Sick of the media causing grief over Coronavirus

[mrs rubble]

I am a laboratory technician and do a load of respiratory testing along with other infectious diseases. 

We have two separate unions here who negotiate our contracts on our behalf, at present the organisation I work for have several medical professionals in quarantine because they may have been in contact with a suspected case. 

The CEO for the ministry of health here is quoted as saying that laboratory workers striking at this time is a huge worry, what isn’t reported is the fact that this union started asking for a very similar settlement that the other union got nearly two years ago. Also they fail to mention the other union members who are obligated to pick up the slack and provide the services!

please don’t believe everything you read. 

[carhill]

While the average lay person may be substantially affected by the media washing over them daily, the big entities that are making substantial social and financial decisions are surely relying on other, more expert and detached, sources. Governments, corporations, the military, the medical industry, etc. They have the means and pipelines to get the clearest possible information. I mean Saudi Arabia has essentially closed their borders to a number of countries and crashed oil prices, as one example. I doubt they do that on a whim or sensational report. I guess we could ask who benefits and follow the money but that seems a bit cynical even for someone like myself who sees plots and machinations around every corner. Media does seem to be blowing things out of proportion though..... nothing new there.

[elaine567]

6 hours ago, mrs rubble said:

The CEO for the ministry of health here is quoted as saying that laboratory workers striking at this time is a huge worry, what isn’t reported is the fact that this union started asking for a very similar settlement that the other union got nearly two years ago. Also they fail to mention the other union members who are obligated to pick up the slack and provide the services!

Ok but this is a bit like front line troops going on strike when the enemy is at the border.
Who cares if the dispute has been ongoing for 2 years, the troops need to be prepared to do their job and fight when needed.
Surely lab workers should realise the importance of maintaining services at this time, and putting others under pressure to pick up the work is pretty selfish too.
Once this threat has passed then perhaps that is the time to settle ongoing disputes.
I am not really surprised the media is gunning for you and your colleagues.

[d0nnivain]

3 hours ago, carhill said:

Governments, corporations, the military, the medical industry, etc. They have the means and pipelines to get the clearest possible information. I mean Saudi Arabia has essentially closed their borders to a number of countries and crashed oil prices, as one example. I doubt they do that on a whim or sensational report. 

That is why I don't know what to believe.  The CDC, NIH & WHO are saying wash your hands & cover your mouth when you sneeze  Those don't sound like ominous precautions so why are countries closing borders.  DH works for a department of the US gov't.  Offices in Washington & California are being closed, with the employees being told to work from home.  It's the flu as I understand it, not guaranteed death for everyone who contracts the virus.   

[carhill]

With the dawn of the internet in the 70's and more widespread development in the 90's, it became far easier to bypass traditional media if one wanted to. This morning I'll go here:

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

And consider that one relevant media source, then check a few others, like the WHO, government sources in Japan and Oceana and Europe, and compare. I'm older so one potential target group member. Locally I've noticed casual commerce has dried up, people aren't inquiring on or buying up my equipment at the former brisk and consistent rate and I'm also limiting movement and contact to essential only. Prudent or over-reaction? IDK. I learned yesterday it's a misdemeanor to ignore a self-quarantine order from the health department so media helped me learn a bit more about our complex and arcane laws and their reach. Who's being ordered to self-quarantine? That's not really being publicized beyond a few groups. I guess we'll find out as the work and school week and new media cycle begins. Happy daylight savings time 👍

[mrs rubble]

4 hours ago, elaine567 said:

Ok but this is a bit like front line troops going on strike when the enemy is at the border.
Who cares if the dispute has been ongoing for 2 years, the troops need to be prepared to do their job and fight when needed.
Surely lab workers should realise the importance of maintaining services at this time, and putting others under pressure to pick up the work is pretty selfish too.
Once this threat has passed then perhaps that is the time to settle ongoing disputes.
I am not really surprised the media is gunning for you and your colleagues.

Who cares if the dispute has been going on for two years? Those who are being under paid!! I’m not one of them, my colleagues are and I support their right to a fair deal. The “strike” means they’re not answering phone calls. There are other people who will answer the phone or there are other ways that they can communicate.

 Also the people in this union only make up about 15% of our work force. It’d be nice if the journalists told both sides of the story so that ignorant people know the truth. 

[Ellener]

11 hours ago, mrs rubble said:

please don’t believe everything you read. 

I don't! 

Good luck with both your work and with getting a fair deal @mrs rubble

Edited March 9, 2020 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
removed US political statement

[Beendaredonedat]

1 hour ago, mrs rubble said:

Who cares if the dispute has been going on for two years? Those who are being under paid!! I’m not one of them, my colleagues are and I support their right to a fair deal. The “strike” means they’re not answering phone calls. There are other people who will answer the phone or there are other ways that they can communicate.

 Also the people in this union only make up about 15% of our work force. It’d be nice if the journalists told both sides of the story so that ignorant people know the truth. 

No one will be sympathetic to you or your colleagues.  

[pepperbird]

8 hours ago, carhill said:

While the average lay person may be substantially affected by the media washing over them daily, the big entities that are making substantial social and financial decisions are surely relying on other, more expert and detached, sources. Governments, corporations, the military, the medical industry, etc. They have the means and pipelines to get the clearest possible information. I mean Saudi Arabia has essentially closed their borders to a number of countries and crashed oil prices, as one example. I doubt they do that on a whim or sensational report. I guess we could ask who benefits and follow the money but that seems a bit cynical even for someone like myself who sees plots and machinations around every corner. Media does seem to be blowing things out of proportion though..... nothing new there.

how much of that is due tot he illness, how much of that is due to someone taking advantage of an opportunity the illness creates? there will always be vultures out there.

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, Beendaredonedat said:

No one will be sympathetic to you or your colleagues.  

People who know what's going on will. 

[Ellener]

1 hour ago, pepperbird said:

how much of that is due to someone taking advantage of an opportunity the illness creates? there will always be vultures out there.

And people will always call it 'business' or 'politics'.

[Marc878]

The virus thing is a revenue stream for the media. Like anything else they’ll milk it for all it’s worth.

[The Outlaw]

I don't. But they're just a bunch of useless, braindead idiots with nothing better to do than start a panic.

[mrs rubble]

5 hours ago, Beendaredonedat said:

No one will be sympathetic to you or your colleagues.  

As Ellener said, those who know what is going on will be sympathetic.

Medical laboratory Science as a whole is undervalued, the public assume that the Dr's and the nurses are the ones responsible for making them better, they give little thought to who actually provides those Dr's and nurses with the diagnosis that our work gives them. The only time we get any attention is if we get something wrong! Sometimes we'll be blamed for other people's mistakes too, for example, we might need a certain type of tube or swab for the test, the nurse or Dr will collect the wrong type of tube or swab from the patient, we'll let them know, the Dr goes back to the patient and tells them they need to redo the test as the lab lost/spilt/dropped the sample. It happens all the time.

[preraph]

The unknown factors are what I'm afraid of. at the beginning of this they were saying that the virus stays on for example a table much longer than a regular flu virus but then they seem to have stopped talking about that although admittedly I have been tuning it all out. Between the virus and the primaries, I am ready to hang myself from the monotony of it all. 

 

I wouldn't even be worried about this if I wasn't 67 because I have a pretty good immune system compared to most people I think and I don't have children in the house so it's whatever I pick up out at the grocery store or restaurant. But it's killing old people so I am a little worried. 

[major_merrick]

I think a lot of the media stuff is the leftists trying to stoke the fear and perhaps get Trump out in the fall.  The longer this goes on and the more the masses wring their hands over this, the less worried I become. 

[Marc878]

13 minutes ago, preraph said:

I wouldn't even be worried about this if I wasn't 67 because I have a pretty good immune system compared to most people I think and I don't have children in the house so it's whatever I pick up out at the grocery store or restaurant. But it's killing old people so I am a little worried. 

I used to never get sick or catch anything. Now that I’m older it seems like anything the grandkids get I pick up.

It sucks

[preraph]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html

 

They just did a presser that referred everyone to this coronavirus. Gov website.

[pepperbird]

1 hour ago, major_merrick said:

I think a lot of the media stuff is the leftists trying to stoke the fear and perhaps get Trump out in the fall.  The longer this goes on and the more the masses wring their hands over this, the less worried I become. 

you are aware that there are more countries in this world than the USA? The media hype is coming form all over, not just the USA.

[major_merrick]

8 minutes ago, pepperbird said:

you are aware that there are more countries in this world than the USA? The media hype is coming form all over, not just the USA.

And with the exception of spots like Hungary, most of the world is run by leftists at this point.  Birds of a feather...

[pepperbird]

8 minutes ago, major_merrick said:

And with the exception of spots like Hungary, most of the world is run by leftists at this point.  Birds of a feather...

whatever....

[Watercolors]

6 hours ago, Marc878 said:

The virus thing is a revenue stream for the media. Like anything else they’ll milk it for all it’s worth.

Exactly. As Dr Drew said to a Fox show today, "the media needs to shut up" because they are the ones responsible for causing the mass hysteria around the world. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/dr-drew-media-needs-to-shut-up-over-coronavirus-hysteria/vi-BB10EX9z

[Ellener]

4 hours ago, preraph said:

Between the virus and the primaries,

off-topic but i read this as 'between the virus and the primates...'!

Many a true word spoken in jest : )

[gaius]

I'm just imagining all the doctors and nurses in China who worked double and triple shifts in full ppe for weeks on end to try and stem the outbreak, while your colleagues refuse to answer the phone because they're not getting what the other union got.

You might like them personally, sympathize with their feelings of jealousy over pay, but there's nothing the media could say or not say to put a positive spin on what they're doing.

[mrs rubble]

1 hour ago, gaius said:

I'm just imagining all the doctors and nurses in China who worked double and triple shifts in full ppe for weeks on end to try and stem the outbreak, while your colleagues refuse to answer the phone because they're not getting what the other union got.

You might like them personally, sympathize with their feelings of jealousy over pay, but there's nothing the media could say or not say to put a positive spin on what they're doing.

True. Doesn’t make it fair though.

We’re not in China here. Their PPE hasn’t done much, it’s spread all over!

 If anything my colleagues decisions to not answer the phone is another level of avoiding COVID19 

Also did you think about the lab scientists when you passed judgment? Hmm?

Edited March 10, 2020 by mrs rubble
Had to ask about judgement.