# Any good news re: COVID-19? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 16, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610 "2020-03-16T22:47:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/61 "2020-03-20T02:44:20Z")
The past three evenings have been lovely, in my little Georgia town - cool, breezy, beautiful sunsets. It’s weird to do my evening run through a ghost town; shops and restaurants closed, very few cars on the street (and an awful lot of those driving very slowly, as if part of a funeral procession). On the other hand, I’ve seen an unusually high number of people out walking with kids or dogs, or standing in the street chatting with neighbors, enjoying the mild spring weather. Tonight I was dodging people - maintaining a six-foot distance\* - on a street where I almost never see a car, much less a pedestrian. I like seeing people when I run, so I’m enjoying all the extra faces I encounter. \*The pandemic is causing some unexpected social changes. I was on a sidewalk that was less than six feet wide, when I spotted a woman walking a dog toward me. Following the rule that fast yields to slow, I stepped aside into some bushes until she passed. Only after we’d exchanged smiles and moved on did it occur to me that having a man step into bushes and wait for a woman to pass would normally be rather creepy behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/62 "2020-03-20T03:59:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Ummm! It keeps visitors at bay. I’m kinda liking that. (:)) You made my day, quite possibly, my week 😊. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/63 "2020-03-20T16:35:15Z")
**Stranger on a Train** is posting again. Good news in my book! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/64 "2020-03-20T19:33:17Z")
And George R.R. Martin says he’s writing again!: [Game of Thrones' George R. R. Martin Returns to Writing amid Coronavirus](https://people.com/tv/game-of-thrones-author-george-r-r-martin-says-hes-writing-again-during-coronavirus-distancing/) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/65 "2020-03-20T20:06:18Z")
Driving around has been pretty delightful lately. There hasn’t been this little traffic in the DC area since probably before the Beltway existed. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/66 "2020-03-20T20:22:04Z")
[Home testing](https://time.com/5805953/home-covid-19-test-everlywell/) is coming!. People can avoid having to search for a testing site or go to a doctor’s office, urgent care or ER where they will infect others. Reassuring the worried well ( and finding the asymptomatic carriers) will help dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/67 "2020-03-20T20:23:49Z")
Our travel plans have been axed. We’re saving quite a lot of money. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/68 "2020-03-20T22:50:43Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > [Home testing](https://time.com/5805953/home-covid-19-test-everlywell/) is coming!. People can avoid having to search for a testing site or go to a doctor’s office, urgent care or ER where they will infect others. Reassuring the worried well ( and finding the asymptomatic carriers) will help dramatically. From your article: [quote] …the company says it will send the $135 test kit in two days (customers can pay $30 more to receive the kit overnight). The kit comes with a special swab that is long enough to take samples from the back of the nose and throat area, along with instructions for how to seal the swab sample to send it back to the company. People can also provide both **spit** and **sputum** samples as backups. " SOOOO glad I don’t work in that lab.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/69 "2020-03-20T23:09:08Z")
Good news? Stocks are at a discount. Buy 'em while they’re cheap. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/70 "2020-03-20T23:18:34Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My brother works in the grocery business (warehouse) and business is booming for them. My boyfriend works at Penske truck leasing and they’re busy too (turning around trucks that are driving more miles than usual). > > I might take on a third job and do stocking at my local grocery store if my brother can get me in. The grocery store just up the street here had a sign asking for temp workers to help with restocking, so there’s definitely a need. I was there today and they had done a pretty decent job of restocking. Even liquid hand soap was plentiful again. No TP and no hand sanitizer, of course. I’m beginning to believe that may not change for months. I read somewhere that TP manufacturers were already routinely running 24x7 shifts, so there’s not much they can do to increase production. I’d like to know where it’s all going if no store has any. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/71 "2020-03-21T00:18:09Z")
[quote=“Locrian, post:68, topic:849610”] From your article: > [@](#): > > …the company says it will send the $135 test kit in two days (customers can pay $30 more to receive the kit overnight). The kit comes with a special swab that is long enough to take samples from the back of the nose and throat area, along with instructions for how to seal the swab sample to send it back to the company. People can also provide both **spit** and **sputum** samples as backups. " > > SOOOO glad I don’t work in that lab.😃 That lab is so contagious they have haz-mat suits for the other germs! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/72 "2020-03-21T12:11:45Z")
A local restaurant chain is converting their dining room, which had been closed to diners, into a supermarket. All the proceeds will be used to fund their free meals program. A good idea, to use their space constructively and to help others to help others in the midst of all this disruption. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/73 "2020-03-21T12:34:22Z")
The good news in my 50,000-population Upper Midwestern city is that a lot of people are now getting tested (we bask in the penumbra of a world-famous diagnostic clinic), and most of them are negative. Only 5 positives so far. So, here at least, there are almost certainly NOT a lot of undetected carriers. (I don’t know to what degree this information might apply to other, similar cities). That means the major sacrifices we’re all making — for many here, much deeper losses than I’ve faced — will probably have the desired effect, in weeks rather than in months… …if other factors don’t mess things up, starting with foolishly selfish returning spring breakers. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/74 "2020-03-21T13:52:38Z")
I wish we could tell the Spring Break Idiots that they can’t come home. They have to stay in Daytona or wherever for two months, but with the beaches, clubs and bars closed. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/75 "2020-03-21T15:17:17Z")
Tesla & SpaceX are making both ventilators and N95 masks: [Should Have 1000 Ventilators Next Week, + 250,000 N95 Masks For Hospitals Tomorrow](https://cleantechnica.com/2020/03/21/elon-musk-should-have-1000-ventilators-next-week-250k-n95-masks-for-hospitals-tomorrow-cleantechnica-exclusive/). Two other car manufacturers (GM and another which I can’t remember) are also making ventilators, but I haven’t heard what progress they have had. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/76 "2020-03-21T21:48:51Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > The televangelist Kenneth Copeland has already [cured his followers through the television](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/03/televangelist-kenneth-copeland-curing-people-coronavirus-television/). We can stop depending on those pesky scientists now, and just contribute to him directly. > > Seriously – why can’t we imprison people like this? Thanks for the laugh. I sent the link to a nurse practitioner I know. Maybe Copeland can cure some of her patients. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/77 "2020-03-21T22:53:40Z")
I have been mildly amused by pictures of the foods people refuse to buy during a pandemic scare. Empty shelves, but lots of: - riced pasta - chocolate hummus - pizzas with broccoli crusts - frozen pork parts ---
**Author:** ![Harrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac8455/32.png) [@Harrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harrington)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/78 "2020-03-21T23:28:16Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Some people can get tested since they have influence rather than symptoms. The fact that, say, Tom Hanks… Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson did have symptoms. [https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/entertainment/tom-hanks-rita-wilson-coronavirus/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/entertainment/tom-hanks-rita-wilson-coronavirus/index.html) > [@](#): > > In a statement posted to Instagram, Hanks said he and his wife were traveling in Australia when they were tested after exhibiting symptoms like tiredness, body aches, chills and “slight fevers.” The symptoms may have been mild, but considering what’s going on right now and their age, getting tested was prudent and the fact that there were tests available for them was not at all suspicious because Australia had test kits early and, at least at the time, aplenty. The Hanks’ may not even have had a choice. > [@](#): > > "Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. I’m confident some wealthy people have gotten unnecessary tests where more deserving, but less wealthy candidates should have gotten it, and I feel a little silly because it seems like I’m personally over-defending Tom Hanks, like he’s my hero, or something, but Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson were appropriately tested and there is no evidence it was because of their stature. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/79 "2020-03-21T23:29:46Z")
Local hospital has developed a test and can get results in hours instead of days. No confirmed cases in my county, but that’s probably due to not a lot of tests. Viruses can’t cross running water (no wait, that is Vampires) 😉 Brian ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610/80 "2020-03-22T00:05:03Z")
Viruses can cross running water, but they can’t come into port without permission. I’m not sure about garlic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-good-news-re-covid-19/849610.md?page=5)