23 MARCH. 2020 - OREGON DAY 23 OF THE VIRUS
This site has been concentrating on the "big" picture (just because of who our readers are, and where they live), I think that the global inputs from all of you have been very important in educating and sharing the "knowns" and undoing the intentional "lag" of governments telling the public the entire story (pretending like everything is new-found learning).
The goings-on in India and Australia have been especially helpful in debunking what we are told (er, "not" told) here in America.
I think, however, now that "big picture' is clear, beginning with today we will now concentrate on what is happening here (not only in America), but specifically in my State of Oregon, and our home Port of Siuslaw environments, but please ! do not stop the communications !!
Looking at the time-chart trajectories, the 30 and 60 day marks are pivotal, so, next week end, we here in Oregon should typically start to flatten out, then peak around the end of April.
Getting from day 23 to day 60 is the trick... there is strong evidence that this outbreak will come in waves (like Tsunami), making this current episode only a "marker' wave... preceding the actual Tsunami that will hit over the summer, so, vigilance is paramount.
In response to your comments on the Marin County and Santa Monica California beach swarms and our Oregon reporting yesterday, but, also Florida and texas beaches had invasions, the Miami Mayor closed all marinas and boating and Miami-Dade police were out on the water and shutting down any parties, so, "Yes" people are ignoring the stay-at-home dictates, and even being belligerent about "not" mingling.
We have no local enforcement, and the attitude is "if we do not see it, it is not happening", so there are no police, fire, city, county vehicles or personnel circulating to observe and control, and no network for reporting like in many of your countries.
Here in America we used to have local on-the-street volunteer civil organizations for Defense, Disaster, and Public Order like you have, but they sadly all morphed into "Paying" and government-appointed jobs, that insulate themselves from what is happening.
Total we have 191 cases and 5 deaths in Oregon, with 3 cases and 1 death in the county we are berthed in, our Harbor town has nothing reported (that I can find).
As I wrote all of the above at noon-time, the Oregon Governor just closed down the state until 8 April, only emergency business will stay open and our Harbor will be locked down to all outsiders without a code for the gates. When they said hide in place they were not kidding.
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I think, however, now that "big picture' is clear, beginning with today we will now concentrate on what is happening here (not only in America), but specifically in my State of Oregon, and our home Port of Siuslaw environments, but please ! do not stop the communications !!
Looking at the time-chart trajectories, the 30 and 60 day marks are pivotal, so, next week end, we here in Oregon should typically start to flatten out, then peak around the end of April.
Getting from day 23 to day 60 is the trick... there is strong evidence that this outbreak will come in waves (like Tsunami), making this current episode only a "marker' wave... preceding the actual Tsunami that will hit over the summer, so, vigilance is paramount.
In response to your comments on the Marin County and Santa Monica California beach swarms and our Oregon reporting yesterday, but, also Florida and texas beaches had invasions, the Miami Mayor closed all marinas and boating and Miami-Dade police were out on the water and shutting down any parties, so, "Yes" people are ignoring the stay-at-home dictates, and even being belligerent about "not" mingling.
We have no local enforcement, and the attitude is "if we do not see it, it is not happening", so there are no police, fire, city, county vehicles or personnel circulating to observe and control, and no network for reporting like in many of your countries.
Here in America we used to have local on-the-street volunteer civil organizations for Defense, Disaster, and Public Order like you have, but they sadly all morphed into "Paying" and government-appointed jobs, that insulate themselves from what is happening.
Total we have 191 cases and 5 deaths in Oregon, with 3 cases and 1 death in the county we are berthed in, our Harbor town has nothing reported (that I can find).
As I wrote all of the above at noon-time, the Oregon Governor just closed down the state until 8 April, only emergency business will stay open and our Harbor will be locked down to all outsiders without a code for the gates. When they said hide in place they were not kidding.
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We have been heavily cautioning you about accepting carry-out and delivered foods and to scrutinize the food preparer, his kitchen, AND the delivery vehicle and person ...
Order-in foods have containers...that have been touched by people you don't know, (they had to get touched to get them to your house), Dr. Mehmet Oz says "You need to discard those containers at the door, pour out the ingredients, the food in those containers are probably clean, but, get rid of those containers."... and, really consider "who" is cooking and serving that food, Are they working sick ?
After being in Interstate Catering and restaurants ourselves, we are very "aware' of what goes on in food preparation... especially during extended "slam" times, here are some pointers from our Doomship Catering Days.
Order-in foods have containers...that have been touched by people you don't know, (they had to get touched to get them to your house), Dr. Mehmet Oz says "You need to discard those containers at the door, pour out the ingredients, the food in those containers are probably clean, but, get rid of those containers."... and, really consider "who" is cooking and serving that food, Are they working sick ?
After being in Interstate Catering and restaurants ourselves, we are very "aware' of what goes on in food preparation... especially during extended "slam" times, here are some pointers from our Doomship Catering Days.
Any experienced Chef (of any type) can simply walk into a galley area and envision its ability to be cleaned, how efficient it is/isnt, and how many it will take to generate the expected output.
Generally speaking, there are three areas of concern that a chef (and a restaurant Health Inspector) look for:
Mechanical or Biological and Chemical food contamination.
The beginnings must be a clean work area, and clean food product, this is where poor design and over cleaning or using the wrong stuff chemically contaminates food,
Thoroughly washing cooking equipment in hot soapy water, before and after each use, including all cutting boards, dishes, countertops, and utensils is simple, but, to ensure all cooking surfaces are up to professional kitchen standards sanitizer solutions are used it to wipe down all surfaces between each prep job.
Only purchase food from known and safety compliant restaurant food suppliers to ensure your ingredients have been properly stored prior to purchase and during delivery.
Properly washing all fruits and vegetables to prevent Viruses, Germs and Bacteria by rinsing all organic matter from the vegetables is imperative.
The products used for cleaning in all of this must be germicidal yet NSF food safe (very expensive), and maximum care must be made to not overspray product and to then rinse away chemical residue before processing food.
Mechanical ranges from that bolt that fell off the shredder, to a hair in the soup (yuk), to that upside down roach baked in the kish, to the band-aid that fell off from that cut.
The common-sense use of hair and beard netting, gloves, and constant hand washing, the removal of all jewelry and the prohibiting of anything with buttons or pockets is mandatory in the kitchen... glass or ceramics in any form or configuration should never-ever be allowed anywhere in the premises...anywhere !
Per every States rules... Store all food and containers off the floor in NSF rodent-proof lids. Our practice was to always be able to fire-hose the floor at any time... All cleaning schedules for foodservice and prep areas, "must" be executed and concluded 60 full minutes "before and after" the use of the kitchen.
Make it a practice to verbally announce loudly the throw-away of all bag clips-tie, lids, seals or similar... "BAG TIE IN TRASH !", enforce it.
Biological is far trickier, and the most abused... Biological
contaminations are responsible for foodborne illnesses,
Salmonella, Listeria, Cyclospora, E. coli epidemics,
Norovirus, Coronavirus, Rotavirus, Hepatitis outbreaks, and
bacterial caused illness (aka food poisoning) from spoilage.
Invisible to the naked eye, all of these microorganisms
wreak havoc in your kitchen and the food being served.
Biological contaminations are typically passed through a
sick or injured employee, improper handling, storage or
cooking times of food, or cross contaminations of many
types.
Most kitchen workers and cooks don’t take the time to thoroughly
wash their hands even "before" their shift, and certainly do not don’t wash
them in between tasks, yet, handwashing should always happen before and after every break, and between every stage of cooking...
Never let an employee work when sick with a cold or virus has been a cardinal rule... working sick infects the product after it is cooked, so, do not think about the cooking temperature killing anything dan
gerous.
A sneezed on plate of nachos is lethal, as is a nose wiped hamburger bun.
Resanitize work surfaces, utensils, and kitchen equipment after each job.
Designate specific cutting boards, utensils, and containers for individual food types. For example, one set for raw beef, another for fish, etc. You can also invest in color-coded boards and utensil handles to help keep equipment separate. (we always used symbols/pictures).
STORAGE: Avoid the food Danger Zones, especially between meal serving times when "on hold' keep cold food cold, and hot food hot to prevent bacteria from growing.
Organize your commercial reefers, freezers and walk-ins according to a food hierarchy storage chart to prevent cross contamination and ageing.