Coronavirus ~ COVID-19

[Kätzchen]

Today is Saturday, and I attended my studio rental recert, then went to do laundry, then went on a mission to find any cleaning supplies available at area stores.

There's no one out on the road today except a handful of people doing only necessary life stuff. On the freeway's, ODOT reader boards display signage instructing drivers to leave room and give space to other drivers and to obey the speed limit (our roads are rapidly giving way to surveillance technology) and to warn people to not be in groups.

I didn't have much luck finding any cleaning supplies or paper supplies. But I did happen to stop by a merchant discount retailer and found a few bottles of Clorox, so I bought them, since the store was nearly devoid of shoppers. I went by Target, and in my frantic state of mind, I had no idea that I left the sun roof open or a side window down, but I did lock the car with my key fob. When I came back to my car with what few supplies I could buy (razors, Listerene, anti-bacterial handsoap and regular hand soap), I discovered I had left my car with the windows down and the sun roof wide open. I cried. I cried because no one stole anything from my car. I had a bunch of valuable merchandise in the back seat and my big bag with all my irreplaceable insurance papers and relevant ID, was sitting untouched in my car. The nearest parker was a handicapped gentleman who was sitting in his car smoking, and he didn't even realize that my car was open to theft. He tooted his horn at me and waved and yelled out if I was alright. I was just so grateful that I wasn't the victim of theft. That is the *first* time I have ever forgotten to lock my car or make sure all the windows are up and that the sun roof was closed. It's absolutely spectacular weather we have today, so I am sure that the combination of fury to find what cleaning supplies I could buy and being forgetful can be attributed to the brilliant sunny weather we have today. Ordinarily, we have 'Pearly Skies', but as climate change affects each corner of the globe, we increasingly have less cloudy weather and terrific stretches of sunshine, which is drying up the trees and all green fauna to the point that, I worry about tinderbox conditions and all of us going up in smoke (if not co-equally the Co-vid 19 virus too).

I wore my beautiful pale blue leather gloves and took a handful of sanitizing wipes with me in a little plastic baggie, in case I needed to wipe of the surface of any terminal at any store or wipe off an entrance door handle. People smiled at me and thanked me for being considerate and kind, in the face of coming under stricter lock-down mandates, which will surely come by first thing Monday morning or by late afternoon that day.

It's like the proverbial End of The World scenario here.

And today I am guilty of eating like it's the end of the world. After the Target fiasco, I dropped by an small independently owned vendor stand to buy some Teriayki (sp?) chicken with stir fried veggies and extra sauce and a big order of Korean Bulgogi Fries. I'll find out Monday, when my primary doctor calls me if my A1-c blood labs were in safe range or if I am going on the 'sinners' list for the rest of my life.

I'm steadily frightened by the situation we all will be facing in short order, but I also try to cheer myself up by having lots of things that I can stay focused on and plan to build up my strength to ride my bicycle, because one day soon, we will be perilously close to a war on any resource that affects being able to get around. I need to be able to bicycle not only for health reasons but for reason of conserving gasoline I already have in the car and commit to being able to get where I need to go without being fully dependent on my car. So... today the car stays parked and it's walking or bicycling to get where I need to go (and time, gotta incorporate time to that picture).

It feels like that 1990s movie with Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio: The Titanic. We all know we're going to be going down, but we race to stay alive and be one of (Many, hopefully) the survivors of this apocalyptic scene in social history.

<<<<<~~ committed to Social Distancing, and all tenets of Safety First.


Oh, and I bought the last 4-pack of Aloe facial tissues at one store. I will use them sparingly. And share a box with a neighbor, if necessary.

[theoddz]

I just wanted to dash in here really quick and bring up one or two hints/ideas for sanitizing stuff.

1. You can soak paper towels with Isopropyl alcohol and put them in ziplock bags for sanitizing wipes. OTC Isopropyl alcohol comes in various strengths: 50% (don't use for sanitizing), only 70% and 91% are recommended for this. In order to sanitize something with this, you need to make sure you use the 70%-91% strengths (per the CDC). I found 91% isopropyl alcohol at Sams Club, recently, but before the pandemic hit.

2. You can also use white vinegar (acetic acid) to disinfect things. It may stink for a bit, but it sure as hell disinfects. We use white vinegar to disinfect respiratory equipment in the hospital (10% solution, or 1 part vinegar to 9 parts water). It kills most respiratory bugs like no one's business. I've been known to use full strenth on some stuff, in the past, but be super careful if you do this, because vinegar is acid and can destroy some surfaces. I suggest you dilute it, at least 10-20%.

One thing about these surface disinfectants, including isopropyl alcohol and white vinegar. Nearly every commercial disinfectant sold on the store shelf requires what we call "wet time" in order to disinfect/kill bacteria and viruses. From what I've read on these cleaners, Lysol included, is that whatever you are wiping down MUST be allowed to sit for AT LEAST 10 minutes before its wiped down. This is for non-porous surfaces.

***NOTE: Be especially mindful before mixing ANY other cleaner or chemical with Bleach, as it can create seriously toxic fumes, among other things. Don't do it!!! Water is safe enough, but anything else.....look it up and check before doing it!!!

I found a link to some guidance on how to disinfect/sanitize/clean your home, in this time of COVI-19. It may help. I hope the above information can help others in our community to have other options for sanitizing wipes and chemicals to keep your homes free from infection.

https://www.houselogic.com/improve/h...ect-your-home/

~Theo~

[~ocean]

I'm sitting here watching my daughter making masks for her job ~ there aren't any at work so in order to work and take care of her patients she needs to make masks …. she would never not go into work under these circumstances I'm a proud and nervous mom w/ her out there lil man ( Jonathan ) is a very proud son. and I hate Donald Trump ~ me fickle naaaa just an American ~~

[Bèsame*]

Originally Posted by ~ocean

I'm sitting here watching my daughter making masks for her job ~ there aren't any at work so in order to work and take care of her patients she needs to make masks …. she would never not go into work under these circumstances I'm a proud and nervous mom w/ her out there lil man ( Jonathan ) is a very proud son. and I hate Donald Trump ~ me fickle naaaa just an American ~~

Yay for your daughter to be creative! I've seen all kinds of make shift masks. Bandanas and scarves.

My brother told me a story yesterday. After finishing his shift at the firehouse, when the restaurants were at 50% captivity, he stopped in at IHOP. He says, half the tables were pushed to one side, stacked and covered with shipping shrink wrap. There was nothing on the tables. No salt. No pepper. If you wanted that, it was brought out in little dipping sauce bowls. He says eerie. I can just imagine.

Wash your hands!

[Bèsame*]

If you must go out ...practice social distancing.

[FireSignFemme]

My oldest son came over tonight and shared these links to help me stay informed. I found them useful so thought I'd share them.

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashb...23467b48e9ecf6

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[FireSignFemme]

https://www.businessinsider.com/type...urgical-2020-3

[Kelt]

Originally Posted by theoddz

I just wanted to dash in here really quick and bring up one or two hints/ideas for sanitizing stuff.

1. You can soak paper towels with Isopropyl alcohol and put them in ziplock bags for sanitizing wipes. OTC Isopropyl alcohol comes in various strengths: 50% (don't use for sanitizing), only 70% and 91% are recommended for this. In order to sanitize something with this, you need to make sure you use the 70%-91% strengths (per the CDC). I found 91% isopropyl alcohol at Sams Club, recently, but before the pandemic hit.

2. You can also use white vinegar (acetic acid) to disinfect things. It may stink for a bit, but it sure as hell disinfects. We use white vinegar to disinfect respiratory equipment in the hospital (10% solution, or 1 part vinegar to 9 parts water). It kills most respiratory bugs like no one's business. I've been known to use full strenth on some stuff, in the past, but be super careful if you do this, because vinegar is acid and can destroy some surfaces. I suggest you dilute it, at least 10-20%.

One thing about these surface disinfectants, including isopropyl alcohol and white vinegar. Nearly every commercial disinfectant sold on the store shelf requires what we call "wet time" in order to disinfect/kill bacteria and viruses. From what I've read on these cleaners, Lysol included, is that whatever you are wiping down MUST be allowed to sit for AT LEAST 10 minutes before its wiped down. This is for non-porous surfaces.

***NOTE: Be especially mindful before mixing ANY other cleaner or chemical with Bleach, as it can create seriously toxic fumes, among other things. Don't do it!!! Water is safe enough, but anything else.....look it up and check before doing it!!!

I found a link to some guidance on how to disinfect/sanitize/clean your home, in this time of COVI-19. It may help. I hope the above information can help others in our community to have other options for sanitizing wipes and chemicals to keep your homes free from infection.

https://www.houselogic.com/improve/h...ect-your-home/

~Theo~

I just wanted to chime in and agree with everything that Theo is saying, for myself and some others the only thing I’ve been able to find is bleach which can also act as a good disinfectant if used and diluted properly. To that end I found a good resource for all things bleach.

[C0LLETTE]

Do you think ethanol ( rubbing alcohol @ 95 % alcohol ) is as effective as isopropyl ?

[theoddz]

I shared this on my FB page today, but I felt like I needed to also share it here. Thanks to the Universe, I never had to work through and in a pandemic situation like we have now, but I remember, in years gone by, what it was to work in a busy medical center during some busy flu/pneumonia seasons. It wasn't easy and we had equipment and supply (and staffing) shortages to work through, but we did it by sheer determination and, even moreso, resourcefulness.

This is something completely different, though, and the following video is exactly what is really, truly happening (in northern Italy, at present) and is more than likely what it is going to look like in the U.S. in the coming weeks and maybe months. This video news story is really what is happening in the middle of this pandemic, for both physicians and caregivers, and what the patients actually experience and look like. Exactly. It really is horrifying.

Please....and I'm pleading again, stay home if you possibly can, practice social distancing, wash your hands and pay attention to the latest news and medical advice from the authorities for fighting this!!! I know I don't know many of you all, but a few of you have met me and have "known" me through the old dash site, and the forum threads since back in the day. You all are my community and it'd absolutely break my heart if anything happened to any one of you, due to this pandemic. Stay safe and G-d bless.



~Theo~

[tantalizingfemme]

I work and do my field placement in Pennsylvania. Both of these places are life sustaining businesses so I have to go in. I am hoping we limit the staff coming into our admin building for my work to just a handful of us as there are too many people coming in and out. My field placement has a lot of kids doing groups and therapies via zoom but there are still a lot of kids being brought in for live partial hospitalized programming from 9 am to 7:30 pm. I am in a room for an hour at a time with these kids running group therapy and these rooms are small. I wish we could at least go fully online for my placement so I don't have so much exposure to people. Plus, we are getting new admits all the time.

I am stressed about work because as the Risk Manager my job is to try and mitigate risk to our staff and employees with the CEO and head of nursing. I think they are finally understanding what I have been telling them in that we cannot create a plan that will be all encompassing. Every possible exposure, possible positive or actual positive will have to be dealt with individually which means this will be a daily battle with different variables. No two will be the same. It's overwhelming when I think about it.

Add to that the lack of medical equipment that we need and staff who are not taking the physical distancing seriously. I am at a loss at the willful ignorance.

Please pay attention, please don't purchase items that you don't need, especially medical equipment and think of others. It really isn't that hard.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by tantalizingfemme

I work and do my field placement in Pennsylvania. Both of these places are life sustaining businesses so I have to go in. I am hoping we limit the staff coming into our admin building for my work to just a handful of us as there are too many people coming in and out. My field placement has a lot of kids doing groups and therapies via zoom but there are still a lot of kids being brought in for live partial hospitalized programming from 9 am to 7:30 pm. I am in a room for an hour at a time with these kids running group therapy and these rooms are small. I wish we could at least go fully online for my placement so I don't have so much exposure to people. Plus, we are getting new admits all the time.

I am stressed about work because as the Risk Manager my job is to try and mitigate risk to our staff and employees with the CEO and head of nursing. I think they are finally understanding what I have been telling them in that we cannot create a plan that will be all encompassing. Every possible exposure, possible positive or actual positive will have to be dealt with individually which means this will be a daily battle with different variables. No two will be the same. It's overwhelming when I think about it.

Add to that the lack of medical equipment that we need and staff who are not taking the physical distancing seriously. I am at a loss at the willful ignorance.

Please pay attention, please don't purchase items that you don't need, especially medical equipment and think of others. It really isn't that hard.

That is so stressful and I hope it gets better over time, for you.

And... in addition, the reason I went on a search yesterday for cleaning supplies is that a good many of my neighbors, in my building, don't have jobs (they've been laid off and/or on disability) so I've been sharing my food supplies and cleaning supplies with people who have no money to buy essential things that can make all the difference in helping one's neighbors deal with not being able to afford the necessities during a critical time, such as now.

I'm not a money tree: But I am socially conscious of not only my needs, but needs of those who live around me. I know they appreciate the hand-up. Leaving no one behind is central, in my mind, in caring about ones self as well as the people who live closest to me.

Thanks for your timely message and I do hope your situation improves greatly, tantalizingfemme.

[charley]

I trust everyone has wiped down your cellphones (I saw a video on TV where someone did this with a soft soaped-up cloth very carefully, which removes most bacteria, germs - she then measured with a device how clean it was and it seemed to be quite effective, etc.). Also, for those who have cars, I saw a video on CBC News Network where a guy showed how to use sanitary wipes to wipe down everything you touch in your car - door handles, steering wheel, dashboard, etc.).

[theoddz]

I'm feeling kinda guilty for sounding so "down" with my posts in this thread. So, I think it's time for just a little levity in the situation. I give you all this and I hope you will laugh as much as I did when I saw it. Btw, these musicians are playing in a Santa Monica store, in an empty toilet paper aisle.

~Theo~

[theoddz]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

Do you think ethanol ( rubbing alcohol @ 95 % alcohol ) is as effective as isopropyl ?

Collette, I would think it would be just as, if not more effective, especially compared to isopropyl at the 50 and 70% strengths. If you want to be absolutely sure, you can google that good question.

~Theo~

[C0LLETTE]

OK...wipe down everything in your house, wipe down everything in your car, wipe down everything in your building ( stairwells, rails, elevator buttons etc)..and then stay home, cause the minute you go out into the world and touch anything ( the street, whatever you go out into) and return into your house/car you best start all over again...and frankly, it's hard to keep track of all the things you've touched even as you are removing those blue sterile gloves and your COVID N95 mask with sterilized forceps.

Do your best, but frankly "don't go nuts"...maybe the Grim Reaper just wants you.

[C0LLETTE]

BTW...don't eat bats.

[nhplowboi]

So I see Putin, good guy that he is, is sending 8 military brigades of "medical" personnel to Italy to help them out. For some reason I find that a little frightening.

[C0LLETTE]

Originally Posted by nhplowboi

So I see Putin, good guy that he is, is sending 8 military brigades of "medical" personnel to Italy to help them out. For some reason I find that a little frightening.

Well, do you think Russians would feel reassured if USA sent 8 military brigades of "medical " personnel to Italy?

At some point we have to take the paranoia and tribalism out of human co-existence. Work together, help each other or just whither and die together.

I'm sure there's another species all lined up and ready to take over once we finally keel over.
.

[nhplowboi]

Not sure how to respond to that Collette. Putin does nothing that will not benefit him. The US helping, hell our idiot leader is setting our country up for mass casualties. I am not paranoid, just a realist.