Stuck in Neutral ...

[mr_lincoln]

Our county has over 1/2 million people in it ... thus far there are 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and no deaths.

Our State has 67 counties and 27 have no reported cases.  2 Weeks of limited contact seems to be helping but my feeling is that rural areas that are seeing few confirmed cases may feel like they are stuck in neutral ... I know I do.

Many sources for inventory have closed ... online estate and auction houses are still holding auctions but stating they will retain everybody's items until the restrictions are lifted and their regular offices resume again.   That's not really a solution, putting out $$ for inventory but having no clue when you might get it?

Non-Life Sustaining businesses have to be closed but pot shops and liquor stores remain open ... what is up with that?   

I am anticipating that we will be put under these constraints again for another 2 weeks ... to sometime in early April.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

There’s plenty of blame to go around. The biggest issue with Trump is that he sat on this and denied it would happen as far back as January. His refusal to act is going to cost some Americans their loved ones.

Yes, the Wall Street push to monopolize the medical companies and streamline is also a huge issue. Everything for the shareholders. It is NOT the fault of the medical workers who are taking the biggest risks of all.

[andrew547]

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

Our county has over 1/2 million people in it ... thus far there are 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and no deaths.

Our State has 67 counties and 27 have no reported cases.  2 Weeks of limited contact seems to be helping but my feeling is that rural areas that are seeing few confirmed cases may feel like they are stuck in neutral ... I know I do.

---

But we know what happens when there is no lockdown. It's happening first in NY, CA, WA. I think it's also starting to happen in southern states that are, I guess, acting defiant against a germ: FL, LA, KY. I know NY is a special case due to population density, and maybe cities generally too, but I think the bottom line is that we know shutting everything down is far more effective than shutting some things down, and nobody is immune. I think we will learn that in graphic detail this and next week as cases in those "defiant" states skyrocket.

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

That's not really a solution, putting out $$ for inventory but having no clue when you might get it?

Yes, that sounds tenuous.

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

Non-Life Sustaining businesses have to be closed but pot shops and liquor stores remain open ... what is up with that?   

---

Society is on edge. Cutting millions of people off from their addictions cold turkey? Oh my god...think about it. I guarantee you, somewhere, there would be looting and other civil unrest. Maybe people would just defy the government altogether. I think the governors are smart enough to realize they had no choice. If they want the stay at home directive to work, they couldn't shut these businesses down.

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

I am anticipating that we will be put under these constraints again for another 2 weeks ... to sometime in early April.

---

I think that's too optimistic. If we do that, I think the data suggests it will come back, and we will have to do it again.

Responses in Italy, China, Spain and I'm sure others will be instructive on this. I haven't studied it at all, but my (vague) recollection is that where it's worked, they shut down for six weeks to two months, and shutting down for less (whatever the actual necessary time frame is), will not work and, importantly, will require that we do it again, which means not doing it right the first time will cost us more in the long-run (and by long run, I'm thinking a matter of months vs. the weeks it would cost us if we bite the bullet now).

[andrew547]

---

@ekmadonna wrote:

MR LINCOLN stated "for example new York city has China Town ... gee, wonder if that's where all their infection got started?!?" I sense a racial undertone in that comment?? The spread in New York started in NEW ROCHELLE at a Jewish Synagogue, not Chinatown. FYI

---

This virus racism scares me for two reasons:

1. It's wrong and stupid, and it damages this country.

2. It's a very strong and clear indication of our incompetence. One does not divert resources away from mitigating the death that will result from this deadly disease unless one has no clue what they're doing, or they know they are failing, and if the federal government is so clueless/failing as to be diverting our attention to blame for a virus in the MIDDLE of the pandemic it's causing, well then god help us all. Because they won't, or can't.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

I think the only reason Fauci and Birx are letting this Easter thing go is because they know this thing is going to explode shortly. Look at the fever maps from Florida with Spring Break and snowbirds. The scientists know the data is going to look bad well before the decision point.

[andrew547]

---

@the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth wrote:

I think the only reason Fauci and Birx are letting this Easter thing go is because they know this thing is going to explode shortly. Look at the fever maps from Florida with Spring Break and snowbirds. The scientists know the data is going to look bad well before the decision point.

---

I think you are exactly right. It's harmful though - giving people false hope and making them feel it's less serious than it is. It causes actual harm to the degree people act in ways that counter what the stay-at-home and social distancing suggestions/directions, and in a country of 325 million, that will translate into a LOT of people.

 

[mr_lincoln]

---

@andrew547 wrote:

---

@ekmadonna wrote:

MR LINCOLN stated "for example new York city has China Town ... gee, wonder if that's where all their infection got started?!?" I sense a racial undertone in that comment?? The spread in New York started in NEW ROCHELLE at a Jewish Synagogue, not Chinatown. FYI

---

This virus racism scares me for two reasons:

1. It's wrong and stupid, and it damages this country.

2. It's a very strong and clear indication of our incompetence. One does not divert resources away from mitigating the death that will result from this deadly disease unless one has no clue what they're doing, or they know they are failing, and if the federal government is so clueless/failing as to be diverting our attention to blame for a virus in the MIDDLE of the pandemic it's causing, well then god help us all. Because they won't, or can't.

---

Yes, the China Town comment I made deserved more explanation ... the comment was not intended to imply the whole Coronavirus started there and NOT that they have a wild animal wet black market there or anything BUT, since it is one of the big attractions in New York City that visitors from out of the country, specifically infected people from China, visited there in the US and then my comment " ... gee, wonder if that's where all their infection got started?!?"

[sin-n-dex]

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

Our county has over 1/2 million people in it ... thus far there are 10 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and no deaths.

Our State has 67 counties and 27 have no reported cases.  2 Weeks of limited contact seems to be helping but my feeling is that rural areas that are seeing few confirmed cases may feel like they are stuck in neutral ... I know I do.

Many sources for inventory have closed ... online estate and auction houses are still holding auctions but stating they will retain everybody's items until the restrictions are lifted and their regular offices resume again.   That's not really a solution, putting out $$ for inventory but having no clue when you might get it?

Non-Life Sustaining businesses have to be closed but pot shops and liquor stores remain open ... what is up with that?   

I am anticipating that we will be put under these constraints again for another 2 weeks ... to sometime in early April.

---

I spoke to a friend who's a med student and she tells me this quarantine "stay at home" stuff is going to continue for a few months, but to prevent any more panic shopping they are locking us down (in Ontario Canada) for two weeks at a time. We had a partial shutdown a little over a week ago. Before that was even over, they locked us down again. Lots of small businesses are going to go under because they have no revenue to pay the rent.

In Ontario cannabis and alcohol shops are open here too. A spokesperson for the Ontario Gov't said that she felt denying people with a substance abuse problem their alcohol would cause more health problems. I haven't been in a liquor store since we started to be concerned about this, but I do like my white wine and I bought several bottles at the grocery store during my shopping trip to stock up on supplies.

So far all non essential things in Ontario have been locked down (with many provinces following suit so that people will stay home), but there's still enough open that I'm seeing way too many people out and about doing normal things. That tells me the lockdown isn't going to be effective enough. They might have to deny us essential things to ensure we stay home. (My work requires me to keep working as the gov't has deemed me essential, and I have to report to the office. Out of 50 people there are four of us here).

C.

[andrew547]

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

---

---

Yes, the China Town comment I made deserved more explanation ... the comment was not intended to imply the whole Coronavirus started there and NOT that they have a wild animal wet black market there or anything BUT, since it is one of the big attractions in New York City that visitors from out of the country, specifically infected people from China, visited there in the US and then my comment " ... gee, wonder if that's where all their infection got started?!?"

---

I understand, but here's the thing: Most flu and other dangerous viruses originate from livestock - either directly or indirectly. The act of keeping livestock for human consumption is the issue, not which species or operation or country a disease originates. As long as we keep livestock, we are all responsible.

Now, China did in fact handle the disease poorly at first. No doubt. But every country handles disease outbreaks poorly at first. No politician seems capable of inconveniencing their constituents until they have to. No government wants to admit it was wrong until it has to. China. US. Italy. Spain. We ALL reacted poorly.

But look what China did when it got its act together. It did best of all countries. And it is sharing its data now with the world. And what are we doing? Are we benefiting from their experience, or do we STILL have politicians who are saying stupid things like "We won't give in to this virus...we aren't China"...while its citizens become infected and hospitals become overwhelmed.

I live near SF, which has a very large Chinatown. SF locked down early, as did CA as a whole. Is there widespread infection in Chinatown, SF, or CA? I think we are doing better than most states, and I think what the data will show is that areas that locked down early slowed the spread and lessened the damage to lives and finances.

Also - we live in a global world. The virus was here long before we knew it. Borders don't matter. By the time anyone had the idea to lock down the entire country, the disease was already here and had been for a while. In fact, we had confirmed cases. Too late. It could have originated anywhere.

[chapeau-noir]

---

@tealt wrote:

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

---

On the west coast its mainly California and Washington state ... main hubs for inbound flights from Asia ... so this thing has been coming here for a whole lot longer then what people realize ...

---

I think you may be quite right about this.

In fact, I think I may have already had this virus.

Where I live (in the middle of Silicon Valley) people travel(ed) constantly to and from China--for business, for pleasure, to visit relatives.  Elderly relatives are brought over from China regularly for 2-3 month stays.  There is a large Asian population in my neighborhood.

If the virus was circulating in China in November and December, it makes sense that when I shopped, talked to people in the park, went to public venues, and did my regular high-school volunteer job, I would have been exposed.  In early January I got a very strange (for me) cold--no runny nose, just coughing and coughing and coughing, a low-grade fever, and I was tired.  It lasted over two weeks, and I thought I had developed bronchitis.

Maybe I did have bronchitis, but I am wondering...

---

I had the same symptoms - cough, shortness of breath (couldn't finish a sentence), puffing going up the steps when I usually just fly up and down the steps all day at my work, and I was just getting sicker.  Also I'm over 60 with both environmental (around shifting population, Pacific Rim port, friends and relatives with interests in the far east) and symptom risks.  I did get testing and it came out negative.  Not only is it apparently a bad flu season, anyway, but a common strain going around has a respiratory component, which complicates everything - and the danged thing hangs on and on, too, at least two weeks, as yours did.

Incidentally, I was tested not for myself, but for others.  I have a high survival index, but I absolutely would not want to spread it, particularly to the vulnerable around me.

[earlyant-77]

The fact that it only lives on copper for a few hours vs. every other material for days is telling.

I feel like taking those copper infused knee and back bands and making masks out or them. Maybe it will help more - who knows.

But it sure seems like SOMETHING in the makeup of copper is killing it off. Worth investigating.

[mr_lincoln]

---

@tealt wrote:

---

@mr_lincoln wrote:

---

On the west coast its mainly California and Washington state ... main hubs for inbound flights from Asia ... so this thing has been coming here for a whole lot longer then what people realize ...

---

I think you may be quite right about this.

In fact, I think I may have already had this virus.

Where I live (in the middle of Silicon Valley) people travel(ed) constantly to and from China--for business, for pleasure, to visit relatives.  Elderly relatives are brought over from China regularly for 2-3 month stays.  There is a large Asian population in my neighborhood.

If the virus was circulating in China in November and December, it makes sense that when I shopped, talked to people in the park, went to public venues, and did my regular high-school volunteer job, I would have been exposed.  In early January I got a very strange (for me) cold--no runny nose, just coughing and coughing and coughing, a low-grade fever, and I was tired.  It lasted over two weeks, and I thought I had developed bronchitis.

Maybe I did have bronchitis, but I am wondering...

---

Actually, our family has had the same conversation thinking that maybe we already had it.  This would have been the February time frame ... my wife was down and out for a week, fever, cough, headaches, etc. worse then normal.  One son that lives here got it too ... I cranked out way more hot toddies that week then normal when we get sick.  Our other son, wife and 1 1/2 year old daughter got sick too, same time frame and I made hot toddies for them too (except their daughter) ... the cough lingered the longest with their daughter.  For myself I had one day with a massive headache, took several really long hot showers, downed 2 cans of chicken noodle soup and lots of vitamin C ...

My mother-in-law also got very sick and wound up being hospitalized and they diagnosed it as pneumonia and her cough lingered for a couple of weeks.

Now, here's the interesting part in my mind ... I know my wife (healthcare provider), the son who lives here and mother-in-law have all gotten flu shots before, but not me, I have never gotten a flu shot and of all of us I was the least affected by whatever it was that ran through our family.   Have I gotten the flu in the past?  Yes but I tend to get over it quicker then the others.  Could it be that the immune system of folks who have either never had flu shots or very few simply kick in sooner to produce anti-bodies?

I am hoping they eventually come out with a home test kit that would allow us to be tested to see if in fact we are carrying Covid-19 anti-bodies ... I think there is talk of a self test kit for people showing symptoms but I'm talking about a post infection test if you know what I mean.

[cynthealee2]

Gov of New York is working on that testing... he wants it badly... something about using the ones that got over it to help out the ones that are having the worst issues with it and doing plasma transfers for the anti-bodies.

I tend to have him on on Youtube in the background while I'm doing listings and I wasn't paying that much attention to it... but I'd rather listen to him than MY Gov and or Trump to see what is currently going on with the mess.

[earlyant-77]

I've never had a flu shot either, and I haven't had the flu in over 20 years. No sense in ruining a good record.

But it kinda makes sense that if you get the flu shot, you MAY be more at risk because you do already have some of a related virus running around inside you, dead or alive.

But then again -I live in an old house(1875). So I have fresh air throughout, which I love. New houses are so closed, you can't even light a fire in your fireplace without opening a window. Imagine what you are breathing all day long if you don't open some windows for fresh air ........

Plus, you cover yourself up at night with heavy quilts and haps, and you sleep so much better because of the weight.

[tapi-szem]

Governments MUST and do have strategic stockpiles. Problem is, the US stockpiles were depleted back in 2009 and never restocked. By the time the virus started spreading it was already too late to attempt to stock up on masks and gloves in the global market. No health system can truly be prepared for a pandemic like this. It would be very expensive to maintain a bunch of unused hospital beds for a pandemic that might come around once every few decades. But a full stockpile of disposables and things like ventilators is really what the doctors need to save patients now while keeping themselves protected (and disposables are the essentials for any type of disease). That said, the US does have fewer beds per 100 000 than a lot of developed countries.

[tapi-szem]

The numbers in Florida are going up, but really just in the most densely populated counties (roughly half the FL cases are in Broward and Miami-Dade counties - both have (previously) very busy cruise terminals and airports in addition to their populations). However, there are counties with no recorded cases.

True snowbirds have been here since last fall, they would not have carried any viruses, but there has apparently been a flight from NY and NJ to FL once things started to get bad there which is why arrivals from the north are now required to quarantine themselves for 2 weeks.

Spring breakers? Beaches should have been closed weeks ago. The park near why I live has been shut for nearly a week and even has yellow "caution" tape around the perimeter even though there is no real reason for it - there are (or were) never more than a couple of people walking, biking or walking their dog and it is a big park so social distancing is not a problem.