I am someone who really enjoys eating out. In Chicago, there are thousands of options to choose from every day. Once I got an account through UberEats and DoorDash it was great.
Earlier this week I really wanted Wingstop and had this genius idea to order through DoorDash until I opened Twitter and remembered we’re in the middle of a pandemic.
There’s mixed feelings about whether the Coronavirus is worth the panic surrounding it and the panic comes from the lack of leadership in our country. However, I think it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Testing isn’t being recommended and it’s probably best to eat at home. This may be hard for people to get used to, but cooking at home is the better option. We don’t know who is cooking, bagging, or delivering the food and whether they have the virus.
According to USA Today, “Public health experts say it’s safe to dine out as long as you take precautions such as frequently cleaning your hands with soap or hand sanitizer and staying at least 3 feet away from anyone who is coughing or sneezing.”
Food expert Benjamin Chapman stated, “As things stand today, based on the information we have from the Centers for Disease Control (and Prevention) and information from local and state public health officials, I don’t see any basis for recommendations that people not dine out.”
Here’s my take on this. We can wash our hands and sanitize them until they’re permanently clean. However, we can’t assume everyone is going to that.
This pandemic has shown that people didn’t have the best hygiene methods before and aren’t completely sure how hand sanitizer works.
March 13th, WGN-TV reported “14 more COVID-19 cases were announced [in Illinois]. All of them are in the Chicago-area except one. 13 have been identified in Cook County and one has been identified in Lake County.”
According to WGN-TV, “During Friday’s COVID-19 update, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all schools will be closed from March 17 through March 29 as 14 more cases were confirmed. The decision follows other states like Ohio, Maryland and Michigan.”
Chicago Public Schools never closed while I was a student. From experience, they would let the parents decide whether they would send their kids to school during snowstorms and flu season. they left it up to the parents to decide whether or not they would send their kids to school. Originally, Mayor Lightfoot announced the schools would stay open for the remaining weeks.
So, after they announced the schools would be closing, it just confirmed that this may be more serious than some people believed and I decided I wouldn’t eat out for now.
I’m hoping this isn’t as serious as the media is making it seem, but until they have a cure it’s best to take precautions. One of these precautions is buying whatever groceries are accessible and cooking at home for a while.