This virus

[Ananta]

@Commodent Perhaps, it's because I'm in healthcare and I'm seeing the ugliness (fear) of this that many who aren't in the field don't see... 

I personally am not fearful, at all, but dealing with others fear all day is exhausting.

[Galyna]

15 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

I predict we will look back on this and. . . smh.

To give some credit. . . it's good to see Trump change his tone and listen to public health experts. 

China's lockdown may have been brutal, yet it was highly effective in containing the epicenter of the virus. They have had zero new cases in recent days and life is returning to normal there. This was after about 35 days of lockdown. Other regions like Hong Kong and South Korea had swift lockdowns and had minor outbreaks. Their public is prepared for this. . .. Yet many Americans resist a lockdown - they either can't stomach it, think it's "just another virus" or it is a "hoax". As a result, the U.S. will endure a much worse impact than China. Much worse. This is going to get a lot worse and last a long time. Panic doesn't do any good. Yet neither does hiding one's head in the sand. I'm taking this seriously and preparing for serious consequences: an upcoming lockdown, a recession and possibly loss of job. Unemployment is going to dramatically rise. 

I agree 100 %, we have so many people here from all over the world, travelling back and forth in-spite of the health crisis, it is going to be bad....very bad.

[Ananta]

23 minutes ago, Serotoninluv said:

Unemployment is going to dramatically rise. 

As well as crime, which has already started in my neck of the woods.... as every restaurant, bar, movie theater, dental office, hair salon, bowling alley, etc, etc, etc, ect, have been closed until further notice. 

The only things open- banks, healthcare, gas stations and grocery stores. 

[Forestluv]

15 minutes ago, Commodent said:

People are already craving social interaction deeply. This is a shared experience of isolation, and it is only natural that people would want to come together after the fear of the virus has subsided. This is a collective trauma that needs collective healing.

I can also speak from my own experience and say that social withdrawal has been massively helpful in dealing with my own social anxiety, although that was under very different circumstances. But I notice nowadays I'm happy to just see another person regardless of who.

I've spent this week in isolation. My contact with other humans have been tele-conferencing. It's only been a few days. Today I came into work and one of the secretaries was in the main office. We were the only ones in the building. As we spoke with each other, there was a sense of intimacy that I hadn't noticed. Just being in each other's presence. It's something I had always taken for granted. . . We stayed about 8 feet apart from each other as we talked. A few times, we got within a few feet of each other and that intimacy intensified. I felt an urge to make physical contact. Not in any type of sexual way. Just simply human contact. I haven't had any physical contact with another human all week. No handshakes. No pats on the back. I can't imagine what it would be like to have 30 days of 100% solitary isolation and then be in the physical presence of someone. 

It reminded me a bit of the "boy in the bubble" - a true story of a boy who had SCIDS (no immune system). He lived in a sterile plastic bubble and never once had any direct contact with another living being. When he was about 12 y.o., he was offered a high-risk operation, in which he would probably die. He decided to undergo the operation, predominantly because he wanted human contact. He died during the operation.

I think the coronavirus situation could be the foundation for a Netflix series. . . .Imagine 100 years from now, isolation is the normal due to advanced development of microbes. All human contact is virtual. Yet some people crave human contact so deeply they sneak out and meet each other, despite the life-threatening consequences or a life in prison if they are caught - yet they don't care because their isolated life is already a form of prison. Young people are willing to take the greatest chances. Some brag about the size of the group they were in. "Yea dude, last weekend we had four people in the same room!!! It's my record. And I got within two feet of someone. It was sooo intense". . . 

[Forestluv]

14 minutes ago, Anna1 said:

As well as crime, which has already started in my neck of the woods.... as every restaurant, bar, movie theater, dental office, hair salon, bowling alley, etc, etc, etc, ect, have been closed until further notice. 

The only things open- banks, healthcare, gas stations and grocery stores. 

As well as nervous breakdowns, depression, suicides etc. There are a lot of people right on the edge of maintaining mental stability. They may have moderate anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, autism, ocd etc. and were able to keep it together with some support and medication. Yet this crisis is going to shift everything over a notch. . . I think it will be an opportunity for some people to do soul-searching and experience growth, yet for others it will tip them over such that they have a much harder time functioning in society.  The need for psychologists and therapy is going to go much higher. 

[Ananta]

1 minute ago, Serotoninluv said:

yet for others it will tip them over such that they have a much harder time functioning in society. 

Yeah, I'm getting calls from these ppl at work daily. I don't have the luxury of working at home or my work closing. Lol

 

[unicity]

With celebrities doing this........

It will be traumatic for many either way it goes...it is already....pick your poison

 

Evangeline Lilly won’t self-quarantine, values ‘freedom’ over her life

https://pagesix.com/2020/03/19/evangeline-lilly-wont-self-quarantine-values-freedom-over-her-life/

[Forestluv]

It will be interesting to see how much support or backlash celebrities like this will encounter. Americans hold individual freedom dearly. The good news is that a lockdown would not involve people losing their TV. 

“Where we are right now feels a lot too close to Marshall Law [sic] for my comfort already, all in the name of a respiratory flu,” she responded in another comment. “It’s unnerving…Let’s be vigilant right now. And kind. Watchful and gracious — keeping a close eye on our leaders, making sure they don’t abuse this moment to steal away more freedoms and grab more power.”

In another comment, Lilly implied there could be a conspiracy behind coronavirus given its close timing to the presidential election.

This sounds like someone who has lost trust in government, which is not surprising based on much of the behavior of government. 

I agree that some powerful people will use this crisis to grab power, yet I'm not seeing that yet, we are still in the acute phase. . .  Similar to 9/11 - in the beginning, it seemed like we were "all in this together". . . for a couple months. . . and then using the crisis for power grabs started - NSA surveillance, invading Iraq etc. 

I predict a similar dynamic here. Right now, I think we are in the acute trauma phase. Based on what is happening in other countries, the data and what epidemiologists are saying, this seems like a severe threat that warrants a severe response. Yet I also predict that before long, some people will use this crisis for a power grab.  

If we stay on Italy's course, we are looking at 20,000 new cases each day in about 10 days - which would overwhelm the health care system. Yet so many Americans think "It can't happen to us" or go into end-of-world panic. . . . It's mind boggling to me. . . There will be many books and documentaries about this in the future. 

[Ananta]

Oh, and by the way, there isn't enough testing. So, if you have symptoms and they say they are testing you, that is not true, not initially at least. They will test for Flu A, if that's negative, they will test for SARS, if that's negative, then you may get a phone call in a few days asking if you still have symptoms, if you do, then your swabs will go for Covid-19 testing.

[unicity]

@Serotoninluv  You will like this one I think, This is how it is.

 

‘Hell is coming’ — Bill Ackman has dire warning for Trump, CEOs if drastic measures aren’t taken now

 

another

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/bill-ackman-pleads-to-trump-to-increase-closures-to-save-the-economy-shut-it-down-now.html

Edited March 20, 2020 by unicity

[unicity]

@Anna1  Yes, I know another state that is out of tests.

[Ananta]

15 minutes ago, unicity said:

@Anna1  Yes, I know another state that is out of tests.

I won't say we are out, but to say we have enough is very wrong. We had a patients daughter swab tested due to her having all the symptoms and she came from Italy recently and 5 days later they still had not run the test.

We also don't have enough personal protective equipment. Actually, very little supply. Good thing us nurses aren't scared of much!

[Forestluv]

@unicity I like his orientation on the urgency of the acute viral threat. Yet I also think, as a billionaire, he is out of touch with what it's like to be living paycheck-to-paycheck and face unemployment. He pretty much says "Go home for 30 days and don't worry about paying rent or food". Well, the government better get those checks out soon and guarantee deferred rent and mortgage payments. 40% of americans live paycheck to paycheck and can't come up with $400 in this emergency. Two weeks is a very long time to wait. 

The lack of testing is one of the major issues. It was a huge mistake for the fed. to refuse testing kits from the WHO and try to design our own test (the first attempt failed). Some politicians, like Trump, were actually repressing test preparation so they wouldn't look bad. We lost precious time. I know hindsight is 20-20, yet we could have easily developed a test in January at little cost and then ramped up production through february of the test and PPEs. With a PR campaign with what was coming, we would have been prepared like South Korea was (who had far less time to prepare). 

In a four-day period from 8 March to the morning of 11 March, only 77 people in the country were tested. This was during the exponential viral growth phase. 77 people tested in four days!! We should have done about 400,000 tests during that time. Currently, we are at about 10,000 tests per day and should be 100,00+ per day minimum. 

I know it's easy for me to play keyboard jockey in the comfort of my home, yet this is a failure of epic proportions and now the burden is shifted to health care providers and researchers working around the clock in harm's way. 

  

[Ananta]

I take that back...ALL nurses cringe when you mention bedbugs! ?

[unicity]

@Serotoninluv  I posted another link of Bill below that video up above, it's 28 minutes long, he goes more in depth.

I heard they are  sending $1000 to each adult and $500 for each child soon under a certain amount of income, a million dollar earner won't get one,

I think it's tomorrow morning that they announce the finalized stimulus package they've been working on

.@Anna1  Lol

If you need 3M - N95 - Respirator Masks.....3M is massively ramping up production and if you need some now I've heard of health care people calling up their local construction companies and getting from them what they have on hand.

For a little levity like you....I was thinking yesterday that Surely the world is ending,,,,I mean when a church tells it's parishioners NOT to come to church 

That state I mentioned is completely out of tests.

Edited March 20, 2020 by unicity

[Preety_India]

 

Sometimes women care so much for others that in the process they forget to care about themselves.

 

[Forestluv]

25 minutes ago, unicity said:

@Serotoninluv  I posted another link of Bill below that video up above, it's 28 minutes long, he goes more in depth.

I heard they are  sending $1000 to each adult and $500 for each child soon under a certain amount of income, a million dollar earner won't get one,

I think it's tomorrow morning that they announce the finalized stimulus package they've been working on

I think they announced it tonight. Yes, first payment of $1000 to each adult and $500 each child. I think this is a really important step since it's critical that there is voluntary participation during a lockdown. If people are receiving compensation to make ends meet, they will be more willing to stay inside. . . One of the keys in the Spain, Italy and France lockdowns is people are willing to do it. They are miserable, yet willing. If too many people in the U.S. rebel, it could turn ugly. . . .There is a very delicate balance. If the government lockdown is too lenient, the hospital overwhelm will be much worse. Yet it the government lockdown is too strict, loss of public confidence and rebellion would be a big problem. . . It seems epidemiologists are aiming for the "sweet spot" - to flatten the curve as much as possible without creating an uprising. . . It's a really good thing Trump changed his tone this week. If Trump was still calling the coronavirus a "democrat hoax" and the "Coronavirus Impeachment Scam" during state lockdown attempts, there would be massive social uprisings and conflict. 

From a selfish perspective, I'm hoping I can avoid the virus until herd immunity develops as protection until the vaccine is developed. Yet if I knew my symptoms would just mild or moderate, I would want it now to get immunity and peace of mind. Imagine those who have already recovered from the virus. Their immunity is like a super power. 

[unicity]

@Serotoninluv  I was just like Trump used to be and how some posters earlier in this thread are now, Forgive us, we are a bit slow to get the picture, We understand war, we understand floods and hurricanes, tornadoes and such and the seasonal flu it's milder cousin. We just couldn't quite see how sneaky and infectious it was at the same time and the exponential growth of it and what would follow with an avalanche on the health care system.

For us I liken it to having our first N,N DMT trip and coming sober and trying to decipher what just happened....it takes a bit of time.

What brought me around was all the input from you and others and these maps below with watching the exponential growth pattern happening right before my eyes and a little time.

I was just texting a friend in the boonies of eastern Montana for the first time in months yesterday and he was exactly like Trump and I was and I joked with him some but didn't try to change his opinion but sent him these maps and I think he's changing his tune quicker than me but of course now the numbers are much bigger. 

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

[Ananta]

1 hour ago, unicity said:

For a little levity like you...

Nurses are trained not to fear this stuff, some are better at it then others. I just don't fear it, but I also had been an EMT before I was a nurse, so you just can't let fear of getting an illness control you or you can't function to do your job. 

Anyways, if my humor is distasteful.  I apologize, but that's how nurses get through this shit. That actually was a meme one of my nurses posted on facebook and she's on the frontlines while many are at home working. 

 

[unicity]

Anna1 I can't speak for others but I thought it was quite funny....now that Corona song I posted awhile back well now.....some might have found it in poor taste but I laughed sooo hard with tears in my eyes when I listened to it like 10 times in a row and I had to share it....maybe one has to be a bit twisted to fully enjoy it, I don't know.

One guy said his wife was a nurse and played the hell out of it at work. 

Edited March 20, 2020 by unicity