Coronavirus Discussion

[Classycal]

I'm so sorry Reindeer.  (((Hugs)))

 

Olympe, I'm glad you are being tested.  Please keep us informed.  And anyone who would fire you at this time isn't worth working for.  

 

I keep all of you in my prayers.  

Edited March 29, 2020 by Classycal

[hedy]

Thanks @olympe for the advice, we are closely monitoring our situations! Glad to hear you’re getting tested, hopefully you’ll feel better soon. I heard similar stuff about working in healthcare here now: my friend is a paramedic and got exposed to a patient that tested positive. He’s still working though, they told him that if he gets more symptoms than cough (which he had had for a few days already), he can continue to work. Seems a bit risky in this situation!

 

Today I started coughing a bit and feeling tension when breathing. I’ve also had a headache all day, and just overall felt pretty tired. This definitely does not feel like any cold or flu I’ve had before, but fortunately the symptoms are not too bad (fingers crossed they don’t get worse). Only concern now is that we only have ibuprofen, which can cause even more lung problems, and can’t get parasetamol from the pharmacy. I could ask my old co-workers who live in the same town to bring some if we really need it. 
 

This thread makes me feel better, though. It’s nice to see this community and people caring for each other. All the best to you people, stay safe, stay home 💕

[Starscream]

I worry about IB. Its the only medicationt hat seems to work with mymigriane outside of hte "BIG  Guns" which are expensive.

 

Also, checking sites like W.H.O. they are saying there is no scientific evidence to date to say its a problem. I fact check with sites rather than automatically believe  "a friend of a second cousins, twice removed, uncle's, mother's, best friend's, grand father's doctor said...."

Edited March 29, 2020 by Starscream

[RainDear]

Thank everyone for your kind messages. I really appreciate it.

 

I hope every one here is able to stay as healthy as possible.

[Tiira]

@olympe That's very true! Although, I also think that it's exactly what can help to actually keep the epidemic in control, at least a bit more. Those who test positive probably won't just on with their everyday routines, spreading the virus, even if they only have the mildest symptoms. Here only people with severe symptoms or a work in the healthcare can be tested. Others are just advised to stay home if they don't feel well. I wouldn't trust all will do that, with so much disregard around... and with this strategy, how could we ever track those infected but without showing any symptoms?

[purpledragonclaw]

@RainDear I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your sister. You will be in my thoughts. Please PM me if you ever need to talk!

 

@olympe Please keep us appraised of your situation! You will be in my thoughts as well!

 

@Starscream Good luck with the move! I wouldn't do it in this situation, I'm not as brave as you. 

 

[Lagie]

44 minutes ago, hedy said:

Thanks @olympe for the advice, we are closely monitoring our situations! Glad to hear you’re getting tested, hopefully you’ll feel better soon. I heard similar stuff about working in healthcare here now: my friend is a paramedic and got exposed to a patient that tested positive. He’s still working though, they told him that if he gets more symptoms than cough (which he had had for a few days already), he can continue to work. Seems a bit risky in this situation!

 

Today I started coughing a bit and feeling tension when breathing. I’ve also had a headache all day, and just overall felt pretty tired. This definitely does not feel like any cold or flu I’ve had before, but fortunately the symptoms are not too bad (fingers crossed they don’t get worse). Only concern now is that we only have ibuprofen, which can cause even more lung problems, and can’t get parasetamol from the pharmacy. I could ask my old co-workers who live in the same town to bring some if we really need it. 
 

This thread makes me feel better, though. It’s nice to see this community and people caring for each other. All the best to you people, stay safe, stay home 💕

Feel better soon.

 

I'm allergic to ibuprofen so that's one thing I wouldn't need to worry about. Tylenol is fine, thank goodness.

 

I wonder what our PM will have to say this evening. Everyone here expects the lockdown to be extended.

[olympe]

Thanks, you all. As I said before, I have *very* mild symptoms, which might be a simple cold as well as something else. However, since I had no reason to believe I had contact with anyone with Covid-19, I didn't get tested until today when I got news to the contrary. (I live pretty isolated as is, so I honestly didn't expect this.)

 

The thing is... I should expect test results to take up to a week. By then, it's quite possible I'm recovered and not able to infect anyone any more, considering I've been experiencing some (equally slight) symptoms for 1-2 weeks.

[Astreya]

2 hours ago, ValidEmotions said:

Well, here's the thing. Thousands die from the flu every year but, last I recall, nearly the entire world doesn't take that seriously enough. Too many people don't get vaccinated every year (I'm one of them because I honestly just forget to do it, though I did get vaccinated back in September) and pretty much just "overlook" it as a mild inconvenience they'll push through. 

The seasonal flu doesn't overwhelm the health system the way Covid-19 does, though. And this is the case as there is a vaccine against influenza which the medical personal usually takes so that they don't fall ill from it, while there is no natural immunity against Covid-19 in the  population whatsoever.

[StormBirdRising]

14 hours ago, RainDear said:

My sister died last night. She had flu, seemed spacey yesterday, had no appetite, went to bed. Didn't wake up. Coronavirus? Unless they chose to test her we won't know. They are 500 miles away and even if we weren't not supposed to travel, in a weird irony - I have the mumps and can't travel anyway..

I'm so sorry to hear this news. May she rest in peace, in the arms of the angels and hope you get better soon.

 

Churches in Los Angeles have been asked to ring their bells at noon and at 6pm as a message of hope for the living and a rememberance for those lost.

[olympe]

Not to mention - what's the death rate for influenza? Very, very low.

In the high-risk group, it's significantly below 1%. The "typical seasonal flu" has a fatality rate of less than 0.1%. Most flu pandemics or epidemics are very close to that percentage, save for the Spanish flu (which was somewhere between 2% and 10%, actual numbers unkown). Covid-19, on the other hand... Well, I did best/worst numbers 5 hours ago, so let me quote myself here:

5 hours ago, olympe said:

Well, current data suggests that the death rate for Covid-19 is somewhere between 4.7% (dead people compared to all known cases) and 18.0% (dead compared to recovered cases). Yes, I know not all cases are known, so the percentage might be lower than the *known* numbers suggest. But there's also the factor of too many sick people for too few hospital beds, which will increase the rate significantly.

That's a whole lot more. From 1000 people infected, roughly 1 will die from the flu. From Covid-19, it'll be between 47 and 180. No kidding. Current prognoses from professional estimate that Covid-19 is fatal in roughly 3% of all cases. So, from 1000 infected, 30 don't make it. Thirty times as many as from the seasonal flu, against which you can get vaccinated. I'd say that's a whole different order of magnitude.

[StormBirdRising]

Medical Detection dogs, who normally alert their handlers of impending seizures and other medical conditions, are being tested and trained to recognize the COVID 19 in human beings. It is estimated that it will take another 6 weeks to test and train the dogs. They will be able to be used at airports and other places like bomb and drug dogs are used to sniff out explosives and drugs. They will be sniffing out the COVID 19 and alerting their handlers.

[olympe]

@StormBirdRising I heard about that... yesterday. Or the day before. I also heard (from a dog trainer interviewed about it) that 6 weeks is a very optimistic outlook for the time frame, and around 3 months is more likely. I just hope the dogs won't catch it, or we might get Covid-20 on our hands. 

[Fuzzbucket]

2 hours ago, Starscream said:

I worry about IB. Its the only medicationt hat seems to work with mymigriane outside of hte "BIG  Guns" which are expensive.

 

Also, checking sites like W.H.O. they are saying there is no scientific evidence to date to say its a problem. I fact check with sites rather than automatically believe  "a friend of a second cousins, twice removed, uncle's, mother's, best friend's, grand father's doctor said...."

 

The BMJ is not a friend of my aunt's neighbour's fiance's cousin.. Or even of the POTUS or the wonderful Angela Merkel.

 

https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m1086

 

Nor is the BBC.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/51929628

 

I need it for migraine too - if that happens, I shall take it, but not if I get infected.

[Classycal]

Ibuprofen has never helped my migraines.  Generic Excedrin works great though, but it has aspirin in it so if I get COVID-19 then I won't be taking it.  

 

Thanks for all the great info every one.  

[olympe]

Remember that antiplatelet drugs (like Aspirin or the weakter Ibuprofen) stay with the platelets for as long as the platelets live - which is broughly one week.

[ValidEmotions]

My point still kind of stands: people don't take the flu seriously enough, either, so why expect them to take COVID seriously?. And the flu vaccine (of which there are three types) isn't even guaranteed to be the correct vaccine for the specific strain spreading each year. It's chosen based off of doctors/scientists making statistical estimates/guesses about what's going to be the most prevalent in the coming year.  

 

The human race, as a general population, doesn't do enough to take anything regarding health serious enough. Too many people don't properly wash/prep their raw food (fruits, veggies, and meat especially). Too many don't practice proper, basic hygiene and that includes a majority of adults, not just children under three who don't know better. There are too many anti-vaxxers raising a generation (or two, now!) who don't believe in getting their children vaccinated against diseases that were nearly wiped out but are now making a comeback (hello, Polio!) because they listened to an ignorant celebrity that decided it was a good idea to say "Vaccines cause autism!" despite scientists/CDC saying that's not true. (But they'll listen to the CDC about when not to buy lettuce, so are they "liars" or not, people? Can't have it both ways.)

[olympe]

True enough that people don't take the flu as serious as they should. Still, it cannot be compared to Covid.

[Starscream]

1 hour ago, purpledragonclaw said:

 

@Starscream Good luck with the move! I wouldn't do it in this situation, I'm not as brave as you. 

 

Not the ideal situation for sure, it was planned long before to do it at this time. We bought the house in november. We cannot afford the house and to pay rent. Otherwise our safetynet buffer-zone is lost to the money pit rental is. We have a solid plan, I'll have plenty of soap and water too. I'm nervous about hte trip.

[iwazaruscof]

ok it's been nearly 2 weeks and i haven't left the house because of my university getting closed. it's making me go a little insane? but in the meantime i've been drawing, watching bad movies and playing lots of parasite eve and animal crossing :'/ i live in canada in a small town outside a city and our local grocery store is really low on toilet paper... lol. my university classes got moved to online and the change has been a little confusing for me but luckily university is almost over for me (my finals are soon)

[StormBirdRising]

4 minutes ago, Starscream said:

Not the ideal situation for sure, it was planned long before to do it at this time. We bought the house in november. We cannot afford the house and to pay rent. Otherwise our safetynet buffer-zone is lost to the money pit rental is. We have a solid plan, I'll have plenty of soap and water too. I'm nervous about hte trip.

 

Don't be nervous. Take this with you. It will blast anything you encounter out of your way

 

 

[Raikielia]

5 hours ago, ValidEmotions said:

 

Well, here's the thing. Thousands die from the flu every year but, last I recall, nearly the entire world doesn't take that seriously enough. Too many people don't get vaccinated every year (I'm one of them because I honestly just forget to do it, though I did get vaccinated back in September) and pretty much just "overlook" it as a mild inconvenience they'll push through. 

 

You cannot compare this to the flu. The flu does kill a lot of people, but there is a vaccine you can get that can help. This spreads much faster and in a very short period of time AND there is no vaccine or anything.

[Starscream]

13 minutes ago, Raikielia said:

 

You cannot compare this to the flu. The flu does kill a lot of people, but there is a vaccine you can get that can help. This spreads much faster and in a very short period of time AND there is no vaccine or anything.

I agree, which is why social distancing is important. to buy people time. What if we don't socially distance and the scientists working to find that vaccine die? then we're stuffed. This is absolutely not like flu - its way worse. We've also been tempered by time with flu - we do get a strong variation. But we've not had a coronavirus like this, or systems are not prepared. We have to slow the infection or the resources we need get used up and then the deathrates rocket.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Starscream

[ValidEmotions]

Where I see things, there is an under-reaction about the flu (and honestly all things health related, vaccine or not; like you can prevent skin cancer by diligently wearing hats and sun lotion but not enough people care about doing so) and an overreaction about COVID-19. Not enough people are practicing basic hygiene--at minimum--for the sake of their health and the health of those around them (most especially for the sake of those immunocompromised). And now that COVID is sweeping through, there's an overreaction in response that has shut down virtually everything when it didn't need to. Take absolute precaution, yes, but no one needs over 100 rolls of toilet paper for two weeks of self-isolation. People who are stuck with unsafe homes shouldn't need to be locked inside with their abusers because their government said so (and reaching out for help when their abusers are present 24/7 is near-to-impossible for way too many).

 

Humans have a really skewed sense of priorities that, when acted on in one direction or another, creates a nasty chain reaction that has more cons than pros in my opinion. And I'm not limiting the cons to just X number are going to die because they contracted X disease. They include the negative effects brought on because of the reaction to X.

 

I understand that no one (except the stock market greedy) want to sacrifice thousands who are higher risk by letting people go out and return to normal daily life. But they are forgetting about the millions who are at high risk of trauma and death by continuing as we are with the blanket lockdowns as they currently are set up. 

Edited March 29, 2020 by ValidEmotions

[Sesshomaru]

@RainDear My condolences.

 

@ValidEmotions If this were Reddit, I would give you a delta. My thoughts exactly. If human knowledge were not as shallow as it is now, and had they not elected such ineffective leaders, we would have handled this with much greater tact. I wish we had something that would enable us to instantly detect and neutralize Covid, so the healthy people at high risk for mental health issues wouldn't be forced to stay inside. Maybe in a few centuries more.