News and Experiences #Thread1

[rfisher]

yikes. uhm … what state you in?

WV. This came from the state health inspector who came to their store today. He was the one who told them to expect the in store business to shift to pick up by the end of the week. It hasn't happened officially yet, but the local WM has no pickup options showing at all on their online site. Hopefully, they are in the process of reorganizing personnel to accommodate the shift, but who knows. My faculty member is trying to get their weekly order of meats stopped or they're going to have a lot of food to try and donate because they may not be able to sell it. He's freaking out at his financial losses and his employees will have to file for unemployment.

The gov just held a news conference and essentially said they can't get the test kits from the government and will only be testing those patients in the hospital or considered a high risk. They've dropped the foreign travel and are focused on contact with a confirmed person, but they can't test if they don't have the tests. I don't like the Governor, but to his credit he is trying to stay ahead of the curve. The state has a high risk population and we all know it's a matter of time.

 

[MacMadame]

Yup. Our Senior Center helps people do online shopping, except the Senior Center is closed. Same with the city Library and all the in school computer resource centers. If you don't have your own equipment and connection, this will be tough.

Our Senior Center is closed by they have alternatives listed for getting food and showers. And also a help line if you are just not dealing well with being isolated.

 

[Susan1]

We are f*cked.

No, he is. (I still have two pages to read through if someone already said that. It was just the first thing that popped into my head.)

 

[Susan1]

Insanity is taking over my small city. They’ve decided to close the parks. Closed as in you can get a trespassing ticket if you use one. I can see banning groups and pickup games, but the parks are the best places to take a solo walk. Merde.

That's the opposite of what Cuomo was proposing this morning -making them free so people can get out.

I made sure I was ready for the 2 p.m. press conference. So, the lady on PBS (I was not going to watch a talk show while I was waiting) repeated the same things from yesterday for 55 minutes. And she said with people in nursing homes not being able to be visited, to write letters. Somebody the other day said you can get the ***** from letters (and money). After 45 minutes she was coughing from talking so much.

Finally, he spent 10 minutes talking about how people have already early voted and all the tireless poll workers and how people were having to decide if they wanted to risk their health to vote tomorrow. I kept saying “come on”. Finally, NO VOTING tomorrow. He wants to extend it till June 2, but people should ask for absentee ballots in the meantime. He said he doesn’t have the power to change it, and they have to file a lawsuit (before tomorrow, I hope) to get it changed because the only way a state can change it is due to an invasion and said this is not a joke, that this is an invasion. A judge has to have a hearing. Both state party chairs agreed to it. Again, can you get the ***** or spread it from the absentee ballot?

The Secretary of State Frank Larose came up and said ALL THE SAME THINGS - minus the non-joke. And then Lt. Gov. Husted said all the same things too. Couldn’t they just combine their scripts.

So what new I got is - people 65 and over should not leave their homes. Neither should people with compromised immune systems. Fitness centers, bowling alleys and a list of indoor things (trampoline parks) are closed. Any restaurants that do not need the gloves they use to prepare food should (I don’t know - call the hospitals to see if they want them?) She said something about needing those extra gloves. Places with carry out and deliver are still going to need them. I still worry about anything the food comes in being contaminated - pizza box, whatever.

Now 50 people in Ohio have tested positive (up from 1 in Cleveland last Monday). Ages 14-86 (so it’s not just the over 65) - median age 51. 20 females and 30 males. 14 hospitalized.

Don’t go anywhere unless it is necessary. Grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will stay open. (The next time I go it will be to Meijer or the big Kroger. Yesterday in the little Kroger was like the day before a holiday, which I swore I would never do again after my mom wanted Christmas cookies when she was in the ICU.)

They started on the stuff we already knew, and I was getting tired of sitting. I’ll watch the regular news tonight.

 

[PRlady]

How is Russia doing in all of this? I haven't heard alot on that front and feel like they have everything under control?

Julia Davis on Twitter

“#Russia will impose an entry ban for foreigners starting on March 18. Moscow mayor bans all public events attended by over 50 people. About 15,000 people remain under medical supervision after returning from other countries. Official #******** stats ➡️ 93 cases.”

twitter.com

However, I also read that Marinsky is still selling tickets, calibrated to keep each audience at 900 people.

 

[ballettmaus]

A brief message from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand:

... If you can, take a break from Twitter.

What? And miss out on all the fun posts of parents who are homeschooling for the very first time?

 

[Aceon6]

@Susan1 Don't feel obligated to stress yourself out watching and recapping every press conference. Most of us are online with our state/provincial/country authorities already, so we are getting actionable specifics for our areas. Do post if you hear something weird, though, as the geeks are here ready to verify or debunk as the case may be.

 

[BlueRidge]

What? And miss out on all the fun posts of parents who are homeschooling for the very first time?

LOL I guess one could amend Sen. Gillibrand's advice, to "Use Twitter wisely" like for fun not information...

 

[ilovepaydays]

And.....we now have a PSA from Max Brooks and his dad Mel Brooks!

 

[Ka3sha]

However, I also read that Marinsky is still selling tickets, calibrated to keep each audience at 900 people.

Same with Mikhailovsky and other theatres/museums in Saint Petersburg. I explained the most likely reason here:

The problem with all state institutions in Russia (and theaters, universities and museums are mostly state ones) is that people's salary consists of two aspects: main salary (on minimum level standard of living or just a bit above it) + monthly bonuses. In case a person is on sick leave or vacation, he gets only 50-85% (depending on experience, years spent working at an institution and etc) of his main salary. So, for example, if an employee has a salary of 200$ and receives other 500$ as monthly bonuses, then he will get only something like 150$ per month during quarantine ...
That's how the system usually works.
As far as I understand, now the government and cities authorities don't understand how to deal with it in crisis situations like this one.

Moscow cancelled all public gatherings and cultural events at all today, so I expect some similar decree here as well in next few days.

 

[Susan1]

@Susan1 Don't feel obligated to stress yourself out watching and recapping every press conference. Most of us are online with our state/provincial/country authorities already, so we are getting actionable specifics for our areas. Do post if you hear something weird, though, as the geeks are here ready to verify or debunk as the case may be.

o.k. sorry. I have to watch them and type it up to help me process. It takes a long time for it to be online. Good-bye.

 

[Polaris]

Same with Mikhailovsky and other theatres/museums in Saint Petersburg. I explained the most likely reason here:

Moscow cancelled all public gatherings and cultural events at all today, so I expect some similar decree here as well in next few days.

Yes, but does Russia have many cases? They are closer to China but seems to be faring better than Italy, France, Spain, etc.

 

[Dave of the North]

Mexico doesn't seem to be too worried.

Party time!

 

[sk8pics]

The governor closed all the restaurants, pubs, and taverns in the state of Delaware to dine in business. Take out, delivery, and pick up are still allowed. We have 8 cases now, all in my county I believe, most in people under 50. No one is hospitalized. Three or four were associated with UD.

The big local health care system just cancelled all elective surgery.

 

[FGRSK8]

I understand that Stephen King is going to do the next news conference. They will be playing “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in the background.

Hell, ******** doesn’t sound sexy enough. I vote for the Captain Tripps.

 

[skatfan]

Even if there were spare respirators and other ICU equipment sitting around to use when cases ramp up, where are the trained people to operate them?

There is a source - the military has A LOT of equipment stockpiled. Reporters need to ask DoD questions.

 

[Ka3sha]

Yes, but does Russia have many cases? They are closer to China but seems to be faring better than Italy, France, Spain, etc.

It’s 93 officially reported cases, +30 new cases for today. But how can we know for sure ?

I am pretty sure Vladivostok and Russian Far East (region close to the border with China, yet far from Hubei) had several unreported cases back in January/February , but based on social media and unofficial sources those weren’t really big numbers, otherwise people would have noticed and panic would have started much earlier.
Also, there was a seasonal flu epidemic across the country in Dec-Feb, so once again people can’t be sure if they had a regular flu or something more serious back then.

 

[FGRSK8]

The number of news conferences is increasing and they are getting longer. I worry that people who are hunkering down and don’t have anything but basic cable or no cable at all are not going to have any other choice but to continually watching the apocalypse.

Having to hunker down is bad enough, but not to have anything else to watch as a diversion is torture.

 

[MacMadame]

Six counties (including mine) in the SF Bay Area were just told at 1:00 pm that we need to shelter in place. ALL of us. And people 60+ should not leave the house and people with certain health issues also should not leave the house. (I think that's what they said for not leaving the house.)

Bay Area orders 'shelter in place,' only essential businesses open in 6 counties

The orders fall just short of a full lockdown, and it wasn’t immediately clear how, or...

www.sfchronicle.com

 

[MsZem]

The latest from Israel is that both the public and private sectors will have to have even more employees switch to working from home and paid/unpaid leave. The public sector will go into emergency mode. At the moment, the restrictions are in place until after Passover (mid-April).

Netanyahu announces further restrictions on economy to fight coronavirus

New measures demand both public and private sectors to place most of staff on leave; no general lockdown of country, only areas with high contagion rates; public transport will continue, changes to be announced

www.ynetnews.com

Also, recognizing that patients with mild cases of *********-19 are taking up hospital beds but can't go home, the IDF is converting hotels into facilities for them:

IDF: Hotels being readied to treat mild cases of coronavirus

Home Front Command commander says each facility has capacity to care for 1,000 patients in double rooms under Health Ministry management and police protection, says military told to speed up production of tests based on South Korean model

www.ynetnews.com

This is an excellent idea! I hope people will remember that these hotels were helpful during a time of crisis (obviously they're being compensated, but it's still a big deal).

 

[aka_gerbil]

I’m Bay Area-adjacent and am wondering if it’s just a matter of time before the same happens here.

I’m wondering how they’re going to handle biotech on the spectrum of essential or not. My boss thinks we’ll be considered essential workers. I am not convinced we will be. (I’d honestly rather be home right now than at work.)

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

I understand that Stephen King is going to do the next news conference. They will be playing “Don’t Fear the Reaper” in the background.

Hell, ******** doesn’t sound sexy enough. I vote for the Captain Tripps.

Well the Captain Trips reference finally happened - I've been waiting for it.

 

[missing]

I got this email a few minutes ago.

It's pretty much a non-issue for me. I only get sporadic royalty checks from that publisher and the vast majority of the royalty/advance checks I do get go directly to my agent, who wipes out 15% and sends the remainder to me. My next big royalty check is due in May, and I decided about an hour ago not to worry about it.

But this is the kind of announcement that I suspect there will be more and more of, unpredicted consequences (never my favorite kind, unless I'm the one doing the predicting):

We hope you are staying safe and healthy in these uncertain times. Please note that Penguin Random House employees are currently working from home and are temporarily unable to support the printing and mailing of checks and statements. We strongly encourage all royalty recipients to switch to electronic deposits and paperless statements.

 

[4rkidz]

Which is going to further impact health care in NYC hospitals, many of my coworkers have school age children and will now have to take off to care for them.

Is there not facebook groups to help? Our communities are volunteering to help health care workers because many of us are working from home. I have offered my services.

 

[FGRSK8]

Well the Captain Trips reference finally happened - I've been waiting for it.

Actually I pitched that reference back in February when I said this epidemic (which it was called then) will seem like it...

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

Actually I pitched that reference back in February when I said this epidemic (which it was called then) will seem like it...

Along with the several other references to it over the years with various outbreaks. Sorry I missed last month's reference.

As I said previously, your interest in this subject following your father's career is something that I wasn't aware of until recently and is certainly understandable. I hope you and Lady Figureskates remain well.

 

[BaileyCatts]

Actually I pitched that reference back in February when I said this epidemic (which it was called then) will seem like it...

That will teach me to skip over pages in threads when I get behind reading them. I missed your posts back in February, probably in the pages I skipped over. Woulda totally prepared earlier had I read them cause I have learned more informative stuff from your posts than I do the news sometimes.

 

[FGRSK8]

Along with the several other references to it over the years with various outbreaks. Sorry I missed last month's reference.

As I said previously, your interest in this subject following your father's career is something that I wasn't aware of until recently and is certainly understandable. I hope you and Lady Figureskates remain well.

We are fine. We are hunkered down with the toads. I wish my Dad was alive for this, he would have been a valuble asset in tracking and explaining what is going on and what to expect. I am relying on his notes and papers and the 20mywars we sat and talked about his work over a hot cup coffee in the morning or a glass of whiskey in the evening....

 

[FGRSK8]

That will teach me to skip over pages in threads when I get behind reading them. I missed your posts back in February, probably in the pages I skipped over. Woulda totally prepared earlier had I read them cause I have learned more informative stuff from your posts than I do the news sometimes.

I actually postulated back around January 20th that this ***** would spread around the planet in 4-6 weeks and when it reached this country, would run the table. I truly wish I was wrong on this whole thing....

 

[Kasey]

My mom just said "I hope you and your sister don't get quarantined in at work one of these days" and stupid me thought, well that's not going to happen unless there's a local or national emergency declared....oh yeah. Yeah, I hope that I am able to come home from work each day!