Traveling In COVID times

How can you know if there wasn’t someone else who was an even better fit? For some HOs, like myself, at the moment concerning the pandemic, a local sitter from my own country IS the best fit.
30 five star reviews don’t make anybody “best fitting”. A sitter’s application has to ring a bell, which doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with a number of reviews.

We have two cats, one of them with a few health issues and both of them need their medication regularly. For a sit I declined a sitter, who has 50+ 5 star reviews and she only sits cats and I really can’t explain why I didn’t want this “perfect match” and chose a couple with “only” a few reviews instead.

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I am also fully vaccinated and had a positive test three weeks ago. Nothing serious though, just an almighty head cold for 48 hours. But the funny thing is I now can’t get my teeth to feel clean. I brush them four or five times a day but they still feel furry. An after effect maybe.

Sorry to hear about your aunt.
All of my tests have been PCR - the two recent and a few that I had in Oct-Nov 2020 when you were supposed to be tested to come in to Washington, DC. I could stop at a Kaiser clinic on the drive back and have the results the next morning.

Over the past three days, I have heard of people who believe they caught covid on planes. One is a doctor who was fully vaccinated and took every precaution. He was sick for a few weeks and now two months later, has long covid --he still has very little stamina.

I delivered food and medicine today to a friend and her family who now have covid for the second time. She had her fourth shot three weeks before she flew and she was wearing an N100 mask, which provides even more protection than an N95, but thinks she got it because she wasn’t wearing goggles. She says that the latest omicron variant is being considered about as contagious as measles, one of the most contagious diseases there is.

I have started to look for safety goggles that will go over my regular glasses. Does anyone have any recommendations?

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Oh dear…

What about these? MEDICAL FACE SHIELD - 10 SHIELDS | SmileStore.co.nz

This is what just one of the large industrial work safety supply chains has & may work. https://nzsafetyblackwoods.co.nz/en/faceshields-visors-628

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Good point @BunnyCat . I questioned her about that. My friend did not remove her mask at all, not in the rest room for a breather, and she did not eat or drink anything on the flight. The mask stayed on at all times.

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Scary stuff. I heard an interview this morning that said the airplane in flight is actually pretty safe once the air system starts working, but waiting for take off etc, plus the airport itself is the worst part. I’m not looking forward to our 10 hour flight in May. Wish we could get our 4th booster before we leave but we won’t be able to.

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Yes, that the airplane ventilation system filters are good is true and this is what airlines tell customers and employees since the beginning of the pandemic, but it is only part of the truth.

They would work effectively if people stayed in their seats at all times, nobody walked the aisles and everybody on board wore a mask also at all times. Now find the fault :wink:

Yes the air on board is as clean as in an operation room, but this wouldn’t apply if 200 people moved around eating and drinking without masks, while the surgeon is doing surgery.

So far, I have been lucky and haven’t caught the virus. I also wear the mask at all times while I am close to people and only take it off to eat or drink, but I do this when I am alone in the galley.

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You are a healthcare professional, as am I. Why pose this question here in a pet sitting forum?

Evidentially, the goggles even worn by healthcare professionals have drawbacks. There are openings at the top, they don’t fit flush, some are not made to be worn over glasses, etc. For surgery, they are made to keep the practitioner from infecting the patient. This Covid variant is a whole different animal - super transmissible. It can enter through small openings. If nothing better can be found, I’ll have to go with one of those.

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Again, you are a healthcare professional.
What we wear is called personal protection equipment (PPE) The purpose is to protect the healthcare provider and minimize transmission and exposure. And I am fairly certain you know this.

When you speak to your infection control resources perhaps you can share their recommendations which I expect is what is being used.
People are aware
That COVID is still out there.
But restrictions have lessened to the degree were mask are now optional in many places And various countries, public areas and flights.

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You have reminded me how divisive a topic this is. Since i don’t want this to degenerate into a contentious discussion, I am choosing to drop the subject now. Covid: Woman caught virus twice within record 20 days - BBC News

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I realize in some places Covid rates are much better than before. But there are still a lot of people getting Covid, even now. Is it okay to ask if the homeowner is vaccinated? I would also not want to stay in a house where anyone recently had Covid. Is there any good way to handle this? I did not travel for so long during the pandemic and would like to do some housesits now, if the situations seem safe.

In my listing the first sentence is, that we only accept fully vaccinated and boostered sitters, as we ourselves are.
You could also state this in your profile. I don’t see why you shouldn’t, because it’s all up to you who you want to sit for and the reasons why are also yours.
I know that there are people who don’t understand this, but they just have to accept it, don’t they?

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Include right up front in your profile: Fully vaccinated and boosted Only seeking sits where everyone is as well
And then bring it up when you talk.

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Yes it’s definitely ok to ask. They don’t have to reply to you if they don’t want to and you can make your decisions accordingly. We have indicated in our profile, and in our applications, that we are fully vaccinated and follow all covid protocols wherever we are.

We are avoided staying overnight with home owners the night before a sit now and avoiding as many face-to-face indoor interactions as we can. One home owner has rapid tests and she wants us all (her included) to test before we meet up for the handover.

We are fine with all of this. Whatever it takes to make sure home owners (and us) are safe. We don’t want our trip messed up with unexpected illness that confines us to the house.

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It’s really depends on what time the family is leaving. If we had to, we would stay overnight, but we’re happy we’ve been able to avoid it on our 3 upcoming sits. Now just trying to decide if we will wear masks when we meet up with them. TBH, I’m more worried about when they come back than when we arrive.

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That’s a really good point! When they come back from traveling…that’s a time that could be very risky. Do most homeowners want the sitters to stay until exactly when they arrive? or stay overnight after they’re there?

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Everyone is different but most are content with a quick handover, or for us to leave shortly before they arrive.

That is our plans for all three sits because our home owners aren’t driving home until about 8pm so we’ve booked a nearby B&B and will check in that afternoon, then come back to feed the pups and then leave again before they arrive home.

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We usually arrive at home very early in the morning and, if the sitters don’t want to do a handover in person, it’s perfectly alright if they leave before we are back. We’re just a 30 minutes drive away from the airport so after we have landed and they have fed the cats, they can leave.