Are you worried about the Coronavirus?

[MakingTheGrade]

Being optimistic is great (and in my opinion recommended) so long as you’re still following recommendations for social distancing. I myself am cautiously optimistic that our healthcare system will pull together and get help to everyone who needs it. What I worry about is people who are just in denial about this being serious. Yes, percentages are low, but the growth rate has been exponential in many places. And if it continues that way, things are going to get real bad real quick. The US went from about 200 to 2000 cases in this past week. One of the below articles estimates a doubling every 6 days, let’s call it a week.

Here’s good articles for those that maybe have family members who aren’t taking the social distancing seriously or think this is all “over reacting”. Or think themselves young and entitled to live however they like since they aren’t personally at high risk.

Opinion | Please, Don’t Go Out to Brunch Today (Published 2020)

Gathering in groups right now is selfish and puts the lives of others at risk.

www.nytimes.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

Opinion | How Much Worse the Coronavirus Could Get, in Charts (Published 2020)

Play with a model of coronavirus in the U.S.

www.nytimes.com

 

[missy]

We lost power tonight, so in addition to everything else, the neighborhood feels creepy.

I hope everything is ok for everyone.

@PreRaphaelite how are you doing today? I hope your power is back on and all is well. (((HUGS))).

 

[missy]

You’ve made me start worrying about power cuts now! Frozen food was getting very low in stock on the supermarket shelves yesterday, so there’s no way I could replenish our freezer if the power cut off for any length of time and food started to dangerously defrost. Life is exhausting as a worrier!

Amen to that. Life is exhausting as a worrier. So we take it one day at a time and when that is overwhelming one hour at a time. I got nothing for the freezer (but ice cream haha) because our markets were out of all frozen veggies. But I am maintaining calm because we cannot keep up the worry for months and months and months. That alone can make us sick IMO. Sending bucketloads of good thoughts and healthy vibes to all. And (((Hugs))).

 

[missy]

Not worried for myself and my husband yet. There are very few cases in my area so far.
I am worried for my 92 year old mother who lives in a seniors’ residence....

Sending lots of well wishes to your mom. I get your worry because I am very concerned about my parents and my MIL too.

 

[missy]

It’s hard not worry when we see a lot of chaos and panic around us.

Current confirmed Coronavirus 19 cases according to John Hopkins website is almost 157,000 people. Current world population is estimated to be 7,700,000,000. The percentage of the world population that have this virus is 0.002038961038961. I’d take those odds any day. I remain optimistic.

Hoping all of you and yours remain well and virus free.

Marcy

Marcy from your mouth to you know whose ears....I am going to look for the NEJM article I read about the percentage of fatalities being much lower than originally thought...or perhaps it is wishful thinking but we could all use some encouraging news right now.

 

[missy]

Is anyone else afraid of gaining like a hundred pounds "in quarantine"... ? It's only been two days and all I've done since my office sent everyone home is EAT.

No actually I am concerned about losing weight...if food supplies become scarce...our markets are almost bare and it is upsetting to see that. Maybe that is crazy thinking and I hope it is and will not happen. Is anyone else concerned about getting food supplies?

 

[lissyflo]

@arkieb1 How are you feeling today? I hope you’re on the up, headache free and feeling much better.

 

[lissyflo]

No actually I am concerned about losing weight...if food supplies become scarce...our markets are almost bare and it is upsetting to see that. Maybe that is crazy thinking and I hope it is and will not happen. Is anyone else concerned about getting food supplies?

I think supermarkets and governments should/will step up and start controlling things soon - rationing the number of TP, tinned goods, etc that any one person can buy. Once the panic settles and shelves are stocked again, hopefully more normal purchasing will start. The big surge was hopefully people stocking up for a 14 day isolation and now it’s just a case of keeping those higher storage levels topped, so buying will be at a more normal rate.

Fresh produce I’m hoping will be fine as long as enough workers are well to maintain supply chains. Having food rotting in distribution centres whilst shelves were empty would benefit no one, so I hope that’s a priority for planning. And I’d rather risk a controlled supermarket, with the number of shoppers limited on entry as Italy has been doing to limit exposure, and eat fresh food than live on tins for months.

How rationing would work for people buying for multiple households (on behalf of elderly neighbours etc who are isolating) I don’t know. But hopefully good nature and common sense would prevail and no-one would selfishly flout any restrictions under that guise.

 

[AGBF]

I think supermarkets and governments should/will step up and start controlling things soon - rationing the number of TP, tinned goods, etc that any one person can buy.

I thought of this, also, when my great-nephew in Texas said he had been allowed to buy only one roll of toilet paper and one toll of paper towels in a store. (He wasn't complaining. He was anazed because the area in which he lives-the greater Dallas area-had only one case of the coronavirus.)

I thought that if he was the mother of six children he should have been allowed more. A system of ration cards such as the one used during World War II would be more equitable. Not every person shopping is shopping for a household of one.

 

[Trekkie]

So far in South Africa:

12 March - 16 confirmed cases
13 March - 24 confirmed cases
14 March - 38 confirmed cases
15 March - 51 confirmed cases

Everywhere else in the world the infection rate takes 6 days to double. Seems to be going much faster here. Still mostly people returning from travel, no confirmed community spread so far.

It is estimated that 80% of South Africans have latent TB (infected with TB bacteria but no active TB disease). The HIV prevalence rate is 24% in my town (33% for pregnant women) and our district has the highest TB incidence rate in the country. At least 60 percent of people with active TB disease are also HIV positive. When corona gets here we are ****ed.

The institute my husband works for has banned all non-essential travel. No international visitors, and local visitors after vetting only. No contractors in the building, no meetings, and all staff currently out of the country are recalled.

I resigned from work a few weeks ago to prepare to move to the UK. Guess we aren't going anywhere now.

My graduation has been cancelled. I'm disappointed but also relieved - where I live we have ongoing issues with water and electricity supply. It is highly unlikely that the town or university would've been able to guarantee clean water for visitors and graduands to wash their hands.

Where we live when the electricity goes, internet and cellphone signal go too (they're not supposed to but after 10+ years of rolling blackouts the cell towers' backup batteries are not in great shape), so I've bought a basic phone (calls and text only, but good battery life) on a different network to the one we usually use. So of the four main cell providers we now have phones/SIM cards for three (we don't get signal for the fourth in my town).

I am about two steps away from a full scale panic. I am bulk purchasing online. Fortunately I already have mild prepper tendencies so I only really need to top up. I foolishly let things slide in preparation for our move.

But hey, I have food and drinking water and the means to purchase more. My house is secure and I have a garden for my children to play in. I'm in a better position than most in SA, so I'm not complaining. I'm hopeful that we can ride this out.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

I couldn’t sleep until our power came back. We had a team of eight guys, five huge/loud power trucks, four of which had cherry picker cranes bigger than I’ve ever seen, outside between the two houses next to mine, from midnight until 2am. When the a/c kicked in, it was such a huge relief! I had been planning to head to the other side of Florida with 3 cats to stay with my mother if it didn’t come back on.

I am super grateful to have power, water, and a Jeep with a full gas tank, but most of all I am grateful to the men and women who got called out late at night to fix our power grid. As the pandemic expands, we will be more vulnerable as front line workers get sick. Hurricane season will be a nightmare.

Meanwhile our frozen food is re-freezing. I hope not too much freezer burn! Shelf-stable dry food, ones that can be cooked on an open fire, would have been a better strategy than frozen.

 

[House Cat]

I was watching Michael Osterholm, who is recognized as an expert in infectious disease and epidemiology. He said that coved-19 is airborne just through breathing. This just came out through a German study in the last couple of days. What this tells me is that schools can clean surfaces all they want. If there is an individual that is not symptomatic in the area and they are breathing, they are spreading the disease. He also said that interestingly, some children are getting the disease and not showing any symptoms at all. They won’t get any symptoms either. This is largely a disease that attacks the 40 year old population but it kills the older population.

I have stocked my house with over 30 days worth of food. I also had to think about the scenario of “what if my husband and I are both in the hospital?” My 14 year old son would be alone because he would likely be ill too. We stocked the house with foods he can prepare. We also came up with a contingency plan for our pets in case we all had to leave.

People won’t have the same back up plans for their children because it is a strong possibility that their caregivers could be sick or the children could be sick and the caregivers will want to avoid the illness. People will want to consider this issue.

 

[Trekkie]

I was watching Michael Osterholm, who is recognized as an expert in infectious disease and epidemiology. He said that coved-19 is airborne just through breathing. This just came out through a German study in the last couple of days. What this tells me is that schools can clean surfaces all they want. If there is an individual that is not symptomatic in the area and they are breathing, they are spreading the disease. He also said that interestingly, some children are getting the disease and not showing any symptoms at all. They won’t get any symptoms either. This is largely a disease that attacks the 40 year old population but it kills the older population.

I have stocked my house with over 30 days worth of food. I also had to think about the scenario of “what if my husband and I are both in the hospital?” My 14 year old son would be alone because he would likely be ill too. We stocked the house with foods he can prepare. We also came up with a contingency plan for our pets in case we all had to leave.

People won’t have the same back up plans for their children because it is a strong possibility that their caregivers could be sick or the children could be sick and the caregivers will want to avoid the illness. People will want to consider this issue.

Shit.

My children are 2 and 4.

We are on the other side of the country from my husband's family and on the other side of the world from my family. We have no close friends here (it's part of why we're moving) and I'm going to ask my nanny not to come in next week. I really would prefer to stick my head in the sand and not think about this.

 

[Niffler75]

@Trekkie It's worrying. As mum and main caregiver for a child with additional needs I cannot afford to be sick!

 

[House Cat]

Shit.

My children are 2 and 4.

We are on the other side of the country from my husband's family and on the other side of the world from my family. We have no close friends here (it's part of why we're moving) and I'm going to ask my nanny not to come in next week. I really would prefer to stick my head in the sand and not think about this.

Stay well Trekkie. The only strategy I see is to get your family inside and to isolate. Maybe the wise women of Pricescope have something better.

 

[Trekkie]

@Trekkie It's worrying. As mum and main caregiver for a child with additional needs I cannot afford to be sick!

I'm trying not to think about it.

Stay well Trekkie. The only strategy I see is to get your family inside and to isolate. Maybe the wise women of Pricescope have something better.

This is the plan. Running out tomorrow to stock up on essentials. Don't think I'll be leaving the house for a few weeks after that.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

a contingency plan for our pets

This is an excellent point and one that I am worried about. I've spoken to one trusted friend and deputised her as my 'first reponder' for the cats. She agreed to come pick them up and deliver them to the cat rescue group that I have partnered with previously to adopt out special needs animals. But the whole plan fails if the volunteers are unable to cope due to sickness.

I fear we will see a lot of euthanasia as a downstream result of Covid19. Shelters are already over full, and kitten season is almost upon us. We're unlikely to be the only species who suffers.

Edited to add, this is already happening.

Cats and dogs abandoned at the start of the coronavirus outbreak are now starving or being killed

Many animals in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus originated, have died or are at risk of dying after residents evacuated their homes in the wake of the city's lockdown.

www.cnn.com

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I'm trying not to think about it.



This is the plan. Running out tomorrow to stock up on essentials. Don't think I'll be leaving the house for a few weeks after that.

Positive vibes to you! Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your family!

 

[missy]

This is an excellent point and one that I am worried about. I've spoken to one trusted friend and deputised her as my 'first reponder' for the cats. She agreed to come pick them up and deliver them to the cat rescue group that I have partnered with previously to adopt out special needs animals. But the whole plan fails if the volunteers are unable to cope due to sickness.

I fear we will see a lot of euthanasia as a downstream result of Covid19. Shelters are already over full, and kitten season is almost upon us. We're unlikely to be the only species who suffers.

Edited to add, this is already happening.

Cats and dogs abandoned at the start of the coronavirus outbreak are now starving or being killed

Many animals in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus originated, have died or are at risk of dying after residents evacuated their homes in the wake of the city's lockdown.

www.cnn.com

Oh no
This breaks my heart.
Thanks for sharing @PreRaphaelite so we take appropriate measures for our animals.


@House Cat
@Niffler75
@Trekkie
To everyone reading
sending good thoughts and vibes your way. (((Hugs))).

 

[Babyblue033]

Shit.

My children are 2 and 4.

We are on the other side of the country from my husband's family and on the other side of the world from my family. We have no close friends here (it's part of why we're moving) and I'm going to ask my nanny not to come in next week. I really would prefer to stick my head in the sand and not think about this.

I'm in the EXACT same situation! Also with 4 and 2 year olds, my parents moved to Korea last year, my sister is several states away, we're close by to my husband's sister but they're not on speaking terms. MIL lives with us but if anyone gets sick it's going to hit her the hardest. No close friends in the area who can help either.

So I'll join you with sticking my head in the sand. I'm prepared to stay put for a few weeks so I'm just gonna hope we can just ride through it at home.

Wishing you the best.

 

[whitewave]

91 positive now and 2 deaths in Louisiana.

 

[Slickk]

 

[House Cat]

I hate this! Any ache or pain or headache and I’m convinced that I have the virus!!

 

[violet3]

Haha @violet3! I’m on the eastern shore! My two good friends live in Rehoboth Beach!

That's where I live - our town is over run by tourists right now, because no one knows what to do with themselves in quarantine. What part of the Eastern Shore? I love it over there.

 

[violet3]

This is hilarious

 

[Cluless]

Being optimistic is great (and in my opinion recommended) so long as you’re still following recommendations for social distancing. I myself am cautiously optimistic that our healthcare system will pull together and get help to everyone who needs it. What I worry about is people who are just in denial about this being serious. Yes, percentages are low, but the growth rate has been exponential in many places. And if it continues that way, things are going to get real bad real quick. The US went from about 200 to 2000 cases in this past week. One of the below articles estimates a doubling every 6 days, let’s call it a week.

Here’s good articles for those that maybe have family members who aren’t taking the social distancing seriously or think this is all “over reacting”. Or think themselves young and entitled to live however they like since they aren’t personally at high risk.

Opinion | Please, Don’t Go Out to Brunch Today (Published 2020)

Gathering in groups right now is selfish and puts the lives of others at risk.

www.nytimes.com

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/

Opinion | How Much Worse the Coronavirus Could Get, in Charts (Published 2020)

Play with a model of coronavirus in the U.S.

www.nytimes.com

Making The Grade Thank you for sharing this. I am worried sick for my son and his wife , they had made plans to leave for San Francisco tomorrow before the Coronavirus. They are still planing on leaving because yeah, hey, they're young and blah blah , blah. Hoping this will help in changing their minds, but I strongly doubt it.

 

[Mjay]

If you would’ve asked me a few days ago I would’ve said no. Now my answer has changed. I am very concerned. My Husband is a first responder. There is a gentleman in his line of work that has contracted the virus. He is a younger guy, under 50, with supposedly no underlying health conditions (They screen them yearly and if he had anything he would not be allowed to work in this line of work) The gentleman is currently in grave condition and is not going to make it. This has been a major wake up call to my husband and I. We have since become more educated on what to virus actually is and how easily it is transmitted. Washing your hands is not gonna do enough. if you are in close quarters and breathe the same air as an infected person you will become contaminated. People are highly contagious before they show symptoms. What’s really scary is how it is affecting everyone so differently. This is way more contagious than your common flu. My husband has gone on several calls for coronavirus patients the past few days and has a coworker that he has been closely working with that is waiting for test results. If his test is positive then my husband has a virus. I am pretty confident given my husband’s line of work that this virus is going to go through my household. I am not panicking but I am educated and concerned.

 

[TooPatient]

Making The Grade Thank you for sharing this. I am worried sick for my son and his wife , they had made plans to leave for San Francisco tomorrow before the Coronavirus. They are still planing on leaving because yeah, hey, they're young and blah blah , blah. Hoping this will help in changing their minds, but I strongly doubt it.

I wouldn't want to be traveling now. Sounds like a full national shutdown is getting more likely.

Anthony Fauci urges coronavirus ‘national shutdown’

Dr. Antony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, urged Americans to shut down more aggressively as the coronavirus spreads.

m.washingtontimes.com

 

[missy]

Yeah I am SMH right now. Our very dear friend who is a pulmonologist no less is still planning the St Paddy's Day Pub Crawl to go on as planned. Greg and I said no we aren't going this year when he texted us saying it's still on...WTH! He is a pulmonologist. Can you imagine the Bars in NYC on St Paddy's Day? It's mayhem and yes while I hope it is way less crowded this year any pub crawl IMO is a bad idea. I really don't understand his thinking. I mean I know it's gone on straight for over 3 decades with our group but sometimes one has to adapt to circumstances and be smart. Right? Am I crazy? And yes I am very sad we aren't going because it is an amazing time every year but we are making the smartest choice IMO under the circumstances.

I am going to miss wearing my green wig and new St Catty's Day leggings!

Last year's Pub Crawl. I didn't have the St Catty's Day leggings last year though....

 

[Mjay]

This is a good watch