Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #36

[imstilla.grandma]

The newly formed Coalition of Oklahoma City Homeless Shelter Directors and Community Service Providers has implemented a 21-day response plan which includes safe shelter that allows social distancing, professional health screening for symptoms and early detection, and isolation for those with symptoms of infection.

The coalition will open 190 shelter beds on Wednesday, and is working to identify additional space for two more shelters to open in the next 14 days.

The coalition has also launched a mask-making effort. Organizers estimate that 1,500 standardized, hand-made masks are urgently needed.

For more information, visit www.homelessalliance.org.
Coronavirus in Oklahoma: homeless outreaches in OKC to increase shelter space

 

[oviedo]

Drive-thru testing site opens at Orange County Convention Center

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —

A drive-thru testing site for coronavirus opened Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. at the Orange County Convention Center.

The center will administer 250 tests daily to people who meet the criteria for testing.

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According to officials, testing will only be available to people who are 65 or older who have COVID-19 symptoms, as well as first responders and health care workers.

Those who are age 65 and older must have an on-site temperature of 99.6 degrees or higher and respiratory symptoms, and they must bring an ID to be tested.

First responders, including firefighters, law enforcement/corrections and medical staff members with a valid agency ID do not have to have symptoms to be tested.

The test site is drive-thru only and will be limited to 250 tests per day, officials said.

---
good news for Orange County but I fear we are going to explode since airports remain open and no one is monitoring incoming people at all. Last evening, Local news was at the airport and nothing was different except for a form given to deplaning NY passengers despite the Gov. order they have to self-quarantine.

 

[Alyce]

This could be great news



Coronavirus home test kit to be available in UK 'within days'

 

[Tillicum]

Local Ohio observation - Health department called my husband at business asking several questions pertaining to state required mandates on essential business practices. Also next county over, health department is going door to door in commercial areas and writing up any not complying with mandates.

 

[oviedo]

Coronavirus map of Florida: Latest COVID-19 cases by county

 

[Trudie]

The virology people I work with tell me this is a lousy, useless test with very poor specificity and is very prone to bad collection techniques.

Regarding tests, I know two guys that had tests, one neg’, one in quarantine with no clue when he will get results. The first guy has a problem with his eye since being tested, he said it was absolutely excruciating & felt like the swab was coming out his eyeball. Of course he can’t go to an ophthalmologist. He’s trying to rest and keep it closed.
The other guy said he thought the nurse was rearranging his brain.

 

[SuziQ]

I know two older couples who do not ( and do not have to) file IRS tax returns because their only income is their Social Security checks .I think there are lots of other Seniors in this position.....This Stimulus will give them no money because they filed no IRS tax return in 2018( Which would have been a waste of time by both them and the IRS. H&R Block recommended doing this non-filing to one of the couples back in 2011).....There are lots of people being left out of this Stimulus money....I hope they all make it.......moo

My understanding is the bill that passed will include those that receive Social security, disability, and survivors benefits. Also contractors and subcontractors are now included in the bill. I would think that a self employed person who filed taxes on 2019 will be included just like any other person who filed taxes. A lot of homeless receive disability checks or social security and will be included.

IMO based on various news sources. But I have not seen a final draft. So there is that.

 

[oviedo]

9 things you need to know about the $2 trillion stimulus deal
Here are 9 things you should know about the deal.

1. How much money? - $1,200 per adult and $500 for each of their children.
2. Do I qualify? – People who make less than $75,000 a year, or married couples who make less than $150,000 a year qualify. People who make more would still get some money, but the amounts decrease for incomes above $75,000/$150,000. Caps on the maximum number of children is still being worked out.
3. Caps? – Yes. A single person with no dependents who makes more than $100,000 would not qualify. A married couple with a combined income above $200,000 and no dependents would not qualify. These numbers change if person or couple has children.
4. Do I make too much? – The IRS will use the 2018 tax return if a person has not filed 2019 yet. If 2019 has been filed, then that is the return that will be used.
5. How soon? – Perhaps as soon as early to mid-April
6. What if I don’t file taxes? – Almost half the population owes zero in taxes and it is estimated that about 12% of the total population simply doesn’t file. These people would need to file with the IRS to get a check. It is still being worked out if seniors on Social Security will get a check or a bump in their Social Security.
7. How will they find me? – As of right now, you do not need to fill out any special forms or go on any website to qualify. If you have filed taxes, the IRS (treasury) already knows how to find you.
8. Have we done this before? – Yes. Twice. In 2001 and in 2008 the Bush administration and Congress sent out checks to stimulate the economy. Those checks were between $300 and $600.
9. Did that work? – Not really. The 2001 checks were sent out just months before the attacks of 9/11. The 2008 checks went out amid the housing crisis. These circumstances are not the same as the current crisis due to a pandemic.

 

[BHughes]

Louisiana update:

1,795
Total number of people in Louisiana testing positive for coronavirus

65
Total number of deaths

48 of 64 parishes with cases

Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Department of Health | State of Louisiana

ETA: yesterday's numbers

UPDATE as of noon today: (3/24)

1,388
Total number of people in Louisiana testing positive for coronavirus


46
Total number of deaths

43 of 64 parishes of Louisiana have cases

 

[Lato]

LOUISIANA...... 3/25/2020
Cases........1795
Deaths......65

3/24/2020
Cases.......1388
Deaths.....46

3/23/2020
Cases.....1172
Deaths.....34

Coronavirus (COVID-19) | Department of Health | State of Louisiana

 

[Trudie]

Police in Tahlequah expect to see property crimes rise amid COVID-19 concerns

 

[10ofRods]

People still need to get around. I think they are doing this to deter transmitting the virus via cash.

New Jersey shut down their cash tolls on the Garden State Parkway and I-95 NJ Turnpike.

Even the subways in NYC are still running.

People need to learn social distancing, whether it be a bus or a playground.

A bus is a tube of metal with very little ventilation, and people walk through it. There's really no way to "social distance" on a bus. There's no one on a bus to clean every single surface after each person enters and exits. The virus survives quite a while on hard surfaces.

There should be some kind of system for staggering the commutes of essential personnel and barring non-essential personnel from public transport. It's a big problem for NYC and other cities where public transportation is the chief way of getting around. Masks would help.

Subways have been one of the main vectors everywhere that there are subways. It's impossible to walk down the aisle of either a train or a bus without passing close to others. And again, a closed tube with no chance for deep disinfection.

Vulnerable individuals should certainly avoid. The viral load in such environments is too high for many people.

Hopefully all the other measures will flatten the curve.

 

[SuziQ]

And well they should be left out. Anyone on social security who is still getting their checks isn't losing anying. I'm in that category and my financial life has NOT been affected in any way and neither has theirs if your post tells all the facts. Why should anyone in that position get money when they are losing nothing like so many others? MOO

Many many people on Social security have to work because their checks don't amount to enough to live on or their medications cost a lot.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --

A member of Tinker Air Force Base is being treated and evaluated by health care professionals following the first confirmed case of COVID-19 at the base.

“This is our first confirmed case,” said Col. Paul Filcek, 72nd Air Base Wing commander. “The continued safety and well-being of the installation is my top priority. We are working with our base medical staff and off-base health care agencies to ensure we mitigate the effects of COVID-19 using established Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Defense Department guidelines.”

Tinker AFB declared a public health emergency on March 23 and is in Health Protection Condition Bravo to reflect the current situation posed by COVID-19 and the risk of exposure to personnel.

Tinker AFB officials are working closely with the Oklahoma Department of Health to coordinate prevention and response efforts in the local area. Officials are regularly providing installation personnel and their families with up-to-date information on appropriate measures to prevent potential spread of the virus, as well as any impact to local activities.

All Air Force personnel and their families are encouraged to continue to practice social distancing and proper hygiene as the best way to prevent the spread of the virus. This includes washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. People should not shake hands, and routinely disinfect all commonly used surfaces. Also, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands and avoid close contact with those who are sick.

“We are encouraging all personnel to follow Force Health Protection guidelines to safeguard our community to prevent widespread outbreak, and adhere to travel advisories and restrictions,” Filcek said.

Tinker AFB leadership will continually monitor the situation and provide additional information as it becomes available.

For the most up to date impacts and resources at Tinker AFB, visit Tinker Air Force Base > Home > Coronavirus Disease 2019

 

[Arkay]

I'm a New Yorker, high risk and 62 years old. Confined to a small apartment in an utterly locked down NYC. I posted this in the Gannon thread, and several posters asked me to bring this here. I hope it is helpful. I haven't read the Coronavirus thread at all, but I'm sure there have been a million helpful posts already. The post:


I used to teach Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night, and sometimes would arrange for elderly Holocaust survivors to speak to our eighth-graders. They endured such unspeakable atrocities, and lost their entire families to truly depraved acts of murder.

So many things that we've learned from them have made a deep impression on my students and me. I have Holocaust survivors in my family, (as well as some who were killed in my grandmother's generation), and still study about the Holocaust now. But one particular sentence from an ancient Holocaust survivor caught my attention. She said, "there's nothing so wonderful as a boring day."

Think about that. How wonderful would a boring day, nothing special happening, have been for Gannon's parents? For Chloe's family on the ship? For the families of every missing or murdered child?

I am reminded of that Holocaust survivor now, because I keep complaining to my family and friends about how bored I am trapped in my apartment during coronavirus. It flashed into my mind, though---how wonderful it is to have a boring day! That means nothing awful has happened! I'd certainly rather be safe and bored at home than to be in a hospital, sick with the virus and struggling to breathe.

So let's thank God that we here are not afflicted with something that has us in the ICU, and let's thank God that we are not identifying our children, and stay home and stay safe until this crisis is over, whenever that may be.

Good health and courage to all my fellow Websleuthers, to the mods, and pray for the health care workers and first responders.

 

[Kensie]

Hopefully the FDA is rewriting the rules for establishments serving-selling food/beverage.
There’s certainly room for improvement. I go condiment free when I eat out, the co Di ent bottles on tables petrify me. Idk how many touched them, I do see the busboys wipe them off with a dirty cloth.....the individual packets are also fear provoking, how many times did they get returned to the bin because they were not used, but handled? How do most open the packets? With their mouth. Then they move unneeded packets to the side with what? Their dirty hands. It goes on & on. I guess I’m lucky, I am and have always been paranoid so I’ve never gained wait from an incessant desire to grab food each time I’m out & about. Lol. Moo

THANKS Trudie, I wish I had common sense like you. You sure have opened my eyes.

 

[Lilibet]

A treat for Jackson Browne fans like me...or for anyone...to enjoy...

Shortly after testing positive for COVID-19, Jackson Browne dropped a new song, “A Little Soon to Say.” The track will be available digitally on Friday, March 27th, and is featured on his upcoming album, slated for October 9th.

“I wanna see you holding out your light/I wanna see you light the way,” he sings over a subtle, sparkling arrangement. “But whether everything will be alright/It’s just a little soon to say.”

“A Little Soon to Say” was actually written prior to the coronavirus pandemic, but Browne thought it appropriate to release now. “I thought, ‘Just do that now,’ ” he tells Rolling Stone. “Just put it out now while these things are so uncertain.”

Music at link:
Jackson Browne Drops 'A Little Soon to Say' to Help Us Through COVID-19

 

[Love Never Fails]

I'm a New Yorker, high risk and 62 years old. Confined to a small apartment in an utterly locked down NYC. I posted this in the Gannon thread, and several posters asked me to bring this here. I hope it is helpful. I haven't read the Coronavirus thread at all, but I'm sure there have been a million helpful posts already. The post:


I used to teach Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night, and sometimes would arrange for elderly Holocaust survivors to speak to our eighth-graders. They endured such unspeakable atrocities, and lost their entire families to truly depraved acts of murder.

So many things that we've learned from them have made a deep impression on my students and me. I have Holocaust survivors in my family, (as well as some who were killed in my grandmother's generation), and still study about the Holocaust now. But one particular sentence from an ancient Holocaust survivor caught my attention. She said, "there's nothing so wonderful as a boring day."

Think about that. How wonderful would a boring day, nothing special happening, have been for Gannon's parents? For Chloe's family on the ship? For the families of every missing or murdered child?

I am reminded of that Holocaust survivor now, because I keep complaining to my family and friends about how bored I am trapped in my apartment during coronavirus. It flashed into my mind, though---how wonderful it is to have a boring day! That means nothing awful has happened! I'd certainly rather be safe and bored at home than to be in a hospital, sick with the virus and struggling to breathe.

So let's thank God that we here are not afflicted with something that has us in the ICU, and let's thank God that we are not identifying our children, and stay home and stay safe until this crisis is over, whenever that may be.

Good health and courage to all my fellow Websleuthers, to the mods, and pray for the health care workers and first responders.

Thank you Arkay. Beautiful!

 

[dixiegirl1035]

CRISIS BRINGS OUT THE BEST AND THE WORST...

Tennis star Roger Federer has announced he will donate 1 million Swiss Francs — or about $1.02 million — to help the most vulnerable families in Switzerland impacted by the coronavirus outbreak Roger Federer is the latest sport star to donate to coronavirus efforts
CNN International on Twitter

I just started a forum thread for individuals and companies that are donating to COVID-19 cause at Individual/Companies that have donated to COVID-19 cause

I know many have prior, but seeing your post made me want to start a sub-thread on such, and perhaps others will add to it.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

WHO presser was to start at 11:30, then postponed to 1:30 pm eastern..... to start in 3 minutes .. live feed not yet begun