Coronavirus (NO POLITICAL OR SOCIAL COMMENTARY PLEASE)

[Lee A Stewart]

Just got back from another trip to Walmart, this time to pickup some prescriptions. Normally I am not a paranoid person but while I was there, I got to thinking . . .

As part of Walmart's social distancing procedures they are only using one set of doors for entering and leaving. The doors down by the pharmacy are locked close. What would happen if a fire broke out inside the store near the doors? That's where the deli counter is, where they cook and fry the chickens

[Lee A Stewart]

How accurate is US COVID-19 death count? Some experts say off by 'tens of thousands'

The novel coronavirus has already claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans. But experts fear that number could be far higher at this point in the outbreak -- perhaps by tens of thousands -- once the pandemic subsides enough for officials to go back and make a true reckoning of the dead.

Experts are urging leaders to take measures right now to preserve data and medical specimens so that science has the chance to determine the precise number of people who succumbed during one of the most severe global pandemics in memory.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...cid=spartandhp

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Just got back from another trip to Walmart, this time to pickup some prescriptions. Normally I am not a paranoid person but while I was there, I got to thinking . . .

As part of Walmart's social distancing procedures they are only using one set of doors for entering and leaving. The doors down by the pharmacy are locked close. What would happen if a fire broke out inside the store near the doors? That's where the deli counter is, where they cook and fry the chickens

That's a great point. Reducing exit's sure put most of their customers at risk.

[bruceames]

Shelter in place extended to May 31st, but starting May 4th, certain restrictions will be lifted. The most notable one involves housing construction, which is good news for me since I am a door and window supplier.

Also lifted are real estate transactions, having open houses, childcare center (up to 12 kids), outdoor businesses (such as landscaping and gardening) and some outdoor activities and parks (such as golf, but not sure of tennis).

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/...or-activities/

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

At some point soon, I & my fellow co-workers fully expect our physical office(s) to open back up & for management to require us to go back to work. We've been working from home exclusively since mid-March, and that has been working well. However, due to COVID-19 the thought of going back on a packed train each day (both ways) to get to the office & going back to work in a large office building - thereby exposing myself to the strong possibility of getting this virus (much more than I have been already) scares the hell out of me. I definitely feel fortunate to still have a job & will go back to the office when they require us to do so, but it seems like it may be a death sentence.

Several points:

1) I don't see - and never have seen - a long-term benefit to a ventilator/respirator. As has been already been said, those who go on these have to continue being on them to breathe, and obviously you can't stay on them forever. So, screw going to a hospital & ending up on one of these.

2) There may never be a vaccine.

3) This is not the cold/flu - and I'm sick of people who are still comparing the virus to these relatively common ailments. The cold (and even the flu) may have mild symptoms & many people usually recover from this without going to the doctor. Also - unlike the cold/flu, if you get this, you will have 0 knowledge ahead of time of how your body will react - because there is no way to predict how this will affect people on an individual basis.

4) I'm also sick of people saying that younger folks and/or people with no pre-existing health conditions will not get that sick from this - since it's been proven that younger, healthy people have gotten sick & died from COVID-19.

5) I'm also sick of people saying that if there are no new cases reported/no new deaths reported things are getting better. #'s are meaningless here because a lot of people are probably getting sick & not reporting it, are asymptomatic, or are dying & it's not clear if it's because of COVID-19 or another reason. Also, a very obvious reason why things aren't as bad as they could be is because ALMOST EVERYTHING IS CLOSED. For the most part, people can't go out to eat, the movies, shopping, to work, travelling, etc. Once things start opening up again (which is already happening) the cases will skyrocket due to more people coming into contact with each other.

So, the bottom line is this:

a) If you get this & are either asympomatic, have mild symptoms and recover quickly, or have more serious symptoms but are still able to recover @ home (without going to a hospital) - even if it takes several weeks, then you may be OK....unless you get this again & your symptoms are worse.

b) If you get this & end up having to go to a hospital, can't breathe on your own, etc. - there's a good chance you will die.

Honestly, I don't see any easy answers here. Society can't shut down forever, but at the same time things can't go back to normal either.

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

As part of Walmart's social distancing procedures they are only using one set of doors for entering and leaving. The doors down by the pharmacy are locked close. What would happen if a fire broke out inside the store near the doors? That's where the deli counter is, where they cook and fry the chickens

That's OK. They're doing everything they can to protect us from the virus, but they're increasing the chances we may die in a fire and/or get trampled trying to leave the store. Sounds like a fair trade-off to me

[Moe Szyslak]

Originally Posted by bruceames

Shelter in place extended to May 31st, but starting May 4th, certain restrictions will be lifted. The most notable one involves housing construction, which is good news for me since I am a door and window supplier.

Also lifted are real estate transactions, having open houses, childcare center (up to 12 kids), outdoor businesses (such as landscaping and gardening) and some outdoor activities and parks (such as golf, but not sure of tennis).

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/...or-activities/

Oh damn, looks like your area shut down a lot more than mine. Grass getting mowed here every week. Not sure what the real estate restrictions, but people have been listing their houses.

[IndyMLVC]

I was just talking to a traveling nurse who's working up here now from Richmond, VA.

He said that today, thus far, has been the first day that someone on his floor hasn't died. Granted, the day isn't over but it's still a positive sign.

I asked if it was getting better and he said "yes, it's getting better. It's still crazy but better."

Just one anecdote from one nurse...but figured I would pass it along.

Originally Posted by Moe Szyslak

Oh damn, looks like your area shut down a lot more than mine. Grass getting mowed here every week. Not sure what the real estate restrictions, but people have been listing their houses.

One of my closest friends has been trying to get his apartment sold throughout this. He finally found buyers for his Manhattan apartment right before this went down. As one would suspect, they've used it to drive the price down even more. He just wants it closed.

But, of course, everything has to be done over Zoom and it's a lot slower than it should be.

[Cremildo]

Over 400 dead in the last 24 hours here. The death toll in my country is by far the highest in South America (though, given the significantly larger population, that's to be expected).

[Aloha from Hawaii 73]

https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-p...094550603.html

Thats not coronarelated , thats a new Batman rogue

Robin : "Not him again !"

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by Batman1980

Global warming has been going on for decades and is continuing to get worse, it will get us eventually without a fundamental shift in resource and energy management.

There have long been periods of global warming and global cooling as it's cyclical. These periods have been going on for much longer than decades.

Originally Posted by Batman1980

Bad news sells, good news tends to get ignored. Just human nature.

More like bad journalism.

[Eye Candy]

We had some strong storms and high winds move through the DFW area late last night.


Today, the sun was shining, 74F, and with the Covid-19 stay at home orders still in effect, the result was beautiful blue skies like I remember here as a child.

[Lee A Stewart]

Having trouble with the IRS site? Try all caps — yes, really

Getting a “payment status not available” error when you’re trying to learn the status of your IRS coronavirus stimulus check? Try this one weird trick that really works: Enter your street address in all caps.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxe...cid=spartandhp

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Having trouble with the IRS site? Try all caps — yes, really


https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxe...cid=spartandhp

Still doesn't work for me, and it worked for my girlfriend last weekend without caps. Just a screwy site. I don't think even the IRS knows how it works. They're running ancient software.

[mar3o]

To those claiming they're healthy and aren't at risk - the thing is, how do you know what underlying conditions you have? My girlfriend didn't know she had an underlying condition until she eventually saw a doctor about some symptoms and discovered she has a chronic condition that she will likely need to take medication for for the rest of her life.

Look at the host of The Price is Right - 3 heart attacks in a day last week, and he appeared a young and healthy guy. You never know what's really going on in your body. You may not be as healthy as you think you are.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Originally Posted by mar3o

To those claiming they're healthy and aren't at risk - the thing is, how do you know what underlying conditions you have? My girlfriend didn't know she had an underlying condition until she eventually saw a doctor about some symptoms and discovered she has a chronic condition that she will likely need to take medication for for the rest of her life.

Look at the host of The Price is Right - 3 heart attacks in a day last week, and he appeared a young and healthy guy. You never know what's really going on in your body. You may not be as healthy as you think you are.

Absolutely correct. One of my ex-gf's seemed to be in good health, but then she unexpectedly & suddenly died of a heart attack @ age 35. You never know.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by Naiera

We know that it can mutate from person to person, so I’ll believe we have a cure or a vaccine when it actually happens

Pretty weaksauce if our undoing is a lil virus and not how we’ve destroyed the planet.

They're been saying that this is a quite stable virus from what they've seen so far. Mutations are very minor and wouldn't affect a vaccine. The article I read last night said previous Cornoviruses over the years have been stable and not mutated very much. Of course this time it could be different, but so far it's looking good in that respect. Slight mutations aren't enough to affect a vaccine - it has to be a big enough mutation that it's no longer the same virus as the vaccine is created for.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

Absolutely correct. One of my ex-gf's seemed to be in good health, but then she unexpectedly & suddenly died of a heart attack @ age 35. You never know.

Geez, that's a an awful thing to go through. Very sorry.

Yeah, you never know what's going on inside. I try not to think about it too much.

[mar3o]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

There are people that firmly believe the world is flat. No matter what evidence you provide such people, they will have counter-arguments or evidence that they think disproves it. I remind myself of that every day.

Remember the guy that built the rocket a while back to prove the earth is flat? He could build a rocket but refused to believe the earth was round. Also, what would his rocket prove that pre-existing rockets and planes couldn't prove? He died during his voyage.

Originally Posted by Underworld54

When this first started I told you people that consuming too much of this news will drive you insane, it's unhealthy. Now some of you are so obsessed and convinced that this is the end of the world.

Sadly, for tens of thousands of people, it is the end of their world.

[mar3o]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/remde...b633a854449b06

Drug Proves Effective Against Coronavirus As Economic Damage Rises

“What it has proven is that a drug can block this virus,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-disease expert. “This will be the standard of care.”

Biotech company Gilead Sciences and the U.S. government reported that in a major study, remdesivir shortened the time it takes for COVID-19 patients to recover by four days on average —from 15 days to 11. Also, a trend toward fewer deaths was seen among those on the drug, Fauci said.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by mar3o

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/remde...b633a854449b06

Drug Proves Effective Against Coronavirus As Economic Damage Rises

Is this new drug another "good news" that will lead to no where? I'm so sick of hearing news like this and then later on, the media is quiet about it and then the pandemic continues to get worse. Whatever happen to that Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin drug that was supposedly curing Covid-19? I was getting my hopes up that this would help the pandemic but I'm not hearing much about it anymore and the pandemic continues to worsen.