Public Health Official ... Licked Her Finger

[left-of-center2012]

Public Health Official Warned People Not To Touch Their Face Due To Coronavirus — And Then Immediately Licked Her Finger

Dr. Sara Cody was offering one piece of simple, yet vital, advice on how people can stop the novel coronavirus from spreading: Don't touch your face.

"Today, start working on not touching your face — because one main way viruses spread is when you touch your own mouth, nose, or eyes," Cody, director of the Santa Clara County's Public Health Department said at the Friday press conference.

Less than a minute later, Cody brought her hand to her mouth and licked her finger to turn a page in her notes.

Link to tweet

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/public-health-official-touch-face-coronavirus

[secondwind]

1. Probably washed her hands before speaking. But yeah, the visual.......

[Chainfire]

13. Do you think she knows the history of where that paper has been? 9 days, remember?

I think you missed the point, unless the paper had been sanitized, and her hands had been sanitized, and that the message was for others not her. It was a bad gaff.

[Cirque du So-What]

2. Glad I never developed that habit

I will fumble with papers for a long time to avoid that finger-licking routine. Repulsive!

[USALiberal]

6. LOL

[unblock]

3. personally, i have a really hard time not touching my face

bad habit i suppose, but i have all kinds of itches and whatevers from time to time. i'm suddenly very aware of it and i'm realizing i do it *a lot*.

[hlthe2b]

4. I've always been grossed out by those who lick their fingers to turn a page.

No one in my family ever did that and I never did either.

Such behaviors are obviously both learned and unconscious at some point.

[tavernier]

8. Or after handling money

[CountAllVotes]

5. That is THE reason to wear a face mask!

You cannot touch you face if you are wearing a face mask.

Too bad this corrupt government lies and tells the people they do not need a mask; health care workers only.

That is because there is a shortage and the USA shipped a load of them off to Korea a few weeks ago!

Wake the hell up! That is my message to the American people!

[Mike 03]

7. Exactly what I was going to post.

It's not true that masks "serve no purpose if you're healthy." They prevent you from touching your fast, THE major route of transmission.

Of course, ANY mask will serve that purpose; it doesn't have to be the 3M n95. Even a bandana will do. Even a Halloween mask will do.

[CountAllVotes]

16. More GOOD advice here:

I found this man on twitter:

Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
Notes from a former UCSD virologist re the coronavirus:

Subject: What I am doing for the upcoming COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic
/1
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
Dear Colleagues, as some of you may recall, when I was a professor of
pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the
first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the
1970s).
/2
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS,
MERS), from different animal sources.

/3
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.

Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take.
/4
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves:

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.

2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc..
/5
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
Lift gasoline dispensers with a paper towel or a
disposable glove.

3) Open doors with your closed fist, elbow or hip - do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors. /6
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.

5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer /7
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
whenever you return home from ANY activity involving locations where other people have been.

6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each home entrance AND in your car to use after getting gas or touching contaminated objects when you can't immediately wash your hands. /8
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more! /9

Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon.

/12
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth. /13
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you - it is lung-specific. /14
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth - it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.

3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). /15
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.

4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. /16
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY "cold-like" symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available. /17
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it. /18
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. /19
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
·
20h
BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection. Only symptomatic support is available.

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this
potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share this email. /20
Sunbeams Are Free
@JackDeTate
Good luck to all of us!

James Robb, MD
/f

[eilen]

18. We are so screwed.

People with MRSA get discharged from hospitals every day and handle the fresh fruit and vegetables at Wegmans or your local grocer. They will do the same with this. They pick over the eggs and the milk (grabbing the ones in the back).

Maybe grocery stores can provide gloves? (just when they finally get rid of the plastic bags... we need plastic gloves).

[CountAllVotes]

19. I have 8 face masks

Four of them I got from the entry door to the local FEDERAL health clinic about a month ago.

I bought 4 N95 3M masks on ebay.com a few weeks ago as well.

As for gloves, I only have ones for dish washing.

There doesn't seem to be a supply of the 70% alcohol hand wipes anywhere to be found.

You are right, I too think we are screwed and once this hits the homeless camps, OMG!!! I hate to think of the outcome for these poor people!

[SunSeeker]

9. Good point. nt

[left-of-center2012]

10. So, don't pick your nose ?

Damn !

[Chainfire]

15. Say it ain't so

I will give up my buggers when they pry my cold dead finger off of them.

[left-of-center2012]

17. I assume you're quoting Trump?

[Baitball Blogger]

11. I really wish that every private company involved in the health industry have

a come to Jesus with all their employees. From the person who empties the trash every morning to the person who works directly with doctors. Because family and friends are watching them to determine how serious this thing is. And if they act non-chalant and say, "It's just a virus," it's troubling.

[frazzled]

12. It's super hard not to touch your face

Several weeks before the coronavirus news hit home big time, I had to undergo eye surgery. I'd already been washing my hands constantly and trying like heck not to touch my face, for fear of infecting myself. Worst has been itching that I can not scratch! Now, with COVID-19, it's even worse, and I find myself touching my face accidentally or unawares multiple times a day.

Give people a break, it's an automatic habit that is really hard to control. One thing I've been doing is trying to keep a tissue in hand (I use it to brush against the eye area when the itching becomes crazypants.) I know that's not much protection, but it's better than your fingers.

Time to trim nails. I think keeping them as short as possible is probably advisable.

[Disaffected]

20. One thing I'm trying

is to scratch/touch my face, when I get the urge, with a smooth hard object such as the end of a pen (which you can clean with a wipe every so often if needed).

[Javaman]

14. the lick heard round the world. nt