If you become sick, what should you do about all the businesses you visited over the past two weeks? During my contact tracing test (see Remembering Two Weeks Back post), I realized many of my close encounters were with people in businesses and very few with people that I knew since most of them were at home. We have been to grocery stores most often.
However, we also visited the bank to sign some documents and several local restaurants and stores, such as La Fogata Grill, Anthony-Thomas Candy Shoppe (best chocolate in the world!), and Holly Hill Farms Meat Shoppe. We have been trying to do our part to help our favorite places stay afloat.
Businesses would not be happy if you posted on social media that you ‘might’ have the disease and were in their store. They are already struggling for customers due to the restricted movement orders. Also, they are regularly disinfecting, so if you were in a few days ago, then they have likely cleaned since. The big question is, what should you do if anything about the places you visited?
I recommend that immediately after speaking to your doctor and calling the people you were near in the past two weeks, that you call all the stores you were in or let them know through their website contact form. If you can remember, be sure to include the date and roughly the time you were there. If everyone does this, a business can gauge how big of an outbreak they have in the area and mention to employees that were working at that date and time, potentially having them stay home from work for a week or so to see if they are okay. The companies can also be extra diligent in scrubbing down the business that night to help reduce any future transmission.
A side anecdote, I want to ask businesses to urge their employees to wear masks even when they are on break walking through the store. Last week, I made a quick stop into a grocery store for a few items. I grabbed some frozen vegetables and briskly walked towards the front of the store. As I came to the end of the aisle, two young men were rounding the corner. One coughed, and I walk right through it. The ironic part is that both were employees and had their masks down. I believe they were on a break, so they thought it was okay to be without masks. I was not happy but will not callout the store by name. I know to wear the masks is getting old, but this helps reduce spreading the coronavirus.
Take care and be safe!
Jeff
#SimpleCoronavirusSolution #SelfDirectedContactTracing