By Dave Dahl

BLOOMINGTON – If and when we are finally done with coronavirus, some of our new habits just may stay with us. Some people will probably still mask up, at least when they visit the doctor, not feeling well.

So, are the prevention measures we employed really effective?

“I think it’s really been an evolution, right?” says Stephanie Thannum, manager of infection prevention at HSHS Illinois’ network of hospitals. “When covid first happened, we weren’t quite sure how it spread. People were quarantining their packages outside or putting them in the sun or wiping down their cereal boxes because we weren’t sure.

“We now have more data. The CDC now says that covid does not spread well from surfaces like elevator buttons or handle bars on doors or things like that.”

Thannum says she hopes one legacy of covid is that people are better about staying home when they are sick; many of us already have the ability to work from home now, anyway.

Sarah Busch, an infection preventionist at HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, says good old-fashioned hand washing never goes out of style – and, maybe, neither will social distancing.

“We’ve all gotten used to it, and it is kind of nice to have that extra space around you, especially at the grocery store and whatnot.”

Many people would bump elbows with Busch on that one.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]