Coronavirus ~ COVID-19

[charley]

On a beautiful sunny day, I took a little walk and... on my way out of the nearby drugstore, I immediately stopped to put some hand sanitizer on when I saw one of the homeless sitting on a bench, perhaps in his 40s, looking like in his 50s. I was about 40' away, he was coughing badly and then started spitting out some awful phlegm. He took out his cigarettes to smoke and then started coughing again, and spitting, and put his cigarettes away - can you imagine being too sick to smoke... I spoke with someone who told me that there are now @ 3 confirmed cases of covid-19 in our immediate area, but the "authorities" won't say exactly where. I have tried online to see where exactly, but the info is mysteriously missing. I'm glad I have stocked up. I hope everyone else has as well. I am cleaning my doorknobs, etc. It will be at least a year before they get a vaccine going, I can't wait. The only one good thing is that all the medical researchers (like that Dr. Ho who I saw on Rachel Maddow) are all working at a mad pace to find a vaccine. My god go with them.

I miss take-out pizza! (My pizza place is now only open in the evenings...)

[Bèsame*]

Income Tax dead line to file has been moved to July 15, 2020.

Whew..I have way to many forms to file this year!

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Bèsame*

Income Tax dead line to file has been moved to July 15, 2020.

Yes, but did they move the deadline to pay? Or is it like when you file for an extension - you get longer to send in the paperwork, but you still have to send them an approximate amount by April 15?

[C0LLETTE]

Glad to hear that USA and Canada are closing their mutual border. USA will be safe from our 600+ cases and Canada will be safe from USA's 15000 + cases.

"I suspect I understand why borders with Mexico and USA are being simultaneously closed. Mexico and countries south of USA would be mighty mighty pissed off if they were unilaterally being excluded but, frankly, I don't see a shit load of Canadians scrambling across the US border to get healthcare help ( well, maybe the MAYO Clinic if you've got huge bucks )."

Now think about that last paragraph:

It's easy to interpret posts like these as being anti-American. That's nonsense. Posts like this are meant to show how easy it is for "leaders" to turn us against each other.

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by ~ocean

ahahahahahah You forgot "The Orange Bafoon" !!!

It is quite possible that the word "buffoon"comes from the Italian/Latin root word "bufo".

Well:

"Bufo, or cane, toads are the largest toads in the world. Native to South America, they were introduced to Florida to limit the effect insects have on the sugar industry. Unfortunately, the toads also secret a toxin from their skin that is toxic to humans and lethal to pets.

The toxic toads have made their reappearance, and pet owners in southern, central and the Panhandle of Florida have been on the lookout for the lethal hazard. Cane toads can be found all over Florida, but come out in large numbers after rain showers.

Dogs may try to play with one of the poisonous toads and end up with the toxin on their nose or in their mouth.

All it takes is a quick lick or a sniff. Fifteen minutes later, your dog could be dead."

I understand that Trump has moved his official residency to Florida.

[easygoingfemme]

My state shut down today as far as no one who is not essential can go to work, just work from home if you can. We had to lay off about 10 people and that really hurts. We really are family at work.

I will still be reporting in. Myself and two others in the building. I have backup staff at our domestic violence shelter who can be to me in 15 minutes if I have an emergency.

It will be that way until:
The government lets everyone go back to work
or
We run out of money to pay bare bones staff
or
The building becomes quarantined- at which time I will work from home.

It was really stressful today absorbing the stress and hurt for those laid off along with the stress the residents are feeling. Thankfully we are still able to feed them well.

We picked up a huge delivery from our food bank and are making emergency food boxes and hygiene packs for everyone and will work over the weekend while I have staff available to deliver to those off of the main housing site.

My daughter has been working along side me all day all week and is starting to get really anxious. She is having a self care night tonight. I will too, I hope.

We have our first resident in quarantine for being exposed to a co-worker who tested positive. This could be a tipping point.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

Yes, but did they move the deadline to pay? Or is it like when you file for an extension - you get longer to send in the paperwork, but you still have to send them an approximate amount by April 15?

Looks like the whole enchilada. Very good for me as well.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

Glad to hear that USA and Canada are closing their mutual border. USA will be safe from our 600+ cases and Canada will be safe from USA's 15000 + cases.

"I suspect I understand why borders with Mexico and USA are being simultaneously closed. Mexico and countries south of USA would be mighty mighty pissed off if they were unilaterally being excluded but, frankly, I don't see a shit load of Canadians scrambling across the US border to get healthcare help ( well, maybe the MAYO Clinic if you've got huge bucks )."

Now think about that last paragraph:

It's easy to interpret posts like these as being anti-American. That's nonsense. Posts like this are meant to show how easy it is for "leaders" to turn us against each other.

I agree and don’t see your post as anti-American at all. Mexico was looking at the US sideways about a week ago for the same reason, it makes sense. Within the US we are also blocking off chunks right now by states and counties although I tend to think a consistent national plan might make more sense at least for sometime while we play catch-up.

The United States is completely void of leadership at this time unless you count Dr Fauci whom I understand is now being made less visible in the press conferences with the president because the president has realized that the Dr is becoming the bigger star in this crisis. When Trump declared himself to be a wartime president I had about a minute of hope that that would make him a little more serious and responsible. Of course that was immediately supplanted with visions of what kind of uniform he could dream up for himself, I see lots of gold braid and bars filled with metals, no hat, it would muss the hair, or maybe one just tucked under the arm with a riding crop in the other hand, a la Patton. Let the cosplay begin.

Toads? I can only hope the Trump decides to lick one as a further display of his immortality.

[Apocalipstic]

I already did my taxes, oh well..got big $37 back.

The State of Tennessee has done zero to help or acknowledge Covid19. There are several cases in the state, but most cases are in Nashville and 1 neighboring county, subburb or Nashville.

My county has shut down restaurants, bars, gyms etc. The numbers of infected seem to double each day.

But still.....

My weirdo across the hall neighbor stopped me this morning to rant about it (Covid) being a hoax blah chemtrails blah blah blah....I said "I think its melting permafrost releasing old diseases", he looked aghast...But hey, my answer seems more likely than his.

I stood in line at Trader Joe's to get more food and wipes. I have a couple of weeks worth of stuff (more than that of rice and beans), but who knows what will happen. Right?

We are working, so for that I am very grateful. All overtime and special projects on hold, so I will be making at least $1,000 less a month, but still enough to be ok. Trying to cut down all my bills for the long haul.

Rambling...sorry!

Bottom line, I am very anxious. I plan to meditate quite a bit this weekend....which, by the way will be my first full weekend off since the holidays. So yay!

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by easygoingfemme

My state shut down today as far as no one who is not essential can go to work, just work from home if you can. We had to lay off about 10 people and that really hurts. We really are family at work.

I will still be reporting in. Myself and two others in the building. I have backup staff at our domestic violence shelter who can be to me in 15 minutes if I have an emergency.

It will be that way until:
The government lets everyone go back to work
or
We run out of money to pay bare bones staff
or
The building becomes quarantined- at which time I will work from home.

It was really stressful today absorbing the stress and hurt for those laid off along with the stress the residents are feeling. Thankfully we are still able to feed them well.

We picked up a huge delivery from our food bank and are making emergency food boxes and hygiene packs for everyone and will work over the weekend while I have staff available to deliver to those off of the main housing site.

My daughter has been working along side me all day all week and is starting to get really anxious. She is having a self care night tonight. I will too, I hope.

We have our first resident in quarantine for being exposed to a co-worker who tested positive. This could be a tipping point.

There is no way to thank you and others like you enough for the work that you are doing. My mother is in a small elder care home in Washington state which is undergoing very similar types of lockdown and quarantine like measures. New mandates are coming out of the state health department on a nearly daily basis, trying to make everything work is an enormous task. Thank you for what you do.

[Kätzchen]

I'm home rather early today. Property management is ready to follow directives by the Mayor of our largest city, which they suspect will go down late tonight or first thing Monday morning.

I cleaned and sanitized every surface in our office and extended outposts, then left work. We report back to work first thing Monday, in case we are shut down (the whole entire inner-city area of three counties).

My boss has stage 4 cancer. You'd never know it, by just looking at him. He is a real trooper. He's had to self quarantine twice, since suspected outbreaks in the nearby vicinity. His wife is upper mgmt with Kaiser (an RN, with loads of credentials besides nursing). Word is, according to my bosses' wife, that Kaiser is creating an nursing location lottery, where nurses *must* participate in the lottery drawing, in case an "All Hands On Deck" alert rises agency wide (multi-state effort). Nurses will have to report for duty in critical areas of nursing, and if they don't go? Word is, they can say goodbye to their jobs (no matter where you are on the organizational ladder of employment standing). Not sure if this has already been decided on, but that is what his wife was saying that the healthcare agency was tendering as a plan to help address critical areas of nursing, during this whole crisis.

I could be jobless by Monday afternoon, but I have to stay focused because, I got the official notice from the organization I was cross-training over into and they decided to halt all hiring processes until further notice. However, HR advised me to follow through with the medical test their doctor ordered, so I can have that part already done and my medical certificate signed off. And, the other agency where I take the other two tests? I was like "Wow, they're still open, *LOL*", so before April is over with, virus crisis or not, I plan to take the other two tests and be ready to go, when the hiring freeze is lifted. So a big burden of worries rolled off my life, once I heard back from that particular HR dept, today.

I'm gonna take my time off and keep my focus on the end goal and keep my fingers crossed that even though things are topsy-turvy right now? That things will regain some form of reasonable order, in timely ways. And I want to be ready to go and be hired in one fell swoop.

That's the "Good News & Bad News" report, from my world today.

We're all in this together and together we can come out on top and in better shape (is what I wholehearted believe).

Oh! And because I was released early today from work? I got two back to back phone calls from two different doctor offices and they squeezed me in for the two appointments I have been trying to get to, over the past month. And, I recertify my rental contract on my studio and the on-site manager is having me come by tomorrow morning. AND, lol, while stopping to sin at the Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone, I pulled in behind my secret santa from years ago. OMG, it was like all the stars and planets in the universe lined up in my favor today. It's not always this happens in my world, but I do know how fucking lucky I have been over the past few months.


<<<<<<<<~~~ still keeping my fingers crossed for the best of luck for us all.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

I heard on the BBC World News that there is a Dutch pharmacist who has not marked up any of his prices, except in the case of hand sanitizer. He charges the regular price for one bottle, but if you want more than one, you have to pay about $150 US. He said no one has made that purchase yet. He did it because people were buying much more than they needed, and then some of the elderly people who came in his pharmacy couldn't get any at all. He feels using hand sanitizer is one of the most useful things we can do against this virus.

Apparently, it's working quite well.

[~ocean]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

It is quite possible that the word "buffoon"comes from the Italian/Latin root word "bufo".

Well:

"Bufo, or cane, toads are the largest toads in the world. Native to South America, they were introduced to Florida to limit the effect insects have on the sugar industry. Unfortunately, the toads also secret a toxin from their skin that is toxic to humans and lethal to pets.

The toxic toads have made their reappearance, and pet owners in southern, central and the Panhandle of Florida have been on the lookout for the lethal hazard. Cane toads can be found all over Florida, but come out in large numbers after rain showers.

Dogs may try to play with one of the poisonous toads and end up with the toxin on their nose or in their mouth.

All it takes is a quick lick or a sniff. Fifteen minutes later, your dog could be dead."

I understand that Trump has moved his official residency to Florida.

imitating the Bafoon ~ " perfect , just perfect " lol Collette

[theoddz]

The following was sent to Dear Wife (retired paramedic/EMT) and myself, through our network of friends who are also in the healthcare professions. I thought I'd share it here, in hopes that it might drive home the seriousness of this situation and the crucial, CRUCIAL importance of EVERYONE to be following what we're being told/advised by our gov't and health advisers. Even if you are a healthy person, in your 20's and 30's, who has never been sick a day in your life, read the following and HEED it!!!


This is from Patrick Wiater head of ortho/trauma at Beaumont RO, largest hospital in Michigan. Please spread the word!

Hi everyone. Hope all is well.
I implore you to take this covid 19 seriously. It is real. Society is teeming with it. The numbers you see in media are the tip of the iceberg.
The ICU in the hospital is full of young adults on ventilators fighting for their lives. A medical assistant I work with is covid 19 positive on a vent. She is otherwise healthy person in her twenties. We are seeing mostly young people coming into the hospital with their lungs destroyed by this virus. The media made it sound like the biggest risk was elderly. Probably true but in Michigan it's hitting young adults hard.

Sequester you and your families away from everyone. Don't leave your house. Don't have any social interactions with anyone.
Keep your parents isolated. Incubation can be up to 14 days. Anyone who has not been isolated for 14 days is a risk to you.

It is estimated that 150 million in the U.S. will have it over next 10-14 days. I believe it. Southeast Michigan is festering with it now.

Hopefully this comes across as alarmist. This virus is horrible.

Stay safe. PJW

~Theo~

[Kelt]

Theo-

Thank you for posting this, I think part of the problem a lot of people are having is that it has not impacted them personally yet. I am taking this very seriously as I am receiving the health department dispatches from Washington state on a nearly daily basis in regards to my 88-year-old mother. She is in complete lockdown and there are no visitors permitted to enter the house where she lives by state mandate. Even doctors and nurses are having to make their visits via iPad. I cannot go visit my mother. Unfortunately, I think this will be the case for most Americans, that once they know somebody who has gotten it or have been impacted in some other personal way that is medical and not financial only then will they take it seriously.

On a more personal note, given your background and specialty do you anticipate being called upon in this situation either in your former role or perhaps as someone who could teach your specialized skill set to others so that then they can operate ventilators properly? I know many doctors and nurses retired as well as not yet quite certified students are being asked to help.

I also believe the next two weeks will challenge a lot of people in many ways.

Be safe

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I heard on the BBC World News that there is a Dutch pharmacist who has not marked up any of his prices, except in the case of hand sanitizer. He charges the regular price for one bottle, but if you want more than one, you have to pay about $150 US. He said no one has made that purchase yet. He did it because people were buying much more than they needed, and then some of the elderly people who came in his pharmacy couldn't get any at all. He feels using hand sanitizer is one of the most useful things we can do against this virus.

Apparently, it's working quite well.

Is it possible for a Dutch pharmacist to become CEO of Amazon, because, frankly, this fellow emphasizes with human needs over PROFITS.

Maybe we can all chip in and raise enough money to rip this company out of the hands of these money grubbing assholes.

They though of it first, but they don't need to control it forever.

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

Is it possible for a Dutch pharmacist to become CEO of Amazon, because, frankly, this fellow emphasizes with human needs over PROFITS.

Maybe we can all chip in and raise enough money to rip this company out of the hands of these money grubbing assholes.

They though of it first, but they don't need to control it forever.

I think Amazon is starting to look a lot like the dog that actually caught the car and has no real idea what to do with it.

[C0LLETTE]

Here's what I've learned from organizing political party gatherings that may apply currently:

Rent a hall that's smaller than the group you expect:
A half empty big hall is a failure. An overflowing tiny hall is a huge success.

Never overpromise but do plan for success. Never promise complete and absolute victory until the last 30 seconds of battle; but also do not doom yourself when you start planning for failure hours ahead.

Not sure if Sun Tzu or Machiavelli ever dealt with a pandemic virus but it does seem pretty simple "common sense" huh? So why is this most basic piece of reasoning escaping the "Most Powerful Leader in the World" ? Maybe he's just a dumb guy...not malicious or evil, just fucking dumb.

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by Kelt

I think Amazon is starting to look a lot like the dog that actually caught the car and has no real idea what to do with it.

YESSSSSSSSSS. Like so much of tech that is being developed way ahead of its test for real usefulness and with no idea of its safe expiry date and no way to just dissolve all that crap out of the environment that it's just crapping up.

Think space is getting crowded, wait till we start seeing the ether gasping for air.

[theoddz]

Originally Posted by Kelt

Theo-

Thank you for posting this, I think part of the problem a lot of people are having is that it has not impacted them personally yet. I am taking this very seriously as I am receiving the health department dispatches from Washington state on a nearly daily basis in regards to my 88-year-old mother. She is in complete lockdown and there are no visitors permitted to enter the house where she lives by state mandate. Even doctors and nurses are having to make their visits via iPad. I cannot go visit my mother. Unfortunately, I think this will be the case for most Americans, that once they know somebody who has gotten it or have been impacted in some other personal way that is medical and not financial only then will they take it seriously.

On a more personal note, given your background and specialty do you anticipate being called upon in this situation either in your former role or perhaps as someone who could teach your specialized skill set to others so that then they can operate ventilators properly? I know many doctors and nurses retired as well as not yet quite certified students are being asked to help.

I also believe the next two weeks will challenge a lot of people in many ways.

Be safe

Hey there Kelt!! Nice to see you around again, I must say!! There's still a few of us from "the old guard" and the old site and I'm sure glad to see another friendly screen name from "back when"!!

Well, yes, I am a retired Registered Respiratory Therapist and I worked in that profession for nearly 30 years. I'm 59 y/o now and kickin' the door of 60 later this year. I have had some progressively serious health issues ever since my time in the Marine Corps, when I was in my early 20's. Because of those, they gave me 100% permanent and total disability, but it was not the kind of disability that would keep me, or prevent me from working, if I wanted to and was able. I was able, thank Jeebuz, to go to college and become an RT while I was still relatively young, and I spent 20 years doing that in federal civilian service for nearly 20 years (DoD and VA). While I was working for the VA, my knees started to give out as a secondary problem to my military illness. I had to have total joint replacement in both knees in the 2000's, but it bought me about 8 years of career time, until I reached the 20 year mark. I had to take early retirement then, because of the knees, mostly, but I also have other health issues, due to or related to my military service, also. I didn't want to retire, but I was forced to, and now that I'm damned near 60, some of these health problems that I was able to overcome, due to sheer will, I can no longer function well with. I was told that I now need a 10th surgery (total for both, right now) on my right knee, once more. So, I'm not in really great shape, as of now, to do any heavy duty running around in a busy hospital environment, like I used to.

I was forced to take disability retirement from federal service at my 20 year mark, unfortunately. I also have other problems with my health, so no, I don't think that anyone will be trying to call me up and "reactivate" me again in this crisis. Believe me, I am "programmed" in my heart to respond to emergencies. I still can hear the sound of a pager ringing in my ears, the sound of ventilator alarms and the overhead call of a Code Blue. I wish I could help, but I would do so at my own very, very high risk, and even then, my physical limitations (and asthma) would preclude me from holding up under the physical stress of the job now. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to leave the baton where I passed it.....to the younger, healthy set, and trust that their dedication, professionalism and training will rise to the occasion, so to speak. We RT's are an "odd" bunch. We're temperamental, opinionated, highly independent (many of us work in intense environments with little to no supervision), and incredibly resourceful (we can put together just about anything to get a job done) but always manage to pitch in, lend a hand, and be there when we are needed.

I wish I could be there, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to sit this one out. I hope everyone who reads this heeds the medical advisors and gov't officials (excluding that "Anus Tangerinus") and stays safe. We will overcome this!!!

~Theo~