Coronavirus COVID-19 - Global Health Pandemic #43

[10ofRods]

I mean within groups, not that people should troll or harass or dox random people. Every community group has its own "standards" of societal conduct. We all need to set the example that staying home except for ESSENTIAL necessary work or errands is what we all need to do.

I post repeatedly on my personal social media that if you are a professional, if you are fortunate and privileged enough to be able to work from home or take time off without financial strain - you have a duty to STAY HOME unless you are directly helping less fortunate people (like by dropping off food and supplies for the elderly or sick, donating supplies or food to food banks).

If you are financially able to sit comfortably in your house for three weeks, you have a moral duty to do it. Not everyone can - but that makes it even more important that people who can, do. I think that's where it starts.

ETA: people visiting Lowes to do home improvement projects are a great example of what NOT TO DO. If you can afford to renovate your bathroom right now, you can afford to sit home and order something to do online that can be delivered to you and save the bathroom renovation for when people aren't dying. That will open up stores for the ESSENTIAL trips to Lowes for people who need to replace a pipe or replace a dead appliance. I have been arguing about this with my in-laws. Just STAY HOME.

We had to take our daughter some much-needed supplies from our pantry yesterday (naturally left them outside her door, she waved from the balcony) and in the process, drove past Lowe's. PACKED. I have NEVER seen it so backed. It was crazy. There must have been 300 cars or more.

It's impossible that that many people had emergency repairs (we need a hose for a faucet after a licensed "plumber" broke ours so we have no ability to mix cold and hot water in the kitchen, no way are we going to get it - we may be able to order it online).

People were wrapped around the side of Trader Joe's (I'd say 50 people in line, all about 6 feet apart). Target (open) had far far fewer cars (like 15, so that was good).

I'll start putting out the same message on my SM - my workgroup is all truly staying home (except for people with little kids who are walking them around the neighborhood - I really feel for people with 6 and unders in the house, as that age group is super active, doesn't read yet, gets bored so easily and just generally causes everyone to climb the curtains).

 

[bluedivergirl]

Is your country/ state on lockdown or any restrictions?

I'm in central Florida, and yes, at long last, we are shut down. Many residents here have been self-quarantining for weeks, but there are always those whining the community pools are closed.

 

[BUF]

MUSC Creates 3D Printed Protective Mask Anyone Can Make

 

[Cryptic]

It's not the US government, it's private brokers. A shipment bound for Boston was seized in New York. That's why the Patriots sent their private plane to China to pick up supplies directly. I assume the masks were not not seized by the State of NY since Mass just gave 300,000 masks to NYC. It's sick.

In the end, this could well be a moral grey area.

I doubt the Germans were going to send those masks to Africa. Likewise, the price the German offered price for the masks may well have been far above the income of nearly all Bangladeshis.

The brokers re-directing the masks did nothing that the Germans had not done. Rather, the Germans undoubtably out bid other potential customers in seeking out the equipment. They only got upset when they, themselves, were later out bid.

In the end, I don't think there are clear good guys and bad guys.

 

[10ofRods]

It will be ineresting to see if post-covid hairstyles are quite short.

Or quite long. Much easier just to let it grow out and wear a ponytail. MOO!

For those of you with curly hair, please let it grow. Trust me, many of us stare at you with admiration, regardless of your gender.

 

[JerseyGirl]

Trump Holds Coronavirus Roundtable With Energy Sector CEOs

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[Reasonable & Just]

I'm in central Florida, and yes, at long last, we are shut down. Many residents here have been self-quarantining for weeks, but there are always those whining the community pools are closed.

Well, it's hard for sure on those who are not wealthy enough for private pools or golf courses. I feel for them. I feel quite lucky to have a yard and a garden and walking paths nearby.

 

[BUF]

UPDATED: Attorneys Say Florida Leaders are Choosing Not to Disclose Coronavirus Info - 850 WFTL

Not sure if I'm reading this right, is FL saying they are keeping numbers private?

It is being reported on here, per county

ArcGIS Dashboards

United States Coronavirus: 270,062 Cases and 6,927 Deaths - Worldometer

 

[tresir2012]

Our Governor, on down to local officials are encouraging us to use the parks. It so bad, they have closed the playgrounds due to large groups of kids.

I just don't get it...My Governor is not saying the same thing Dr Brix and Dr Facui are.

Today, Governor ask folks not to have parties on the beach and the park service was complaining of large gatherings. None the less, he keeps them open.
Moo

In the UK, the week before our lockdown when schools were shut, the National Trust said all their land and parks would be free entry and the public just flocked to all the outdoor sites they could find as if it was a public holiday. Most sport had been cancelled also. Within a couple of days the NT said there properties were closing to the public then we had the lockdown imposed. They thought the public would practice social distancing but many would not follow the guidance. So in the end we had the mandated lockdown.

 

[Trino]

UPDATED: Attorneys Say Florida Leaders are Choosing Not to Disclose Coronavirus Info - 850 WFTL

Not sure if I'm reading this right, is FL saying they are keeping numbers private?

Hope everyone remembers this at next election.

 

[Reasonable & Just]

Look at the photo of her with her hands all over her face after getting pizza.

We've all touched our faces a time or two. I'm doing it right now, in fact. Let's wish her well.

 

[JerseyGirl]

I'm in central Florida, and yes, at long last, we are shut down. Many residents here have been self-quarantining for weeks, but there are always those whining the community pools are closed.

Have all of your beaches closed? I doubt it. Did Florida close Bike Week in Daytona with 500,000 in attendance just a few short weeks ago? No. Shut down Spring Break since the beginning of March? No. Did he shut down Super Bowl in Miami, admitting yesterday that he knew about the virus at the time? No.

Florida is also still allowing places of worship to gather together (even though residents are under a stay-at-home policy).

Florida's statewide stay-at-home order still allows gathering in places of worship during coronavirus outbreak

 

[Deerrun]

It is being reported on here, per county

ArcGIS Dashboards

United States Coronavirus: 270,062 Cases and 6,927 Deaths - Worldometer

That's why I wasn't sure I was reading that right....I do think the numbers are higher than they are reporting like everywhere I guess when people start showing up at hospitals that they will test more

 

[otto]

The morality might be far more grey than black and white.

For example, the governor of New York was demanding that all available ventilators (or a significant majority) be sent to..... New York.

Concerns of a looming outbreak in resource poor New Orleans were evidently "de prioritized" in New York. Of course, "extra" ventilators would be re-shipped from New York to other states when they become "available" (wink, nod).

I doubt the Germans and Canadians were going to ship those supplies to Africa. Likewise, the Germans and Canadians may have intended to purchase those supplies at prices that most Indians could never afford.

Canada and Germany purchased supplies. While they were in transit to their intended destinations, the US intercepted the orders and took the supplies. That is a problem. No one cares about how supplies are distributed in each country, but one country violating international trade rules and interfering with purchases made by other countries is insane.

 

[razzledazzle]

I just received a notification that SC Governor would give an update at 4:30 pm today. IMO, he needs to give an ORDER! My city is crazy today. People are everywhere. Yes, all non-essential, up close and personal businesses and schools closed, but NO STAY HOME order. I work at an office with 25 people. We are careful at work, but I'm sitting here listening to my co-workers making weekend plans with friends - at someone's house, but still.

My office will be considered essential because of government contract, but we are 100% capable of switching to Cloud Operations and working from home. I'm just frustrated today.

Home Depot, Lowes, Grocery Stores, etc - all packed! Traffic is terrible. Restaurants To-Go orders are booming. Geez people. Go the $%^& home!

 

[CSIDreamer]

I'm in central Florida, and yes, at long last, we are shut down. Many residents here have been self-quarantining for weeks, but there are always those whining the community pools are closed.

The whining in general is getting to me. Yegads. Jmo

 

[razzledazzle]

We've all touched our faces a time or two. I'm doing it right now, in fact. Let's wish her well.

I'm terrible about touching my face

 

[Arkay]

We had to take our daughter some much-needed supplies from our pantry yesterday (naturally left them outside her door, she waved from the balcony) and in the process, drove past Lowe's. PACKED. I have NEVER seen it so backed. It was crazy. There must have been 300 cars or more.

It's impossible that that many people had emergency repairs (we need a hose for a faucet after a licensed "plumber" broke ours so we have no ability to mix cold and hot water in the kitchen, no way are we going to get it - we may be able to order it online).

People were wrapped around the side of Trader Joe's (I'd say 50 people in line, all about 6 feet apart). Target (open) had far far fewer cars (like 15, so that was good).

I'll start putting out the same message on my SM - my workgroup is all truly staying home (except for people with little kids who are walking them around the neighborhood - I really feel for people with 6 and unders in the house, as that age group is super active, doesn't read yet, gets bored so easily and just generally causes everyone to climb the curtains).

It's insane to me what some governments are declaring as essential. In NY the liquor stores are considered essential. I guess that's easy for me to say, since I don't drink. And, as all my family and friends point out to me every moment, I'm doing everything to avoid Coronavirus but am still smoking cigarettes, so it's hypocritical of me as well as cognitively dissonant.
But liquor stores? My governor is not saying that places that sell cigarettes must remain open for smokers. And liquor is worse, especially in these times, because while smoking certainly harms me, it does not impair my judgement or cause me to get into a car accident.
The last thing we need around here are people who are isolated, depressed and so on buying liquor and going on a joyride. I'm trying to get groceries online to avoid the supermarket. Surely people don't have to go and crowd into a store to get alcohol. Particularly when schools are closed, restaurants are closed, Broadway is closed, the movies are closed, travel is basically closed, playgrounds are closed, sports are shut down, and everything else that I'm forgetting is shut down. Why liquor? JMO.

 

[Boston Corbett]

The 1,000-Bed Comfort Was Supposed to Aid New York. It Has 20 Patients. (NYT)

...
On Thursday, though, the huge white vessel, which officials had promised would bring succor to a city on the brink, sat mostly empty, infuriating executives at local hospitals. The ship’s 1,000 beds are largely unused, its 1,200-member crew mostly idle.

Only 20 patients had been transferred to the ship, officials said, even as New York hospitals struggled to find space for the thousands infected with the coronavirus. Another Navy hospital ship, the U.S.N.S. Mercy, docked in Los Angeles, has had a total of 15 patients, officials said.

“If I’m blunt about it, it’s a joke,” said Michael Dowling, the head of Northwell Health, New York’s largest hospital system. “Everyone can say, ‘Thank you for putting up these wonderful places and opening up these cavernous halls.’ But we’re in a crisis here, we’re in a battlefield.”
...​

 

[I'm Just Here]

I'm hyperaware that I am a target for this virus. I'm in NYC, 62, a heavy smoker with COPD. I live alone, with family in NY and Jersey and Florida, none of whom I can see.

Therefore, I've only left my apartment twice in the last month. One walk outside, one crucial grocery trip. Mask and gloves and hand sanitizer, then wiped down everything with disinfectant. I'm not sick now and am doing by best to stay that way. Take my temperature twice a day and remain shut in. Cancelled newspaper delivery. Only get the mail every four days.

Although it's excruciating to not see another person, it's the only way to stay safe. IMO my mayor took too long to close the schools and too long to recommend covering the mouth and nose outside. It's been obvious for quite some time that this virus was exploding exponentially, long after everyone knew to wash our hands for 20 seconds and avoid people who were sneezing and coughing.

My main point is for all my fellow Americans and Websleuthers who live where currently the virus is not rampant. You may feel, or your governor may feel, that since there's no or little virus near you, it's too encumbering to isolate. It certainly is destructive for people's jobs. But as a reminder, Wuhan is far from NYC, but the virus is here and destroying us.

Yes, it's to be expected in NYC that people from around the world will come here, and hence we are the epicenter for a virus from the other side of the world. But please, don't take chances where you live. You've had the common cold, you know that viruses travel in unknown ways.

My parents are elderly Floridians. We have been arguing with them constantly for going on numerous errands which are not life and death. It was hard to persuade them, when Florida was still bouncing around.
Thank God their state is finally sheltering in place.

Today I found out that a cousin-in-law's sister died on Long Island, from Covid. Her sister in Florida cannot come up for the 5 person graveside service that will be held. One of my best friends on the Island, whom I used to see weekly, was one of those who pooh-poohed this whole thing as overblown. Now he's forced to confront reality.

NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS! NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE! It goes without saying that it's more comfortable to be isolated at home than isolated in the ICU.

Again, remember all those colds you've had, that you have no idea from whom you caught it, or maybe even the flu. This pandemic is a virus that is airborne and dangerous because asymptomatic people are still shedding heavy viral loads. Stay home! Cover your face if you must go out! Don't wait for an elected official to mandate it, because by that time it's always too late.

We have family in Bethpage, NY and hope you and everyone are able to stay safe and healthy. Our family in ND have been using our own precautions for staying well. Seems there are others who still like to travel, visit and so forth. By those who chose to only follow certain guidelines, the Covid19 count is rising. I am not sure what is ahead for us but my family will do our part in trying to stay healthy. Thank you for your thoughtful post!