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Corona Virus Blog, March 23, 2020

Good morning! Another day with lots more Corona Virus news.

People who have recovered from the virus are beginning to speak out, so let's hope there is some light on the horizon.

Here's one account from the New York Post - "Florida man with coronavirus says drug touted by Trump saved his life."

Trigger warning if you cannot stand Trump, because the author of this article loves him.

Comments

Scandi Sanskrit said…
Another rave review of hydroxychloroquine.

Interesting.

I mean as someone who used to take it for autoimmune this is personally fascinating.
We need people who've had it to rub in how nasty it is, even for those who had assumed they were young enough to be in the clear.

The weekend weather was glorious here in the UK, so what do the all the lemmings do? Flock to the seaside and the parks. Bank Holidays had nothing on this.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8138439/Public-urged-away-UK-holiday-destinations-limit-Covid-19-spread.html

God save us from the stupid.

I want the troops called in and roadblocks set up.
Ava C - to answer your question in previous blog I didn't think I'd been that specific but, since you ask, Old Hall!
Ava C

I should have asked - and you?

I daresay my dates would be easy to work out - I'm really intrigued now. Perchance we know each other?

More important though, has the epidemic affected your move to Scotland? What awful timing for you. The whole business of moving house is stressful enough in normal times and now is far from normal.

We're thankful not to have anything major in the diary as summer is often devoted to the garden - usually I grow veg from seed but this year I've bought-in seedlings to gain some time. Also the seeds for sprouting.

The prospect of 12 weeks of incarceration is pretty daunting but it's better than the alternative.

May we all keep well in our various corners of the World.
Sandie said…
@CatEyes: Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful response to my post yesterday. I would be humbly grateful for any blessings you could send me through prayer (yes, I do believe in the power of prayer and unexplained spontaneous healing and have experienced it myself ... maybe if I get through this endless crisis in my life I will start a blog where people can share their experiences and I can explore the complexity and mystery of it all).

I am still feeling despondent as I see the number of infections in my country (I am living in a rural area in the Western Cape, South Africa) climb precipitously every day. The majority of cases are still imports, but testing takes time so I think it will be at least a few days before we can see the extent of local transmission.

Too many people in South Africa cannot survive a lock down/quarantine for weeks as they have neither the space nor money to stockpile (among other problems).

My niece is coughing persistently today. She returned from the UK a couple of weeks ago. I am paranoid!
Sandie said…
The latest update from a local news outlet:

Deaths from the coronavirus pandemic have topped 15,000 across the globe, according to an AFP tally compiled at 11:00 GMT on Monday from official figures.

A total of 15,189 deaths have been recorded, the majority in Europe with 9,197 fatalities.

Italy is the hardest-hit country with 5,476 deaths, followed by China where the virus first emerged last year with 3,270, and Spain with 2,182.

With a total of 1,395 new deaths reported in the past 24 hours out of 172,238 officially declared cases, Europe is now the continent where the virus is spreading the most rapidly.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
The hardest hit in Europe are PIIGS countries.

Personally, I'm worried a bit about the economy in general.

Right now I'm seeing a spike in sales on my digital downloads shop, but I'm not celebrating because I feel this might be temporary (this tells me locked-down people are bored and spending money to keep themselves entertained, myself my family is spending more on necessities like sugar & Asian staples like rice).

People are comfortable with spending a little extra for an "emergency" now, but it's a short-term thing I'm sure.

How long will this "emergency" last exactly?

When people start losing their jobs/income they won't have discretionary funds to spend on digital downloads on Etsy/Payhip and Netflix.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
Also, has anyone seen/read "The Constant Gardener"? It's a story by John or Carré.

I'm not usually a tin-foil-hatter, I promise (I've no intention to trash and ruin Nutty's blog into a conspiracy theorists' forum, I'm VERY grateful for this place).

We've already talked about how this is turning into a class/race war. In "The Constant Gardener", they used citizens from developing countries for lab test animals.

If the same thing happened in real life, there would be suspicion & outrage. But when a virus attacks indiscriminately, it gets to look more "natural". Even if Big Pharma's friends in high places get infected by this indiscriminate virus. At first I thought, "nah, they'd never risk infecting their own buddies?"

But then I remembered bits of Indonesian history where the ruling dictatorship shot at a university (Trisakti) with no regard for the fact that children of government officials/high-ranking military sent their children there. That's how we knew they were deadly serious: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/13/world/indonesian-riot-police-open-fire-at-protests-killing-six-students.html

Just thought I'd put that out there.

I won't say anymore.

Sorry.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
*John le Carré

Not "John or Carré" stupid autocorrect
Scandi Sanskrit

It has happened.

An early version of Big Pharma existed as IG Farben in 1930's Germany. It was keenly supportive of the Nazi party, which proved very useful to them.

Auschwitz provided slave labour for a big IG Farben plant nearby and Mengele's `medical experiments' look like evil `clinical trials' conducted before today's protocols were established after the war. Auschwitz prisoners who weren't worked to death were used as animals to be `sacrificed', as the euphemism has it.

Apparently the papers released after the Nuremberg Trials are online.
MeliticusBee said…
@scandi
I am going to assume (possibly a mistake) that you are talking about my comments on hydroxychloroquine...
I am a pharmacist who ultimately went into pharma research - so bear with me here.

I have no doubt that it and chloroquine are useful drugs...and frankly, I would not hesitate (for very long anyway) to take it for an infection.

That said...in the old RA (and other autoimmune diseases) treatments - I used to tell my pharmacology students that RA treatments were all horrible with severe side effects - and the bonus is that it took 3-6 months to find out if they would even help. Since then (this was like 3 decades ago) they have come up with a lot "better" drugs - like humira and such - but even these have their serious drawbacks.

In any case - the treatments look promising, with some caveats..and for complex reasons which aren't evident to a lot of people.
MeliticusBee said…
@Wild Boar -
I was typing while you commented but from a history perspective - Western medicine owes a great deal to the Nazis. I don't say that from a pro-Nazi standpoint but the Germans invented and improved many of the first pain medicines, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics...by exactly what you said - experimenting on prisoners.
They did the same with early space exploration technology - which is why the Russians and the US were in the space race after they snapped up the scientists in equal amounts.

When you consider people less than animals....
SwampWoman said…
Scandi, as to how long this will last, who knows? A year to 18 months for a vaccine? Four months to really slow this thing and allow hospitals to be fully stocked with what they need in the way of meds and supplies?

Regulations are being slashed left and right to allow drug trials and enable companies that wish to help to be of substantial help (like the breweries making thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer.) There could be a breakthrough at any time that could shorten the duration.

I noticed that the Daily Mail has Florida listed as being 'locked down'. Not at all. The state and national parks are closed, schools are closed, restaurants are closed, movie theaters are closed, concerts, select beaches...everywhere that people can get together in large venues, cough, and potentially infect hundreds are shut down. I can go to the grocery store, the hardware store, or go buy clothes in person if I want. I can go to the beach. (The public parking lots are closed but I can park elsewhere and walk but I prefer to go in winter.) I can go fishing, boating, bicycle riding or walking (the gym is closed, oh, well). There are no checkpoints preventing me from going from place to place, town to town, city to city.

I'm not doing most of those things because it would be irresponsible for me to contract the virus and put other people's lives in danger to care for me because I was thoughtless.

People are going to work every day (except those in the hospitality or restaurant industry).


SwampWoman said…
This is how Florida is responding to incidents in nursing homes:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Florida Department of Health incident command team will be on-site at a Southside assisted living facility for the next few days, according to a message sent Sunday to residents and family members.

The message, which was shared with the News4Jax I-TEAM, comes after seven residents of Camellia at Deerwood tested positive for the coronavirus. One of those residents, an 83-year-old man, died after testing positive for COVID-19.

According to the message, the incident command team -- which is made up of medical and clinical professionals, infectious disease experts and logistics experts -- will be on-site beginning Sunday and will remain for two additional days. The message stated the team will provide additional support, guidance, training and hands-on assistance for the community.

In addition to the 15 to 20 team members who will be on property grounds, there will also be a mobile command center, according to the message.

State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees said this week that any assisted living facility with five positive coronavirus cases will have an incident team sent in. That team will go door to door, check in on every resident and make sure the facility has proper decontamination and cleaning protocols in place.


NOBODY wants the state crawling up their backsides doing inspections. I think other nursing homes will be scared of this happening to them and tightening up.
Ava C said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
@ Wild Boar Battle-maid:

So it has happened, but it shouldn't be anymore. So if any company were to do it, it would either have to be on a voluntary basis (although can we really say it's "voluntary" when a patient's desperate) or less obvious.

@ MeliticusBee:

I was just having random thoughts about Hydrichloroquine:

- malaria cases have dropped (it's becoming a thing of the past, but hasn't gone as far as polio? IDK the exact figures.

- it was never a popular autoimmune medication to begin with (as you said: severe side-effects, takes months to kick in). It wasn't even my autoimmune specialists' first choice.

- people are moving away and embracing natural stuff like turmeric (backed by actual studies from proper universities, tons on YouTube videos)

Now Hydrichloroquine is popular again. Rave reviews.
SwampWoman said…
MeliticusBee said...
@scandi
I am going to assume (possibly a mistake) that you are talking about my comments on hydroxychloroquine...
I am a pharmacist who ultimately went into pharma research - so bear with me here.


MB, as a pharmacist, if you could figure out how to spike meth, marijuana, crack, and alcohol with hydroxychloroquine, you could probably get the Nobel prize for medicine and stop this pandemic cold!

/Except for the possibilities of sudden cardiac arrest, blindness, liver damage, etc.
Sandie said…
Malaria is still rife in Africa and there is a type that we colloquially call cerebral malaria. There is no cure and all medicine can do is provide palliative care and hope the body will recover. My mother's best friend died of cerebral malaria.

However, there are huge areas in Africa that do not have the mosquito that carries the malaria strains (including most of South Africa). Where I grew up in Africa, they used to drive a huge truck through the streets and spray to kill off the mosquito in order to reduce the risk of getting malaria.

https://www.againstmalaria.com/downloads/RBMBurdenMalariaAfrica.pdf
Sandie said…
As of this morning, Zimbabwe had recorded two cases of coronavirus infection (obviously, both imported). The one person (in his 30s) died today. Zimbabwe is probably the only country in the world that has a 50% mortality rate for coronavirus, but that is a distorted way of looking at statistics!
Animal Lover said…
NY state has 21,000 coronavirus cases as of this morning with over 12,000 in NYC.
Posting to both blogs:

Given the comments that have have been highlighted in the UK news in the last few days, I think it's high time that abusing older people, whether physically or verbally, should be classified as `hate crime'.

Prince Harry, for example, is incapable of seeing that, in his case, writing off everyone older than is on grounds of age alone, (apart from MM) is no different from abusing someone for the colour of their skin.

Today, news has emerged of 3 teen toerags in Hertfordshire being held by police for deliberately coughing into the faces of elderly people.An altercation ensued, with a woman of 70 ending up with a black eye.

It is a criminal offence to knowingly or deliberately infect someone with AIDS. Age, if we're lucky, comes to us all.
Sandie said…
It wasn't irrational paranoia when I freaked out about coronavirus yesterday ... my niece has it (she went to Cape Town for a few days and returned late yesterday). My sister, who has absolute control over me, did not inform me and has done nothing to try and protect me or herself from getting it .. I had to go and speak to my niece. So, it is right in the house with me and there are no provisions such as alcohol wipes or isolation and I got ridiculed when I said we have to inform the authorities as it is a notifiable disease. She should be taken to get tested and precautions should be taken plus contacts followed up, but my sister is a narc and always knows best (and other people suffer because of that).

I am not being paranoid and even my niece agreed that the timing (I was wrong about when she returned from the UK) and the symptoms fit exactly.

It is so selfish of my sister to not inform the authorities and get her tested - everyone she has had contact with since she returned from the UK is at risk, and they could have been passing it on. It is pointless trying to reason with a narc though as they always know best and take every opportunity to viciously mock and devalue you and everything you say and do.

I am afraid for my niece although I am sure my sister will put her in the car and take her to a hospital when she starts struggling to breathe (my niece is the only person in the world that she actually loves ... not her daughter but the daughter of my other sister who is in Cape Town ... maybe she can talk some sense into her and get her to start treating this seriously).
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.
Mom Mobile said…
Queen's aid tested positive: https://www.channel24.co.za/Gossip/Royal-News/queens-royal-aide-tests-positive-for-coronavirus-20200323
Shaggy said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
CatEyes said…
@Sandie said..
FIRST PART OF POST OT:
>>>maybe if I get through this endless crisis in my life I will start a blog where people can share their experiences and I can explore the complexity and mystery of it all).<<,

That would be a wonderful idea. I know my brother gives hope to people who listen to his story of also experiencing a healing against all odds. He was in 4th stage cancer (Leukemia)at age 70 and started reading the bible for hours each day and also praying just as long for a couple of years and the same day he was going to tell the doctors to quit the chemotherapy he was told the blood test showed no signs of Leukemia or Thrompcytopenia. He previously lived a dissolute life and was not a faithful Christian. He is now an avowed believer of the Holy Spirit and tells people his story and I see how transfixed they are when they listen. He visits people at the Cancer center and even those in the Hospital waiting room. I am sort of reserved so I don't often share my story of healing but would do so if there was a website where I could.

On Topic Post:

I have prayed today for you and all the people in Africa because the virus could hit the countries there particularly bad due to lack of medical resources.

As to your situation, maybe you could appeal to your narc sister's sense of self-importance by telling her she could be the niece's savior if she allows for the testing and to seek help. You didn't say the age of the niece but if she is very young then she has a legal duty to get help I would think. In any event, your sister if she loves your niece as you say, hopefully can be convinced it is the loving thing to seek medical attention for the niece. Maybe your sister can also be made to see that it is the patriotic thing to do, to report it for the sake of the community. God Bless You and Your family. Will keep the prayers for all/worldwide going forward. We are one world as they say, now especially.
Sandie said…
The South African president has just announced that he is shutting the country down as from midnight this Thursday, for 3 weeks. The shopping frenzy in the shops is going to be a bloodbath! A whole range of measure are being implemented for financial assistance and two of the riches people in the country have donated R1 billion each for relief efforts.

The latest news is that there are 402 infections in South Africa and no one has died, but tests take up to 5 days to be processed and there must be many more like my niece who are clearly infected but have not been tested.

I am just washing my hands after I touch anything and trying to maintain the recommended distance from my niece but it is difficult because I am so worried about her.

What I can do is find out where the nearest private health care facility is (my family use private; I use public but have not been able to get to the clinic for months). There is no petrol in my car and I do not have phone time, but the farmer lives across the road (he might help) and if the worst comes to the worst I will just take my sister's vehicle and go and get help (my sister has much closer contact with my niece so as greater risk than I am and she also has a few risk factors, as I do).
Animal Lover said…
@MaLissa

So sorry for your cousins husband.

It's interesting to see the reaction people have to celebrities at this time. It's basically shut up and go away especially if the celebrity is asymptomatic and gets tested when no one else can get the test. I was on DListed earlier and they were slamming Idris Elba and his wife for getting tested without symptoms.
SwampWoman said…
Gracious me. There are a lot of states that have issued shelter in place orders today. Some of them have hardly any cases. Perhaps they are trying to keep people from other states out.
MeliticusBee said…
@SwampWoman
The worst yet to come is Louisiana - which is going shelter in place today at 5pm I think.
They have only 8K hospital beds for the whole state and have the highest rate of increase of infections and already have the 5th highest number of infections (but are only 25th by population)
Even with shelter in place - they may be expecting thousands of deaths.
I believe you live in FL? So you will know that the state is one of the worst run states, nearly equaling that of a corrupt 3rd world country.

My sister lives there - and I used to do research in NOLA - just horrid. Everyone except the lawyers and mob bosses are destitute. They oughta just scrap the whole government and start over...
Sooz said…
I am in Georgia and our public health department updates case number twice daily. Between 7pm last night and the most recent update at noon today, we had over 100 new cases ...

Our governor has scheduled a press conference for 5pm today. The mayor of Atlanta had drawn up a shelter in place order for the city and was asked to hold off until after the conference this afternoon. We shall see what he does ...
SwampWoman said…
MB, you are absolutely right. We do know all bout Louisiana. I know some good people there, but New Orleans, bless their hearts. When Katrina was heading there, we were literally screaming at the TV "GET OUT! ORDER AN EVACUATION! GET OUT NOW! What part of living below sea level do you not understand?"

Once again, I suppose the adjoining states will have to pick up the slack for their sadass government and the people that elect them, but I think we're all going to have enough problems of our own soon.

We'd picked up an extra hundred cases in Florida between the briefing last night and the 11 a.m. update as well. I'm actually scared to look at the 6 p.m. update. I've been reading some blogs between medical people, and they are talking about having to reuse protective masks for a WEEK. They are issued one, that's all they get. Personally, I'd make my own.

I suppose your Georgia governor is having your update now; I just came in from outside and need to get caught up.
SwampWoman said…
Oops, that was supposed to be "Annie, I suppose your governor is giving your update now."

Off to see what else has been shut down.

The Chinese are due a reckoning.
Sooz said…
Well, he closed bars and restaurants, banned gatherings of more than 10 people, and ordered the "medically fragile" to shelter in place. One thing I found interesting was that he mentioned that testing was being limited to the elderly, first responders, health care personnel and a couple of other groups, but not really a very wide net. Makes me wonder how many cases are really out there with testing so limited.
MeliticusBee said…
@SwampWoman - when Katrina hit I had little kids and watched on TV - imagining myself on the roof with my toddlers and baby...I cried. Unfortunately - NOLA (or the rest of the state) just hasn't improved.

My mother has been asked by two different groups (old ladies who sew) to start making fabric masks - that can be washed, autoclaved and reused. Her sewing groups have been making reusable sanitary supply kits for girls in villages that their missionaries know of until now but I guess will be switching over.
- that is what I would do. You can find the instructions on the internet.

This is part of the problem of outsourced supply chains and automated supply chains which can't easily be converted. Plus a populace that has no idea how to perform basic skills - like sewing.
SwampWoman said…
Meliticus Bee, I have watched YouTube videos in which people used hot glue guns, stitch witch, fabric glue...there are all sorts of ways to fabricate them. I personally like using HEPA filters for air conditioners, cut to shape, attach elastic, a wire to shape to nose, and a covering and lining. Since IMO lowering viral load can make the difference between life or death, I urge everybody out there that doesn't have an N95 or 100 mask or respirator on hand to sew protective masks. Some people spray them with citric acid (lemon juice) and let them dry to make them more inhospitable to virus. Some people soak in saltwater. Some people soak in copper sulfate (and let dry).
SwampWoman said…
And, to continue, yes, there are a lot of people sewing protective masks. They've issued the call on the news to come in and sew at either a fabric store using their machines (but would be limited to 3 per room because of distancing) or pick up the materials at the store and work at home.

A lot of people want to do something that matters.

I'm better with a bandsaw than a sewing machine, sadly. I was thinking about buying an inexpensive (comparatively) serger in order to be busy since I can't go to work (grin) but I would have to learn to use that, too. Well, snap. I guess I'll take out Mom's sewing machine and start cutting up old blue jeans, cutting paper clips for the wire to form around the nose, and searching for elastic.
SwampWoman said…
Annie, I'm puzzled about the limited testing as well, although here you don't get to have a test unless you have a temperature (or findings on a CT). There are a LOT of places to do testing. Florida Department of Health has 3 pages of labs that have been approved, and University of Florida is testing now as well.
Portcitygirl said…
From a first responder

Charleston is overrun and does not have enough supplies for medical staff.
SwampWoman said…
But, don't y'all only have a few hundred cases,Portcitygirl?
SwampWoman said…
We have, as of the 6:00 p.m. update, 1,147 cases of Floridians, 80 cases of non-Floridians, for 1,227 cases. *sigh* We're getting a mobile hospital set up in Jacksonville.

Wear a mask, everybody, sick or not, decrease the viral load as much as possible.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
@MaLissa:

I'm sorry to hear about your cousin' doctor husband.

We keep hearing about doctors in China & Italy passing on the job. It's not fair.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
@Sandie:

This December 4, 2019 article agrees with you (globally malaria numbers have dropped, but still very high/rising in Africa)

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03746-3

NEWS 

 04 DECEMBER 2019

Malaria cases are falling worldwide

The trend is driven by progress tackling the disease in southeast Asia, but elsewhere infections remain 'unacceptably high'.

Giorgia Guglielmi

  

The World Health Organization says that improved efforts to prevent, detect and treat malaria are allowing several countries to eliminate the disease.Credit: Edwin Remsberg, VWPICS/SPL

The number of malaria infections recorded globally has fallen for the first time in several years, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which published its annual World Malaria Report on 4 December.

Rising numbers of cases in 2016 and 2017 sparked fears that progress had stalled in the global fight against the mosquito-borne disease. But the WHO estimates that there were 228 million reported cases in 2018, a decrease of around 3 million from the previous year.

This drop can be attributed in large part to fewer cases in southeast Asia (see ‘Malaria in southeast Asia’). The WHO found that, in the past decade, the most marked decline has been in six countries across the Mekong River basin — Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

From 2010 to 2018, malaria cases dropped by 76% in these countries, and malaria-related deaths fell by 95%. In 2018, Cambodia reported zero malaria-related deaths for the first time in the country’s history. India also reported a huge reduction in infections, with 2.6 million fewer cases in 2018 than in 2017.

Source: World Health Organization.

Researchers warn that data on malaria can be inaccurate in countries with poor surveillance systems. Even if the number of officially reported deaths is zero, this doesn’t mean that there are no malaria-related casualties, says Arjen Dondorp, deputy director of the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok. However, “malaria cases are definitely going down” in countries such as Cambodia, he adds.

Countries in the Mekong area have made “tremendous progress” in tackling the disease by funding malaria-control programmes and deploying health workers in remote regions to hand out treatments and report new cases, says Abdourahmane Diallo, chief executive of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, an organization in Geneva, Switzerland, that supports efforts to control and eliminate the disease. He adds that progress in driving down infections is also the result of successful strategies to contain drug-resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria-causing parasite, which had been spreading across the region.

In other parts of the world, malaria is on the rise. Countries in Africa, for example, reported an increase of 1 million cases from 2017 to 2018, and the continent accounted for almost 94% of global cases and deaths from the disease in 2018. Fragile health-care systems and a lack of funding and infrastructure threaten to undermine the fight against malaria in many areas, says Diallo.

Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme in Geneva, says that, despite the global drop in 2018, malaria cases have stabilized at “unacceptably high numbers” over the past few years. “But this is not a helpless situation,” he says, noting that improved efforts to prevent, detect and treat the disease are allowing several countries to successfully eliminate malaria. The report says that Algeria and Argentina were both certified malaria-free in 2019.

doi: 10.1038/d41586-019-03746-3

Latest on:

Infection

Malaria

Scandi Sanskrit said…
@ SwampWoman:

Surely not 18 months?! God. Hopefully won't take that long

(Apologies for for not seeing your response earlier, I was sleepy last night & my morning coffee found your comment for me just now! ☕)
Hellobluesky said…
@ MaLissa
I'm so sorry for your cousins husband, I hope the rest of the family gets well.

@ Sandie
I don't know how to deal with narcs but I think the CatEyes proposals are very astute and should help you get your niece tested.

@ Annie
We have the same problem : people with mild symptoms are not tested in France, so our infected rate is low, but it's not the reality otherwise the entire country wouldn't be on quarantine.

And as we have numerous cases declared, but not an alarming number, some people continue to live a normal life : they get out several times a day and think we're on holiday, they go to the beach or the park, meet friends...

And the government doesn't help, he's lost between sanitary purpose, politics and economic breakdown. On the one hand you have to stay at home, schools are closed, and on the other hand you can queue for vote on the mayor elections, so the message STAY AT HOME is not that clear.
Scandi Sanskrit said…
In more light-hearted news, my 4 Himalayan cats are filthy & I can't take them to the Groomer's.

The triplets are seal-points (coloured like yoir typical Siamese cats). But my one cat is a cream-colourpoint Himalayan (practically white), so it really shows when it needs to "go get laundered" as we say in my household 😂😂
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Portcitygirl said…
Elle

Glad you are on leave! Stay safe!
Portcitygirl said…
Swampwoman

We are better off supposedly in NC where we live

Most cases are mid state. My cousin is dating a doc from Charleston and it is bad down there. Not sure why. Our Gov and mayor, who I'm friends with, acted fast here and the SC Gov did not.
As of now my family in SC is not taking it too seriously
SwampWoman said…
Elle, re
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/man-dies-after-ingesting-chloroquine-attempt-prevent-coronavirus-n1167166


Um, just so y'all know, he bought a product USED TO CLEAN FISH TANKS and ingested it. He probably extrapolated the dose to be used in the water, figured his weight, the dose he would need, and took orally a product in a concentration meant to be used externally. This would be like the difference between putting 6 to 8 drops of bleach into a gallon of water to purify it for drinking (and don't forget to let it sit for 30 minutes or so) and adding a cup of bleach to a gallon of water and drinking it right away.

This has nothing to do with the safety or efficacy of the product if used for what it was meant for, curing "ick". Otherwise, you should have a very sensitive scale meant for weighing drugs and be good at math.

I know several people that have purchased such fish meds as a "hail, Mary" pass type of thing for when/if hospitals are overwhelmed. I decided it was too dangerous (not the hydroxychloroquine, the using of chloroquine phosphate with an unknown provenance and unknown purity for a completely different reason).





SwampWoman said…
Personally, rather than taking ick medicine, I think I'd rather make my own sadass-looking face masks. It isn't like I'm going to be intubating anybody while I'm shopping and social distancing. (I saw one face mask pattern today that used Swiffer Sweeper Dry Sweeping Pads as the filter medium.)

https://swiffer.com/en-us/shop-products/refills/sweeping-refills/swiffer-sweeper-dry-pad-refills-unscented

Meanwhile, while thinking about how fetching I would look in a facemask with a Swiffer Sweeper Dry Pad refill stuffed inside, I am simultaneously trying to ponder whether Sangria and Cherry Pie go together. (See, I can multi-task!) I think a taste test may be in order but all the damn stores close early now, and I don't have cherry pie filling in my strategic stores (but I do have red wine and citrus and other fresh fruit).
Animal Lover said…
DM reports deaths in Italy while still high have decreased two days in a row. Hope this trend continues.
SwampWoman said…
That is wonderful, Animal Lover!

Meanwhile, a shortage is bringing out all sorts of creativity in people. https://www.ktvq.com/news/coronavirus/billings-doctor-finds-inventive-way-to-help-with-shortage-of-medical-masks?fbclid=IwAR24DLa9JL_OsIyuT3882IG0X3U8BcbQgxUL6oY0dUlw_RiFGLCWSEK07fI
Anonymous said…
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SwampWoman said…
Chocolate whipped vodka might be good with that chocolate cake. I dunno. Maybe too much chocolate.

Nah, not possible.
SwampWoman said…
If y'all are tired of disinfecting the dang doorknobs every time you go inside from somewhere, copper and brass are antimicrobial.
Ava C said…
Still trying to find out what you do if you've sold your house and have to move out but aren't allowed to. Finally found others in the same boat online on other blogs and it helps in an odd way to find others as stressed as you.

Middle of the night here. In the morning I'm going to try to book a 300-mile taxi journey to our new house (prepared to pay for 600 miles as the driver has to get home again) and praying our removal firm will still operate. We've self-isolated for 3 weeks now hoping this would reassure our movers.

Just stop the world and start again somewhere better.
Anonymous said…
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Hi Everybody,
I've been so sick for the past three weeks. I went for a regular doctor check and told him that I was just getting over a cold, but that I had terrible pains in my back, thighs, knees and calves. We "decided" that I was on the mend, and that I was to call him if it got worse. We also discussed that this was not consistent with the COVID symptoms list at the time.

Well, two days after that, I had the most horrific body pains everywhere, especially in the lower part of my body. My fever went to 103 degrees one day, but settled at 101 for about 10 days.

The pains in my legs, knees, thighs were so extreme that i couldn't walk for more than a few steps to the bathroom and back to bed. I just can't describe the constant pain- like railroad spikes were being driven into my legs, especially my knees. I'm not a crying type of person, but I would just lay there in bed with tears rolling down my face from the pain. It was relentless. I'd have to plan ahead to get up the courage to face the pain to get to the bathroom or to get water or food, trying to carry as many things as possible in one trip back to my bed, all while holding onto the walls for support because my knees wouldn't hold me up. Trying to get back into bed was indescribable, and again, i'd have to psych myself for the resulting increased pain of those movements.

I couldn't sleep because of the pain, but eventually would get so exhausted that id drift off for about 30 minutes a day. I didn't want to go to the hospital because I was afraid that I would get stuck there and they wouldn't let me out. Besides, there were sick people there! Obviously, my mind wasn't working too well, either.

today, the pain had subsided enough that i was finally able to get a 2-minute shower. I think i'm on the mend, but was fooled once about that, so i am being so careful. I never want to experience that kind of pain again. It was pure torture. I've been living on Ensure, cheese and crackers, cookies- anything easily portable to my bed.
today was "shower day," and tomorrow I may try to cook something quick. Even soup would take too long to heat up on these painful legs.

I saw this in the DM today and she describes the same symptoms.

"Since then, the tightness in my chest has reduced, but every day brings a new symptom: aching shoulders and crippling pains in my knees, which were so bad that as I climbed into bed one night tears came to my eyes. It felt like the worst cramp imaginable running up my thigh and calf."

I'm posting this so that others know that COVID hits every person differently.

Wishing all of you the best, and will post more as I get better. Please disregard all of the misspellings, lower-case letters, etc, in this post as it's the best i can do right now.

PS I live alone, so am self-isolating through this.
Nutty Flavor said…
So sorry to hear that, @JocelynsBellinis!

It sounds just awful.

I hope you have turned the corner and will be on the mend now.
Thanks, Nutty! Be careful out there, everybody!
Scandi Sanskrit said…
@JocelynsBellinis feel better 💜💜
@Scandi.
Thanks! I am on the mend, I hope.
Anonymous said…
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Portcitygirl said…
JocelynsBellinis

I am so very sorry you have been so sick! I hope you feel much better soon. We missed you.
@Elle,
I'm at the beach, but have people calling and bringing what I need, so I'm lucky there, at least. I have enough supplies now, too, for the time being.

I was at the point where I was in such pain that I was rationing my fluid intake so that I would get enough to live, but not enough to make me have to get to the bathroom very often. So glad that's over, I hope! I can get to the bathroom and back almost pain-free! Yay!

@Portcitygirl,
Thanks! I've been reading along here, and on Nutty's other blog, the entire time, and missed being able to post. Lots of great people here, including you! I feel like I've been through a war and come out the other side, exhausted.
SwampWoman said…
OMG, JocelynsBellinis! Reading that was horrific! And the thought that was running through my mind after reading about that torture was "And since she wasn't hospitalized, this is what they would call a mild case."

I think it might be good (?) that this attacked your skeletal muscles instead of your lungs; I don't think anyone would have been able to survive that in their lungs. Please let friends know so that they can look after you in your recovery, even if it is to deliver food to the doorstep and leave.
SwampWoman said…
Oops, cross posted. Glad that you are not completely isolated and friends are indeed looking after you.
@Elle,
I went through the cough in the early days of this. Constant, wet, deep cough. Like coughing up a lung, but that was for about a week, then the body aches took over.
I have no appetite, so I am still just eating to live. Lots of restaurants are delivering, and friends have offered to cook for me, but I'm just not hungry yet. I want to try to cook a chicken breast and some vegetables tomorrow as a form of getting up and moving around. Sort of a self-physical rehab? A simple stir-fry or something...
Yes, the pain was horrendous. I just pray that nobody else gets this. Please, everybody, take good care!

@Swampwoman,
Yes, I'm fortunate in that even though haven't actually seen anybody in weeks, i feel that friends have been by my side and wanting to help. I'm a very lucky woman in that way.


@Elle,
Now, I remember that I had the beginnings of the cough while at the doctor's appt. He gave me some prescription cough suppressants, but I didn't take them, as I wanted to keep coughing up the gunk, not suppress it. I didn't call the doc back because at that point, I had a hunch this was COVID- or polio! Really, I was thinking I might have polio. Crazy things go through your mind when you're that sick. I was also either too stubborn or too scared to go to the hospital.
Thank God for audio books, streaming movies and Nutty's blogs.
CatEyes said…
@ JocelynsBellinis

Wow, that sounded awful!! I would never thought that the muscle pains would be an element, but then again a vicious virus can wreck havoc on your body. I saw that 'malaise' was one of the symptoms and boy did you get it in spades. I guess the telling thing was that you had a cough in the beginning. The wonderful thing is that you are on the mend.

One thing I want to point out is that the experts advice is that one has good nutrition during a COVID-19 attack. I noticed you drank Ensure. One of their regular varieties has 30 grams of protein per serving, which is a good amount. A person can figure out how much protein they need by the following:

The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound. So a person weighing 140 lbs would be figured as 140 x .38 = 50.4 grams of protein. Thus just 2bottles of Ensure would supply more than enough protein.

Although it is always a good idea to get protein from different sources if you are eating food )as opposed to Ensure0 in order to have an intake of a variety of amino acids from different kinds of protein such as plant based versus meat.

I have also read that older people should consume a little higher protein than what you would think they would need despite their typical sedentary status.
CatEyes said…
@JocelynsBellinis

Forgot to add, that I am sorry you had to go thru this and thank you for telling your story. You are blessed to have such good friends to come to your aid. Take care and continue to get well!!
Anonymous said…
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MaLissa said…
@JocelynsBellinis, praying for you and hoping you get better soon.

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