Coronavirus Quarantine options...

For over 5 years I have been using curb-side grocery pickup and have had zero problems. Curb-side has been suspected because of the empty shelves at the grocery store, I can only use home truck delivery where my grocery list is picked at the warehouse. Test driving that idea on Thursday.

Also for the past 5 years, we have been using carry-out from Olive Garden, where we went to pick up the order. Works great :) Now the restaurant has special deals for carry-outs, such as right now it is buy one get one free. The selection is limited. At the moment, it is curb-side pickup only.

We rather pick-up then have someone bring the stuff in their vehicle. We know where our vehicles have been :P

In my area (which has 8 covid-19 cases all related to travel and no community spread yet), the restaurants package the delivery in a bag or two and close them so only the outside of the bag is exposed to the delivery person and their vehicle. I usually set the bag on my ceramic cook top and wipe down the containers as I remove them from the bag, then throw the bag away and clean where it contacted the cook top. I often "plate" the delivery meal because Mom and I prefer plates and normal utensils, but I usually let the kids eat from the containers. I've been doing this for years because of my immune compromised condition, just being extra careful now. I didn't use to wipe down groceries, but I am now.

Some of the delivery services are expensive (adding $8-14 to an order) so I often use drive thru windows (8-10 minutes away) a lot more than delivery. I just cannot see adding an $8-9 delivery fee to a $14 order of hamburgers and shakes (Mom's favorite). Major restaurants closing their dining rooms and offering free curbside pickup has actually added choices for me.

JoAnn, I've wondered frequently about the safety of take outs, not just cooked meals but groceries.   If I ordered anything perishable, I have no idea if it's been kept on canned ice and refrigerated until delivery.  

And I have no idea of the sanitary precautions the packers and drivers may or may not have taken.   That besides the cost of delivery are why I don't use deliveries, but there are just a few restaurants I would trust, and they're my favorite ones.

Still, I know others here do use delivery services, and I thought the information might help them.

As to FB, no offense to you but I wouldn't rely on that predatory, data gathering and personally exploitive robber baron site for anything, even the time of day!  If Dr. Sanjay Gupta or other prominent and qualified medical personnel offered the same advice, I would believe it. 

Thanks for raising that issue.   It is something we all need to consider, and it's not the panacea it's represented to be.

The next thing to shut down will be the "take out" option. It was posted on Facebook to not use the containers the food comes in to eat out of. Transfer it to another plate or bowl. Then throw the containers out. Eventually it will just be pharmacies and groceries. My Walgreens has a pick up window so really no need to go into the store. Acme is offering curbside groceries and some take out places the same thing. So u don't leave ur car.