially a visceral ick response to the virus possibly being in the cold drink, even if I wouldn't catch it that way, lol. 

If the workers are wearing mask and not touching your food, it's very unlikely that the virus would be on your food. Cooking kills it, so they would basically have to touch or breathe on your food after it's done for that to happen. So, yes, I would want workers in masks to be on the safe side, but even if some virus particles do wind up in your food, they aren't going to multiply without a living host. There's not the same danger of a few bacteria quickly turning into many. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

45 minutes ago, katilac said:

You also said back to my iced americano...can anyone explain to me how a contaminated hand touching my mouth is dangerous, but a contaminated drink touching my mouth is not?  First, I'd say that the drink itself is much less likely to be contaminated in the first place if they are wearing masks. And the virus doesn't multiply in food the way bacteria does. Glove protocols are harder to follow, so maybe a bit more likely to be on the cup, but the risk of transmission via a contaminated surface is actually really low. There aren't any documented cases to date; breathing in the presence of people who have it seems to be the biggest risk by far. 

Now, to the question above, about touching packaging and then your mouth or nose: apparently neither one is a big risk, but my personal preference would be to pour the drink into my own cup. I haven't been able to find any articles distinguishing between takeout food vs drink, but I have a few thoughts based on what I did read. Food is low risk plus generally goes directly into your mouth, and you're supposed to be using disposable cutlery (or your own).  Depending on the cup and how you  drink, the surface may be pressed up against the outside of your mouth. You're breathing near the cup as you drink, and of course breathing near the outside of your mouth, so I would consider that to be somewhat higher of a risk than eating food. Still quite low risk, but I personally would go ahead and pour it into my own cup. Super easy to just keep a couple of extra cups in my car, so why not? 

Would I drink cold coffee from Starbucks? Hmm, I'd be less inclined to cold versus hot, based on heat killing the virus. Again, I can't find anything related to ordering drinks specifically, but I've seen a few experts say they would skip salads and cold sandwiches and I'm inclined to do the same (bc this is cold brew and never heated, correct?). I do think the risk would still be really low, but I have a lot of things I will return to before that. It's partially a visceral ick response to the virus possibly being in the cold drink, even if I wouldn't catch it that way, lol. 

If the workers are wearing mask and not touching your food, it's very unlikely that the virus would be on your food. Cooking kills it, so they would basically have to touch or breathe on your food after it's done for that to happen. So, yes, I would want workers in masks to be on the safe side, but even if some virus particles do wind up in your food, they aren't going to multiply without a living host. There's not the same danger of a few bacteria quickly turning into many. 

When I have gone to Starbucks lately it has been kiosks in the grocery store.  I see them making my drink right in front of me.  I am watching their technique and precautions and have been satisfied.  But of course everything has some risk.  It's just that while I'm cautious enough to wear an actual respirator (instead of a face covering), I'm risky enough to have an iced drink once or twice.  But I have noticed that dh isn't comfortable with the same amount of risk or maybe he hasn't wanted to go out specifically to get an iced drink. 

[katilac]

35 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

When I have gone to Starbucks lately it has been kiosks in the grocery store.  I see them making my drink right in front of me.  I am watching their technique and precautions and have been satisfied.  But of course everything has some risk.  It's just that while I'm cautious enough to wear an actual respirator (instead of a face covering), I'm risky enough to have an iced drink once or twice.  But I have noticed that dh isn't comfortable with the same amount of risk or maybe he hasn't wanted to go out specifically to get an iced drink. 

Honestly, if iced coffee was a favorite of mine I'd probably overcome my scruples 😋 but I can drink hot coffee even when it's 100 degrees outside. 

Everything I've seen points to food being very low risk. The time it takes you to shop for groceries is riskier than the iced drink you get at the end. 

[Lady Marmalade]

I work in fast food, which turns out to be an essential industry.  😛 So I'm working an insane amount of hours and I'm exhausted at the end of the day.  Sometimes I bring food home from work, but sometimes we get take-out from somewhere else to share the love.  I know how much extra stuff we go through to keep ourselves and our customers safe- I have no problems eating food from other restaurants.   We eat it right out of the container/packaging, unless it's something like Chinese take-out where we're all dishing up food from the containers.  Or pizza- which we'll put on a plate and not eat out of the box. 

I feel like buying groceries is a far scarier thing to do- those people you're shopping with are NOT taking the same precautions that I know that myself and my coworkers are taking. So my grocery shopping has been very limited to once every two weeks in-person, with a fill-in pick up order from Sam's club as needed. 

Our Starbucks stores closed for about a month, and you can bet I was in that line the very first day it opened back up for my iced caramel macchiato.   Paper wrapped plastic straws have not been banned here, and I had no problems drinking that amazing cup of deliciousness.   I drink hot coffee out of the cup with equal amounts of abandon. 

DD and I have gone twice to local ice cream shops to check them out- wearing masks and getting the ice cream as take-out.  The one time we got sushi was probably my favorite take-out meal yet.  I really miss regular sushi time!

I'm still being careful about my own exposure, and many restaurants here have opened for dine-in (not mine), so our trips to these places are still only once or twice a week.  But I have no qualms about eating food prepared by another in a professional kitchen.  

[ktgrok]

Just read this https://www.the-hospitalist.org/hospitalist/article/219157/coronavirus-updates/potential-gi-manifestation-transmission-coronavirus

Also, found in my research that MERS which is a similar virus was shown to be able to spread by eating contaminated meat and milk (from infected camels) so yes, via the digestive tract. 

[Carol in Cal.]

On 6/1/2020 at 8:54 AM, Arcadia said:

My takeouts are samosas from the Asian Indian deli, and Chinese dim sum from a Chinese deli. Both are piping hot usually and can be reheated at home prior to eating. So we aren’t worried. 

Pre-COVID, we also tend to buy takeout that is either piping hot to eat on the way home or that can be reheated. 

Where are you getting your dim sum?  I miss it so much!  Can’t even find char siu bao at Safeway anymore.  Driving me nuts.

[catz]

We’ve been ordering take out throughout via curbside pick up from small locally owned restaurants.   We transfer food wash hands and call it good. The restaurants we are using are using stronger than recommended safety protocols for their staff.  
 

Many sources say this is low risk.  We have lots of evidence now of super spreading events and a number of restaurants have had to close due to small outbreaks.  No reported super spreading event has been due to food borne illness.  I’ve personally not set foot in a store since early March.  We’ve been getting delivery or curbside for everything.  I am comfortable with take out.  Especially at businesses that are taking extra precautions to keep their own employees safe.  I consider it safer than shopping when using curbside for pick up.
 

Obviously it is not a necessity.  No one should do it if they aren’t comfortable with it and I have more reservations about places not doing contactless pick up.  

Edited June 7, 2020 by FuzzyCatz

[Carrie12345]

I’m still nervous about it, but we have done a couple of meals. One was take out from a local firehouse, one pizza delivery, and I got the boys some Burger King the other day. That’s all been since May 16th.  We do have some minor risk increases in our house, but not the big ones.  I did reheat the firehouse dinner and put the kids’ BK on plates.

I am beginning to contemplate doing more of the thing I’m a bit nervous about now, with the idea that there could be a very long winter.