Corona Virus

[LionKing]

Dear all,

Hope you are safe from the virus and applying precautions, like isolation and not going out unless very necessary, of course in case your country is affected by the disease.

Interestingly enough, a research paper in Wuhan itself in March 2019 predicted the outbreak. This goes to show how much research work and public health is important to be listened to. It shows also that China should stop eating everything that moves, especially with the cruelty applied on animals.

I watched the movie Inferno again today. It spoke of huge numbers of visitors to Rome because of pilgrimage. It is tragic what is happening in Italy. There are burning of corpses and high mortality rates, and I red that people are not allowed to say the last goodbye to the deceased relatives

At any rates, hope that this period will pass, as we are already in financial crisis, and hospitals can't afford high numbers of infected, today reaching 133, 5 dead. Public places are closed except for restaurants that have delivery, so that people can order them without going out.

As everything has its pros and cons, the virus has made Earth a cleaner place, and the animals are safe in their forests. Most importantly, many people are working from home .. only if this can remain as such after the virus danger time passes

Stay safe

[Peter B]

Thank you for your thoughts, Lion King, and stay safe yourself.

All I can say about the virus at the moment is, thankfully it waited until our bushfires were out. If the virus had come two months earlier I shudder to think what we'd be going through now.

[LionKing]

Thank you for your thoughts, Lion King, and stay safe yourself.

All I can say about the virus at the moment is, thankfully it waited until our bushfires were out. If the virus had come two months earlier I shudder to think what we'd be going through now.

Thanks Peter.

Here it came with a falling economic situation where already people are not finding work, and with the rumors that the home staying period will continue to next month, I don't know what will happen to people who depend on daily work to live. Let us pray a medicine is developed very soon.

[JayUtah]

Thank you for the good wishes.  Truly some of us live in unkind times.  I'm old enough to be in a high-risk group for having a bad time of COVID-19, should it come to that.  In happier news, two of my friends have weathered the illness and come out okay.  They're young and in very fit shape (professional ballet dancers), so they've had the mildest case.

You may have heard that my area suffered a 5.7-magnitude earthquake a few days ago.  My house was relatively undamaged -- just a few things knocked off shelves and broken, and some frightened pets.  Sadly one of the theaters I work at was pretty much right at the epicenter and has suffered significant structural damage.  We were closed due to the quarantine, but we may not be able to reopen without significant structural refit -- the structure is well over a hundred years old.  And when it becomes safe to work together again in groups, my engineering firm is going to have to perform several days' worth of equipment recalibration.

Everyone here is in good spirits, though.  There's much to lament, but we're focusing on the positive.

[LionKing]

Thank you for the good wishes.  Truly some of us live in unkind times.  I'm old enough to be in a high-risk group for having a bad time of COVID-19, should it come to that.  In happier news, two of my friends have weathered the illness and come out okay.  They're young and in very fit shape (professional ballet dancers), so they've had the mildest case.

You may have heard that my area suffered a 5.7-magnitude earthquake a few days ago.  My house was relatively undamaged -- just a few things knocked off shelves and broken, and some frightened pets.  Sadly one of the theaters I work at was pretty much right at the epicenter and has suffered significant structural damage.  We were closed due to the quarantine, but we may not be able to reopen without significant structural refit -- the structure is well over a hundred years old.  And when it becomes safe to work together again in groups, my engineering firm is going to have to perform several days' worth of equipment recalibration.

Everyone here is in good spirits, though.  There's much to lament, but we're focusing on the positive.

Glad to hear you are OK and those around you healed. Sorry to hear about the earthquake, it can be fightening, but everythingnthat passes without unreperrable damage is in fact a gain. This includes work. 

It was recommended by doctors I listened to to take ingredients that keep our immune system empowered so that we can fight the disease.Maybe this is a good option to go for. Isolation remains very crucial until the situation passes. Afterall, the epidemiological curve should reach its maximum hight before it starts to go down. Until then, we will have to fill our time with activities that can be done at home.

Take care

[Obviousman]

Thank you for the good wishes.  Truly some of us live in unkind times.  I'm old enough to be in a high-risk group for having a bad time of COVID-19, should it come to that.  In happier news, two of my friends have weathered the illness and come out okay.  They're young and in very fit shape (professional ballet dancers), so they've had the mildest case.

You may have heard that my area suffered a 5.7-magnitude earthquake a few days ago.  My house was relatively undamaged -- just a few things knocked off shelves and broken, and some frightened pets.  Sadly one of the theaters I work at was pretty much right at the epicenter and has suffered significant structural damage.  We were closed due to the quarantine, but we may not be able to reopen without significant structural refit -- the structure is well over a hundred years old.  And when it becomes safe to work together again in groups, my engineering firm is going to have to perform several days' worth of equipment recalibration.

Everyone here is in good spirits, though.  There's much to lament, but we're focusing on the positive.

Good to hear, mate. Seriously - take care. I'm likewise at risk (Type 2 diabetic) but have been able to work remotely. We're all in good condition down here. Wishing all the best to my US friends and hoping you all stay safe and get through this relatively unscathed.

[Peter B]

I'm having Apollo 13 moments: on that mission they had to work out how to shut down the Command Module in such a way that they could restart it in a few days. Here the government is working out how to shut down the country in such a way that they can restart it in a few months...

[jfb]

I'm one of the lucky ones - I can easily work from home, we were able to stock up before the panic (caused by what's-his-face's address), I have decent-if-not-awesome health coverage and my job is reasonably secure until small community banks start blowing up (which will happen if this goes long enough).  I'm not looking at my 401(k) for the rest of the year, though, my blood pressure's high enough as it is.  We're doing our best to support our local small businesses that we will rely on after this all passes by buying gift certificates and crediting accounts so they have income during this period, but I don't know if that's going to support them long enough (they're talking about this lasting until June or later). 

Our governor (Greg Abbott, TX) gave an address yesterday that was reasonably reassuring.  He's fast-tracking nurse certification, using the National Guard to help stand up treatment and testing facilities, working with hospitals to maximize bed space (all elective surgeries are to be postponed), setting up daycare centers for children of healthcare and other essential workers, etc.

He's not going to implement a full-state lockdown, at least not yet (it had only been 48 hours since he issued the no-gatherings-greater-than-10 EO, so we don't know how (in)effective that's been yet).  200 out of 254 counties have not reported any cases, and a good chunk of those don't have a lot of traffic in and out of them.  Local officials can implement shutdowns for specific cities and counties (I don't think Abbott has the ability to order shutdowns on a county-by-county basis - I think it's all or nothing).  That's causing a problem at the moment as Dallas has instituted a shutdown but Forth Worth has not.  Given that we call it DFW for a reason (it's basically one gargantuan metroplex), that's not going to work. 

He's dragooned Dell's VP of supply and logistics to help the state source equipment and supplies directly.  He's pretty much given up on any federal assistance, and if you were watching closely, there was a brief flash of white-hot loathing as he said this.  Abbott's a Republican, but he's not a Trumper (at least not at the moment).  His first term was a total clown show, but so far he's handling this crisis about as well as anyone could.  Better than places like FL, AL, GA, MI, at least. 

[gillianren]

We're under lockdown.  Of course, we're also, I believe, still the state worst hit by this so far, though I strongly suspect we're going to be surpassed quickly, if things keep up the way they are.  All non-essential businesses are to be closed.  I have no idea how this is going to change our house closing, which was scheduled for Monday, or how the move is going to go.

[Bryanpoprobson]

We're under lockdown.  Of course, we're also, I believe, still the state worst hit by this so far, though I strongly suspect we're going to be surpassed quickly, if things keep up the way they are.  All non-essential businesses are to be closed.  I have no idea how this is going to change our house closing, which was scheduled for Monday, or how the move is going to go.

I'm in the same boat, due to move on Saturday had already transferred all broadband and phone services to the new property (due to complete on Sunday). Have also closed my office and we are working from home. Now yesterday we are in total lockdown. Can I move? Will my internet services be transferred? 50% of my house has been transferred already, including freezer food and household products. No answers from anyone. 

[Obviousman]

What is happening with the US Senate? Is there pork-barreling? Is it one side or both? I'm a Trump hater but you guys have to get this money flowing to save jobs, and to save lives.

[Allan F]

Denmark has been locked down for about two weeks now. No restaurants, bars, barber shops, tattoo shops, all closed down. Every business where people are in close proximity has been closed. All forms of organized sport is closed, along with all fitness-centers. Public transport is running, but almost nobody uses it. Every shopping mall has been closed - only freestanding food stores are open. The first day of lockdown was a time of panic. People rushed to the stores to buy (yes, toilet paper and yeast) all kinds of supplies, totally ignoring the fact that those stores would remain open. Schools and daycare centers have shut down. It is now a fine of 1500 DKr (around 200 USD) to assemble in groups larger than 10 people - inside or outside. Bars and restaurants are fined 5000 DKr (about 700 USD) if they remain open.

My own business has taken a very big hit - 80-90% loss of income. The government will eventually provide some financial compensation, but I may very well have to change the loan in my house to take some of the burden off of my economy. I'll be fine, but I have colleagues, who will suffer badly and many will have to close permanently.

Hospitals are running low on essential supplies like personal protection items like goggles and one-time-use protective gear. Hand sanitizer is impossible to find in any stores. Factories have changed their production runs to meet the demand.

Today a total of 32 dead so far.

[jfb]

What is happening with the US Senate? Is there pork-barreling? Is it one side or both? I'm a Trump hater but you guys have to get this money flowing to save jobs, and to save lives.

Per WaPo, they're close to finalizing a $2 tn relief package.  The initial bill failed since it gave Mnuchin carte blanche to issue something like $500 bn in loans without any oversight.  There were similarly looty provisions that are being modified. 

Of course, now Trump wants everyone back to work and in restaurants and hotels (his hotels, anyway) by Easter, which ... sure, why not, what could possibly go wrong with that plan?

Yes, the current lockdown is bad for economic growth.  So's 80% of the workforce being sick all at the same time.  It ain't gonna be beer and skittles either way.  You want to talk about supply chain problems, what happens when half your factory is on its back?  How about your long-haul truckers and pilots?  Not to mention hospitals and insurance providers blowing up left and right. 

[Obviousman]

Interesting.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-25/coronavirus-covid-19-modelling-stay-home-chart/12084144

[Ranb]

I'm still working at my Naval shipyard job; it is considered essential work.  The more elderly employees and those with medical problems have leave with pay, other are working from home, including my bosses boss who I would rather not talk to.  Otherwise I'm getting to work faster in the lighter traffic and doing the same work.  The stores are still open and some restaurants are still open for take-out and delivery.  The drive-in cinema is doing very well I hear.