Coronavirus Discussion

[trystan]

well, i'm not driving across the state sunday.... younger daughter's college extended spring break by a week due to the virus.  she needs to find out if she'll be able to go back to the dorms this semester, and we're taking it day by day right now, as there aren't any cases on campus.  there's online classes in the works, but who knows how this will play out, since things change almost daily.

i think i'm trying to make too many plans at once when we don't even know what tomorrow will bring....

[hedy]

I stayed at my parents’ place for a night yesterday and drove back home today. After that I’ve just been playing CoD, I wanted to go to the gym later today but got hit by some flu symptoms, so it’s best just to stay home. 

[Tiira]

I'm feeling very down and insecure in this situation. The crisis in Italy has been particularly shocking to me since it's a country I love so deeply. Now the epidemic is truly starting to spread here in Finland, too, and I can't help but worry about my parents and other people close to me, and more generally, everyone this disease can hurt everywhere in the world.

[Sashimi]

I'm also pretty exhausted about this virus thing. I also live in Finland and although the situation isn't the worst (yet) it keeps growing and at work we have to be extra careful - I work in dental care. Not like we can avoid it if there comes a patient carrying the virus. 

 

I should also be moving in the end of the month, I hope I won't be in quarantine before that.

[Tiira]

@Sashimi About the most urgent problems, though... today I visited seven big supermarkets and not one had toilet paper. Is this coronavirus at all? Seems more like the norovirus. Well, first things first...

 

I hope you won't end up sick or in quarantine! Your job seems quite risky indeed. Although, as the virus keeps spreading, everything will be risky soon enough.

 

In the meantime...

 

Edited March 13, 2020 by Varislapsi

[iwazaruscof]

COVID-19 finally hit my province this week, we have 3 confirmed cases as of today and university was just cancelled today for the rest of the winter term. i don't know how online classes are going to work or when they'll even start up, all they said was that the university is now closed and they'll give updates over time. i'm a little nervous about school lol

[olympe]

5 hours ago, Sashimi said:

I'm also pretty exhausted about this virus thing. I also live in Finland and although the situation isn't the worst (yet) it keeps growing and at work we have to be extra careful - I work in dental care. Not like we can avoid it if there comes a patient carrying the virus. 

 

I should also be moving in the end of the month, I hope I won't be in quarantine before that.

 

What can I say? I'm from Germany. Nordrhein-Westfalen, the worst-hit state thus far. (Though, fortunately, not too close to Heinsberg.) My hometown - lower hundred thousands of citizens - has its first few confirmed cases, as well as some rumored ones involving physicians of one of our two major hospitals. Right now, in Germany, all but one state have decided to keep their schools closed until after the Spring Break (or Easter Break, as it's called here). In my opinion, it's way too late and should have happened at least one week earlier. (Oh, and my daughter's Cambridge Certificate exams - which were supposed to happen this very weekend - got cancelled today, too. Due to Corona.) But it was obvious this was going to spread, and do so badly. We celecrate Rosenmontag over here, where lots of people meet randomly and even kiss each other for no apparent reason. That should have been cancelled nation-wide to prevent the spread. But no, it was too far away back then. *grumbles* After that, it was pretty much impossible to stop the plague corona.

 

Regarding toilet paper and the like - try to go shopping early in the day, things tend to get re-stocked during the night or early in the morning, when not many people are around. It helps immensely.

 

What baffles me the most, though, is how careless (or uncaring?) and badly informed many people are. People who refuse to wash their hands. People who insist that anti-bacterial hand desinfectant is absolutely necessary. (It isn't, it doesn't kill viruses. Yes, it's called corona virus for a reason.) People who go shopping despite being unable to stop coughing for three whole seconds. (No joke, my mom told me about seeing this.) "Oh, corona virus is just a flu virus." - "No, it isn't. It's like SARS." - "But SARS is just the flu, too!" (Had this dialogue today. I eventually gave up. Believe in the holy flu if it helps you cope.) And, of course, the obvious: "It's just a panic." "It isn't quite as bad as the media make us believe." "It's all the media's fault." "It's just like the flu. Nobody talks about the flu, so why about corona?" "I'm so tired about the media always talking/writing about this. It's not like it's that bad, anyway."

No, it's not like the flu. It's worse. Look at the numbers from China, where the pandemic started. I don't remember the exact numbers, but there were around 60+ k people healed from corona, while around 3+ k people had died from it. (Can't look the numbers up right now, unable to find them any more.) So, for 20 people healed, there is one killed. (The actual numbers were somewhere between 1 out of 19 and 1 out of 20.) That's nothing like the flu! /rant

 

[PrincessLucy]

Not "How was your day?", I am playing "How was your past few weeks?"

 

2/18 the grocery store I work at had inventory, so I was worn out from the prep. 2/19, I left work early to go to doctor. I had flu. 

 

Back to doctor 2/24. Had virus, but not flu any longer, so lost work 2/20 thru 2/25.

 

On vacation 3/1 thru 3/7, so I worked 9 hours, as there are things that only I can do at work.

 

Back to doctor 3/8. Sinusitis which is causing my cough to not ever stop. Out sick 3/9. Back to work 3/10, and out since then, as my company doesn't want anybody who is coughing to go to work.

 

Almost out of sick pay for the year, and it is only March. I still have 4 weeks paid vacation and 5 personal days, so I won't be broke, as I can use leave if I need to.

 

Union said to apply for short-term disability for when I was out for the 6 days in Feb.

 

I am home, but not sick, just a 2 bag a day cough drop habit.

 

But the good part--I have 40 rolls of toilet paper, 30 rolls of paper towels, 15 boxes of tissues, 1 1/2 boxes of masks (leftover from when I had the flu), 15 cases of water, 3 bottles of hand sanitizer, 3 or 4 packs of wipes, asst cleaners and sprays. (My son and I both went shopping, not realizing that the other was shopping). I also have a bunch of food in the house. I have a 91 year old mother who needs all her food blended, so there are things I can't risk running out of, and I can't let her get sick.  Over a 1 month supply of dog and cat food, as it was time to pick some up recently and the bags are big.

[StormBirdRising]

5 hours ago, Varislapsi said:

@Sashimi

 

 

In the meantime...

 

OMG. That is so funny. MY PRECIOUS. LOL.    It is the same in the US, the stores are out of paper products, hand sanitizers, kleenexes, stuff like that. Me, I am still going to my swim club and to restaurants and to my gym and to work (because in my job you have to be dead to get a day off). Last year 13,000 Americans died of the flu, 1300 were here in California. It is like that every year, so I am not worried about the corona virus, if that is what it really is, because I really don't know.

Edited March 13, 2020 by StormBirdRising
because I just wanted the picture

[Sashimi]

6 hours ago, StormBirdRising said:

OMG. That is so funny. MY PRECIOUS. LOL.    It is the same in the US, the stores are out of paper products, hand sanitizers, kleenexes, stuff like that. Me, I am still going to my swim club and to restaurants and to my gym and to work (because in my job you have to be dead to get a day off). Last year 13,000 Americans died of the flu, 1300 were here in California. It is like that every year, so I am not worried about the corona virus, if that is what it really is, because I really don't know.

 

Well I think the problem is that the corona virus spreas so fast, that the health care systems cannot respond. It isn't that dangerous to healthy people, just like a regular flu or sth. But when it get's to the old and ill and to the hospitals where older people are, that's when we have problems. For example Italy doesn't have that many spots in hospitals for all the sick people in the same time, and that's why they have so many deaths. Also the hospital staff is overworked(and also gets infected, spreading the virus) and cannot treat anything else than corona. It will spread, but we want it to spread SLOWLY.

 

So just to protect our old people and health care, wash your hands and stay out of big crowds!

[StormBirdRising]

2 minutes ago, Sashimi said:

 

Well I think the problem is that the corona virus spreas so fast, that the health care systems cannot respond. It isn't that dangerous to healthy people, just like a regular flu or sth. But when it get's to the old and ill and to the hospitals where older people are, that's when we have problems. For example Italy doesn't have that many spots in hospitals for all the sick people in the same time, and that's why they have so many deaths. Also the hospital staff is overworked(and also gets infected, spreading the virus) and cannot treat anything else than corona. It will spread, but we want it to spread SLOWLY.

 

So just to protect our old people and health care, wash your hands and stay out of big crowds!

 

It is dangerous in countries that are communist because their medical care stinks. We can't compare the free world countries to them. We have more resources and better medical care. The US also has huge military bases in all 50 states with state of the art medical facilities that are opened to the public during health emergencies. They have already admitted, treated, and released civilians with the corona virus and quarantined civilians and military returning from "corona virus hot spots".

The first hand accounts I have read of people who have had the corona virus are that it is like a cold, much less severe than a flu. I don't want anyone to panic about this and do anything crazy like they did in the flu of 1918 when Americans were in a total panic and committing suicide rather than catch the flu.

It is good advice to wash our hands and wipe down hard surfaces with antiseptic as often as possible since this version of the virus, COVID 19, can live for 72 hours on  a hard surface, but other than that I don't see any reason to change my life style. 

[olympe]

5 hours ago, StormBirdRising said:

It is good advice to wash our hands and wipe down hard surfaces with antiseptic as often as possible since this version of the virus, COVID 19, can live for 72 hours on  a hard surface, but other than that I don't see any reason to change my life style. 

Ahm, no. Antiseptics are used on the skin to kill of bacteria and fungi. There are some special kinds that also work against viruses, but they're pretty harsh to the skin and not generally available around here - although that might or might not be different in the US. Come to think of it, most of these things have gone pretty much out of stock around here, whether they work against viruses or not.

 

You use disinfectants on (non-living) surfaces. The most common household disinfectant available in the English-speaking countries - or is it just the US? - is chlorine bleach. It's effective against (most) bacteria and funghi, it seems. But it doesn't say anything about viruses because it doesn't work against them.

 

Also, the US medical care stinks. Because way too many people cannot afford health insurance, much less doctor's/hospital bills or even extended sick leave in case of a bad bout with COVID-19. Which means that way too many people won't go to see a physician, much less skip work in order to not spread the disease. Military hospitals being opened to the public won't help with that basic problem.

 

Also, have you seen this? 

 

Pretty much shows how much of a handle Trump has on things.

 

 

[Tiira]

Well, I don't really know that much about politics or society structures. We do have public health care here but that doesn't mean it would always work. Still, in my opinion it's definitely good that we're at least aiming to equality and (I hope) trying to improve, too. In the case of corona, however, we wouldn't have enough resources to treat everyone in need if there would be a large epidemic.

 

But I haven't been thinking about that too much. I'm just the kind of person who's always worried about people close to me so obviously I've been dealing with quite a lot of fear and anxiety lately. My parents are quite old and so...

 

I'm also still going to the uni since they didn't close it yet. Pretty much everything else is canceled, though. And yeah, people are very careless and misinformed. Yesterday, when I had my last dance class for some time, most of the other students were just talking about how this panicing annoys them, that it's not serious, or even if it is, hey, everyone dies eventually and this virus kills mostly old people. I can't believe it that someone could be so unempathetic. I know people and other living beings get killed every day and of course most of us could and should do something to stop that, yes, but it's only natural to feel shocked when there's a crisis close to you.

 

Luckily this epidemic isn't so bad yet and I sincerely hope it won't get worse but easier. I just think it's better to think about the prevention even too much and too early than later say that we could have done more.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Varislapsi

[olympe]

1 hour ago, Varislapsi said:

And yeah, people are very careless and misinformed. Yesterday, when I had my last dance class for some time, most of the other students were just talking about how this panicing annoys them, that it's not serious, or even if it is, hey, everyone dies eventually and this virus kills mostly old people.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. And putting your head in the sand is the very epitome of willful ignorance.

[StormBirdRising]

9 hours ago, olympe said:

Also, the US medical care stinks. Because way too many people cannot afford health insurance, much less doctor's/hospital bills or even extended sick leave in case of a bad bout with COVID-19. Which means that way too many people won't go to see a physician, much less skip work in order to not spread the disease. Military hospitals being opened to the public won't help with that basic problem.

 

Also, have you seen this? 

 

Pretty much shows how much of a handle Trump has on things.

 

 

 

OMG, I was wondering when people would start using COVID 19 as another excuse to bash the US and US President Donald Trump with fake news. I am rolling on the floor laughing my cula off. So much misinformation from fake news and that petty people fabricate. President Trump and the entire US Federal Government have already pledged to cover all expenses from the COVID 19 for all American citizens. I am dying from laughing. Thank you for your comic relief. hahahahaha. OMG. You are too funny.

 

There are 327,000,000  people in the United States. As of yesterday there were approx 2000 people with Covid 19 and 41 Covid 19 deaths. So President Trump and the United States medical system must be doing something right.

[Classycal]

30 minutes ago, StormBirdRising said:

 

OMG, I was wondering when people would start using COVID 19 as another excuse to bash the US and US President Donald Trump with fake news. I am rolling on the floor laughing my cula off. So much misinformation from fake news and that petty people fabricate. President Trump and the entire US Federal Government have already pledged to cover all expenses from the COVID 19 for all American citizens. I am dying from laughing. Thank you for your comic relief. hahahahaha. OMG. You are too funny.

 

There are 327,000,000  people in the United States. As of yesterday there were approx 2000 people with Covid 19 and 41 Covid 19 deaths. So President Trump and the United States medical system must be doing something right.

 

I can't get the video to come up for me, but, yes, Pres Trump has vowed that all Americans with COVID 19 will be treated regardless of their insurance status.  If you do have insurance, Pres Trump has mandated that they pay for COVID 19.  If you don't, you will still be treated.  And Americans can get treatment for any emergency regardless of their ability to pay as long as it's a public hospital rather than a private and almost all US hospitals are public.

[olympe]

Well, let me add some "fake news" I saw on a German news channel mere minutes ago: One company that is working on a COVID-19 vaccine (that probably won't see the light of day anytime soon) apparently got an offer from Trump to buy said vaccine should it be there - and *only* distribute it in the US. Exclusively.

 

I mean, what kind of human being says, "Oh, there's going to be a vaccine for a currently rampaging disease. Let's buy it and make sure no other country can use it! Let them die in peace!"

Much less, what kind of human being acts on it???

 

14 hours ago, StormBirdRising said:

There are 327,000,000  people in the United States. As of yesterday there were approx 2000 people with Covid 19 and 41 Covid 19 deaths. So President Trump and the United States medical system must be doing something right.

Well, let's compare. In Germany, we have around 82,000,000 people - 25% of the US. As of yesterday evening (local time), we had 3795 people with COVID-19 (190% of the US) - or 4174, according to a different source (maybe they stopped their count for the day later than the first?) with 8 deaths (death toll rose to 9 by now). The youngest person killed by Corona was 67 with pre-existing diseases/health issues.

Edited March 15, 2020 by olympe

[Gluria]

4 minutes ago, olympe said:

Well, let me add some "fake news" I saw on a German news channel mere minutes ago: One company that is working on a COVID-19 vaccine (that probably won't see the light of day anytime soon) apparently got an offer from Trump to buy said vaccine should it be there - and *only* distribute it in the US. Exclusively.

I'm fuming over this rn. Like I could burn something up.

I'm going to stop here because I have ZERO nice words left for Trump anyone even remotely supporting that man. Zero. I'd be banned from the forums forever if I said what I think.

I'm so disgusted I feel nauseous.

Edited March 15, 2020 by Gluria

[trystan]

so here's my 2 cents. (not sure when I'll get back to reply,  I'm on my phone because we're at younger daughter's college to move her out today and her classes will be online for the rest of semester....)

 

let me start with saying I have low high blood pressure (under control with meds) and hubby's job has good insurance. I'm also not well-versed in the world of the uninsured. and my inner cynic is.... quite cynical.  so.

 

those 2000 reported cases as of Friday (which may have changed by now,  which is Sunday morning cave time) are only what we know. how many 1000s of uninsured ppl haven't gotten tested because they *can't* afford it or to even take time off if they are positive?

 

I just heard on the news that the bill just passed in Washington will make testing free, even to the uninsured. sure, it sounds good,  but excuse me if I don't believe it. the first place trump turned to were *private* insurance companies, who are oh-so-awesome at overcharging simply because they can, to work on a vaccine. because the only thing trump cares about is trump and his money, and making money. he doesn't care one whit about anyone else. 

 

I also agree with the sentiment above....i might get banned if I continue,  so.... yeah.

[The Dragoness]

I really wish people would take the coronavirus outbreak seriously. I work in a very hands-on field where I come into contact with easily a hundred people every day. We've put out hand sanitizer and tissues but very few use them. I've made a habit of wiping down the high touch surfaces when I get a chance but now we're out of disinfectant wipes and unable to order more for the time being. Yes, this is a big deal. It's not the flu. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, and avoid sick people. Most cases may be mild but we don't know exactly how this virus acts yet...who knows if it is worse the second time around?

 

I'm also scared for people like my dad. He's 50 years old with a history of respiratory issues. He can't afford to get sick--his income is already tight and he's higher risk. The "relief" plan is only supposed to offer paid time off to those with companies over 500 employees. That excludes both of us and many other people. The amount you're given is also supposed to be capped at $4,000 over 12 weeks. That's less than minimum wage in my state. Please, please be cautious about this virus...if not for yourself, then people like my dad who are high risk.

Edited March 15, 2020 by The Dragoness

[Lagie]

1 hour ago, The Dragoness said:

I really wish people would take the coronavirus outbreak seriously. I work in a very hands-on field where I come into contact with easily a hundred people every day. We've put out hand sanitizer and tissues but very few use them. I've made a habit of wiping down the high touch surfaces when I get a chance but now we're out of disinfectant wipes and unable to order more for the time being. Yes, this is a big deal. It's not the flu. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, and avoid sick people. Most cases may be mild but we don't know exactly how this virus acts yet...who knows if it is worse the second time around?

 

I'm also scared for people like my dad. He's 50 years old with a history of respiratory issues. He can't afford to get sick--his income is already tight and he's higher risk. The "relief" plan is only supposed to offer paid time off to those with companies over 500 employees. That excludes both of us and many other people. The amount you're given is also supposed to be capped at $4,000 over 12 weeks. That's less than minimum wage in my state. Please, please be cautious about this virus...if not for yourself, then people like my dad who are high risk.

Well put!

I have three underlying conditions that put me at risk so I'm keeping my fingers crossed (well, when I'm not washing them!). So far my country has 0 cases but no one here expects that to last forever. I'm glad they've stopped the cruise ships.

[Classycal]

1 hour ago, Lagie said:

I have three underlying conditions that put me at risk so I'm keeping my fingers crossed (well, when I'm not washing them!). So far my country has 0 cases but no one here expects that to last forever. I'm glad they've stopped the cruise ships.

 

I'm glad the cruise ships have stopped, too, but that must be hitting the Bahamian economy hard.  

 

2 hours ago, The Dragoness said:

I really wish people would take the coronavirus outbreak seriously. I work in a very hands-on field where I come into contact with easily a hundred people every day. We've put out hand sanitizer and tissues but very few use them. I've made a habit of wiping down the high touch surfaces when I get a chance but now we're out of disinfectant wipes and unable to order more for the time being. Yes, this is a big deal. It's not the flu. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, and avoid sick people. Most cases may be mild but we don't know exactly how this virus acts yet...who knows if it is worse the second time around.

 

Well said.  It is a big deal.  PLEASE wash your hands and stay away from people if you are sick.  Remember, it begins as just a cold so don't assume you JUST have a cold - assume you have COVID 19 and stay at home unless you are sick enough to go to the hospital (high temperature, shortness of breath, and a severe dry cough).

 

[Lagie]

4 minutes ago, Classycal said:

 

I'm glad the cruise ships have stopped, too, but that must be hitting the Bahamian economy hard.  

It will, as will flights stopping.

And I was wrong - as of today, we have our first case. A 61 yo woman with no travel history. Eeps.

[olympe]

Well, my stats need an update, too. Death toll has risen to 12 by now (as far as I know), as well as 4,800 cases (rounded down). That's (almost) +1000 in one day. Eep!

 

We also got news on the vaccine front - there are no plans to sell a vaccine exclusively to one country, but to make it available everywhere. Thanks a lot!

 

And I can only re-iterate what classycal said - wash your hands, stay away from other people wherever you can, keep your distance. Avoid crowds! However, I have some other things to add:

• Don't shake hands. Seriously. Our hands come in contact with pretty much everything. Shaking hands makes us come into contact with everything the other person (and whoever they have shaken hands with) has come into contact.
• Ideal times to wash your hands:
  • When you arrive home.
  • After you have been in a public place - even if all you touched is a railing, a lift button or some change. Wash your hands. 
  • After the use of public transportation. 
  • Before you eat. Yes, especially finger food.
  • Before you prepare food.
  • After you had to sneeze and still put your hand in front of your mouth. Old habits die hard.
  • Yes, also after using the restroom. Obviously.
  • After every human interaction. Better safe than sorry. (Unless you live in the same household, in which case it's probably obsolete.)
• Don't feel safe due to using disinfectants. Most of them don't work against viruses.
• Don't feel safe because you use a face mask. Most of them let virus particles (as well as microscopic droplets containing viruses) through.
• When you need to go shopping, try to go at times where stores aren't usually busy. It helps to minimize contact, and also gives you better chances that the stores are stocked. (At least it worked here.) If you can, order online.
• If you have elderly / high-risk neighbors, ask them (via phone, or through the door, or via hand-delivered mail with your phone-number included) whether you can get stuff for them. This will help protect those who need it the most.

Edited March 15, 2020 by olympe

[Classycal]

Did Trump really say he wanted a vaccine for just the US?  Surely that's fake news.  I know he's an idiot, but I hope he wouldn't do that.  (And he thinks he's going to be re-elected?  I'm a Republican, but I did NOT vote for the man.  But that's a story for another time.)