Hi, Folks,
I’m speaking here as a retired doctor, and as someone (like many of you) who is in the demographic that is more likely to become seriously ill if infected by this virus.
I don’t want to be a doom-monger, but I became concerned at the club last night about the sanitary facilities. I’m not particularly germ phobic, and in normal circumstances I don’t have a problem beyond “Yuk!” with the damp hand-towel in the loo. I know it gets washed from time to time, (I do it myself sometimes), but by the end of the evening, who knows how many people have washed their hands and dried them on that towel? Our lives may depend on every single club member washing their hands properly before drying them. Do I trust you, or you, or you to wash well? Probably. Do I trust everyone, collectively? Probably not. Italy, just two weeks ahead of us in this epidemic, is having to allow the over 65s to die unventilated, because their normally excellent health care system is overwhelmed and they cannot admit everyone that needs it to ITU. That’s a scary thought. Would the NHS cope any better? We must do what we can, individually and collectively, to avoid spreading this virus.
I would like to suggest that the club invest in paper towels/kitchen towels for the loos, at least until this risk passes, as well as bottles of alcohol-based hand gel if and when they become available, particularly when people handle things. Pass the demo item round by all means, but precede it with the hand gel. Similarly, people should be expected to use gel before handling the competition items. Gel should be used after handling money. Shared visors could be wiped over with a bleach-containing kitchen cleaner after use. Should we switch to disposible coffee cups for the time being? Any other suggestions?
I know hand gel is difficult to come by at the moment, but maybe if club members find some, they could buy two or three extra bottles for the club, and save the receipts for reimbursement?
Judith
