simpycurious Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 1 hour ago, FMW said: My company is prohibiting all non-essential travel and all gatherings (meetings, special events, etc). We're left with Skype/Zoom meetings and teleconferencing. The company is in the top 10 of the Fortune 500, so it has really broad-reaching effects. We've all been told to take our laptops home daily (which not all of us do on a regular basis) so that we're prepared in the event the offices are closed. We have major presences in large cities across the United States, and several of the cities (including mine) already have confirmed cases. Our San Francisco office has a confirmed diagnosis for an employee, so they've put all those who worked closely with this person on paid quarantined leave if they are unable to work from home. I truly believe it will get worse before it gets better. One poster above sited the impact on small businesses and to me they will suffer the most. How long will it last? That's the big question 1 Link to post Share on other sites
RecentChange Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 1 minute ago, simpycurious said: I truly believe it will get worse before it gets better. One poster above sited the impact on small businesses and to me they will suffer the most. How long will it last? That's the big question Last night I was listening to a professor who specialized in the economic impact of events like this. He said we would be feeling the fallout for at least 18 months. For example he talked about how 911 made people fearful of large gatherings, and how it takes just one moment to scare people away, but much longer for things to normalize. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
pepperbird Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 1 hour ago, RecentChange said: Last night I was listening to a professor who specialized in the economic impact of events like this. He said we would be feeling the fallout for at least 18 months. For example he talked about how 911 made people fearful of large gatherings, and how it takes just one moment to scare people away, but much longer for things to normalize. So far, the panic purchasing hasn't gotten to bad here. Sobey's ( the nearest grocery store) is well stocked, and mostly people here tend to buy a bit extra anyway, as the area is prone to winter storms that can shut the city down for days at a time. The biggest blow seems to be to parents/teachers who booked a March break vacation out of the country. In New Brunswick, they have been told that any child who travels out of the country will be asked to stay out of school for 14 days when they get home. When it comes to the numbers, so far, we've had one person in the entire country die from the virus. Just one, and it's been around here since the end of January. Link to post Share on other sites
RecentChange Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Just now, pepperbird said: So far, the panic purchasing hasn't gotten to bad here. Sobey's ( the nearest grocery store) is well stocked... When it comes to the numbers, so far, we've had one person in the entire country die from the virus. Just one, and it's been around here since the end of January. What is bizarre, in my area - friends are sending me pictures of empty grocery store shelves - guy friend "damn it! All I wanted was a frozen pizza! - followed by a picture of a totally empty frozen section. Female friend sent a picture of an empty yogurt section "you know, dairy, total bunker food". Meanwhile at my closet grocery store a few miles across town, business as usual, no empty shelves, only noticable thing is the huge stacks of bottled water and Clorox wipes - I guess they stocked up for those in a panic. We too have had one death in our area, 35+ cases in the county, and a few being described as "community spread". I am foregoing commuting via subway in San Francisco this week in favor of driving to my private office close to home. I am not much of a germaphobe, but those SF transit trains are gross, and I can't get over how many people won't cover their coughs or think it's okay to spit etc. They disgust me on a good day, but right now? Yeah I am going to pass being stuck in a tube in an international port city. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Just now, RecentChange said: What is bizarre, in my area - friends are sending me pictures of empty grocery store shelves Yeah, everything here seemed stocked as normal except maybe the hand cleaner (I didn't check, don't need) or whatever. As far as food and normal stuff the local Costco was still selling olive oil in huge vats and coffee in giant bags, etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Ruby Slippers Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I feel the hysteria around my area is calming down a little. My boyfriend normally visits his kids out of state about once a month, but cancelled this month's trip. He just bought a ticket for early April. Of course, depending on how things go, he might have to cancel that, too. But he's obviously feeling less concerned in general. He had suggested a while back that we go on an island vacation, brought it up again a few days ago. Though I've been wanting to do exactly that for ages, I have zero interest in traveling via plane until this has long blown over. Link to post Share on other sites
Ruby Slippers Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 6 hours ago, Elswyth said: The stockpiling craze is bonkers though. Firstly nobody will die without toilet paper, and secondly it will NOT be an apocalypse, and nobody NEEDS to stockpile a whole bunker full of canned food and toilet paper. Take precautions, but be sensible. I respectfully disagree. Most people aren't even slightly prepared for minor emergencies. It's always better to be safe than sorry. The supply chain will catch up to people's behavior soon enough. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Gaeta Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I am pretty upset at my country right now. The Health Ministry does not put in quarantine travelers coming back from Europe, only Asia. So we have a bunch of people coming back from Italy and France and if they have no symptoms we let them roam free. Today what was gonna happen has happened, a woman infected during a trip to France used our public transportation and may have infected passengers. She takes the same metro line as I do in same time frame. I am livid. From tomorrow I am driving to the office. ! 3 Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I've often felt that public transit is great for other people. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author gaius Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 7 minutes ago, Gaeta said: I am pretty upset at my country right now. The Health Ministry does not put in quarantine travelers coming back from Europe, only Asia. So we have a bunch of people coming back from Italy and France and if they have no symptoms we let them roam free. Today what was gonna happen has happened, a woman infected during a trip to France used our public transportation and may have infected passengers. She takes the same metro line as I do in same time frame. I am livid. From tomorrow I am driving to the office. ! I passed on a job that would have paid me more money for less hours today because the industry it's in is going to get schlacked for months when we start having full outbreaks. Took me almost 2 months to get through the interview process too. 😡 Trump's an idiot, the doctors in charge of our response are idiots, there are no voices of reason right now. China laid out a very good blueprint for what you need to do to contain this and we're totally ignoring it and just bumbling around like imbeciles. Shameful doesn't even begin to describe it. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I have friends who left on a cruise ship a few days ago. They're in their forties-fifties and have a little girl who went along. One of my grown kids is flying from the east coast to the west coast in ten days with spouse and two school children. Another grown child who works for a major corporation has had a suspension of activities within the company that involves all air travel and all groups of folks meeting together. That "child" has more of an economic concern than a health concern. I'm living life totally normally. We have a couple coronavirus cases fairly nearby here. I'm elderly and not concerned. I've always taken precautions against getting colds and the flu, being very susceptible to both, so continue to do so. And have an arsenal of powerful herbs to treat whatever may come my way. Of course, I'd have had them even without the coronavirus scare. If a vaccine is developed, I won't take it. I don't take the flu vaccine and treat symptoms with herbs so never have any issues with it. But, yes, all that to say things are normal here, except for empty shelves where hand sanitizer sells out as soon as it's stocked it seems. And, of course, lots of, seeming to me, chatter and concern about the virus on the news. If one were to turn the news off here, one would never know there was a virus scare going on. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
LivingWaterPlease Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Also, I'm not concerned about what the government, Trump or Pence, does about the virus, to contain it or not. I decided a long time ago that my health is my own responsibility, mine and God's. That has served me well. I've been through some illnesses and a very bad automobile wreck without health insurance. I would have to say that not having health insurance has been a blessing because that's how I learned to take care of myself health wise. It's paying off at this time because I know I can get through this with God's help and with the alternative methods I've learned that work to keep me well. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 It still feels like life is normal around here. The hand sanitizer is gone everywhere but other than that everything is still in abundance at the grocery store. Venice Beach and Santa Monica pier don't seem much different. I see some people wearing masks and gloves but there doesn't seem to be much mass panic. I know people in NYC though and they tell me panic is starting to set in. Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Well, we're going to go get fresh veggies and whatnot in a bit - I'll try to remember to post a Safeway report ... Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 1 hour ago, LivingWaterPlease said: Also, I'm not concerned about what the government, Trump or Pence, does about the virus, to contain it or not. I decided a long time ago that my health is my own responsibility, mine and God's. That has served me well. I've been through some illnesses and a very bad automobile wreck without health insurance. I would have to say that not having health insurance has been a blessing because that's how I learned to take care of myself health wise. It's paying off at this time because I know I can get through this with God's help and with the alternative methods I've learned that work to keep me well. This makes me so sad. On one hand, you're like pretty much everyone else who's healthy - very low risk. On the flip side, you've got nobody in your life who would be at risk that you care about. 😢 2 Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 So, the grocery store seemed fully stocked except hand sanitizer. Hilarious. Also, some tool keyed my car while I was inside. Not hilarious. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
basil67 Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 @sothereiwas did the supermarket still have soap? If so, that's even more hilarious. Sorry 'bout your car. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
elaine567 Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, basil67 said: On one hand, you're like pretty much everyone else who's healthy - very low risk. Being "elderly" ie >60 on its own carries an increased risk. It is all about reduction in immunity, whether one is "healthy" or not may be immaterial. Link to post Share on other sites
Woggle Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 My wife said the receptionist at her doctor's office has to keep the hand sanitizer behind the desk because somebody tried to steal it when they thought she wasn't looking. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, basil67 said: did the supermarket still have soap? If so, that's even more hilarious I should have taken a picture; the hand sanitizer and liquid soap is organized by brand, and as you pan down the row, there are holes around the liquid soap where the hand sanitizer used to be. People are goofy. Thanks for the sorry, I guess it's just a car. Link to post Share on other sites
Author gaius Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 I guess the CDC is operating in the capacity of assisting local health departments rather than forming a unified national response. Which in hindsight is probably going to be considered a grievous error in judgement for multiple reasons. Sacramento county in California is actually telling people not to quarantine yourself anymore if you've been exposed to someone with Covid, I s*** you not. King County in Washington state, where the Life Care nursing home is located, is also not recommending quarantines. Governor Cuomo in New York seems to be the only state leader with his head on straight so far. Link to post Share on other sites
Author gaius Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 12 hours ago, Elswyth said: This sounds like a lot, but the mortality rate for the flu is 0.1%, so 20x of 0.1% is 2%. From the most recent WHO writeup: 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical infections, requiring ventilation. These fractions of severe and critical infection would be higher than what is observed for influenza infection. A 20% hospitalization rate isn't just higher, it's astronomically higher. People seem to focus on the 2-3% death rate, like it's not really that big a deal, but the overall picture is much grimmer. The flu and Covid aren't even on the same planet. The Atlantic had a good article titled "Cancel Everything" today. A semi-long quote. "When the coronavirus first spread to South Korea, many observers pointed to the comparatively low death rates in the country to justify undue optimism. In countries with highly developed medical systems, they claimed, a smaller portion of patients would die. But while more than half of all diagnosed patients in China have now been cured, most South Korean patients are still in the throes of the disease. Of the 7,478 confirmed cases, only 118 have recovered; the low death rate may yet rise. Meanwhile, the news from Italy, another country with a highly developed medical system, has so far been shockingly bad. In the affluent region of Lombardy, for example, there have been 7,375 confirmed cases of the virus as of Sunday. Of these patients, 622 had recovered, 366 had died, and the majority were still sick. Even under the highly implausible assumption that all of the still-sick make a full recovery, this would suggest a case fatality rate of 5 percent—significantly higher, not lower, than in China." 1 Link to post Share on other sites
SincereOnlineGuy Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 (edited) Still more to consider. The average age of the deceased from coronavirus in Washington State is roughly 78. Of 24 deaths there, just four of them occurred in people below age 70. With the U.S. fatality count at 30... we're up to one person below age 50, three persons below age 60, and four persons (total) below age 69. Repeat: Just 4 total known coronavirus deaths on the whole of North America in people under age 69. Nobody in The Americas and outside of Washington State has died from coronavirus who was under age 60. The older you are, the more inclined you are to stay home (as is the norm), and the younger you are, the more inclined you are to get up and get out of the house. SO FAR, all of the fear-mongering hasn't done anyone at all much good. Yeah, it might not be a great time to take your grandfather to spring training games or out with any crowd... and there are concerns about even going to visit him (as you could indeed be carrying the virus without being affected by it). It also isn't the greatest time for airport visits if you don't need to be there (a remarkable number of North American positive cases are connected to those who recently traveled through airports or those who are close family members of same). But you don't need 219 rolls of toilet paper. Edited March 11, 2020 by SincereOnlineGuy 2 Link to post Share on other sites
simpycurious Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 I still say find a nice beach with crystal white sand and a very blue ocean and hide out for a few months. 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Ruby Slippers Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 1 hour ago, simpycurious said: I still say find a nice beach with crystal white sand and a very blue ocean and hide out for a few months. I want to do this even when things are "normal". My mom said people keep stealing the bottles of hand sanitizer they're putting out at the grocery store 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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