welcome baskets - France

[Eamonn21]

We are first time hosts with a property in France. What is the current thinking on welcome baskets due to the Covid virus. Would people be wary of anything that they didnt provide themselves, should we leave masks and gloves for example?

Eamonn

[Rita662]

Hello @Eamonn21, when a guest makes a reservation, I tell them to bring their masks (because in Portugal you must wear a mask in public transportations and other other kind of spaces).  In the house I placed alchool gel for them.

I also write a message saying that I reinforced the cleanning, making metion that I use disinfectant products.

As for the welcome basket, i'm going to leave procucts in closed packaging.

[Yadira22]

@Eamonn21  agree to the above, I would also make the guests abundantly aware of where the cleaning products are, in case they want to disinfect their groceries etc. 

Personally would not leave any masks, as they are quite expensive and hard to source. Depending on where you are based many health care centres are also running low on these and other PPE items. 

[Helen427]

@Yadira22 

I see in the UK they refer to face coverings not masks.

Very sensible description and it gives people plenty of options to also use a scarf, cut down t-shirt or other if need be just like people who were unwell did in the good old days instead of single use PPE that is environmentally unfriendly & generally ends up going into rural land and spreads toxins.

Top marks to the UK also for ensuring that laundry instructions how to wash face coverings and handkerchiefs are on Govt web sites.

[Yadira22]

HI @Helen427 ,

Finding N95s, proper PPE is hard to source and I use these when out as I have increased exposure to family members who are at high risk groups but considering the low availability for these in London and elsewhere I reuse mine, have had the same one for the last 6 weeks, and follow guidelines set by officials as to maintain and sterilise it. 

Face coverings- though helpful, they are generally less effective but are more readily accessible. Personally I would not provide these to guests as with any other hygiene product, these should be personal and workable ones are about £15 each (Etsy for example have great homemade ones with a replaceable filter pocket). Yearly we have about 130 guests/groups so you could imagine how expensive this could be for us and I really do not want to "help" and cause more harm. 

But yes, I wish PPE was more environmentally friendly, would make a world of difference. 

Stay safe 🙂

[Mark116]

@Eamonn21  I would guess most guests will be traveling w/their own masks/gloves,  a welcome basket is still okay as long as, sadly, it has nothing fresh in it, but would be things in packaging that a guest could wipe down if they felt the need. 

[Juan63]

Personally, I don't find masks as a welcome gift.

[Sarah977]

@Juan63  Obviously.

Welcome to Texas- home of the second highest exploding COVID infection rate in the US, and running about 7th out of all the countries in the world. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Eamonn21 

I would expect ANY guest to carry plenty of their own masks. I think hand sanitizer at the entrance and instead of a welcome basket, a basket of disinfect wipes and other cleaning products could be more beneficial - you could attach a note that while the place is fully cleaned BETWEEN guests, to please feel free to  clean high-touch surfaces as needed as well as any items they bring inside and make an effort to keep spaces tidy and sanitary DURING their stay.

All things considered, I think water and maybe a few individually wrapped cookies/crackers/muffins or some chocolates would be fine. 

[Sarah977]

@Eamonn21  I don't think it's a bad idea at all to provide a new, washable, reusable mask for guests. They may be coming from somewhere that masks are readily available and assume they would be everywhere, whereas that might not be the case. Gloves, IMO, and also according to some health professionals reports, are really not that useful. If you are wearing a mask, you won't be touching your face anyway, and it works just as well to wash your hands thoroughly after being out as to wear gloves. Most non-health professionals don't understand how to deal with gloves (or even masks, for that matter) in a way not contaminate things. For instance, you take off one possibly contaminated glove with the other gloved hand, then take of the second glove with the unprotected hand? You're going to have to go wash your hands after that anyway. 

[Yadira22]

In case anyone did not know- 

https://twitter.com/ALPublicHealth/status/1247657089851424770/photo/1

Source: https://twitter.com/ALPublicHealth/status/1247657089851424770/photo/1

Note for point one it is easier to grab from the middle of the palm, twist gently and pull up, we dealt with so many things when my work was lab based. 

Thanks

[Sarah977]

@Yadira22  Good graphic. I have nurse friends who showed me how to do this. 

I've seen people fussing with their masks in ways that meant they would have been better off not wearing one at all. Grabbing it with their fingers on the inside and outside of the mask, with their unwashed hands to reposition it, taking it off and shoving it in their pocket, only to take it out and put it on again later. It's pretty amazing how much lack of common sense there is.

[Yadira22]

@Sarah977  100%

My best friend is a pharmacist and I have so many doctor, biomedical scientist friends etc  and each day, they go to work and I am worried sick for them (am no longer lab based). Our government has gone on to count a single glove as a PPE item and not the pair, so you could imagine how poorly stocked some hospitals are with PPE, London has been hit badly by it. To see people wear it as a chin protector or a necklace etc makes my heart sink. Seeing them remove it, pressing in on the mouth facing section and then place it on the floor and on top without ever washing, disinfecting their hands before makes me cringe. 

I can't wait for the day we reach herd immunity, each day is one more of life and one day closer to a better normal. Stay safe Sarah!

[Sarah977]

@Yadira22  I made a bunch of 2 layer cloth masks that fit well. On some, I used curtain black-out fabric on the inside, which seems pretty impenetrable to me. I have 4 of them that I rotate. When I have to go out shopping, I put one on, then when I get back in the car, I pull the mask off by the elastic around the back of my head, up and over, careful not to drag the mask across my face, and toss it on the floor of the car where I don't put anything else. Then I sterilize my hands, and the car door handle I touched. I then put on a clean mask when I go into the next place. When I get home, I take all the masks I've used, wash them well, and hang them to dry in the sun. 

That's just my own routine that I developed, no idea if I'm doing the right thing, but it seems common sense to me. I act like everything is contaminated outside of my own home- I'm not freaked out about it, just act accordingly.

Same here in Mexico- hospital staff are screaming for PPE,  many doctors and nurses infected and some have died, yet regular people seem to be able to obtain those masks online and don't treat them like they are precious.