[wretchard]

One Australian doctor who heads a department in a Hong Kong hospital is living precisely the kind of life you describe, and has been doing it since the outbreak of SARS. He lives apart from his family. His meals, laundry, etc are handled separately. The medical staff in many Hong Kong hospitals have refused to go home for fear of infecting their families. People naturally dread living like this. But there is no escape into the general public, because the public is already buying masks. People in Hong Kong handle ATM buttons with the corners of their wallets or tissue paper. Public pools are closed. Movie theaters are half empty.

My guess is that if the epidemic gets bad enough, there will be no getting away from it. People might as well earn a buck and run the risk as not earn a buck and run the risk anyway.

[Judith Anne]

Yes, and I'm sure I won't stay away because after all, I am a nurse.

But I dread it. Like black clouds in the southwest during tornado season, I pray it doesn't strike my family.

[reformedliberal]

This may be a silly question, so please bear with me:

I understand that SARS can be carried on fomites (non-living objects) and can survive for an hour or more (can't recall the time limit) outside the body. So, if people are using their wallets to depress buttons, are the wallets then in need of disinfection? What disposal procedures are in place for the doorknob covers and the tissues?