Getting used to new habits for Coronavirus....

[Hornet3d]

Here in the UK letters are being sent to people over seventy and those with underlying health issues advising them to stay indoors other than to shop for food or walking while keeping 2 meters away from everyone. I think that will include me but my wife and I are already doing that so no real issue. Shopping wise we have enough of everything to keep us going for at least two weeks. We are avoiding the main supermarkets so far and just topping up at the local store not sure how long it will be before we need to visit a supermarket. Only real impact is we are paying more for everything but what price do you put on trying to keep you healthy and stay out of hospital.

Major concern here is for the health and other support staff as they are coming off of a shift only to find supermarkets shut or open with bare shelves. A further worry for them is that all schools shut as from today but some will stay open for the children of support workers and for those children for who the school meal is the on decent meal they get each day.

Many are saying that things will never go back to normal , I sincerely hope they do not. This virus has really highlighted the fact that, despite the march of technology, we are putting our whole existence at risk living life as we have been doing. Life has to change if this state of lockdown is to be avoided in the future.

 

[Janet]

Some good news. Because of the corona virus Washington state is having a special enrollment to apply for health insurance. So I called them today and I might be approved in a couple of days.

 

[Satira Capriccio]

That's good news Janet.


The Governor in Pennsylvania has now ordered the mandatory shutdown of all "non-life sustaining" businesses, which will be enforced by state troopers, local officials, the state Health and Agriculture departments, and the Liquor Control Board. Businesses that do not comply risk citations, fines, license suspensions, and forfeiting disaster relief. Criminal prosecution is also a possibility, and violators may find themselves imprisoned. PA has provided a five page pdf that lists all categories of businesses and whether they may continue physical operations or close.

My employer advised us last night that our office location is closed as of today, so all staff is now telecommuting. We've had telecommuting available for a few years now, even though few directors allowed their staff to telecommute. So while it's been stressful for my department, most staff seem to be transitioning to connecting and working remotely without too much trouble.

 

[Hornet3d]

The latest here in the UK

Latest Government announcement on the COVID-19 pandemic
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just announced that cafes, pubs and restaurants must close from tonight (20 March), except for take-away food, to tackle coronavirus.

All the UK’s nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres have also been asked to close “as soon as they reasonably can”. The situation will be reviewed each month.

 

[Stezza]

Some good news. Because of the corona virus Washington state is having a special enrollment to apply for health insurance. So I called them today and I might be approved in a couple of days.

good news buy yet so sad....

Australia is closed to visitors... Tasmania is closed to the rest of Australia... my friends 60th birthday party has just been cancelled and we still can't get any toiletpaper... 3 weeks and counting

hang in there Hivewarriors

 

[KageRyu]

I may or may not be sick. It's hard to tell how much is my regular health issues acting up due to the cruddy weather and the fact I was out in below freezing weather in a T-shirt the other day and how much may be an actual illness. Slight tightness in my chest for last couple days, tickle in my throat. Started Monday. I refuse to be done in by a virus that shares a name with garbage beer.

 

[Pendraia]

Hey stranger, good to see you. I hope all is well with you, and yours.

I haven't been doing too badly, I've been sick with a normal cold but this has turned out well as schools are still open here and meant I could stay home. As someone who is in a high risk group (asthma and high blood pressure combined with age) I'm a little concerned about going in on Monday but if I don't and they close the schools I won't get paid the special leave as I will be considered already on leave.
Apart from that the family is doing fine. My son works at a Not Quite Right store so it's been a bit crazy for him due to higher sales. My daughter who works in an electoral office has had her hours reduced to 1 day as they are all taking one day to reduce risk and they also will only talk to people via an intercom system (you have to be buzzed in under normal circumstances.) My husband and I have been picking up groceries for mum and dad as we are trying to keep them isolated mum is 88 and dad is 90.

Oh I'm sure most private home owners don't have one, but if someone does, it's in a private home, and not an apartment.

Lots of people have separate freezers here. We don't but my parents do. That said I've noticed that the supermarkets are starting to show more items. We went in this morning to pick some stuff up and we managed to get a couple of items that had previously been difficult to obtain.

The CEO from Coles(one of our major supermarkets) said that it has been like have 3 lots of christmas sales at once. That they have the stock but the problem has been getting it from the warehouse to the supermarket. I've seen one photo of a warehouse that had a huge amount of toilet paper.

The govt has removed some of the blockers like truck curfews and the supermarkets are putting on more staff. At least one supermarket is trying to hire people from Quantas to ensure that they aren't financially disadvantaged due to restriction on flights.

Watching tv at the moment is a bit scary and very sad...we should try and remember to have health breaks away from watching it...mental health can be an issue when isolated from others.

 

[Miss B]

Sounds like you guys are doing as well as you can, taking care of each other.

They've also asked folks here, mostly those over 70 yrs of age, and especially those with underlying health issues, to stay home. We can only hope this settles down, and eventually dies out, before too long. The supermarkets and pharmacies in my neighborhood are starting to have more items they ran out of when this all started, but they're limiting how many you can purchase to 1 of each. At first I didn't like that, but it really does make sense if you want to support all your customers.

My issue is that this comes at a bad time, as I had been stocking up on household essentials, such as paper products, because my building is going to be going through major work on the elevators the end of next month for six weeks on each side. I'm sure younger folks, especially those living on the lower floors won't have a problem walking up and down when they need to go out, but I live on the top floor, and I don't think I'll be able to walk up and down 6 flights of stairs a few times each week, so it's going to be interesting to see how we work this out even if we order our groceries, and the supermarket delivers them, because they won't be walking up 6 flights of stairs to deliver it to those who live on the top floors of the building. I'm definitely not looking forward to this, but least least I won't be affected by this until mid-June, so we shall see.

 

[Janet]

The city commissioner is a friend on FB, he's friends with anyone who is local. He's been posting corona virus updates to FB every night. He told us when the first case was found here. Tonight he posted this:

"I am happy to announce there were still no new positive cases of Covid-19 in Mason county. Yes we are holding at 1.

Our one positive case is doing extremely well. There has been a lot of confusion around this persons age and location. Let me try to clarify a few things. First, he is not from Shelton he lives in Hoodsport. He is not a 35 year old, he is actually around 80 years old. No, he did not pass away from the virus. Actually, he is alive, strong and doing well. He was not even hospitalized. He has been spending his quarantine at his own home. We make them tough in Mason County. He looks to be on his way to a full recovery. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?"

I find this sooo encouraging.

 

[Hornet3d]

We have had 4 cases of the virus in the town I live and sadly yesterday one of those four died. We do not have a lot of details other than that but it does make the situation very real.

 

[McGyver]

My county has 459 confirmed cases and seven deaths...
At this point it’s probably not so crazy that I’ve been going out in the gorilla mask... I probably should wear clothes too... but no regrets.

 

[Miss B]

It's a lot worse here in the City limits, than out where you live McGyver, and since I read, and heard on the news, that NYC has the largest number of infections, it's pretty scary. I don't recall if it was stated that we had the largest number of deaths as well.

Whether the fact we have such a large population is the reason for this, or not, it wouldn't surprise me one bit.

 

[DanaTA]

It's a lot worse here in the City limits, than out where you live McGyver, and since I read, and heard on the news, that NYC has the largest number of infections, it's pretty scary. I don't recall if it was stated that we had the largest number of deaths as well.

Whether the fact we have such a large population is the reason for this, or not, it wouldn't surprise me one bit.

You have to remember, NY is a hub of world travel. It makes sense that there would be a higher infection rate. Same for southern California.

From the CDC: CDC estimates that so far this season there have been at least 38 million flu illnesses, 390,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths from flu.

So, considering a population of just over 300 Million:

• more than 10% of the population have or had the flu this season. The numbers of new and existing cases is dropping each day.
• 6% of those died from the flu

By contrast:

• 15,210 cases of COVID-19 as of end of day March 20
• 201 Deaths
• That means about 5 thousandths of 1% of the population has COVID-19 as of March 20
• 1.3% of those infected have died

These are all facts from the CDC. I just did the simple calculations of percentages.
People need to stop panicking, and really need to stop hoarding.

Dana

 

[Alisa]

FYI. Washington has the highest number of deaths at this point, not NY.

Dana, with all due respect, just looking at numbers on the CDC page doesn't tell you everything - there are differences between this and the seasonal flu. There are vaccines and treatments for the seasonal flu, and the general statistics for it are known. The coronavirus is more easily transmitted, and the percentage of death may well be higher with this than with the seasonal flu - that's not known yet.

Those numbers you quoted from yesterday go up by the hour, as more people are tested - the total known cases in the US right now are over 22,000.

We also really have no idea how many people in the US have the virus now, or had it already and recovered (or died from it), because there are not enough tests available / being done here.

One reason New York has so many cases (in addition to it being a hub, as Dana mentions, with a lot of people concentrated in the area), is that there is more testing being done there than in many other places.

We have only 2 known cases in our county, but that doesn't mean there aren't a LOT more people who have it or had it and haven't or hadn't been tested. As of yesterday, the official county page noted that there are 85 pending tests and "There is very limited capacity to test patients."

Panic, no. Hoarding, no. But it's completely understandable that people are scared about their finances and their health. I'm far less bothered about people who are buying a bit more than they need, than I am by those who have bought out stock in order to make a profit by re-selling them at outrageous prices.

What people need to do is to listen to the scientific and medical experts, and do what they recommend. EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and practice social distancing. That is pretty much the most important thing the experts will tell you to do.

 

[Miss B]

All very true, especially since NY is a large travel hub. I was just repeating what I saw on the 11:00 pm news on a major network, not something I read on a questionable web site.

Now that you mention it Alisa, I'm not surprised Washington has a larger amount since reports here in the US started on the West Coast.

EVERYONE needs to take this seriously and practice social distancing. That is pretty much the most important thing the experts will tell you to do.

Absolutely. There have been recommendations of a 6ft distancing when meeting someone you know. I saw it at the bank yesterday when one of the customer reps came out to talk to one of the customers. He was standing at least 6ft away, and all employees, especially the tellers, were wearing face masks and vinyl gloves. It's a necessity for sure.

We can only hope the coronavirus slows down to a point where there are no more fatalities.

 

[DanaTA]

The experts say that wearing the masks is not the right thing to do. They say, over and over again, that there is no proof it protects you from the virus. Those who are already sick with the virus are the ones who should be wearing the masks. And...those people should not be out and about in public, anyway!!!

I'm not saying this virus isn't dangerous. Just that, so far, the numbers have not shown it worse than the flu. Come on. 38 million vs. 22 thousand? More have died from the flu than those who have COVID-19. The death rate percentage is not close to that of the flu. And, if, as they say, many more have it unawares, that makes the ratio of deaths to cases even lower.

We know this can all change. But the panic, the hoarding, the price gouging, the black market selling, the misinformation...those are much more dangerous at the moment.

Dana

 

[KageRyu]

...the panic, the hoarding, the price gouging, the black market selling, the misinformation...those are much more dangerous at the moment.

I couldn't agree more with this particular statement.
And, the unfortunate side effect of the panic and the media over-saturation is it leads certain personality types to become calloused, indifferent, and uncooperative. This leads to people doing the exact things that will spread the virus.
I am really saddened by those people who are selling counterfeit test kits - that is really low.

 

[Miss B]

The experts say that wearing the masks is not the right thing to do. They say, over and over again, that there is no proof it protects you from the virus. Those who are already sick with the virus are the ones who should be wearing the masks. And...those people should not be out and about in public, anyway!!!

Yes, I've heard/read the same thing. I haven't bought/worn a face mask, and I doubt I will. I do wear vinyl gloves when out shopping, and when not wearing them, I try to touch things, like elevator buttons, with my knuckles, not my fingertips. I've also pulled my jacket's sleeves over my hands when holding onto a railing, or something similar.

I'm not saying this virus isn't dangerous. Just that, so far, the numbers have not shown it worse than the flu. Come on. 38 million vs. 22 thousand? More have died from the flu than those who have COVID-19. The death rate percentage is not close to that of the flu. And, if, as they say, many more have it unawares, that makes the ratio of deaths to cases even lower.

I suspect it's because it's new. The flu has been around for many decades, and there have been flu vaccines around for decades, so folks are used to hearing about it. COVID-19 is brand new, there is no vaccine at this time, and I believe that's what's scaring folks the most.

We know this can all change. But the panic, the hoarding, the price gouging, the black market selling, the misinformation...those are much more dangerous at the moment.

I couldn't agree more. The only reason I've been stocking up on some things, as I've mentioned before, is because of major work that's going to be done on the elevators in this building, as I don't see me walking up and down 6 floors that easily.

Luckily, I spoke to a neighbor, who is on the co-op Board of Directors, and they had a meeting yesterday. It's all been put on hold until the COVID-19 issue has been put to rest. So I won't be stocking up on things again any time soon.

 

[Stezza]

Getting some early practise in with looking after the kids... Everything non essential will be shutdown in Australia very soon.

 

[AnimaGemini]

Here in France we have a full Lock down. Till now only for 2 weeks, but they talking about way longer.
Hard times for everybody. Hope you all are safe and healthy.
My husband and me we already went trough the virus.Fortunately in a mild form. (Just like a cold ,which take longer as usual )We was 3 weeks in full quarantine and now, after 1 week in freedom again in a lock down.
But we are okay with it and stay at home .Only go out for short shopping.
Only bugs us that we just move in our new home and there is so much to do, but we can not because the shops for furniture, bricolage (DYI ) stores are closed, garden stores and also all our appointments with company's which repair or replace stuff ( like floor, bath room stuff) are delayed till further notice. So still between cartons and mess.


Stay all safe and big hugs to all from France.
Hope this cheer up some of you