Half a million antiseptic wipes have been purchased : Disposable gloves are available to order also hand sanatiser and soap: Will Royal Mail be providing face masks? Updated 2 Apr

[PostmanBitesDog]

Will Royal Mail be providing face masks?
Where we have identified specific roles for whom observing the 2m physical distancing is at times difficult masks are being provided. However, in those cases the 2m physical distancing must be observed when possible and hand hygiene rules including not touching the mouth, nose and eyes or before eating must continue to be observed.

Masks are on order and will be made available for those employees that wish to use them from their managers. The World Health Organization guidance on when to use a mask says states that it is only beneficial to stop the spread of the virus for:

• People who are ill, coughing and sneezing to reduce them from spreading the virus to others.
  People who are caring for, or in close contact with someone who is infected. People who are healthy only need to wear a mask if they are taking care of a person with suspected 2019-nCoV infection.

Coronavirus disease advice for the public: When and how to use masks:-

• • If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected coronavirus infection.
  • Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.
  • Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
  • If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly.

Further information on the use of face masks can be found on the WHO website.
People often touch masks frequently adjusting them and ‘checking’ them and risk potentially picking up the virus from the mask onto their hands when they remove it. The primary preventative guidance is hand hygiene supported by the 2m social physical distancing.

Although the jury's still out regarding the tiny airborne particles of COVID-19 lingering in the air, I'm sure we all agree that we shouldn't take chances when it comes to working without face masks. There are none in our DO and the staff there can't find any place that sells them; they're even sold out online.

So the sooner the masks that are ordered arrive to our office, the safer we'll be.

South China Morning Post (April 2, 2020): Is Airborne Coronavirus Transmission Possible? The WHO Urges Caution

Scientists are exploring the possibility that the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 could be spread through the air over a much wider area than via coughs and sneezes, but the World Health Organization has urged caution saying the available evidence has yet to support this.
“Airborne transmissions” are defined as tiny aerosol droplets – smaller than 5 micrometers in diameter – that can linger in the air for hours.
They can also spread the disease much further than the 2 meters (6 feet) covered by the respiratory droplets that are currently seen as the primary means of spreading the disease. Aerosols can also cause more damage when inhaled because they travel further into the lungs.
Hanan Balkhy, assistant director general for antimicrobial resistance at the WHO told US National Public Radio on Monday that unlike cases where the virus has been spread through coughs and sneezes “if we were to have airborne transmission, we would see cases with no contact before getting ill with that disease. That’s just one example. And we are not seeing that”.
But Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said he could not rule out the possibility and recent research has also found “limited evidence that some potential for airborne transmission exists”.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: Rapid Expert Consultation on the Possibility of Bioaerosol Spread of SARS-CoV-2 for the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 1, 2020)

COVID-19.jpg

[k979aaa]

o 180,000 100ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai on 31st March due in the UK 2nd April

o 85,200 236ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai awaiting confirmation on flight schedule
s

Ironic isn't it. The PPE that we are getting comes from the country where the virus pandemic came from!

Wonder who is buying all the shares in ALL the companies devalued in the resent past.

[yellowbelly]

o 180,000 100ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai on 31st March due in the UK 2nd April

o 85,200 236ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai awaiting confirmation on flight schedule
s

Ironic isn't it. The PPE that we are getting comes from the country where the virus pandemic came from!

Wonder who is buying all the shares in ALL the companies devalued in the resent past.

Rico.....???

[k979aaa]

o 180,000 100ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai on 31st March due in the UK 2nd April

o 85,200 236ml bottles due to be flown from Shanghai awaiting confirmation on flight schedule
s

Ironic isn't it. The PPE that we are getting comes from the country where the virus pandemic came from!

Wonder who is buying all the shares in ALL the companies devalued in the resent past.

Rico.....???

Not even I would blame him for this. But the Australians are thinking this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtRr4pIineQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Janet Brum]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I watched that interview last night, it gives some answers and it`s very informative.

[k979aaa]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU

I watched that interview last night, it gives some answers and it`s very informative.

Thank you Janet just watched the whole thing I take away from this that the masks should be for the medics first but the mask in it's self, Will not stop you getting the virus just stops you spreading it but all this info helps us all for the benefit of humanity and the war against this virus!

[PostmanBitesDog]

What Royal Mail posties are doing with their disposable gloves:

[Eekaaay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU

I watched that interview last night, it gives some answers and it`s very informative.

Thank you Janet just watched the whole thing I take away from this that the masks should be for the medics first but the mask in it's self, Will not stop you getting the virus just stops you spreading it but all this info helps us all for the benefit of humanity and the war against this virus!

If we all wore cloth masks, that would help halt the disease. Asymptomatic people would no longer spread the disease accidentally. It would help people stop touching their face, reducing infections from cross-contamination. Also - WHO actually clearly state in their guidelines that masks DO work if used correctly, feel free to go back to their original guidelines and check the wording. The myth that masks don't work was created to prevent people hoarding masks and depriving the NHS. I can totally get behind that, and the use of surgical grade masks to go shopping in is massive overkill and massively selfish. However a simple cloth mask made out of t-shirt material, though no good for a nurse, can reduce the amount of virus particles you inhale by around 50% (versus a surgical mask at 89% and an N95 at 99%). At a stage when we cannot yet say how many virus particles cause an infection, 50% is still a decent advantage to give yourself in environments where people are still not adhering to the 2m rule.

[sindba]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU

I watched that interview last night, it gives some answers and it`s very informative.

Thank you Janet just watched the whole thing I take away from this that the masks should be for the medics first but the mask in it's self, Will not stop you getting the virus just stops you spreading it but all this info helps us all for the benefit of humanity and the war against this virus!

If we all wore cloth masks, that would help halt the disease. Asymptomatic people would no longer spread the disease accidentally. It would help people stop touching their face, reducing infections from cross-contamination. Also - WHO actually clearly state in their guidelines that masks DO work if used correctly, feel free to go back to their original guidelines and check the wording. The myth that masks don't work was created to prevent people hoarding masks and depriving the NHS. I can totally get behind that, and the use of surgical grade masks to go shopping in is massive overkill and massively selfish. However a simple cloth mask made out of t-shirt material, though no good for a nurse, can reduce the amount of virus particles you inhale by around 50% (versus a surgical mask at 89% and an N95 at 99%). At a stage when we cannot yet say how many virus particles cause an infection, 50% is still a decent advantage to give yourself in environments where people are still not adhering to the 2m rule.

Sorry, could you provide a link to the OFFICIAL scientific guidance for these claims?

If you can, great. If not you should probably delete it.

Just that things are bad enough without people following shonky advice they've read on the internet somewhere.

[Grumpypostie]

All the ppe you are saying is on order is great... but it’s not in place... the s**t rubber gloves they are handing out don’t last 5 mins.. also anti bad wipes.. where are they..managers on the floor don’t give to S**ts about your safety all it is about is get that mail..parcel sorted get it dispatched simple as that.. what’s wrong now a days is that it’s everyone for themselves no one sticks together.. it’s all about get as much overtime as you can.. and boll***s to everyone else.if this happened 20 years ago then every postman would walk out

[martybhoy39]

Has any office got Masks and does anyone work in a D.O where more than 2 posties ware a Mask...do Posties know how to Add and Subtract and can they go to the toilet themself...dont respect yourself,respect your Fellow Workmates f***ing WARE A MASK..NUMBNUTS

[Pumpernickel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAk7aX5hksU

I watched that interview last night, it gives some answers and it`s very informative.

Thank you Janet just watched the whole thing I take away from this that the masks should be for the medics first but the mask in it's self, Will not stop you getting the virus just stops you spreading it but all this info helps us all for the benefit of humanity and the war against this virus!

If we all wore cloth masks, that would help halt the disease. Asymptomatic people would no longer spread the disease accidentally. It would help people stop touching their face, reducing infections from cross-contamination. Also - WHO actually clearly state in their guidelines that masks DO work if used correctly, feel free to go back to their original guidelines and check the wording. The myth that masks don't work was created to prevent people hoarding masks and depriving the NHS. I can totally get behind that, and the use of surgical grade masks to go shopping in is massive overkill and massively selfish. However a simple cloth mask made out of t-shirt material, though no good for a nurse, can reduce the amount of virus particles you inhale by around 50% (versus a surgical mask at 89% and an N95 at 99%). At a stage when we cannot yet say how many virus particles cause an infection, 50% is still a decent advantage to give yourself in environments where people are still not adhering to the 2m rule.

Sorry, could you provide a link to the OFFICIAL scientific guidance for these claims?

If you can, great. If not you should probably delete it.

Just that things are bad enough without people following shonky advice they've read on the internet somewhere.

FWIW this is what I've gathered, and I'm by no means an expert, so grain of salt...

There isn't any consistant guidance throughout the world as different countries evaluate the potential benefits of mask usage differently due to "lack of evidence" (note that a lack of evidence of effectiveness does not mean lack of effectiveness).

Hong Kong as an example feel it is "essential" that symptomatic people wear a mask to reduce spread, and everyone use a mask in confined/crowded spaces (eg public transport).
Singapore and Japan have similar guidance.
The WHO have it the other way around where a mask is only needed "if caring for someone infected".

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30134-X/fulltext

It should be noted though that, while masks have the potential to reduce spread (studies needed) they also have the potential to increase it (if masks are used for prolongued periods, reused without disinfecting, etc) so the actual conditions of use are also a factor (thus an employer providing a single mask for a week of use is thought, though not yet proven, to be harmful).

It's a similar story with gloves. Continually reusing gloves is thought to be really bad practice, and those used medically are intended to be changed very regularly. If we were to use them properly, then as a minimum we would need a pair for sorting, change when we go to fill van, change when we grab the first bag, change when we grab second bag, etc. So long as your skin is in good condition and you clean your hands, gloves aren't strictly necessary (and can potentially make matters worse if not used properly and changed regularly).

Then comes hand washing... Wash too much and you kill off the beneficial bacteria on your skin and break down too much of your skins oil layers. Wash too much for long enough (varies per person, but it can occur within weeks) and you get dermatitis (something I've known about for years due to my experience in food manufacture). If you get dermatitis severely enough your skin will crack, which could (in extreme cases) negate all effort to "not touch face" as there are now breaches in your skin on your hands... Gloves can make this worse (when used improperly). Long term, frequent, sanitizer use can be even worse for this than actual washing as it can cause dermatitis via a delayed allergic reaction. If you notice your skin feeling very dry, reduce the frequency of cleaning a bit.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK144008/

FWIW I don't wear a mask (though would in some circumstances that my round doesn't see, but would bin it immediately after), don't want gloves (at least, not yet) and have always carried and used my own sanitizer (that is actually better than the RM supplied super evaporative fluid).

[k979aaa]

Not enough PPE and here is a link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52243179" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; And too much work with fewer staff.

[twoloops]

Some of the lads are planning a sponsored head shave via Houseparty App this Saturday afternoon to try & raise funds to buy PPE for our office, we have interest from a local councilor & newspaper.

[guardianangel]

Had masks yesterday some wore them some didn't ,what is the point,Masks should be mandatory in buildings enforced by management,the new findings coming out change by the day and is now looking like we should of been wearing them for weeks ago,shambolic is an understatement,Come on do the right thing get them issued,Amazon warehouses are using them .