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The image of the spraying of some kind of chemical by people in biohazard suits with a tank on their backs has constantly struck me as very other-worldly this p
by Freak_NL 6y ago
The image of the spraying of some kind of chemical by people in biohazard suits with a tank on their backs has constantly struck me as very other-worldly this past year. It was (and is) seen often in news footage from many countries though (mostly Asian, African, and South American I think), but it was never adopted here in the Netherlands. Was this all (intended or accidental) theatre or did this actually make sense in some climates? I can imagine it looks reassuring.
- jobu 6y agoIt depends on how it's done. A neighbor of mine works for a golf course owned by the city and said they started out spraying a mix of bleach in water on everything. Unfortunately they found out a few months into the pandemic that it's only active for something like 12-24 hours after mixing with water, and they had been mixing it in big batches to use over the course of several days. They switched to hydrogen peroxide instead, which isn't as broadly effective against bacteria or viruses as bleach, but is effective against coronavirus and has an indefinite shelf-life.
- alisonatwork 6y agoI was in China during the initial outbreak, and those guys in biohazard suits were definitely performative in my part of town. They walked through the neighborhood with a "reporter" in tow, who made sure that every squirt of their magical anti-COVID pixie dust could be captured on film for posterity. In the China case, I'm not sure if it was to reassure the public (who are used to seeing this sort of performative busywork) or if it was more a kind of political one-upmanship amongst local officials who all wanted to give their superiors the impression that they were the hardest-working or most serious cadre in the area.