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Corona Virus Blog - March 16, 2020

Well, it looks like things may get worse before they get better. Let's continue the discussion.

On the other board, we are discussing what the British Royal Family should be doing right now to help out. Come join us if you're interested.

Comments

Nutty Flavor said…
I see the big headline today is that there are now supposedly more Corona virus cases outside China than within it.

That could be true, but it's hard to know, because Chinese government numbers are never reliable (and never have been, long before this crisis.)

What I'm really worried about is when the virus hits the global south and developing nations, which have limited health infrastructure.

Hopefully their warmer weather will help protect them.
Nutty Flavor said…
Just to follow up on a comment I made on the other board, there has been talk of using police powers to make sure the elderly stay home.

That requires individual human police officers to threaten Grandma or Grandpa with police action, however, so let's see how that goes.

There's also the question of what happens when the officers themselves start to get sick.
Portcitygirl said…
We've learned during past few storms that we have to protect ourselves because the police were busy elsewhere. We are also self isolating here as much as we can.

We are going for walks and things but keeping our distance. It seems so unfair that the 70 + having to self isolate when a lot of them live by themselves anyway.

I just find it a little shocking yesterday that the queen went to church and now she's heading back to Buckingham Palace. I'm not quite certain that sets a very good example if the over 70s are supposed to be in isolation.
Portcitygirl said…
'Heard from a reliable source, military source in Wash., D.C., after just getting out of a two hour briefing it looks possible that the Stafford Act will be invoked along with a national quarantine within the next 24-72 hours. Personally, I always believed it would be a Monday morning in order to keep confusion to a minimum.
Hope like heck they are wrong. '

This came from what I consider a reliable source. If this happens people will panic. I don't believe any of our governments are prepared for this. I'm frightened. But trying to remain calm.
Nutty Flavor said…
Interesting, @PortlandCityGirl. I don't know that enough cops/military really exist to quarantine the whole country.

At any rate, this will certainly shape the Millennials and Gen-Z's life experiences, as much as the AIDS crisis, September 11, and the Kennedy assassination shaped previous generations.
Testing to see if my post shows.
I read a few days ago that the army will be bought in to cover the above as well. I’m guessing they’ll be wearing protective suits. 😐

Countries like Spain have threatened €25k fines or prison if people venture out during lockdown. Our new powers to be introduced won’t be a lot different. We are expected to get an update today from the PM Boris.
I have heard and read that Covid 19 is not like seasonal flu where it weakens and dies out during the hot weather. So very hot countries in the poorer regions of the globe could be in for a horrendous time trying to isolate this. 🙁

I’ve read over the last day or so that Covid 19 could last in the UK for a year. 😟
SwampWoman said…
Yes, she's trying to set a 'stiff upper lip' example to the nation not to panic and fulfill her duty, no doubt, but her lip has been stiff for far too long and and she needs to isolate.
Rufus T said…
Current situation here in Scotland
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-51899757
Portcitygirl said…
Raspberry

I see your comments!
SwampWoman said…
I think the state governors have been cooperating by preemptively shutting down attractions and venues that draw crowds. Can you imagine Florida, our entire economy depends on tourism, shutting down everything? All the government spokespeople here are drawing charts and explaining 'flattening the curve' to keep the hospitals from being overrun so survival rates can be increased.
SwampWoman said…
There is a portion of our population that will not obey any lockdown orders and, indeed, the schools being shut down will increase the murder rate.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
My cooking school went on lockdown until March 30 (the government wants everything to shut down for the next 2 weeks).

The even/odd regulations is off & so is car-free day in Jakarta.

https://indonesiaexpat.biz/featured/odd-even-policy-revoked/

But The governor (nicknamed "GaBener" 😂😂) who I did not vote for used vague language which is prone to be misused by corrupt cops & so I carpooled with my dad, took a cab to my mother's apartment, and waited there until Father collects me.

The cooking school checked out temperature & asked how we got to the school. I think if you commuted by public transport, they'll let you take a replacement class when things get better.

We're a very polite people so the faculty was super apologetic about having to postpone classes & the inconvenience but I thanked them. Good judgment on their part since cooking classes are so hands-on.

I brought a face mask today although regular people don't actually need them: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

My understanding is it's more important to not touch your face & wash/sanitise hands frequently.

But people are misinformed, especially at my mom's apartment complex everyone wears a mask, so I do too just to avoid scaring them.

I do it "socially" as a common courtesy, not for scientific reasons.
Confused situation for 70+s in UK - hoping for clarification.

Now its being said (BBc) that what they meant was `reduce your jaunts out of the house - eg don't go to Bingo quite so often'. loud protests re stereotyping. Should have said bridge?

Ok to walk dog,

We're fortunate with a decent sized garden. So far it looks OK to go for walk around the block after dark - didn't see a soul yesterday evening. Must take torch tho' Dear Husband missed a step on a path, jarred his back, not happy.

I think I've found a milkman for doorstep deliveries. DH didn't like the idea of my `stretching' fresh milk with dried skimmed - I doubt if he'd notice!

Our main anxiety is that this computer is playing up big time; why now? Also our ISP email layout has been changed so I don't where I am, can only find the in box. please excused while I scream...

We aren't great users of mobile phones because we're in a `dead spot.' With my little Nokkia, I have to go 100m up the road to get a signal. A TV engineer who wanted to be paid by card had to go up to the attic and hang out of the Velux rooflight to get a signal for his little machine. Good job he didn't drop my card or it would have ended up in the gutter.
We can't go wifi either as the only space for the machine is in a room with aluminium-backed insulation around it, creating a Faraday cage.

isn't technology wonderful?
I sussed it at last! 😂 I have to switch to private browsing so I won’t be commenting much! 😉
abbyh said…
This is not on the level of N95 by a long shot but for those who are crafty, it is a nice all around make it kind of thing.

https://www.craftpassion.com/face-mask-sewing-pattern/?fbclid=IwAR3AceoYDcgoS2s7x5I9iYma2mnLFK4stG9vMEjMwupuaAeJQKy6qVE89WE
xxxxx said…
The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: A New Flu Virus Emerges
From April 12, 2009 to April 10, 2010, CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases (range: 43.3-89.3 million), 274,304 hospitalizations (range: 195,086-402,719), and 12,469 deaths (range: 8868-18,306) in the United States due to the (H1N1)pdm09 virus.,
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemic.html

#####So swine flu in the USA ...12,000+ died and younger people were more effected than elderly. Because this flu set their already strong immune systems into a frenzy. A cytokine-storm (u can look that up) that was deadly.
Shaggy said…
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Shaggy said…
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Shaggy said…
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CatEyes said…
I find your posts so fascinating (and others who live outside the US) as it gives me a glimpse of what life is like for others in the world. Technology in this case (Nutty's blog) is such a good thing. : )
Can you not get a landline phone in your location? I appreciate your comment about a 'Faraday cage', not many would say such a thing (I took a year of physics at uni but I would not be astute enough to make such an analogy.) lol

Good luck with your garden. Growing your own food is a smart move and more people ought to do it. Now with people facing panic buying, those with gardens are looking even smarter! I was shocked at my local Walmart in a small community (about 7,000 residents and 12,000 students) how much of the shelves were bare! People are going crazy. A friend who works there said one lady had a whole cart full of peanut butter and crackers. Didn't know that was the cure for COVID-19. lol.
xxxxx said…
cateyes
I was shocked at my local Walmart in a small community (about 7,000 residents and 12,000 students) how much of the shelves were bare! People are going crazy. A friend who works there said one lady had a whole cart full of peanut butter and crackers. Didn't know that was the cure for COVID-19. lol.

I did some panic buying of some favorite food essentials. I confess to buying 4 vacuum sealed jars (plastic) of salt free roasted peanuts. Lots of Canned salmon too. The woman above must eat peanut butter and crackers for hours while watching the boob tube.
SwampWoman said…
Somewhat virus related, my former DIL called and said "I just wanted to tell you that you were right. I didn't believe you." Heh. While I like hearing that, I had to as her to be more specific. "Uh, what are we talking about here?"

"You said that there was going to be mass panic at the stores, and I should stock up now instead of waiting!" Oh. THAT right.

"Well, of course. That is how the supply chain and just in time operates. It will take awhile for things to be restocked. We don't notice it after a hurricane because the stores are still shut down until the electricity comes on; in the meantime, they can restock the dry goods and get trucks in within 24 hours of when the electricity comes back on for things like milk. Since you are already stocked up, you won't have to join the people that wait until they run out of toilet paper (for example) to buy."

Sadly, she went right after opening of the grocery stores today in order to purchase things for people that couldn't get out for themselves and the stores didn't yet have anything for people to restock as this is happening on a national and not a regional level.
PaisleyGirl said…
@SwampWoman, re your earlier post about not being able to imagine everything getting shut down in Florida, I felt the same way about my home country The Netherlands. A week ago it was completely unreal that something like this would happen here, and now we are living in a different world. Everything is closed here. Theatres, cinemas, many shops, sports facilities, cafes, restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, 'coffee shops' (where Dutch people buy weed), even the Red Light District is closed. All schools and child care facilities are closed. The supermarkets are mostly empty. My children are home from school and will have to work from home in online classes from tomorrow onwards. In my job we are working in shifts to minimise contact with other people. The factory my husband works for has shut down operations and no one knows when production will start up again. We don't know whether he will get paid in the meantime. Public transportation has been reduced to a bare minimum. My elderly parents are self isolating and are no longer leaving the house. Lare tents are being built in the parking lots of hospitals. General practitioners have closed their practices to help put in emergency rooms, which are overflowing with new cases. This is the reality Americans will be facing in one to two weeks time. Please try to prepare yourself.
SwampWoman said…
Daughter is a county employee in another county in Florida. While the people are still working (for now), everything from libraries to animal control has been closed to the public. All county employees are prohibited from going to adjoining counties for meetings, training, etc., while they are on the clock and are strongly discouraged from leaving the county after hours.

On the military front, SIL's NG unit (not medical) has been put on a 2-week standby for activation. They were told to get all their excuses sent in as to why they can't be deployed but that they would all be denied.

Daughter said that at this point she *thinks* that she might be able to pick up the grandkids Friday evening, but that may change with little notice.

In case you think that her county is being strongly proactive on their own, they aren't. The state pandemic disaster plan has been activated and they are going through the steps to shut things down by the numbers and safely clear out the tourists (and spring break is really, really big for us).
PaisleyGirl said…
@SwampWoman, re the tourism impact for Florida. The Netherlands had 20.1 million tourists in 2019. Now we have zero tourists. From tomorrow onwards, the European Union borders will be most probably be closed to everyone outside the EU. Lots of companies will go bankrupt in every tourism related sector and also many other sectors. But at this point keeping as many people alive as possible has a higher priority.
CookieShark said…
I read that the first experimental vaccine was given in Seattle!

It may be impossible to stop the spread or cure the virus, but I am hopeful for medical management so that cases to progress to ARDS/respiratory failure. This will probably take awhile.
Portcitygirl said…
NC is taking this seriously here, but SC is not. I think interstate travel should be imposed at this point.
Ian's Girl said…
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Ian's Girl said…
Good grief I hadn't realized what a novel I had written, will delete!
SwampWoman said…
Yep, I never thought that the beaches would be shut down in south Florida but they are mostly to protect people from their own stupidity. If HALF of all those people that were at the beaches got infected, there are not enough hospitals/medical personnel to cover them. They've been erecting tent field hospitals in parking lots as well and at the moment there are only 150 announced infections throughout the state.

At this time, no gatherings of more than 50 people in my area.
SwampWoman said…
I read that as well. Hope there aren't any untoward (fatal) reactions as there were to the first SARS vaccine that was tested on animals.
SwampWoman said…
I am so sorry my 12-year-old grandson isn't there, WBBM. He has been scavenging computers out of the dumpster at his apartment complex. He built a gaming computer out of scavenged parts, one of the parts that he found inside of a computer put out for trash pickup cost $1,500! He has been taking apart our old computers and testing the parts this week. He is being proactive in case they need additional computers at his house for online schooling (4 kids plus mom in a master's degree program) if the schools do not open back up. He would rebuild your computer better than before just for fun out of the spare parts that he has on hand!
Animal Lover said…
Schools and libraries are closed down. Government offices are limiting contact with the public as are utilities. Even the neighborhood kids aren't outside playing.
Forget about the stock market and the economy. Hopefully this is the wake up call businesses need to not have all their eggs in one basket. Divestiture from China needs to happen and other supply chains should be developed.
Animal Lover said…
@Elle, Reine des Abeilles

Not everything. Trader Joe's was low on soup. Will try again Wednesday when I have to go into Seattle to see my doctor.
How are you doing?
CatEyes said…
Just found out my medical appointments (I average 3/wk) at a big University Medical Center in large Texas city are being cancelled. All of them! This is unreal! This entity is a premier health care system and I cannot imagine the shock, distress, medical complications, etc...patients will have by not seeing their needed specialists and for treatment they will miss. Luckily I will be ok but I pray for those who are worse off.
Just got a pop-up notice that San Francisco has ordered all citizens to stay inside. More info to come.
CatEyes said…
Here is a working theory on how COVID-19 might end:

>>>Dr. William Haseltine, president of the global health think tank ACCESS Health International who recently chaired the U.S.-China Health Summit in Wuhan, where the virus likely originated, has a theory.
“There are four ways,” he told The Daily Beast. “One, it peters out with the weather. Two, everybody gets infected, so it’s got no new places to go... so it ends—but that’s a pretty horrible ending. Three is a vaccine, which is about a year away. Fourth way is the most likely: We’re going to have a few drugs, within a few weeks to a few months, that prevent people from getting infected—like PrEP for HIV—and for treatment.”<<<<

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/health-news/four-ways-experts-say-coronavirus-nightmare-could-end/ar-BB11fkm1?ocid=spartanntp
PaisleyGirl said…
CatEyes, all my mother's hospital appointments have been cancelled as well, as well as a scheduled heart procedure in May. Even these types of operations are not considered urgent enough at the moment. It is indeed unreal! One of my parents' friends is on his deathbed and the family is not allowed to visit him in hospital to to Corona virus. Only his wife is allowed into his room. When the funeral takes place, only 30 people are allowed to attend and they must keep 1.5 metres distance from each other. No food or coffee will be served and no gatherings after the funeral are allowed. It is just unbelievable.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is "weighing" whether to close bars and restaurants in the state or possibly issuing a curfew on times bars, restaurants, etc. can be open.

Please tell COVID that it only can infect people at certain times each day day! Sheesh.

https://katu.com/news/local/oregon-gov-kate-brown-weighs-curfew-shutting-barsrestaurants-to-fight-covid-19
Trump announcement just in:

"Among the new recommendations: Over the next 15 days, Americans should not gather in groups of more than 10 people, schooling should be at home and discretionary travel and social visits should be avoided. If anyone in a household tests positive for the virus, everyone who lives there should stay home."

In other COVID news, the DOW just dropped 2,000 points. Airlines are asking for bailout money. How about everybody else who has lost money and jobs?
Hellobluesky said…
Elle, Reine des Abeilles said

@HelloBlueSky Welcome! I can't take ibuprofen or any of the other NSAIDs or aspirin, but just asking as a matter of curiousity: are all NSAIDs discouraged?

No, just ibuprofen. And people with cortisone treatment should consult their doctor in case of symptoms

Here in France we are now on lockdown. President Macron just said that we have to stay home.

In the worst case, we could have 300 000 deaths. It's huge, we are just 66 million people !

We compare our situation with Italy, our countries are quite similar, and the numbers there are frightening : 27980 cases, 2158 deaths today, and we follow their path with a 2 week delay.
CatEyes said…
How sad! I pray your Mother is alright! If anyone believes in the power of prayer, we need to pour on the prayers!

My Grandfather's fist wife died in the great Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. Now almost a hundred years later we are seeing another great scourge against humanity!
PaisleyGirl said…
Thank you, CatEyes! It's great we have this little online community here.
SwampWoman said…
Oh, just saw that the makers of N95 masks for industrial use got waivers to sell them for medical use.
Anonymous said…
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Anonymous said…
She shut it down, I read. People on the coast are in total denial from what I can tell. What's your experience?
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SwampWoman said…
Thanks, Elle. I have been wondering if I was overreacting since I'm staying my butt at home and everybody else seems to regard this as a great time to socialize and go shopping.
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PaisleyGirl said…
The two of you are not overreacting. Our prime minister gave a speech last night, and he said much of the population is going to get infected. The only way to avoid that would be to shut down the entire country for a year, which is just not feasible. He basically warned us that we were all going to lose loved ones. This is the real thing. The USA is about two weeks behind us and seems ill prepared.
Animal Lover said…
Health professionals from Johns Hopkins say the virus will be worse in the next month, much more cases an fatalities.

It will be interesting to see what happens when more testing becomes available. Some doctors are predicting that up to two thirds of the population will be infected!! hopefully the number of fatalities won't be in the 3 % range'
Shaggy said…
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Shaggy said…
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Tamhsn said…
Hadn't go through all the comments but excellent step by Nutty! This blog is what we all need right now. Quick question: I am in a big dilemma. My best friend is suppose come to my place this Wednesday for few days. She's a nurse and her husband works at a factory settings. (I am in Canada) I was the one who actually insisted her to come to visit me before the situation became serious. Now I really dont want her to come because the situation is worse at her province and we got just right amount of food from the store because of the bulk buying. She works at a hospital that's also scaring me..so what to do? Am I a bad person to think like that? Should I just call her and explain..if so explain what? Nutty let me know if it's not allowed here...its killing me whole day today. FYI I have 2 kids.
Nutty Flavor said…
Well, you could tell the truth, or lie.

The truth is what you’ve just told me. And the stakes are very high - your children’s lives - so it is worth any fallout that might be caused. How could you ever forgive yourself if something happened to them?

Or lie. Tell her you or the kids have been exposed, or that you personally do not feel well. Minor lies like this are forgivable in this situation.
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Nutty Flavor said…
New March 17 blog is live. Click on "Nutty Flavor Virus Blog" in the upper left corner to be taken there.
Shaggy said…
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MaLissa said…
My cousin's husband passed away yesterday from the Corona virus. He was a doctor and was working when he got diagnosed on Monday, March 21. He went downhill fast - he was in his 70's. His wife was with him for his last moments (in full hazmat gear) and has had to be quarantined because she was exposed to him. The family is devastated.

Stay safe everybody. Love and prayers going out to everyone.

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