Hosts may want to read this when considering how to clean

[Sarah977]

I just read this article which makes it clear how quickly so many surfaces can be contaminated by those who are infected with no symptoms.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/presymptomatic-virus-patients-can-contaminate-environments-study/

[Anonymous]

Considering how the virus has been rampaging through Brazil in tropical heat - and especially in poorer neighborhoods without air conditioning - I'd guess that either the theory about heat exposure limiting spread is wrong, or we have an extremely rough winter ahead. @Melodie-And-John0 your city almost never gets as hot in summer as Manaus in winter.

@Helen350  I'm happy to hear you have some relief coming; I know these have been some tough months for home-sharers. Our elephant in the room is mostly the enormity of what we don't know yet, and the hard choices we have to make with limited information. I think when we have the benefit of hindsight, it will turn out that some of the preventative measures some places have taken were unnecessary or excessive, but every day we learn a little more and have to recalibrate our understanding of what came before. I hope it turns out that being vigilant about surface hygiene is sufficient for sharing a home with a partially closed air circuit. But I don't know if people without a science background (including most journalists and politicians) really appreciate the fact that we are in extremely early stages of a chaotic, uncontrolled global experiment. It's like many decisions we face in life where, when weighing the odds, we have to ask ourselves: can I afford to be wrong?

[Helen350]

Good points @Anonymous (Maybe I wasn't clear; the carer/social workers coming to mine will be in my 2 bed LTR next door, not in my Airbnb/lodger rooms under my roof. - Win, win!)

[Alon1]

@Anonymous 

re: 'home-shares...  we have to ask ourselves...'

This is why my sense is that Airbnb's Dear Leader's recent declaration of return to the roots has come too late. His wish maybe sincere, but it's addressed to precisely the audience that will be most hesitant to Host; and no amount of new Cleaning protocols are going to affect one's sense of self preservation. It's not just the cleaning, one would have to consider wearing masks and gloves at home, and the feeling of being constantly on edge each time a new guest enters the home.  Thank you, but no thank you.

[Anonymous]

@Alon1  His comment came in the context of trying to put a positive spin on the fact that he was putting 1900 people out of work, in large part because he'd made a big dumb gamble in pursuit of a blowout IPO, and lost. I don't believe for a second that it was a sincere mission statement; it's not as though Airbnb's presentations to investors touted homestays as a big growth industry. But as a company whose only real product is branding, Airbnb desperately needed a brand message that seemed principled enough to float above the very public deflation of some seriously embarrassing hubris. 

We're talking about executives who, in their prime, (2015) once stood onstage and said they deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for how their product was bringing the world together. At the moment, this doesn't look like a farmer going back to her roots so much as Icarus going face down into a coral reef.

[Alon1]

@Anonymous 

It may be the moment to dust down that old Bob Dylan LP. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Anonymous , Actually there are some pretty solid studies now that are proving 3 things that are good, heat and UV combine to kill it, contraction from contact with surfaces is the least likely way of catching it and wearing masks cuts the rate of contraction almost 70%.  Thats not game over but its a few volleys in our favor for sure, we will take whatever good comes our way at this point.  Stay well, JR

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  "My experience......... hate, violence and discrimination usually comes from ignorance and misguided anger. "

Yes, the ignorance leads to fear. The fear leads to anger and violence. These types who discriminate like this see anyone who doesn't look or talk like them as some sort of alien life form. When they dehumanize another person, that allows them to treat or attack that person with impunity. 

This ignorance>fear>reaction happens about other things besides human relations. If someone is ignorant about the insect life in a tropical area, for instance, they'll be fearful of any bug they encounter, whether that bug can be dangerous or is entirely harmless. Then they'll freak out, start screaming and yell for someone to kill it, when it may, in fact, be a very beneficial  part of the ecosystem.

Fear has its place in keeping people safe, as when being aware that you shouldn't pet strange dogs, or stick your hand in the lion's cage, otherwise we wouldn't be biologically programmed with that emotion. But it too often comes into play as purely the result of ignorance.

[Mary312]

Clean clean clean yes of course, better safe than sorry, but I'm just saying things change all the time ..this is an update from the CDC today..

Health officials previously suspected that SARS-CoV-2 spread readily via contaminated surfaces — such as doorknobs, cash, and mail.

Now, the CDC says transmission through surfaces is less of a threat, as SARS-CoV-2 is primarily spread from person to person via respiratory droplets.

“It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes. This is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads, but we are still learning more about this virus,” 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Mary312   "Clean clean clean yes" and disinfect!  Two different process for sure, one looks good even if it still is contaminated, the other keeps us feeling good no matter how it looks.  I also saw the report and others that are showing this virus isnt as "super" a bug as once thought and thats good news for sure. Be well, JR

[Sarah977]

@Mary312  Doesn't seem to be much of an update to me, certainly not to the point where I'd change the way I've been dealing with things until some more conclusive studies come out. "Less of a threat",  "primarily spread", "it may be possible", "not thought to be ....but we are still learning" doesn't sound exactly like medical/scientific evidence.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Sarah977 , most of what I'm reading is coming from the CDC and other reliable orgs and some even from the WHO (hopefully they are actually worried about the entire world now).   Actual experiences are being used to understand evidence from whats actually happening now instead of just conjecture and fear mongering.  Thats empowering and we need that power quick before we bankrupt our nations and planet.  Stay well, JR

[Giuliana142]

Back in the day, if food fell on the ground, you blew on it and continued eating.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Giuliana142 , yes indeed, the 5 second rule was once considered fine even in restaurants!   Which brings me to my next point about your short and sweet response, our immune systems have become very wimpy and poorly prepared to respond to changing enemies since we became so "Clean".   If we keep it up, we're going to need to live in a bubble!   Im going to start a movement and call it #eat that Cheeto!   Its for our own immune good!  Stay well and eat that Cheeto even if it hits the floor Giuliana!  JR

[Giuliana142]

@Melodie-And-John0  ... hahaha 😂, thank you, it is so nice to see that there are bright  people out there. I will join your “EAT THAT CHEETO MOVEMENT”. Love it! 👏

When something fell on the floor I use to say “And that’s where flavour comes from 😀.”

I am not a disinfectant freak and I live a natural life. What my parents taught me about cleanliness is enough and they lived past 90. I don’t listen to the media and barely watch tv. I don’t know what historians are going to write about this period but it will be funny in the future.

About alcohol: it is an enjoyable social beverage, you don’t wash with it. 
About bacteria & viruses: our bodies are loaded with them, they are essential and beneficial for our existence.

Eat that Cheeto! 👍👌😁

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Giuliana142 , as we found out in Alice's Restaurant from Arlo Guthie ,we have to get 50 people a day to #Eat the Cheeto and then its officially a movement.  Think of the herd immunity we can create with very little work or expense.   You just never know!!!!!   JR