Nordstrom will close its stores for 2 weeks. The employees will be still getting their paychecks for these 2 weeks.
Comparing Italy and Korea:
Legendary comedian Mel Brooks has made a video with his son Max warning of the dangers posed to the elderly by young people who don’t practice social distancing.
Check it out on twitter @maxbrooksauthor.
Brazil’s largest favela, Rocinha, has asked that foreigners to be banned from entering the area, AP reports. Rocinha was home to about 70,000 people as of the latest census.
Wallace Pereira da Silva, president of Rocinhas residents’ association, says he delivered the official request to the state tourism secretariat on 13 March.
“What we have most news of is that the disease comes from foreigners, and that worries us,” Pereira da Silva said in an interview. “Obviously we’re taking precautions washing our hands, using hand sanitiser, etc. but the big worry for me personally is foreigners visiting.”
The tourism secretariats press office wasn’t immediately able to confirm receipt of the document, which was reviewed by the AP.
Vacationers often include a favela visit on their checklist, be it independently, on a walking tour with a local guide, or riding in the bed of safari-like trucks, the latter of which have been widely criticised as dehumanising. Rocinha, located near the hotels of Ipanema and Copacabana, is a common destination. (Guardian)
Ukraine late on Monday announced shutdowns of public transport, bars, restaurants and shopping malls to stem the spread of the coronavirus after President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to act “harshly, urgently, perhaps unpopularly”, AFP reports.
The government supported Zelensky’s proposals and introduced restrictions on domestic movement, including full closure of the country’s three metro systems - in Kiev, Kharkiv and Dnipro - until April 3.
The government also banned mass events with more than ten people participating.
Ukraine has officially confirmed seven cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and one death. Two new cases were confirmed in Kiev late Monday.
Ukraine has already implemented drastic preventative measures including banning entry to foreigners, and it will stop all flights to and from the country from Tuesday.
It has also closed schools and universities and banned major public events.
“We need to buy time. We must reduce the chances of the virus spreading through the capital,” Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said in a statement earlier the day.
Ukraine’s other major cities, from Lviv in the west to the southern port of Odessa, have closed museums and swimming pools.
The country’s parliament is to hold an extraordinary session on Tuesday to consider further steps. (Guardian)
Beijing police are investigating a patient who flew from the US to China while showing symptoms
From CNN’s Shawn Deng and Steven Jiang in Beijing
Beijing police have launched a criminal investigation into a coronavirus patient who traveled to China from the US while showing symptoms, and was confirmed infected after arriving.
The patient, a woman identified by her surname, Li, is a resident of Massachusetts, said Beijing authorities in a statement online. She had attended a company conference in late February, where one of her colleagues later tested positive for the coronavirus.
The timeline: Li began noticing symptoms on March 1, like muscle aches, a fever, cough, and runny nose. She visited a local hospital on March 3, before subsequent visits on March 5, March 10, and March 11; she was prescribed antiviral medication and given a chest radiograph, but says she was not hospitalized.
Finally, on March 12, she traveled to Los Angeles, then flew onward to Beijing with her husband and son.
On the flight: A few hours after takeoff, Li told flight crew that she was experiencing symptoms. She was asked to sit in an isolation zone on the plane, and wear a mask. It wasn’t for several more hours – shortly before arriving in Beijing – that she told crew members she had been at a conference with a person infected with coronavirus, according to an airline spokesperson.
Upon arrival, the family was taken to a hospital in Beijing, where Li was confirmed infected with the virus on March 13. She is now being treated in hospital while her husband and son stay under quarantine for medical observation.
But in the past week, contradicting claims have emerged. Nieng Yan, a professor at Princeton University, said on the social platform Weibo that Li had already tested positive in the US and had wanted to “escape” back to China – contradicting Li’s claims that she had been unable to get tested in Massachusetts.
The police say they are investigating Li for alleged violation of China’s infectious disease prevention law.
A student created a network of “shopping angels” to help the elderly get groceries during pandemic
From CNN’s Lauren Lee
Amid the desperate crowds and sparse shelves at supermarkets across the US, there is grace in the aisles.
Jayde Powell, an 20-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Reno, is providing free grocery delivery to the sick and elderly with a growing army of volunteers.
She got the idea to organize a few volunteers when her mother mentioned calling elderly neighbors to see whether they needed anything.
“As a pre-med student, I know that people who are older or people who have heart, lung or immune conditions are especially at risk for contracting the virus,” Powell told CNN.
She started “Shopping Angels” by enlisting about 20 members of her medical fraternity, Phi Delta Epsilon. As need grew, she reached out to other classmates and turned to social media to recruit more. But Powell credits her interview with CNN affiliate KVVU for putting Shopping Angels on the national scene.
“It is really quite astonishing to me,” she said. “I woke up this morning to 20 voicemails and 56 emails. And I’ve got people in Connecticut, Long Island, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona that want to volunteer.”
How it works: Some clients give their angel a shopping list, budget and money to cover the purchase. Other clients purchase their groceries online, and a shopping angel does the pickup.
Powell requires her shopping angels to wear masks and gloves during transportation, pickup and delivery. Additionally, Powell asks her volunteers not to go inside the homes for the safety of everyone involved.
A Syrian friend of my son’s picked up a guy at the Beirut airport today. I don’t understand the details but the friend took the guy straight to the hospital to get tested. The authorities have put both the friend and the guy in isolation for 15 days.
Stories like this make me very scared to fly on Thursday. ?
I have been wondering for about 10 days now why The president and Vice President are together They should be separated with zero physical interaction and each should have their own Pandemic team. It’s just smart and a matter of national security.
Local schools are closed but keeping up their food services. I happen to know one public school food services director who is leading this at a nearby school. Two days a week 300 meals (2 days worth…preordered) are available for pickup. While this is noble, this is NOT social distancing. The kids don’t drive so that means 300 adults or teens, most likely with kids in tow will be entering the school to pick up food. I’m sorry but we didn’t close schools to bring staff and families back together. This is a time where other methods must be used.
@Empireapple. What you suggest is the most basic common sense. We can’t be political here but this administration seems to lack this most basic principal.
The cases with no symptoms or “just” cold symptoms freak me out. I have seen all the flow charts, info, etc. and fever, dry cough and difficulty breathing are the hallmark symptoms. The upper sinus symptoms indicate cold/flu/hay-fever on those charts. So much unknown…
My 90 year old dad has had a “cold” for a week. No fever or cough just a lot of nasal congestion. His biggest complaint is the need to constantly blow his nose and the annoyance of not being able to breathe out of his nose (NOT difficulty breathing in general). He has not traveled and, as far as we know, has not been exposed. Although I am not so sure that matters anymore as it seems rampant.
Given his age, I feel fairly confident this isn’t Covid-19 as I think he would have progressed quickly. (They did call their doctor, btw.)
People continue to get the RSV, colds, flus as ever along with COVID19. The chances apparently are still excellent that any ailment one gets are the former rather than the latter. Coupled with the acute shortage of tests, unless one has known exposure to virus or is so ill that immediate diagnosis is critical, “ain’t no one getting tested “ is what DH has been told and he’s within a few minutes of the New Rochelle containment area.
I’m appalled that the elderly in the age 80+ category who are ill are not getting tested, but so it is, unless they too fit in those categories.
@dwhite. Use the basics https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-saline-nasal-spray-prodid-6205
I have had allergies and a mild cold with sometimes cough… Heh, it’s winter and this is normal for me…
Even with basic everyday flu people are carriers at all stages… Probably best to not overreact. I have a 90 year old parent as well so I get it. Her doctor told her to come in for a check up like a yearly and he has masks for her. She like… “No” it can wait a few months… She had to have a urine sample for a uti so my sister brought it in for her… Better to keep away from sick people. The doctors office attract… Sick people…
Humidifiers work well also like the ones you put on a table stand in his room m
Where we are, its still very hard to find/get a test. A friend’s daughter flew here from NY (where she lives and is in the theater industry), and kicked up a fever of over 101 and fatigue. Not sure if she had other symptoms. She doesn’t know if she had direct exposure. She (my friend) called her personal Dr and the health dept. Was told just to keep her home. There was a woman on the news who was clearly sick, with a dry cough, etc, explaining there runaround she got from her Drs office, the dept of health and the ER. The rust still are not enough tests available.
Separate issue. Heard from someone who should have some knowledge, that about 200 core Verily engineers and any other available impactful engineers, and additionally other volunteers are working on the verily app.
Two days a week 300 meals (2 days worth…preordered) are available for pickup.>>>
It’s drive thru up at my daughters’ two districts. No one gets out of the car.
A map of coronavirus cases in US:
It’s drive thru up at my daughters’ two districts. No one gets out of the car.
In my area they filter into the school! What about the health of the staff? These are lunch ladies not healthcare workers who signed on for this.
This is reasonable, though. The US and the EU are in the middle of their own war with the new coronavirus; they have neither money nor resources to give at this point. China claims to have won their battle with COVID 19, and given that they’re the ones whose lack of health and sanitation practices caused the start of it and whose government allowed it to spread while they attempted to deny it existed, why shouldn’t they send aid to countries like Italy that need help?
Social distancing and meals delivery for school children daily in my area…
Meals will be delivered to your child’s normal bus stop, between the hours of 11AM – 1PM (M – F). No meals will be delivered during Spring Break: Mar. 23 - 27.
Meals will include a lunch and a breakfast for the next morning.
Someone will need to be available to accept or pick-up these meals.
Some meals may contain nuts or other ingredient that may cause an allergic reaction in your child. Students with known food allergies should not consume these meals items if they do not have an ingredient list.
Delivery to homes: Please have your son/daughter be on the lookout for the bus during the above timeframe. Our bus drivers, aides, and kitchen staff are working to deliver your child’s meals.
Expectations from families:
i Someone from the family is to come outside, walk partially down the driveway to indicate to the driver how many meals are needed, wait for a staff member to exit the bus.
ii Staff members will place the meals at the end of the driveway and return to the bus. Once staff members are on the bus, we ask that the student/family member proceed to the end of the driveway to get the meals.
Group Stops: If your child normally gets on the bus at a group stop, that is where they will receive their meals as well. Unfortunately, this is not ideal, but because buses cannot maneuver through some of our narrower streets and areas, this is the option we have to use.
“Social Distancing”: In order to follow the directives from the Ohio Dept. of Health, students at a group stop are asked to have at least 6 feet of space between one another. This will limit possible exposure. Once the meals have been delivered, students need to proceed directly back to their home, and not visit with friends.
Car Riders and Drivers: If your child is a car rider and/or drives to school and would like to receive meal service, we ask that you contact your child’s school and let the office staff know. Additionally, these students need to be outside waiting, as our bus drivers are not accustomed to these stops. If the bus misses your child’s stop, instruct your child to call the school. We will use the bus radio to communicate between buses and buildings to assist with any missed homes.
My area, people don’t tend to have cars. School buses not running. I’m wondering how they are going to pick up the meals. The parents here are terribly challenged with a lot of problems. School has been a sanctuary for these kids. Teacher friend of mine said homework has always been a lost cause here so the she doesn’t have much faith that the work packets are going to be completed or even started. Many strewn on school property already.
These families send their kids to school because Child services and truancy laws force them to do so. As it is, many have been close to losing their kids to the State numerous times. Now they’re stuck home all day with them. I don’t think they should have closed the schools here. Same for the kids in some areas of NYC
In some locations school districts are using the school buses, or volunteers, to drop off food at pre-determined times along the kids’ bus routes.
Hard decisions to be sure. It breaks my heart to think that these kids are going to suffer by being home…some with their parents/families, some alone. I expect we will see more abuse, and other types of crime if the kids/teens have no supervision at all.
I don’t think they should have closed the schools here.
If we don’t close, how does this meet the need for social distancing? We have to stop the spread of this virus.
Schools is a respite from abusive homes, and host of other problems for many children. But these are extreme times. There is no way around this.
In my area where they are entering the school to pick up the meals at least give the food service workers protective gear like the drive-up tents for testing. The kitchen staff has none of this and most are over 50.
OMG Italy - @doschicos thanks for sharing Tobias Jones 's essay. My heart hurts for Italy, and for my beloved Italian friend/family.
We are in contact with my Italian friend and her family regularly via FaceTime. So happy to see each other’s faces but sad to face the reality. So many uncertainties. My adopted Italian daughter, aka DD’s twin is graduating from HS this year. No one know what/if/when anything will still happen. She is supposed to choose between the architecture university in Rome, or International Relation study. <3