Coronavirus prep

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  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,243 Member
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    Just got home from the store, specifically Aldi. It was quite busy. People were lined up before 9am but everyone was very polite. They were better stocked then I had worried about, but they were out of the normal bread, flour, all paper products, and most meats except for ground beef and chicken. Still, I was able to get everything I needed plus a little bit extra. Except for fresh items, I shouldn't need groceries for 2-3 weeks which allows me to stay home 99% of the time. I did wear gloves and bring alcohol wipes for the carts because of health concerns that make me a bit more high risk.
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
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    Have been offline for a few days and didn't go back to read all the comments, so apologize if this has already been brought up. Has anyone seen this story:

    https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/fourth-member-jersey-family-dies-000305798.html

    Combined with what is happening in Italy, couldn't help but wonder if people of Italian descent are somehow more genetically vulnerable to this virus. Is that possible?
  • mkculs13
    mkculs13 Posts: 604 Member
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    I check this link everyday to put our situation in the US in context. Some interesting graphs. Be sure to scroll down the the one that shows how many people per million are being tested; we are so far behind. Last updated, yesterday morning (as of me posting this).


    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/13/21178289/confirmed-coronavirus-cases-us-countries-italy-iran-singapore-hong-kong
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
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    The thing that got my attention about Germany is the fact that even with the high number of total cases they have, the total deaths were very, very low compared to everyone else who had similar total cases. I wasn't so much at the total death rate percentage, as I know that will be brought down with the total number of cases detected as it will catch the mild ones, but that their total deaths period were significantly lower than anyone else. So I thought they had to be doing something that the rest of us weren't, and it sounds like they are - they apparently took this seriously from the get go and have tested way more than anyone else had, which, like someone else mentioned, would make ti easier to catch the people with milder versions and get them out of the general population.

    so kudos to Germany!

    *sigh* and sometimes I wish they'd shut down facebook and twitter in times of crisis like this because of the sheer amount of nonsense that spreads like wildfire. I texted my cousin this morning about meeting her to drop some things off, and she said that she hoped the gas station nearby wasn't going to be out of gas. I was confused until I realized she gets her news from facebook. So I guess there must be a facebook viral posting that gas stations are going to be running out of gas now......

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    edited March 2020
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    earlnabby wrote: »
    I just received an email from the center where I donate blood. They are starting to get critically low and are urging people to give. Many blood drives have been cancelled but one near me is still being held on Monday so I just made an appointment. Other than being around people, this is normally a sanitary environment anyway. They outlined their procedures to keep everyone safe:

    Donor Health & Registration:
    • All donor-facing staff will have their temperature taken prior to beginning their work day
    • Donors temperatures will be taken at registration to ensure they are not elevated prior to entering donation areas
    • Donors will be asked if they are currently experiencing coughing or shortness of breath
    • Donors will be asked if they have recently traveled to high-risk countries as defined by the CDC
    • If any of the above is true, donors will be asked to self-defer

    Social Distancing:
    • We encourage all donors to make an appointment to lessen the amount of people waiting at our blood drives
    • Ensuring six feet of space between chairs in waiting areas and cafe
    • Ensuring six feet of space between donation chairs and/or separation with medical screens
    • If appointment registration congestion occurs, we will ask for your cell phone number and text when your appointment is ready

    Cleaning:
    • We clean all equipment, beds, and other surfaces after each donor finishes their donation
    • Changing gloves frequently and between donors is part of our normal practice
    • We will maintain sanitized pen bins, so donors are only using clean pens at sign-in

    I had heard appeals for donors on the local news today, so I went to the Red Cross site to look for locations and times to make an appointment, but even looking 10 days out, they only want AB plasma donors and platelet donors. No appointments available for whole blood donations, which is all I've ever done. I'm not AB, so I can't give AB plasma. Maybe the problem isn't lack of donors so much as lack of opportunities (blood drives, etc.) where people can donate.

    I guess it bummed me out so much because after nearly a week of #StayingHome , just "not doing" (not going out, not meeting people for meals, not going to work, not going to church) doesn't feel like much of a contribution. I want to do something that helps the situation. I offered to get groceries for an older relative with underlying health issues who shouldn't be going out, but he's determined to keep going out anyway. The few neighbors who are older than me have networks of friends and families to help.

    Like anything else, blood needs are regional and cyclical. Where I am (large metropolitan area) they need pretty much everything right now. Also, do you have other blood collectors besides the Red Cross? It could be that one is running low and the other isn't.

    `
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited March 2020
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    The Governor of Pennsylvania has ordered all "non-life-sustaining" business to close as of 8 pm. No warning. Fines if you continue to operate. Suddenly the entire state is unemployed. It's not quite a shelter in place order, but not far from it. Still no cases in my county.

    I work for a company located in a county in Florida considering essentially the same thing.

    Here's more on Pennsylvania https://lancasteronline.com/news/gov-wolf-s-order-to-shut-down-non-life-sustaining/article_18fc32e4-6aaa-11ea-9a08-173a8658f284.html

    Gov. Wolf's order to shut down non-life sustaining businesses met with criticism, concern

    ...“First, as Governor Wolf should have learned through the National Governor’s Association, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) has asked America’s governors to designate ALL ‘manufacturing facilities, supply chains and their employees as “essential infrastructure” and “essential businesses” to assure clear, consistent and more uniformly aligned guidance to businesses as our nation responds to the COVID19 pandemic,’ said a statement from the association's president and CEO David N. Taylor.
  • Ruatine
    Ruatine Posts: 3,424 Member
    edited March 2020
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    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Italy is being told that their "peak" is around 10 days from now. Nearly 500 per day dying and 6000 new cases yesterday with stressed to the max hospitals already. I had hoped the number would plateau, but it unfortunately hasn't. The only good news for them is everyone is taking it deadly serious. I wish I could say the same here.

    @Snowflake -- I'm in constant contact with others in Italy (indoor rowing buddies of mine). I'm praying for you all, even though I know it's going to be the same here. Please pray for us in a few weeks as well. We will need it.

    Saw this today - if we agree on the timeline, the US was trending closely with Italy (it has since grown at a larger pace.) The good news is, the US has five times the population (60 million vs 320 million), so the magnitude is much less. (Not sure why California was dropped in with a different timeline)

    gmfjn7vwm0a5.jpg

    This, to me, just means we will have 6X the deaths. So, they have 500 a day, we are going to have 3000 a day. I fear it's unavoidable at this stage. I've told all my siblings in Ohio (all at risk) that I love them. One, likely the most at risk, has a son that is a security guard at a local hospital. He has it at their house in isolation. Feeling very sad today. I'm sorry.

    The fact that young people are partying on beaches is disgusting. Florida will be awful.

    I know things seem bleak and surreal right now, but we have to try to focus on the positive as much as possible. Maintaining good mental health is important right now.

    The TX coast has also seen a multitude of young people (and not so young people) partying on the beaches. I fear that the kind of selfish and short-sighted behavior is going to be detrimental to our containment efforts.

    There are many stories going around right now about neighbors pulling together to help each other.

    Good news story: https://www.foxnews.com/us/coronavirus-maryland-boy-carepackages-seniors-feed-students

    (ETA: Reddit has a dedicated sub for staying up to date with covid-19. Filtering for posts with the "Good News" flair gives some great, positive stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/?f=flair_name:"Good News")
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
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    @Bry_Fitness70 You're correct (your post 3 back) and while I live out in the middle of nowhere...folks here are concerned about that kind of despair. Our schools are closed with commercial air cleaning machines going. They will be used as hospitals. <3
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2020
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    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    MikePfirrman wrote: »
    Italy is being told that their "peak" is around 10 days from now. Nearly 500 per day dying and 6000 new cases yesterday with stressed to the max hospitals already. I had hoped the number would plateau, but it unfortunately hasn't. The only good news for them is everyone is taking it deadly serious. I wish I could say the same here.

    @Snowflake -- I'm in constant contact with others in Italy (indoor rowing buddies of mine). I'm praying for you all, even though I know it's going to be the same here. Please pray for us in a few weeks as well. We will need it.

    Saw this today - if we agree on the timeline, the US was trending closely with Italy (it has since grown at a larger pace.) The good news is, the US has five times the population (60 million vs 320 million), so the magnitude is much less. (Not sure why California was dropped in with a different timeline)

    gmfjn7vwm0a5.jpg

    This, to me, just means we will have 6X the deaths. So, they have 500 a day, we are going to have 3000 a day. I fear it's unavoidable at this stage. I've told all my siblings in Ohio (all at risk) that I love them. One, likely the most at risk, has a son that is a security guard at a local hospital. He has it at their house in isolation. Feeling very sad today. I'm sorry.

    The fact that young people are partying on beaches is disgusting. Florida will be awful.

    This means we will potentially have far less than 5x's the number of cases and deaths as Italy. We are a country with 320 million with the same *total number of infections* as a country of 60 million, that is great (if that trend holds up.)

    I live in Ohio as well, and I feel like our Governor really jumped up and lead well ahead of the rest of the country. For example, Louisiana and Ohio each had their first case at the same time. Ohio has 88 cases and no deaths. Louisiana has 347 cases and 8 deaths. Ohio's population is 11.6 million vs Louisiana's 4.6 million, so we should have over twice as many cases and deaths. Social distancing is huge and the regions who did promptly and thoroughly are going to suffer far less.

    DeWine has been great and acted far earlier than other governors with so few cases. (An aside, I was good friends with one of his (many) kids in school and feel happy that he's doing a good job even if I have disagreements with him on some other things. His kid really liked him as a dad and talked him up -- he was Lt Gov then.)

    I think the number of cases is still not even close to identified, though. My state (IL) has been testing way more than some other states and yet as of Sunday we had only 93 (mostly in my major metro area), and on Monday 105. But then when the tests from when more tests started to be available came back we jumped to 160 on Tuesday, 288 on Wednesday, and 422 yesterday. And still mostly in and around the big city I live in, with more jumps likely. I think the breakout of CA on that chart might be showing CA vs Italy as similar population areas? Not sure.

    IN had as of Wednesday more deaths than us (1 vs. 2, we had 3 more yesterday, don't know about IN), but a tiny number of identified cases vs. us and also a tiny number of tests vs. us. There's no way they don't have a bunch more cases than they've identified. If Chicago metro is swimming in cases the IN part of that is too.

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