Coronavirus 2

[treehugger]

For myself, as a stay at home mom who doesn’t have another job, and as a homeschooled, college educated person, I would hypothetically be the perfect person to homeschool my two daughters (kindergarten and Gr 2). I have time, it’s the younger grades, and I was educated well enough by my mother that college was actually easier than homeschooling. But I don’t want to.  I am doing what I need to with the kids now, because that is where we are at with this current crisis.   And I love having them home and being around them.  But I hate the schooling part.   I would pay for private tutoring before homeschooling them if I could afford it (and it wasn’t the middle of a fucking pandemic). I cannot wait for them to be able to go back to school, because the idea of having to teach them math and science and grammar makes me twitch.  I love baking with them and reading them stories and painting and crafts, but serious schooling.  No.  And my kids deserve better than that. 

[Smee]

Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate. We “rebooted” our evening church service last night (Easter Sunday) via zoom and it went really well. Chatting beforehand, regular bible time and teaching, opportunity to ask questions or comment, people sharing prayer requests, and for singing we turned everyone’s mics off and screen-shared this beautiful song that demonstrates how Christians around the world really CAN worship together without physically joining together: https://youtu.be/RY4CW5pte98

 

In other news, my MIL did not come up for the long weekend but is STILL harping on about how she should be able to and might “try to risk it” in the next couple of days. By “risk it” she means risk the fine from the police (they fined something like 120 people in 24 hours on Good Friday), not, you know, risk people’s health. Meanwhile my husband has just been tested because we’ve got community transmission in our suburb and he’s had a cold with dry cough for a week. He’s had no fever and a snotty nose though so unlikely to be covid. He’s now not allowed off our property unless in a medical emergency until his test comes back clear (up to 7 days for results) and no visitors to us either, obviously.

[fraurosena]

11 hours ago, Audrey2 said:

science is just a bunch of theories

Ugh! This just chaps my hide. If this were true, what is the difference between science and faith?

Faith is a theory you have about a deity and what that deity wants. You believe in that theory without proof of the veracity of your idea. In fact, there is no way to prove if what you think is true or not and one is expected to blindly believe — usually not even your own idea, but one that someone else (oftentimes centuries ago) has thought up.

Science, on the other hand, seeks to prove or disprove an idea, based on the facts as you see them. Ideas and theories can change with new insights. Science (if done correctly) is done with an open mind. It constantly challenges you to reassess what you think you know to be true. It’s main purpose is to seek knowledge.

 

[clueliss]

Well, the all all natural, anti vaxxing extended family member strikes again.  Her son had a friend over.  By the way she blames 5g and thinks vitamin c will cure this.  

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 hours ago, clueliss said:

thinks vitamin c will cure this.  

And all the epidemiologists just haven't figured it out yet?  They should have spent less time in med school and more on FB.

[clueliss]

@HerNameIsBuffy well allegedly I should have had the healthcare workers taking care of my mother (who had dementia) give her IV Vitamin C it would have cured her pneumonia, stomach bug and dementia all at once (never mind the advanced directive she filled out in 2007 that even when she was healthy but 'just' had dementia violated)

[nst]

and where did my parents go today....the coast. 

 

[Howl]

I think I had posted in this thread about Ammon Bundy wanting to hold a Mormon flash-mob Easter gathering of several hundred people in the Boise, ID area. 

I couldn't find a follow-up article on what did or didn't happen, but one person left this comment on the original article: "These guys are three gallons of crazy in a two gallon bucket."  

Also, super spreaders!  Utah researchers examining mucus to pave way for coronavirus treatment

<snip>

Quote

In the spread of viruses, there’s an 80-20 rule — roughly 20% of infected people are responsible for about 80% of new transmissions, explained Jessica Kramer, U. assistant professor of biomedical engineering.

“And we don’t really know why. It’s an open question. They could produce higher amounts of virus just in their cells. But another possibility is if the virus interacts strongly with the mucus, every time they cough, they’re coughing a huge amount of virus, more than somebody else,” Kramer said.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2020 by Howl

[Howl]

Utah’s vacation hotspots still seeing out-of-state travel — which makes some residents uneasy

Quote

PARK CITY — Not long after the first case of COVID-19 hit Utah, Summit County, home to the international ski destination Park City, emerged as the state’s hotspot.  And almost a month later, the number of cases per capita in the northern Utah county still rivals some of the hardest hit areas of New York, even after officials enacted a sweeping stay-at-home order that restricted large gatherings and asked out-of-state travelers to stay away.

 

[nokidsmom]

Regarding Utah, my sister lives there.   A state park near her was flooded with people coming in from other parts of the state, out of state and out of the country.    They had to announce the park should only be visited by residents of the local county.   

[Howl]

I simply can't understand how the entire country is basically supposed to be staying at home and yet people think it's a good time to mob the outdoors.  And when local, state and national entities shut down parks and other venues, people think it's an assault on their rights.

From the article about Park City, UT that I linked above: 

Quote

“It appears to be a fairly common phenomenon in some of the ski towns in the West. And we’re no different,” said Dr. Richard Bullough, Summit County health director. “The data really strongly supports that the first cases that we saw were all travel related.”

 

[adidas]

18 hours ago, Smee said:

Happy Easter for those of you who celebrate. We “rebooted” our evening church service last night (Easter Sunday) via zoom and it went really well. Chatting beforehand, regular bible time and teaching, opportunity to ask questions or comment, people sharing prayer requests, and for singing we turned everyone’s mics off and screen-shared this beautiful song that demonstrates how Christians around the world really CAN worship together without physically joining together: https://youtu.be/RY4CW5pte98

 

In other news, my MIL did not come up for the long weekend but is STILL harping on about how she should be able to and might “try to risk it” in the next couple of days. By “risk it” she means risk the fine from the police (they fined something like 120 people in 24 hours on Good Friday), not, you know, risk people’s health. Meanwhile my husband has just been tested because we’ve got community transmission in our suburb and he’s had a cold with dry cough for a week. He’s had no fever and a snotty nose though so unlikely to be covid. He’s now not allowed off our property unless in a medical emergency until his test comes back clear (up to 7 days for results) and no visitors to us either, obviously.

I have special permission from the police to drive 200km today (valid compassionate reason) and I’m really worried about being fined. I had dreams about it last night! I don’t want to ‘risk it’ but I have no choice ? 

Keep is updated when you hear about your hubby’s results? Good luck.

Edited April 13, 2020 by adidas
Typo

[clueliss]

 

 

one of the largest pork processors in the US closing

Spoiler

 

Emergency use approval of a COVID saliva test.

Spoiler

 

South Korea sending 600k test kits to the US

Quote

 

Kansas loosened trucking weight requirements.  And the state unemployment website is on the fritz.

 

 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

33 minutes ago, clueliss said:

And the state unemployment website is on the fritz.

My daughter has been furloughed and was able to log in to apply, but can't get in to check status.  This is all stuff that could have been prepared for demand ahead of time if Trump hadn't downplayed it for so long.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Fauchi is right now back-peddling....completely defending Trump and has his head so far up Trumps ass that I'm surprised there is room with Birx and Pence already up there.  

There are no heroes, no one has any integrity.  He's just like the rest.  

Trump will never, ever, be held accountable for his words or actions outside of late night hosts.

 

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, nokidsmom said:

Regarding Utah, my sister lives there.   A state park near her was flooded with people coming in from other parts of the state, out of state and out of the country.    They had to announce the park should only be visited by residents of the local county.   

This is basically why NSW has to shut all parks over the Easter break, and why both NSW and Victoria shut beaches. Yes you're outside - but if you've got several hundred people on a beach, even one as big as Bondi, you are going to have transmission occurring (and there is apparently a cluster which originates from transmission there.)

It's also why you have signs like this on the Mornington Penninsula:

Spoiler

A lot of people have holiday houses down there, and there is a lot of tourism - but also not a lot of hospital beds and already a reasonable number of cases originating from a couple who travelled to Aspen, Colorado to ski and then returned to stay in their second house down there.  

I admit to being selfishly grateful that parks aren't shut here - I live within walking distance of one, and I've been walking/running there in a bid to keep away from people and stay sane(ish).

8 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Fauchi is right now back-peddling....completely defending Trump

This is reminding me more and more of totalitarian states. He may be trying to minimise damage by appeasing Trump to keep the lockdowns in place rather than holding firm, being shafted and seeing everything go to hell. Historically speaking appeasing despots can work to mitigate disaster - but there's also a really good chance of being shot in a cellar, or in front of a stadium full of people. (No, I don't think the US is at that point... the appeasement part just reminded me of it.)

Edited April 13, 2020 by Ozlsn

[adidas]

8 hours ago, adidas said:

I have special permission from the police to drive 200km today (valid compassionate reason) and I’m really worried about being fined. I had dreams about it last night! I don’t want to ‘risk it’ but I have no choice ? 

Keep is updated when you hear about your hubby’s results? Good luck.

Quoting myself - home safe and wasn’t pulled over ?

[Smee]

I can’t concentrate on creative writing, so I wrote this instead. It was kind of cathartic to write, even if I’m essentially repeating ideas that are everywhere right now. https://www.justkeepreiding.com/blog/when-things-go-back-to-normal

[clueliss]

Claire Ridgway does a daily this day in tudor history vlog on YouTube - yesterday she posted this one because people have been hitting an older one related to sweating sickness.  

 

[fraurosena]

A bit late in the day (it's late in the evening here), but here's my update from Europe and around the world:

• The number of American corona deaths has doubled in one week and has now passed 25.000. There are 600.000 confirmed cases. The US is the worst hit country in the world, in number of confirmed cases and in number of deaths. 
  Oh, and Trump's meltdown was commented on in the news in my country -- yes, it even made the news over here. He's really making even more of a mockery of himself than he already was.
• A record number of deaths were reported in France: 762 victims in a day. The total number of deaths is 15.700, of which 5500 were residents of care homes. The average age of victims is 81; according to authorities, about two thirds of the victims had underlying heath issues.
• The UN is going to take measures against the growing amount of fake news and misinformation about the corona-pandemic. The UN is planning to flood social media with science and facts. Head of UN Guterres calls the often purposefully false information about the corona virus a plague and a poison that brings even more lives in danger. He mentions a veritable mountain of misleading stories and posts on social media. Harmful health advice and chicanery are proliferating, according to Guterres. "Untruths are filling the aether. Wild conspiracy theories are infecting the internet. Hate is going viral, and stigmatises and vilifies people and groups." Guterres is calling for social media companies to step up to the plate and act more to eradicate hate and pernicious information about Covid-19. "People are afraid all over the world. This is a time for science and solidarity. We can beat Covid-19 with common sense and facts."
• There are enormous fears of a second large outbreak of the virus in China. To prevent it from happening, the country mainly focuses on migrants as a potential danger. In Guangzhou, especially African migrants are being discriminated against. They are being banned from restaurants and kicked out of their housing. Guangzhou has the largest African community in China. It's thought that statements made by authorities that about 90% of infected people recently traveled to China are stoking this racism. The provincial government of Guangdong has reacted by calling Africa "a good friend, partner and brother."
• The death toll in Italy rose by 602 yesterday, bringing the total up to 21.067. The number of corona ICU patients has reduced from 3260 to 3186. The number of new confirmed cases was 2972, 182 less than the day before. There is a total number of162.488 confirmed cases in Italy; 37.130 people have recovered.
• In Europe the corona epidemic seems to be abating somewhat, and countries are cautiously thinking about relaxing corona-measures.
  The Dutch government is working on a plan on what can open when after April 28.
  In Denmark, schools will be open from tomorrow; in Norway kids can go to school again next week.
  Spain is relaxing its strict lockdown and allowing some factory workers back to work. 
  Italy has also relaxed its measures and allowing more stores to open.
  Austria is steadily relaxing its measures every two weeks after appraising the results. 
  Sweden does not have strict measures.
  The measures in Belgium and Germany will be in place until the end of April, but chances are they will be prolonged into May.
• Essity, a Swedish company that produces hygiene products has fared extremely well after the mass hoarding after the corona virus outbreak. In the first quarter of this year, the producer of (amongst other things) toilet paper, booked a profit margin that was 67% higher than the first quarter last year. The total profits amounted to about 485 million euro's.
• Tech company Philips is amping up production of newly developed, simplified ventilators to 15.000 per week as an alternative to current equipment.
• Health Minister Jens Spahn has caused some commotion in Germany when a picture became public of him standing shoulder to shoulder with regional politicians in the lift of a hospital in Hessen; they are clearly not adhering to the social distancing norms. Spahn has apologised for his actions: "It's very clear: we need to do better. Even with face masks on we need to keep our distance. And next time, take the stairs."
• The IATA has predicted that airline companies are going to lose 314 billion dollars in turnover as a consequence of the corona crisis. 
• President Desi Bouterse of Surinam has apologised for not adhering to the social distancing norms after a video of him surrounded by a group of teenagers started circulating on social media, causing public outrage. Bouterse says he was speaking to a small group of young people when the group spontaneously got larger and then exceeded the maximum allowed gathering of 10 people, and none of them kept the social distancing norms in mind.
• The G7 countries are holding a meeting by video conferencing next Thursday. Trump has invited the leaders of Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan. According to the White House, the intention of the meeting is the coordination of the leaders' national approach to the pandemic.

[Howl]

Wow, I may have to start following Claire Ridgway!  I'll check with my SiL, but I bet she's already familiar with Claire's books. 

 

[nst]

Now the wardens want to know why we aren't getting packages

Do people realize it's a pandemic and i have no access to Canada Post 

because when I call them they laugh and say lady it's a pandemic you aren't getting your packages.

meanwhile on the coast who is having a grand ole time. 

[Smee]

Mr Smee’s test came back negative ?

[HerNameIsBuffy]

2 minutes ago, Smee said:

Mr Smee’s test came back negative ?

Yay!  I am so happy for you both.

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, Smee said:

Mr Smee’s test came back negative ?

Did they also test for other viruses do you know?