“Politics may be messy, but for a brief minute on Thursday afternoon, the process was at least a little bit more sterile. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) tested positive for COVID-19 Saturday, just two days before a special legislative session he’d called to respond to the pandemic was set to start. The special session adjourned Wednesday, leaving Polis with 10 high-priority, COVID-19-related bills to sign. But how does one go about signing time-sensitive legislation in quarantine? As Polis phrased it, “Bill signing, COVID style.” Translation: Lots and lots of Lysol. Signed a bill today that supports the state’s ongoing efforts to combat the pandemic by providing critical resources for our disaster response to the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/Ns0UsRLvk3— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) December 3, 2020 After fumigating the bills, Polis says he handled them with gloves and arranged for a state trooper to courier them to the state capitol. The governor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the specifics of Polis’ process. That means questions like, “Could he have just signed these digitally?”, “Could he have used an autopen?” and “Why not wear a mask and gloves while signing them?” went unanswered. (We’ll update this story if we hear back.) While spreading the virus via contaminated surfaces is possible, especially if one touches a contaminated surface and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth afterward, current research suggests the primary vector for COVID-19 is respiratory droplets spread from person to person. So while Polis’ lemon-scented performance may be justified given the circumstances, there’s no need to employ similar efforts if you’re COVID-19-negative and are going about your daily life. Practicing good hygiene ― washing your hands, disinfecting high-touch surfaces like doorknobs and phones ― should suffice. And wear a mask. For more on what you still should and shouldn’t be disinfecting, check out our guide here.
