Page 12 - aruba-today-20201127

A12 SCIENCE
Friday 27 November 2020
Wiping down groceries? Experts say keep risk in perspective

By CANDICE CHOI to extraordinary measures,"
Associated Press he said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Cleaning In some cases, Goldman
wipes are harder to find on noted there are significant
store shelves, and business- financial costs.
es are reassuring customers In New York, the Metropoli-
with stepped up sanitation tan Transportation Author-
measures. In New York, the ity is spending $8.1 million a
subway system is shut down week on COVID-19 related
nightly for disinfecting. expenses, including sub-
To avoid any traces of the way cleanings throughout
coronavirus that might be the day and overnight.
lurking on surfaces, Ameri- The agency says it's ap-
cans have been wiping proaching safety in multiple
down groceries, wearing ways. And Mark Dowd, the
surgical gloves when they agency's chief innovation
go out and leaving mail officer, said surfaces could
packages out for an ex- still pose a risk, and that un-
tra day or two. But experts derstanding of the virus has
say the national fixation on continued to evolve.
scrubbing sparked by the "We don't think taking our
pandemic can sometimes foot off the pedal with re-
be overkill. gard to disinfecting our
"It's important to clean sur- surfaces is the right ap-
faces, but not to obsess proach," he said.
about it too much in a way The MTA is also looking at
that can be unhealthy," ways to improve ventila-
said Dr. John Brooks, chief tion, Dowd said, but that is
medical officer for the CO- far more complicated.
VID-19 response at the U.S. Americans are wiping store
Centers for Disease and shelves clean of disinfect-
Control. In this March 24, 2020 file photo, a woman reaches for yogurt wearing gloves during senior shop- ing products, too. Since the
Health officials knew less ping hours at Homeland in Oklahoma City. pandemic hit, sales have
about the virus in the early Associated Press been up about 30% in the
days of the pandemic, but The Clorox Co.'s business
say it's become clearer the Early studies finding it could should draw the line, espe- fully reduce risk, regularly unit that includes cleaning
main way it spreads is be- linger on surfaces for days cially if cleaning isn't doing disinfecting surfaces can products.
tween people — through used large viral loads and any harm. be a way for people to ex- Whether those habits will
the respiratory droplets were in laboratory condi- What counts as overkill ert control when they feel last remains to be seen.
they spray when talking, tions, not the real world. could also vary depend- they don't have any, said At the start of the pandem-
coughing, sneezing or sing- Other tests might just de- ing on the situation, said Stephen Morse, an infec- ic in March and April, Paige
ing. It's why officials em- tect remnants of the virus, Justin Lessler, an expert in tious disease researcher at Zuber said she would come
phasize the importance of rather than live virus capa- infectious diseases at Johns Columbia University. home from her corporate
wearing masks and social ble of infecting people. Hopkins University. In public places, he said food service job in New
distancing. Viruses also don't leap off While Lessler wouldn't wipe stepped up cleaning — York and leave her mask in
That doesn't mean sur- surfaces to infect people, down his own groceries, for what some refer to as "hy- a bag by the door, imme-
faces don't pose any risk and infection would require example, he said it might giene theater" — can be a diately change out of her
— cleaning is still recom- a sequence of events: There not be a bad idea for peo- way to reassure people. clothes and shower.
mended — especially fre- would have to be enough ple caring for someone at "People want to make it ev- "It was like disinfecting
quently touched spots like surviving virus on whatever high-risk for becoming se- ident that they really care," chaos to make sure I was
door knobs or elevator the person is touching, the verely ill if infected. Morse said. not bringing anything into
buttons that infected peo- person would have to get it "These are things that may- But Emanuel Goldman, our apartment," said Zuber,
ple might have recently on their hands, then touch be are on the lower end of a professor of microbiol- who has since been laid
touched. Other germs that their mouth, nose or eyes. how much they actually ogy at Rutgers-New Jersey off and moved to Rhode
sicken people, like gastroin- All that means there could reduce risk. But they're rela- Medical School, said that Island.
testinal bugs, haven't gone be diminishing returns to all tively easy and cheap," he reassurance could also cre- Zuber is still cleaning a lot
away either. the disinfecting, especially said. ate a false sense of safety more than she did before
But with COVID-19, experts if people have good hand And in nursing homes, — and detract from mea- the pandemic, but not go-
say to keep the risk in per- washing practices. Lessler said vigilance about sures that matter more. ing to the same extremes.
spective: The virus is fragile For public health experts, disinfecting surfaces makes "They worry less about what At the CDC, Brooks said
and doesn't survive easily the challenge is telling sense. they breathe. And breath- he tells people to do what
outside the body for long. people exactly where they Even if it doesn't meaning- ing is your primary source of makes them comfortable,
infection," said Goldman, but to keep in mind the rel-
who wrote a commentary ative risk of different routes
in a medical journal in July of transmission.
saying the fear of transmis- "As long as you don't touch
sion through surfaces was your face when you're un-
being overblown. packing those groceries,
"I'm not saying don't do rou- and wash your hands af-
tine maintenance. I'm not terwards and are careful,
saying don't do cleaning. I think that may be suffi-
But you don't have to go cient," he said.q