from Hacker News

Groceries and Delivered Goods Decontamination Station Instructions

by McKayDavis on 3/20/20, 9:08 PM with 61 comments

• by swasheck on 3/21/20, 3:26 AM

  The narrative is that the virus stays alive for up to three days on surfaces. My understanding of viruses like this would make that an extreme outlier. Do we have any conclusive data on the duration of virus viability outside of the host?

• by gjstein on 3/21/20, 4:05 AM

  I have yet to find clear guidance on how to handle perishable food that belongs in my refrigerator or freezer and cannot be left out on its own for a day or two if I lack the cleaning products recommended in the article. Does anyone have any reference material on whether "isolating" such things in my fridge for a period of time might be effective?

• by enitihas on 3/21/20, 3:58 AM

  Is decontamination really necessary? Can't you just ensure that you wash your hands after handling any delivered goods. For example, after receiving a delivery of something, you wash your hands after opening it. After receiving a food delivery, you heat the food and again wash hands before eating. Is this not sufficient?

• by pengaru on 3/21/20, 3:47 AM

  No mention of hydrogen peroxide...

  I've been using it to disinfect supplies I bring home and don't want to quarantine for a day before bringing inside, as well as washing my hands.

  Is there a reason it's not mentioned? Am I misinformed on its effectiveness as a disinfectant vs. viruses?

  It's always been my goto for disinfecting surfaces... it's nice in that it decays into harmless water, and it's not really an issue if you get small quantities of 3% in your mouth, even if swallowed.

• by mhb on 3/21/20, 3:50 AM

  Where are the references? What concentration bleach?

  From TFA: "Unfortunately, bleach solutions need to be made fresh every day"

  From CDC[0]: "If chlorine solution is not prepared fresh daily, it can be stored at room temperature for up to 30 days in a capped, opaque plastic bottle with a 50% reduction in chlorine concentration after 30 days of storage (e.g., 1000 ppm chlorine [approximately a 1:50 dilution] at day 0 decreases to 500 ppm chlorine by day 30)."

  [0] https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection...

• by tptacek on 3/21/20, 3:50 AM

  I wonder if the "dilute to 70%" rule for isopropyl applies to coronavirus. My understanding is that you dilute 99% because you need the water to catalyze action on bacterial cell walls. But that wouldn't apply to virions.

• by Unknown_Unknown on 3/21/20, 2:52 PM

  Isn't the article forgetting the biggest factor: The human delivering your food?

  They will be delivering for hundreds of people and may well be infected. Do you need to hide behind the door and ask them to leave it there and hand them a tip somehow. Because holding a 6 feet distance while they hand you your grocery/food is not gonna work.

  I asked the same from the delivery guy Yesterday, he threw everything he had and run away like I had the plague :D. So be careful.

• by IdontRememberIt on 3/21/20, 3:36 AM

  Has someone seen data of virus life expectancy outside its host on surface in a realistic scenario (no nebulisation)?

• by fasteddie31003 on 3/21/20, 4:11 AM

  I gotta plug my favorite Youtube channel right now with this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLWBG_fbJR0 on the disinfectant subject.

• by earthtourist on 3/21/20, 3:51 AM

  Not an expert but shouldn't reheating be suggested for takeout/delivery food?

  It seems like a good idea to reheat food to 165F (74C) which is likely sufficient to deactivate the virus.

• by hkchad on 3/21/20, 3:47 AM

  This is stupid, it's a respiratory virus, it needs to enter your lungs. Get your stuff, wash your hands. Done. This is why restaurants are still open for takeout.

• by madengr on 3/21/20, 3:32 AM

  I have not been in a grocery store since the SHTF, but I’d be particularly concerned about the produce isle, specifically leafy vegetables.

• by triyambakam on 3/21/20, 3:19 AM

  Hmm very interesting. As a paranoid germophobe I've already been following such guidelines

• by anonuser123456 on 3/21/20, 3:51 AM

  You don't need to disinfect anything, you can just wash stuff with soap and water.