4 ms·

> 1) show up to work at, say, McDonalds even if they're not feeling great. The US generally has extremely strict guidelines regarding food safety and hygiene.

> 1) show up to work at, say, McDonalds even if they're not feeling great. The US generally has extremely strict guidelines regarding food safety and hygiene. In terms of food safety, America ranks above all but the Nordic countries.[1] I can assure you that American restaurants absolutely will not tolerate a food worker with an active upper respiratory infection. If anything US restaurants are more likely to order a worker to stay home, because unlike Europe they generally don't have to give hourly workers paid sick time. [1] https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Index https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Index

dragontamer 7y ago
While this is true, what worries me about Coronavirus is its weeks-long incubation period, where you can spread the virus even without any symptoms attached. The obvious "dude is coughing / sneezing" case simply doesn't apply to Coronavirus. It can spread long before you show any symptoms. ----------- There are even cases where people are passing the virus on without ever actually getting, or feeling, sick. https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-confirmed-patients-can-transmit-the-coronavirus-without-showing-symptoms https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-confirmed-patients-... Coronavirus is deadly enough to kill some people, but weak enough that some people's immune system represses it entirely. In some ways, something like Ebola is easier to control. Because everyone who gets sick with Ebola actually shows symptoms (because Ebola is so deadly).
- RandomInteger4 7y ago
  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAaaaaa ... deep inhale eheh ... oh wait, you seriously believe that?
- davidw 7y ago
  As above/below though, that goes for pretty much any country and if it's the biggest factor in contagion, then maybe we won't see large differences between wealthy-ish countries.
davidw 7y ago
Fair enough. It's just an example though - there are a lot of other low-wage industries with lots of public contact, and people may try and hide their illness if they need the work. And of course people may be contagious before exhibiting a lot of symptoms, but that's certainly not US specific.
pessimizer 7y ago
As a person who has worked in American restaurants, I can assure you that this is not true.
Ancalagon 7y ago
This is false. Ask any person working in a tip-based position to give up working for 2 weeks because of a sickness and they will more than likely say they cannot afford to (because they will fail to make rent).
frakkingcylons 7y ago
> I can assure you that American restaurants absolutely will not tolerate a food worker with an active upper respiratory infection. I think you're speaking with too much certainty here. It really depends on the restaurant's management, just based on my personal experience. Some will just assign people to jobs that aren't customer-facing because they can't afford to be short-handed and it's difficult to get people to come in on their day off.
headmelted 7y ago
You've just confirmed the parent's point. "they generally don't have to give hourly workers paid sick time." ..is exactly why you should expect them to take something for their fever, turn up for their shift and say absolutely nothing to anyone about feeling unwell.
jdkee 7y ago
Your assertion is categorically false. "But not all state and local food codes include FDA’s sick worker rules. In fact, 19 states have not adopted these rules. And some food workers work while sick even when their states or localities do have those rules. Indeed, 20% of food workers say they worked at least one shift with vomiting or diarrhea in the past year." https://blogs.cdc.gov/yourhealthyourenvironment/2016/12/05/food-workers-working-while-sick/ https://blogs.cdc.gov/yourhealthyourenvironment/2016/12/05/f...

dragontamer 7y ago

While this is true, what worries me about Coronavirus is its weeks-long incubation period, where you can spread the virus even without any symptoms attached. The obvious "dude is coughing / sneezing" case simply doesn't apply to Coronavirus. It can spread long before you show any symptoms. ----------- There are even cases where people are passing the virus on without ever actually getting, or feeling, sick. https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-confirmed-patients-can-transmit-the-coronavirus-without-showing-symptoms https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-confirmed-patients-... Coronavirus is deadly enough to kill some people, but weak enough that some people's immune system represses it entirely. In some ways, something like Ebola is easier to control. Because everyone who gets sick with Ebola actually shows symptoms (because Ebola is so deadly).

RandomInteger4 7y ago
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAaaaaa ... deep inhale eheh ... oh wait, you seriously believe that?
davidw 7y ago
As above/below though, that goes for pretty much any country and if it's the biggest factor in contagion, then maybe we won't see large differences between wealthy-ish countries.

davidw 7y ago

Fair enough. It's just an example though - there are a lot of other low-wage industries with lots of public contact, and people may try and hide their illness if they need the work. And of course people may be contagious before exhibiting a lot of symptoms, but that's certainly not US specific.

pessimizer 7y ago

As a person who has worked in American restaurants, I can assure you that this is not true.

Ancalagon 7y ago

This is false. Ask any person working in a tip-based position to give up working for 2 weeks because of a sickness and they will more than likely say they cannot afford to (because they will fail to make rent).

frakkingcylons 7y ago

> I can assure you that American restaurants absolutely will not tolerate a food worker with an active upper respiratory infection. I think you're speaking with too much certainty here. It really depends on the restaurant's management, just based on my personal experience. Some will just assign people to jobs that aren't customer-facing because they can't afford to be short-handed and it's difficult to get people to come in on their day off.

headmelted 7y ago

You've just confirmed the parent's point. "they generally don't have to give hourly workers paid sick time." ..is exactly why you should expect them to take something for their fever, turn up for their shift and say absolutely nothing to anyone about feeling unwell.

jdkee 7y ago

Your assertion is categorically false. "But not all state and local food codes include FDA’s sick worker rules. In fact, 19 states have not adopted these rules. And some food workers work while sick even when their states or localities do have those rules. Indeed, 20% of food workers say they worked at least one shift with vomiting or diarrhea in the past year." https://blogs.cdc.gov/yourhealthyourenvironment/2016/12/05/food-workers-working-while-sick/ https://blogs.cdc.gov/yourhealthyourenvironment/2016/12/05/f...