Hi
Let’s not demonize “people without homes” and try to have some kindness and compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.
I have read statements by infectious disease specialists that indicate that unless you are accustomed to wearing a mask, its likely that wearing one will make you more likely to touch your face/mouth because its different.
And it seems to me that from a psychological stand point, try not touching your face. Good chance you will develop an itch in your nose, your eyes or cheek which will drive you crazy making it more difficult not to touch your face. Have to get in the habit of not touching your face so you don’t have to think about not doing it. Can be a challenge to do (at least at first).
@oldfort was the purell from Walmart in a refillable dispenser package? If so, do you know if it can be opened to refill a regular pump container, not a wall mounted container? Thanks.
Staples online has hand sanitizer in stock, I just ordered some.
So, that’s a maybe.
Truth is, we still don’t know much about this virus at all.
Last night DD had dinner with a friend who had returned Wednesday from the NYU Florence program in Italy. She told DD that the European airports checked passengers’ temperature, asked questions related to travel, etc., said that there was no screening of any kind entering the US. DD flew home this morning to see an ailing grandmother, said TSA agents were making fun of people wearing masks.
This article is a summary of what the medical community knows/doesn’t know at this point in time.
Sure, of course they don’t know anything for sure at this point. When you don’t know the absolute truth, you go with the best you have, namely how SARS and MERs behaved until it proves otherwise.
Thanks. The part on testing confirms what we’ve been hearing and our thoughts on needing more.
Mixed feelings on this one. Since it appears some people have been contagious and spreading the virus yet have no symptoms, this sort of checkpoint could actually serve as a way to spread the virus without actually offering much benefit. Especially if any of the airport workers are touching people or there’s a physical bottleneck… you’re just picking up the virus and spreading it to everybody.
I think the airports are doing this because it makes people feel better, like someone is doing something. But I’m not sure it’s actually helpful and could be harmful.
Saying that HOSPITALS should be reserved for only the truly sick is not “demonizing people without homes.” We have very limited places for sick people in this country if we are referring to a pandemic situation. We cannot be utilizing hospital beds for anyone who does not “meet the threshold.”
People without homes who test positive for the virus need help and possibly a place to be quarantined. But putting people who have “minimal symptoms” in hospitals simply to provide a cot and three hots away from others would not be a prudent use of extreme;y precious resources.
@socaldad2002 What decision did you make about your daughter’s trip? You were really between a rock and a hard place with that.
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Let’s keep the discussion close to the topic please. As an example, a discussion of the homeless situation is a valid topic - but not on this thread. Several posts deleted.
Out of curiosity, are we the only ones not super concerned about all of this? I have no plans to stock up on anything and we don’t regularly use hand sanitizer at all. (Should probably note we have enough food in our house to last for a month or two if needed anyway, but that’s because it’s our way of life and a bit of it comes from our garden and/or hunting.)
I’ve always worked in a public school so am regularly exposed to all sorts of illnesses - rarely catching any, even the common cold. I’ve always wondered if not being so diligent on cleanliness keeps the immune system strong. I know I’ve read various reports on that and outside living (aka a farm) being advantageous.
We’re also not scared of death, so I suppose that helps. Personally, I’m more worried about death taking the interstate around cities, esp when I see how many are on their phones causing them to cross lines or those who insist on getting one or two cars closer up in line by weaving in and out using some sort of bizarre reasoning that they need to be “there” that much quicker.
That said, we have plans to travel to Germany and Poland the end of April-May. We’ll have to see where that leads, not that we’re afraid of death by virus, but we don’t need to be quarantined trying to return - or what happens as it spreads more and all travel is stopped. My German isn’t that good and my Polish sucks. We have plans set through Krakow, but have put it on pause for Gdansk (flying home from Gdansk). I don’t want to lose money from what’s non-refundable if we can’t go and my mind wonders if we can get bargains by waiting until later if we do go.
Our school has a French trip coming up the beginning of April. That’s not canceled yet. I hope it doesn’t get canceled considering so many students have been raising money for it and are eagerly looking forward to it. Few will have opportunities to go in the future (economic reasons).
For those with the time, it seems that there would be quite a few travel bargains out there right now. We can’t fit trips in between the one we just took and the next one or I’d be online shopping for deals.
Stock market wise, we’ve opted to ride it out and are selling nothing, potentially buying some when things seems to bottom out. Fortunately we don’t need it anytime soon.
Went to the Orthopod yesterday, in a medical office complex with walk-in clinics on ground floor. Not concerned.
I agree that it’s a challenge! I did develop that habit as a teacher, when I realized that otherwise I was going to be sick a lot. I told myself, touch whatever you need to without worry. Just don’t touch your face until hands are well-washed. I go into that mode when traveling, commuting or shopping also. Since it’s cold here, I might start wearing cotton gloves when I have to go to the city (train, subways). That reminds me to be careful, and they can go in the laundry.
New policy will allow faster testing for novel coronavirus in US, FDA says
"The US Food and Drug Administration announced on Saturday a policy allowing certain US labs to test for the novel coronavirus using diagnostics the labs developed and validated, even before the agency has reviewed them.
The policy will enable more rapid testing capacity, the agency says.
“We believe this policy strikes the right balance during this public health emergency,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said in a statement. “We will continue to help to ensure sound science prior to clinical testing and follow-up with the critical independent review from the FDA, while quickly expanding testing capabilities in the US.”
The guidance goes into effect immediately: Once labs have validated a test, they must notify the FDA and should submit a request for an emergency use authorization within 15 business days. This policy applies only to labs certified to perform high-complexity testing." (CNN)
That seems like kind of a 180. We need quality and control. We failed. Go at it!
I’ll stock up some on food but haven’t rushed out to do it yet. We don’t keep more than a week’s worth on hand. But I do have a big bag of rice because we ran out recently.
I’m not selling on weakness. I’ll do a little buying at some point.
My salon which is staffed almost exclusively by Russian and polish immigrants told me today that they have had a surge in clientele In the last week mostly from the salon in town where most workers are Chinese immigrants.