Germ Control in Public Spaces
During the global pandemic, I started a blog called Stop Touching Your Face. I made a few stabs at developing it and it never really gelled. Below is a cleaned up (less sweary, less ranty) and extended version of the one page Wish List I eventually settled on because I pretty much hated how the pandemic got handled and COVID hasn't really died and I'm still not happy.
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Social distancing is good but I'm not a fan of the masks and most people don't know how to properly use equipment like that to actually prevent germ transmission. If you like wearing a mask, have at it, but please don't ask me to wear one.
I was once in a very busy, very crowded Walmart at the height of the pandemic and some guy lifted his mask to blow his nose right next to me with at least a dozen other people nearby. I'm reasonably confident the masks simply aren't effective because many people treat them like a magic item and don't actually learn how to use them.
1. Instead of masking up, stop touching your face in public.
Quit touching your eyes, nose, mouth and ears in public right next to people and then touching all kinds of other stuff having not washed your hands. That will do more than masking up while you do everything else wrong.
2. Stop blowing your nose in crowded public spaces.
I actually wish they would make it illegal and ARREST people who do things like lift their mask to blow their nose within a few feet of a dozen or more other people. Please go someplace more secluded if you need to blow your nose, like a public bathroom, and try to be the only person in that bathroom while blowing your nose.
3. Wash your hands both BEFORE and AFTER using the toilet.
It says it one or more times somewhere in most public bathroom, sometimes in both Spanish and English, and some people still walk out the bathroom without washing their hands after using the toilet. NO ONE (but me, I guess) washes them BEFORE handling their privates in a germ-filled public space full of urine and feces from god-knows-who.
4. Get your respiratory issues under control before you leave the house.
I have an extremely serious, chronic, incurable lung condition. Rather than masking up during COVID, I made sure I did lung clearance, took something that cleared up my sinus issues, etc before I left the house so that I was dramatically less likely to cough, sniffle, sneeze etc while in public.
And I am absolutely certain most people are NOT doing that while coughing, sniffling and nose blowing constantly in public spaces. Most of the rampant germ sharing wouldn't happen if people took a cough suppressant or something at home and carried some on them.
Since I am moving this to an urban planning oriented blog, I will add the following tentative policy suggestions for public spaces like libraries:
1. Make sure your bathroom actually has the reminder signs about washing hands. Consider adding more info, like a checklist asking "Are your hands really clean enough to handle your privates? Maybe you should wash before you use the toilet too."
2. Try to come up with additional educational materials about best practices for not spreading germs appropriate to the environment in question. Remind people COVID is not over and please don't touch strangers gratuitously, we recommend that you do lung clearance before going out in public if you have a chronic respiratory condition, etc.
3. Have a bowl of free cough suppressant lozenges at the front desk. Prominently label them and ask people to take one if they actively and consistently cough and it's not just a one off thing.
4. Consider looking up existing laws that could potentially be used to call the police on someone being an obvious public health hazard.
5. Consider implementing policies if possible to reduce risk, like asking patrons to leave, go get their respiratory issue under control and come back later if they persistently and continuously cough, sneeze, clear their throat or similar.
6. If there are no applicable laws, consider proposing one.
7. Try to position trash cans where it doesn't actively spread germs. Ideally, NOT directly below the paper towel dispenser or immediately next to the sink.
8. If you have homeless patrons, post a sign above trash cans stating that consuming food or drink or using an empty cup pulled out of a trash can is a good way to get sick. There are better ways to meet your needs.
9. If homeless patrons are a big thing with your establishment, find ways to unobtrusively educate them about where they can get free resources.
Please don't grill them or butt into their lives, but if you want to help, make it OBVIOUS and easy to find. Homeless people often have poor eyesight, are exhausted much of the time, etc. Don't assume they are being pigheaded when "chronically exhausted" or "blinder than a bat" are adequate explanations in most cases.
