The only safe place is the clean space you know about. That is the first rule of hazardous environments.
Contaminated Space
Contaminated space is every place in the world outside your home. Contaminated items include everything not already inside your home. Think of it as if you were living in space. Your own capsule (home) is the only safe environment until this subsides. The rest of the world and everything in it is part of a hostile environment (space). People in public space are part of this environment.
As an example, during my teen years in the US, we used to swim in water reservoirs. If the police caught you, the fine was more for swimming in bathing suits or shorts than swimming nude. The reason was the clothing you wore that morning going through public spaces had the potential to pick up and introduce any imaginable pathogen or contaminant into a source of public drinking water.
Every item whether it is your own clothes, wallet, watch, etc becomes part of this hostile environment in the same way as soon as it leaves your home. Have you ever noticed in movies that the white Tyvek suits worn in bad environments are a flat fabric? More detail is more surface area, which is something to consider.
If you start to think this way, you'll limit your exposure and minimalize what you bring into it. If you value something, leave it at home. Not exposing personal items is a common practice for hazardous environment work.
This point isn't about Draconian measures, merely about developing situational awareness in this unusual set of circumstances affecting many countries globally. You decide what's best for you. By creating a smaller footprint, you lessen the potential exposure exponentially.
During quarantines, households could have a designated person dealing with public activities like shopping. Masks should be mandatory if available and social distance practice in public is a must.
Sanitary wipes for hands are in reality a limited use item. Most of the virus stays intact on your hands and spreadable but it is still better than nothing at all. More than 20 seconds of real handwashing with soap and water is the best practice. Obviously, don't touch your face in this environment.
Decontamination space
This is important if you are in a high-risk area. You need to stop the potential at the doorstep so you don't bring contamination into your home. In this case, contamination includes any dirt or dust with the possibility of having the virus clinging to it.
Purchases should be wiped down before they enter your home.
Shoes should stay outside, because of the potential contact they have with the virus from public spaces. Particles on your shoes or clothes can become airborne in a normal environment. An alternate is washing your shoes with alcohol or other disinfectants. Leave them outside anyway.
The best practice would be to have public clothes and in-home clothes. So, change them before entering your home if possible. If not, try to separate clothes worn in public space from the living area and use a disinfectant spray if possible.
Masks should be left outside the living area. Last on the list is washing your hands and face with water before entering your home. This doesn't cost anything to set up. It is all done in a particular order for a reason.
Normally, a decon is 3-chambered. A dirty room where outside clothes are taken off. Next comes a shower where everything and everyone is washed down. Last is a clean room where respirators are taken off. This isn't feasible for most people.
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