I’m a contractor with a Federal agency (as is my husband).
For my project, it’s nearly 100% telework - but we have a certain number of contractually obligated days each month where someone has to be onsite at the customer. While none of my work requires that, I’m one of a smallish number of truly local staff, so I’m asked to help warm a seat a few days a month.
Normally I travel via Metro - more reliable, time-wise, and a hell of a lot cheaper. but I drove in last week because the idea of being cooped up on a train with others seemed unwise.
And again today - where the place was a ghost town: seems I missed an email saying that most GSA people would be teleworking due to an agency-wide exercise. Whoops! I left quite early and finished the day at home.
My husband’s agency just announced that the next 3 work days would be a mass telework experiment. While he doesn’t work physically at the agency, colleagues who do are now expected to go to the employer’s office instead - making it more crowded than usual. That’ll be a nice petri dish…:rolleyes: (he’s opting to work remotely tomorrow). One concern he has is that the telework software / servers may get overwhelmed due to the sudden increase in demand. Not a problem I have, luckily - as my environment is not changing and I don’t need to access anything like a Citrix or other remote desktop tool.
A friend of mine is going to be in the area in about a week for a musicians’ conference. As far as she knows, it’s still on. We’ll try to meet them for dinner the day they arrive but I may be “busy” on the day they leave town. She says she has 5 cruises booked later this year (I didn’t ask), which had me rolling my eyes - you could not PAY me enough to get on a cruise ship right now.
There’s a student self-quaranting in the small town where my son attends college. Luckily, my son is in an apartment vs a dorm, and he and his roommate basically never interact with each other (they have separate bedrooms).
Does anyone have a source for US data – specifically a map – on areas where the virus has hit? The once-useful Johns Hopkins map no longer has this information. Thanks.
Towards the end, he talks about how two weeks ago he would have never expected things to be so bad.
I know folks are saying that the US will be like Italy in a couple of weeks. Intellectually I get it. But it hasn’t sunk in yet.
My mother, who is elderly, diabetic, and asthmatic, laughed when I told her that we could be like Italy within the month. Laughing is what we both do in awkward situations. I think she gets it on an intellectual level. I hope she does, at least.
This is all well and good except they fail to tell us in their provider fact sheet how to obtain the actual kits for testing. Note that they are not going to collect the samples and they haven’t told us what type of transport tube or medium is required. I don’t even know if they have a dedicated transport medium and if so how to get the proper tubes. They say “send us the samples and we will test them” but the holdup now is getting the right supplies to collect the samples and training to do it correctly. We have put out calls to all the labs but we have not been able to get any information.
Just an addendum-LabCorp actually just posted some detailed collection instructions but samples have to be frozen. We don’t have the ability to collect frozen samples. I need to check back with the Health Dept.
Today I got an email from the Metro CEO saying they’re deep cleaning all trains and facilities. I’ve used Metro precisely twice, to get me to and from the Women’s March in January, 2017. I’ve never lived in DC, but they’re obviously intent on notifying everyone.
Also today, I booked my flights to see my family in Chicago this summer. Fares are cheaper than I’ve seen in decades! :eek: What a terrible reason for cheaper fares. And the airlines I’m using (United, American), tickets can be changed for free.
Holy frick! susan’s link reporting that CDC COVID-19 posters can’t be displayed in immigration courts has me gobsmacked. Unbelievable.
I mean culling is the most effective way to prevent spread of disease. We regularly practice it. Just not on humans.
Wonder how long before there are fights over ensuring “those people” don’t get treated before “us”…