Coronavirus and bamboo flatware and everything else

My new portable flatware, complete with fabric case.

What does bamboo cutlery have to do with the novel coronavirus Covid-19 that is sweeping the world?  Now that confirmed cases have topped 100,000, everyone is getting anxious to prevent its spread.  This includes my employer, who now provides us with plastic utensils wrapped in more plastic. I miss our heavy duty silverware that you could put in the dishwasher.  While I'm not completely clear how grabbing a plastic bag of plastic utensils spreads less germs than grabbing metal silverware, we are all trying to do our part.  So my solution was to order up some eco-friendly bamboo flatware that I just share with me.

Lest you think I'm making light of this yet undeclared pandemic, I am not. Travel is limited. I may have to work remotely from home soon. Our eldest now has to take classes at his community college virtually. No in-person classes.  (Stanford, University of Washington, and many other colleges have done the same. My nephew will present his Master's thesis online.) Steven's much anticipated Endo conference has been cancelled. And the whole of Italy has just been quarantined.

Addendum: Steven and I are now on week two of working remotely, part of the global effort to "social distance" now that confirmed cases have reached 330,000, as of 3/22/2020.  The State of California instituted "shelter in place"on St. Patrick's Day last week.  We are home and healthy (so far).