PPE, like toilet paper, seems to be, slowly but surely, increasingly available. Some hospitals are cleaning and reusing with help from different techniques. 3M is working around the clock, which has to be having some effect.
Anecdotally, DH tells me his employer has been able to get all of what they need for their line workers (food production) for weeks now. He assumes the same for his raw ingredient suppliers.
Maybe not so much for the retail buyer, though.
Yeah, I don’t expect them to tell me who tested positive, but how could contact tracers possibly know which random shoppers came in contact with that employee, unless they tell people WHEN the person was there? If you had shopped at that grocery store within the last 2 weeks, wouldn’t you want to know whether the person who tested positive was working when you went last Tuesday?
Someone asked me if the town hall I attended told us where the people in our part of the state are getting sick and they did not. Unlike elsewhere in the country where most people are over 60 and male, most people here are under 60 or under 50 and female (can’t remember what I typed but would have to look at my notes to see if it was 50 or 60) and one recent one was 17. I don’t think we are a big enough sample for this to mean anything one way or the other necessarily.
To me the biggest thing out of this was just that we here haven’t peaked yet. I should not get lulled into thinking it’s fine to go resume things. We here should keep on doing what we have done. I also think it shows less densely populated areas tend to get less virus, esp when there isn’t much in the way of mass transit. I also think that shutting down weeks ahead of other places terms of where the virus was hitting made an enormous difference. Letting things get out of control in exponential spread means a much, much longer time to get things back under control.
I’m seeing a lot of 3d printer masks.
Here is one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBQcNBPRkh0
Here is another mask by the same guy made a month after the first. Seems he improved his design. Pretty professional looking. 3D mask.
Elderly people do not disproportionately get it. They do disproportionately die from it.
You were touting numbers of cases which generally follows population curves. Deaths are certainly skewed towards the elderly.
Our state is saying they are preparing to do it. I think we should at least by trying to do it.
Some people will start to go out this summer, some this fall, some when unemployment insurance runs out or their kids go hungry. Some will not go out in the foreseeable future, and that is okay too. I expect it will depend heavily on age and risk tolerance. As we see, there appear to be substantial numbers willing to go out even Before restrictions lift.
I think there is a misnomer that we are in and will continue to be in a “permanent lockdown”. For many industries and related businesses, the economy has been open all along, albeit at a reduced capacity. I personally feel that our state government has done a good job of balancing SAH/social distancing to limit the spread of the disease while at the same time keeping essential businesses up and running from day 1.
There is so much we don’t know about this disease that taking smaller baby steps seems to be the most prudent. As we saw even with the beaches reopening, you give an inch and the public will take a mile. However, as the states and counties start to loosen the stay at home requirements and allow some small business to reopen, we need to closely monitor the situation to see if we once again see a spike in infection rates and death or if new social distancing requirements in public and other precautions will be enough to limit the amount of illness to a level that we are “comfortable” with. Time will tell…
The app will do it. It will tell you that you’ve been within 6 feet of someone for longer X amount of time in the last X days. That’s it. Then it will tell you to get a test ASAP. If its positive, quarantine, if not, go on with your life.
I can’t for the life of me fathom what this restaurant group is thinking?
They deserve to be skewered.
They have restaurants all over the country so if people care they should look to see if there are any in their areas.
The own the Houston’s we go to near my mother in Florida. This restaurant group will never get a penny from me.
I read a long article about South Korea and how they have reduced cases to zero, at least for the last few days. Ditto New Zealand.
South Korea used testing, contact tracing, and isolation. They dealt with the issue of households with families, often multi-generational, by using dorms.
The reality is that will never happen here.
“Flattening the curve” seems to be about hospital capacity, not reducing illness and death, which are then just extended out in time.
Personally, I would isolate myself for a couple of years if I have to. If my kid moves out she can even get me groceries. There is a high economic cost to paying rent for me and for her, and many people are less able than I am to do that right now.
I’m just sitting here reading and contemplating.
Those that want to keep from reopening are still dependant on many people to get through life while being isolated.
The grocery clerks, truck drivers, meat packers, farmers, mail workers, farm workers, gas station attendants, Home Depot employees, factory workers, military and support staff, court personnel, restaurant employees, etc, etc, etc, all are out there “risking” their lives so many can stay home. That does not include all the other essential workers (police, health care, firemen, etc).
Why is it ok for all those workers to be out and “risking” their lives if this thing is so bad? Why are their lives any less valuable? Why are we so privileged to be able to stay safe at home while they have to ensure we have our needs met?
In my opinion this virus is not going to be controlled anytime soon. Why not open up low risk businesses and activities? We cannot stay locked in for a year or more. Our economy will just not be able to support that.
So, those wanting to stay in and stay safe. How long are you wanting to keep everything else locked down? What if it takes a year to reach stage 3 and open things up, would that really be appropriate? What would be left of our economy?
I’m also a believer that about the same people that are vulnerable now will be vulnerable later. Get it now or get it later the outcome will be about the same as long as the hospitals aren’t overwhelmed, which they aren’t.
I think people need to make risk calculations for themselves. I don’t think it’s fair to lock everyone else down because in the end less than 1% are going to die. It’s not fair for those of us still out here keeping the country running and it’s not fair to anyone who can’t make ends meet because they cannot work.
Personal choice.
@suteiki77 - what state are you in?
Thank you! We’re both grateful that his was a fairly mild case. I’ve heard some people – even younger, stronger than us - were terribly sick for week-10 days+. I sort of feel we dodged a bullet. Glad you’re doing better.
My mother’s assisted living has had a no visitor policy for some time, but just closed off the option of meeting outside on the grounds. I have been doing that with mask for me, mask for her, and 10 feet between us.
Even my mother, who has dementia, is starting to realize we may not see each other for a long time. She is 93, so maybe never. I saw her every day. I know many of you are dealing with this.
No one in this country has been truly “locked in”. There ARE business that are operating, people can go to different types of stores, there is no curfew, you can ride bikes, take walks, see friends - while staying 6’ apart - all without breaking SAH regulations of most communities. In many areas you can even hike or swim.
I don’t buy it that we’ve suffered greatly from being “locked in.” We’ve suffered economically, but that’s a different story.
The assisted living facility nearby just unveiled a “visit box” . It 's a lot like a prison visit – no contact, but they were having trouble with “window visits” so they got a contractor to build them a pair of giant plexiglass ventilated boxes that are outside on their porch. Visitors are screened outside, sit in their side, and the resident comes out to sit on theirs. Big comfy chairs, awning, audio. A sign o the times…
That’s a very nice idea. However I can’t get the “Cone of Silence” visual from the Get Smart series out of my head.
And with my mom’s hearing we would definitely have to yell to be heard like in the sitcom.