Coronavirus

[thoughtful]

The grocery order I placed last week is being shopped! Everything my Mom wanted is in, so I'm happy.

I sent the shopper a message not to bother with two of the substitutions, then wrote him such a love letter  ? for keeping us safe, and hoping he will stay well.

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

FFS the my pillow guy is talking about how people have lost God and should spend this time at home to read their bibles and the whole government is praying, etc.  He also talked about how just before this best country ever because Trumps economy.

Trump looked...uncomfortable.  "I didn't know he was going to do that, but he's a friend of mine and I appreciate it. Thank you."  

I mean he really looked and sounded uncomfortable.  And human.  It took me by surprised.

Are all these CEOS based in DC or did they fly them in?  

[clueliss]

I see everyone broke out the corporate jets for unnecessary travel to be here for the daily presser.  

[Smee]

9 hours ago, Ali said:

Are you a single parent? My husband taking over most of the parenting duties this weekend helped my mental health. 

Are you able to take a break from school given the situation?

My husband is a teacher and schools here haven’t technically closed (still open for kids of health workers etc so very very reduced numbers), meaning he’s still going in to work every day. He’s also the head of computing at his school, so had had a lot of extra work helping other teachers use their online learning system and been emailing at all hours. He does take over the kids a fair bit on weekends, though. I can’t imagine how much this must suck for single parents.

I emailed my uni supervisors and they were very understanding and told me not to stress if things don’t get done, we can look at dropping to part time next semester if necessary and they don’t think it will impact my candidature in the long run. So that’s eased one burden a bit. And you’re right, homeschooling doesn’t need to be a big thing right now.

7 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

As some of you know one of my sons works in an assisted living facility for the elderly...yesterday they had their first resident death from the virus.  

Obviously logically we know this would likely happen but ngl, this has shaken me.  This disease just got undeniably close to my family.  

I’m so sorry. Even when you know it’s coming, it’s confronting and emotional. I hope you and your son are ok, be kind to yourself. 
 

5 hours ago, nst said:

my parents who are in their late 70's seem oblivious - today they went to whistler to stay in their condo for a night. Yes it's safe but I mean good lord. 

and yes my dad stopped to buy a croissant. 

My FIL is 73, has a pacemaker and has had 4 surgeries in the past 6 months. On Sunday MIL accused my husband of “using it as an excuse not to see us”. When we first started isolating ourselves from non-necessary things (husband is still working) a couple of weeks ago, she flat out refused to speak to us when we video called, because we’d told them not to visit on the weekend and we were “keeping the kids from her”. I just can’t with this woman.

 

In some happy news, yesterday afternoon the teachers at my kids’ school all drove around the neighbourhood in convoy, waving streamers and honking horns to say hello to their students, who all stood waving at them from our respective driveways. The kids were so excited to see them even from a distance. We really lucked out with a great school.

[nst]

39 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

FFS the my pillow guy is talking about how people have lost God and should spend this time at home to read their bibles and the whole government is praying, etc.  He also talked about how just before this best country ever because Trumps economy.

Trump looked...uncomfortable.  "I didn't know he was going to do that, but he's a friend of mine and I appreciate it. Thank you."  

I mean he really looked and sounded uncomfortable.  And human.  It took me by surprised.

Are all these CEOS based in DC or did they fly them in?  

well since i work for a church 

the vicar is ecstatic about the rise in people who want to see her zoom preachings

plus the benefits of team leaders helping everyone....

[Beermeet]

Hi guys, so, we passed the 14 day mark at home. My kids and I have been home. Only out to the market twice.  My husband works over seeing a framing company.  Construction is on. They do residential, no one is home, they practice social distancing and my husband has been super diligent with Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer.  They work outside and are not getting close.

He's done more store runs and we wipe things down, handwashing like crazy.  So far so good.  The kids are getting a bit grumpy.  Zero social life is taking a toll.  I get it and I'm just being chill.  I started weeding my plants in the front yard. It got bad and I'm having fun getting dirty and watching my yard look nicer.  

I really hate people not taking this seriously too.  Let's do this 100%, right?  We can see our future in other countries.  Act accordingly, easy.  It's not totally easy but the thought of one of my children or my husband being alone in the hospital fighting a bad case has me be downright happy to wash dishes and cook all damn day. 

Take care everyone, after 2 weeks, I am feeling the mental aspect of this. So are my children.  So, I'll step it up.  Picnic lunch in the back yard, a drive, a new recipe,  play with cats. Whatever.  We are healthy and that's all that matters.  

[klein_roeschen]

Since the middle of last week the number of costumers/ patients at my pharmacy is finally slowing down to our normal numbers instead of being run over them. Yesterday we got the ordered dividers made of acrylic glass for our counters. The half of the counter where we place the stuff for the patient is now divided, the other half where our computers sit are not. And the very first customer who came after putting them up ignores the divider and leans over the pc and into my face, argh. He wasn't happy when I told him to stand behind the divider, moron. Dividers are now put up on most of the cashier stations in shops. And supermarkets have hired security personal who stand outside to enforce the new policy of only enter it with a shopping cart and you have to wait should all carts in use. They also desinfect them after using. And so far, most people don't make fuss about the new rules and also keep a distance at the cashier station. But some aren't and it's getting old fast. And people now wish each other to stay healthy when saying goodbye, so far I like that.

Personally, my hands doesn't take my new regimen to washing and sanitazing kindly. If possible at work, I wash every half hour and use hand sanitizer after every patients. So my hands are dry, red and have sore spots and these spots burn with every use of the sanitizer. I can't cream enough to make them better.

[fraurosena]

24 minutes ago, klein_roeschen said:

Personally, my hands doesn't take my new regimen to washing and sanitazing kindly. If possible at work, I wash every half hour and use hand sanitizer after every patients. So my hands are dry, red and have sore spots and these spots burn with every use of the sanitizer. I can't cream enough to make them better.

This is a problem for my hands too. I find applying a rather thick layer of vaseline to work well. Although, it does leave greasy marks on surfaces you touch until completely absorbed by the skin. But I'd rather be cleaning those surfaces all the time than having painfully chapped and sore hands.

[47of74]

13 hours ago, nst said:

well since i work for a church 

the vicar is ecstatic about the rise in people who want to see her zoom preachings

plus the benefits of team leaders helping everyone....

Yeah we've been using zoom too for our meetings.  It's been working much better than I expected.  I've worked with zoom in the past through school and before I was less than impressed with them.  But now it's performing very well.  

The priest at my church asked if I was interested in being a virtual usher during this time.  Part of the job would be keeping track of how many are at services, and if people need assistance.  Plus since the church is publically advertising the zoom meetings we get to swing this if people come in to disrupt..

1 hour ago, klein_roeschen said:

Since the middle of last week the number of costumers/ patients at my pharmacy is finally slowing down to our normal numbers instead of being run over them. Yesterday we got the ordered dividers made of acrylic glass for our counters. The half of the counter where we place the stuff for the patient is now divided, the other half where our computers sit are not. And the very first customer who came after putting them up ignores the divider and leans over the pc and into my face, argh. He wasn't happy when I told him to stand behind the divider, moron. Dividers are now put up on most of the cashier stations in shops.

Our regional grocery chain is doing that now, having dividers up at the registers.  I think it's more like the terror color code alert system the way it's designed and meant to be more of a feel good measure.  The divider just covers the area in front of the register keyboard.  People are able to stand just as close to the cashier afterwards and there's nothing between people and those bagging the groceries.

Since I'm not going as much I have to keep reminding myself to grab the larger cart and not the smaller one since not everything fits in the smaller cart.  Especially if I'm making a visit to the BEER aisle.  Normally I'd go a couple times a week and wouldn't normally need a big ass cart and use the smaller ones. 

One day I went to a grocery stores and they were testing the fire systems, mainly having the alert lights flash.  I was wondering if they were going to start having the lights flash full time  as a way of encouraging people not to stay in the store too long since it's not pleasant but I could see that going south in a hurry if someone has a seizure because of the lights.  Even I was starting to get a headache after a few minutes.  So I haven't been back to that store since.

[Howl]

 I went to Trader Joe's a week ago last Thursday.  There was a store employee sanitizing the handle of each shopping cart before sending it along to each customer.  It took me until yesterday to realize that she was not wearing a mask.  Hundreds of customers in a day, she was two or three feet away from each one.  I hope that has changed. 

And for FFS, the My Pillow guy at the presser?  

Also, Illinois received a massive shipment of...surgical masks... from the Feds.  Not the N95 masks, which they asked for and desperately need to protect front line medical personnel. 

When this is all over and hearings are finally held, and if it's discovered that Republicans in power were ratfucking blue states by deliberately not supplying ventilators, N95 masks and other PPE and medical supplies...I hope people go to prison and die there. 

[Ali]

13 minutes ago, Howl said:

When this is all over and hearings are finally held, and if it's discovered that Republicans in power were ratfucking blue states by deliberately not supplying ventilators, N95 masks and other PPE and medical supplies...I hope people go to prison and die there. 

I want a congressional hearing when this is over and I want Trump to be forced to testify under oath. I want his stamina tested. I also want Democrats to yield their time to women like Elizabeth Warren to get under his skin. 

[mollysmom]

@klein_roeschen & @fraurosena, when I was a teenager my hands would get so dry that they would crack & bleed so at night I would slather them in vaseline & then put on disposable gloves & sleep like that. It was a little uncomfortable but it helped SO much! Just an idea! 

[Howl]

This popped up on Twitter: 

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

This is a problem for my hands too. I find applying a rather thick layer of vaseline to work well. Although, it does leave greasy marks on surfaces you touch until completely absorbed by the skin. But I'd rather be cleaning those surfaces all the time than having painfully chapped and sore hands.

Actual Vaseline or the Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion?

[fraurosena]

16 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Actual Vaseline or the Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion?

Original Vaseline (see image) works best. 

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Chris Cuomo tested positive.  

 

[Vivi_music]

Well... I think I made a bad choice today.

Since last week I had pain in my chest and while I was pretty certain is was nothing very serious (like nothing cardiac nor pulmonary). I did call a healthcare info-line for ''consultation through the phone''. The lady I talked too was scared it was maybe my ribs so she recommended me to go check with a doctor in person so he could check and touch my ribcage. I really hesitated but I did take an appointment this morning and decided to go. And now I fear I should not have.

The clinic seemed safe enough. There was someone at the door with a little name tag ''public healthcare services'', he asked everyone if we had a fever, cough, etc. But once in the waiting room, a young woman (probably in 25-35 years old max.) was coughing a lot. I tried to tell myself that...you know she maybe has something else not related to COVID. She got to see the doctor before me and after she left, we heard the doctor speak SO LOUD behind the door. Me and the two other people in the waiting room all looked at each other:

''Why was she here? I thought we didn't allow patients with respiratory symptoms. They are supposed to be send to the designated hospitals. Isn't there someone screening at the entrance? She had all the symptoms: fever, cough!'' The poor secretarywas saying that yes there was someone at the door doing screening. Probably the patient lied about her symptoms. The doctor seemed furious, and rightly so.

Guess what? I was right next after her, in the same consultation room.

The doctor was not my family doctor (my family doctor is a bit far and doesn't take patient 'cause of his own health problems, anyways..). This doc was in full protective gear, gloves, mask, a protective visor, etc. He was nice enough. I told him I regretted coming in afterall and maybe I shouldn't have, but he reassured me. According to him it was okay to come if I was worried about my chest pains. Turns out what I have is nothing severe: inflammation of the cartilage and ribs. And there is not much to do for it to heal, except time.

I was glad to have a nice and reassuring doctor, but I feel so foolish for leaving the house and possibly exposing myself to the virus for something that turned out minor. I can't seem to stop beating myself down for it since this morning. Of course, I can also tell myself that this woman was the irresponsable one. I know everyone is scared about the pandemic. It is scary as heck. I have tons of worries and anxiety too. But to anyone who reads this: do not lie about your symptoms. It is a very selfish thing to do and detrimental for everyone.

I used hand sanitzer at the clinic because the bathroom were (ironically) closed. But washed my hands with soap like a maniac when I got home. I used desinfecting wipes on my phone, my wallet, my watch, the door knob, my purse, my glasses, everything! I also took a shower and washed the clothes I was wearing. I guess I sound a bit maniac uh? At this point I don't know what else to do except check my temperature in the next few days and hope.

?

[Kailash]

@Vivi_music you don’t sound like a maniac at all, just that you’re taking this very seriously, which we all should. I’m glad you went to the dr because it wasn’t serious but it could have been. Chest pain isn’t something to dismiss, especially right now. Shame on that woman if she did lie. That’s outrageous. I hope you feel better soon. Severe inflammation  of the cartilage and ribs sounds painful. 

[AmazonGrace]

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak?fbclid=IwAR0XyQu4gxJdPFVJpbZI0sX5EhX2VbQyxjakL1IVvITa-aCTHVaQgaslWss

[clueliss]

Not a maniac - you're doing everything they say to do when you return home.  

Story - 20 - 25 years ago there was a manager at work.  She had a 4 year old.  Entire family was always sick.  The doctor told them that when the kid came home from daycare - take everything they have off, total change of clothes.  Wash hands etc.  So they tried this.  It worked.  Cut off the germs from daycare infecting the whole house.  

This isn't that different.

[CTRLZero]

We ventured into our local grocery store today for a quick stock up.  I'm always interested in what people are buying for the quarantine period.  There was plenty of toilet paper today, but paper towels were gone.  Empty shelves also in the dry cat food aisle, dried beans, and Spam!  I had read that people are hoarding Spam (canned meat product), and sure enough, it was gone.  Lots of "Limit 1" signs (used to be "Limit 2") on the usual items (baking ingredients, toilet paper).  I forgot to buy eggs, but there was a sign at the entrance saying be prepared for sticker shock on the eggs because they were in short supply.  Absolutely no sanitizer to be found, but we had brought our own to wipe down the cart, etc.  There were "sneeze guards" surrounding the cashiers, so that is new.

We also went to a local wine outlet store and stocked up.  No shortages there.  There were not many customers, but the ones who were there were buying several bottles, like us.  They were hyper vigilant about disinfecting and making sure customers stayed well away from one another.  Good for them! 

I hope everyone is hanging in there and staying safe and sane.  ?

[Belugaloo]

I try to remind myself that I graduated from college less than a year ago, am only 23, have been working in my field for 2 years..... im barely and adult and dont have to have it all figured out. But I swear this coronavirus timing is really bad! On top of all the crap I dealt with a few weeks ago regarding work, my 2 weeks of isolation is up and I return to work tomorrow. My boss let me know she wanted to start the day tomorrow by discussing a complaint she received from a parent of a client about me. Awesome. 

 

I know I didn't do anything wrong and I know of some stories of coworkers crossing boundaries with parents that would result in immediate termination, but somehow I've gotten complained about over..?? I dont even know what. I'll find out tomorrow. It just sucks because my boss already is hard to please and I know she wasn't happy with me taking time off work the past 2 weeks... and now this. and im in line for a promotion (or was, I guess.) 

[Dandruff]

10 hours ago, Howl said:

I went to Trader Joe's a week ago last Thursday.  There was a store employee sanitizing the handle of each shopping cart before sending it along to each customer.  It took me until yesterday to realize that she was not wearing a mask.  Hundreds of customers in a day, she was two or three feet away from each one.  I hope that has changed.

As of yesterday afternoon, nope - at least not where I am (DC area).  And while they limited the number of people shopping at a time, I didn't notice any employees in masks, people were often less than 6 ft apart (no reminders), and there were no barriers at the cashiers.

I was wearing a close-fitting mask, didn't touch my face, brought hand sanitizer, sanitized the packaging of many products (including all perishables) with wipes once I got home, put non-sanitized non-perishables into plastic bags to "quarantine" for a few days before I'll touch them again, disposed of the paper bags the groceries were placed in, and showered/washed my clothes after.  So I feel relatively safe but damn - that was stressful.

On a more positive note, it's good to have enough food again and I genuinely think I can avoid another trip for at least another month or two.  I'll run short of some food items but probably nothing truly essential.

[Howl]

Various pundits were noting the change in tone in today's coronavirus press conference Trump agitprop ego fest.  And here we have....wait for  it....Lev Parnas' take on Trump. 

 

[bird]

Today I bought PPE from Amazon for my local doctor's surgery in England. They have an amazon wish list. How is this possible? It's an absolute disgrace. And the masks and goggles I tipped into the basket will arrive in May. Just a horror for them all.