We ended #wecanyolonow on March 15 and raced home to the midwest (where my parents live) from the southern island of New Zealand, with the anticipation at that time that the borders may close around us if we did not move quickly (we guessed correctly, as Australia and New Zealand have both now closed their borders). We’d already sustained about $2,300 in losses for re-rerouting our trip around Covid-19 and did not think it made sense to continue the journey. In fact, if the economy worsened, I needed to consider ending my maternity leave early and return to work. My company was already full-on work from home at the time of writing. Our home in NYC was occupied by the parents of a friend of mine who just became a new mother, so we also could not risk going back home to NYC. I shared on instagram some of the things we did and was asked to document this on my blog.
Saying goodbye to New Zealand’s Mt. Cook
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The following is a *personal* account of our best efforts at staying stress free and staying socially distant. This is not medical advice. This is partially informed by my father’s expertise and research in an area that’s very pertinent to the transmission of Covid-19 (his has been nationally cited, but I don’t wish to reveal his identity). At this time of writing, no one knows enough about the virus to know for certain. I hope that this can be helpful to those who may still need to conduct essential travel for work or for repatriation, but I cannot guarantee that these are fool proof means to avoid transmission.
Wash your hands – Like any other recommendation, washing our hands thoroughly with soap and hot water was the main habit, especially before eating and after using any bathroom. We also used paper towels or tissues to open and close the bathroom doors afterwards.
Socially distancing – We flew coach (4 hrs from Christchurch to Brisbane, 13 hrs from Brisbane to Los Angeles, immigration and layover in Los Angeles, then 3.5 hours to the Midwest), but thanks to my Priority Pass and his OneWorld Emerald status, we spent most of our layovers in nice business class lounges. Given that air traffic was already down (my blind estimate is that the airports were maybe at 30% capacity) in the airports we went to, the lounges had plenty of seats. Mr. Savemycents and I found seating in secluded areas away from a lot of foot traffic to minimize interaction with other passengers.
A near empty lounge in Christchurch International Airport
Be mindful of touching surfaces that many others touch – we avoided touching stair banisters, escalator handrails, and used elbows to activate elevator switches (we used a lot of elevators because BB was in a stroller). You can drive yourself crazy doing this (you start eyeing forks and knives suspiciously, and wonder if you should eat that sandwich with your hands – to be fair, the virus is transmitted to your respiratory system so if you’re not inhaling food the chances of infection are lower). I eventually had to shut my mind down and just tell myself that I’m doing the best I can.
Wiping down our airplane seats extensively before sitting down – we carried antiseptic and baby-friendly wipes with us (these we bought way before the Covid-19 crisis because our friends who traveled with kids said it was helpful to have them). We used them to wipe down the following before settling into our seats: seat head cushion, armrests, tables (all sides folded and unfolded), entertainment screens, overhead lights and air valves, seat recline button, seat belt buckles. Anything that was metal, glass, or plastic took priority. We also wiped our phone screens twice a day. One of the planes we took had just landed from Seattle, and so as an extra precaution we sat on the puppy pee pads I used to change BB’s diaper on.
Avoiding the airplane bathroom if possible – The airplane bathroom is one of the most poorly ventilated parts of a plane. In fact, if a person with viral particles forgot to put the toilet seat down and flushed it, it is akin to potentially aerosolizing particles in the air. I put on two diapers on BB and said a prayer and thankfully made it through our longest flight (13 hours) without needing to take him to the bathroom, but I myself wasn’t so lucky. I made sure to flush after the lid was down, wash my hands thoroughly afterwards, and used paper towels wrapped around my hands to exit the bathroom. To be honest I was a bit more concerned that a woman in a row near us was coughing a lot during the flight and did not cover her mouth.
Wearing masks when interacting with others – I brought a few masks with me before we left on this trip. During the trip, the protective packaging ripped open in my bag, so we had to use these masks regardless. We wore masks not so much that it would prevent us contacting the virus, but for preventing us from touching our faces, AND, in the chance that we were silent carriers, to prevent our spittle from hitting other people’s faces. Our masks were imperfect, ill fitting, and uncomfortable. But we figured it was better than nothing
Taking deep breaths to de-stress. Drink wine – Deep breaths encourage the flow of oxygen to your brain and help you make better decisions. If all else fails, drink some wine if you like (Mr. Savemycents had some)
House entry procedures – we made the decision to stay with my parents because they lived in a very large home in the midwest that was better for social distancing than any other option we had. We took the following precautions when entering the house
- We used the first room that we entered as the staging room. Luckily this was the laundry room in my parent’s house so it was perfect for what we had to do
- Luggage that we did not need was taken to an unfinished, low traffic part of the basement to be disinfected for 5 days after wiping down the handles. If we were in a warmer, drier climate, I would have favored leaving everything in the backyard under direct sun for more UV ray exposure. We don’t know for certain how long the virus can live for certain and still transmit, but we figured 5 days was a good enough time for cloth (the latest I read was anywhere from 2 – 5 days for plastic and steel). We still plan on wiping the handles and zippers one more time before we opened
- Anything non-clothing we needed right away (electronics, cords, other basic things) were wiped down with antiseptic wipes or in the case of BB’s toys, thrown into a hot water bath and soaped and washed
- BB’s Doona car seat, car seat cover, and baby carrier were laid out on the deck to receive UV sun light, and then wiped down and also sent to the basement for disinfection.
- We threw all our clothing into laundry and put on pajamas my mother provided
- We used bleached water to wipe down the floor of the laundry room (where we did all this unpacking) when done
- We further wiped the laundry machines with antiseptic wipes
- We left our shoes outside the house in the garage
- We took hot showers
- We put ourselves under a 14-day quarantine and are socially distanced from my parents
Our system for moving things during this time in the house
Again, none of what we are doing is perfect nor is this meant to be medical advice
- Mr. Savemycents and I separated into two different bedrooms and baths. We rarely venture downstairs where my parents are during most of the day and where the kitchen is located
- We absolutely avoid the kitchen
- We still wash our hands constantly, mainly to keep BB clean
- During mealtimes, my mother sets things up on a tray that she places by our doors and then leaves. We eat and then set the tray back outside. She uses kitchen gloves and brings everything downstairs, into the dishwasher or washes herself. She then washes her gloves with hot water and soap
- As the water here is not perfect to drink, we have a gallon jug of distilled water that we pour into our mugs to reduce the trips we need to get water upstairs
Stay healthy and safe everyone and do your best in containing the impact of the virus on our health and economy.
