On several personal levels, I’m doing as well as I’ve ever been, including financially, and have about as little worry about myself and my family/friends as one can reasonably have (no details so I don’t humblebrag). So I have the luxury of allowing time to pass “quickly” just by working daily and looking forward to the weekend, as I might in normal circumstances, and thus not worrying nearly as much as I might over the current pandemic.
But I feel a little guilty about doing this, as if I’m burying my head in the sand and ignoring all the effects on people who aren’t as fortunate. Same with my financial situation; I feel cold blooded wondering if this is the year I should look for my own place to live. When people talk about the dissolution of the United States, my first thought is about myself: how my company and my job would deal with it, what would happen to me, not about the probable civil war that would take many many lives and pretty much stun the world on several levels.
I think this is partly because, as I said, I’m as doing as well as I’ve ever been, and I’m generally a worrywart, so I’m taking the luxury of NOT worrying where I can, so I’m not wondering if the other shoe is going to drop for me now that my life actually seems to be going smoothly (again, me-focused). But (and again, as a worrywart) now I’m wondering if this attitude is selfish, considering the state of the world. Am I doing others, and myself, a disservice by having the privilege to just turn off the coronavirus news?
Yeah, when people talk about the Zombie Apocalypse all I care about is my personal stock of canned food and shotguns. Not a thought for all those really slow people out there. What is wrong with me?!? Lol.
I saw on NextDoor that a pet store in my area is going out of business. It’s the one that I normally shopped at, but I stopped going during the pandemic since the employees were not wearing masks. If I can get what I need online without having to worry about interacting with unmasked clerks, that’s what I’ll do. I don’t really understand why stores aren’t better about following mask guidelines. I’m much more likely to shop in a store when they have good mask usage since I’ll feel safer. And the same with restaurants. When I go into a restaurant and see poor mask usage, it makes me assume they are not being diligent with other things like food safety and I’m less likely to eat there.
That’s a good point. I have used my local pet food store over going to 100% online ordering specifically because I don’t want them to go out of business. But, they have made it easy to do that, because they offer curbside pick-up if you call in your order, or very restrictive in-store shopping. (They ask for only one person to go in per household, and no pets. They ask you not to browse, and they have a distancing system to maintain 6 feet at the cashier.) I wonder if places realize how much that can factor into whether people continue to patronize a business
I imagine the same sort of thing went on during the Black Death. Of course back then they had an excuse for not believing science: it hadn’t been invented yet.
I can tell you that I ride to work in my air conditioned car and when I get there, the thermometer regularly reads my temperature right in the 94 degree range.
I’m confused about the 14 day thing. So I know that if you have been exposed to someone or have been in a sketchy situation, you should quarantine for 14 days to see if any symptoms arise. My uncle, though, tested positive and the doctor told him to quarantine for 14 days and then he was good to go. That seems completely wrong. I would think he’d have to retest and get a couple negative tests. What’s the scoop on this?
My significant other’s aunt (my aunt-in-law?) had it, and got the same message. 14 days. We asked if it wasn’t supposed to be 14 days from last symptoms, or if she should be retested to confirm a negative result, but, nope. Seemed weird to us, too. And, she works in a prison, so you’d think there would be a need to confirm the negative result, but no. She drove cross country to visit her very elderly mother immediately after the 14 days were up, on the assumption she’s immune. It did work out, but we were pretty worried about how it would turn out.
She’s not the biggest believer in science and following recommendations.
Right. So my aunt actually died of covid. When she was admitted to hospital, they tested my uncle and he was positive. He developed pneumonia and was admitted to the ICU, but is on the mend and is home. They told him he was good to stop isolating once the 14 days were up…from the date of his test! My mom (elderly…all of these people are in their 70s/80s) is going to go up and help him get organized, sort the house out, etc. I’m thinking this is an exceedingly bad idea, but they all think I’m crazy paranoid.
In Australia, AFAIK all states, the rule is 72 hours (3 days) after remission of symptoms.
Actually, the rule after positive test is self-isolate until cleared by a medical practitioner The doctors are told ‘at least 10 days’, and 72 hours, but they can transfer hospital patients to shared isolation with at-risk people after only 7 days. Go figure. Why they think that the 10 day rule is only something they want to share with Doctors is anybodies guess. We still have small enough numbers that is possible.
Exposure, travel, no symptoms, no test or negative test, 14 days.
In the UK, where they have more cases, it’s self-isolate for 10 days (was 7 days) after you have symptoms or a positive test. It’s 14 days after you’ve been exposed, but once you’ve actually got sick, it’s only 7-9 days until you get better. I don’t think that the UK has a rule for isolation after the remission of symptoms.
A couple of months ago, we wanted two clear PCR tests before releasing people from isolation, but since then they’ve decided that (1) The PCR tests didn’t clear up as fast as the infection, and (2) Nobody gets sick from people more than 9 days after symptoms start.
Three barbers, me, and two other customers. Everybody except me was wearing some flimsy thing like a bandana. And they and the other customers were all yakking it up and guffawing the whole time like normal. I never make chit chat with a barber anyway, so he just got into conversation with the rest of them.
Took only 15 mins, thank god. I couldn’t believe it.
My dentist and his staff, on the other hand were all well equipped and did everything the way I’d expect.
When someone goes in for coronavirus testing, do they check other relevant vitals like temperature, oxygen levels, or anything else? Or do they just do the nasal swab?
I feel as though I can fight Covid, and avoid becoming ill. The past few years have sent me misfortunes that I could neither fight nor avoid their results. So I feel I am doing well, too, in relation to what happened in the recent past of my life. At least a virus is predictable. People, no.
Wasn’t sure where else to put this. It doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the thread so far, but this doesn’t warrant a whole thread. Just a couple articles on how the very rich and the very poor are doing.
The homeless have done better than predicted. The infection rate and death rate wasn’t as bad so far as some people feared, perhaps because many homeless, particularly in California, are outdoors. Some of the homeless in NY didn’t fare as well.
On the other end of the spectrum, the super rich are getting wealthier from the virus situation and are partying, going from place to place where the infection rate is the lowest.
The pandemic continues to highlight how the rich and the poor are treated so differently in the US.
My son and I both went for haircuts this past week. We were both temperature-scanned upon entry.
I tested at 95 F (?) and my son tested at 100 F. We were both allowed to proceed with our haircuts.
95 F for me was especially suspicious … my walking-around healthy body temperature is already elevated maybe 0.5 degrees F. I should have tested at 99 or 100 myself.
The doctors are told ‘at least 10 days’, and 72 hours, but they can transfer hospital patients to shared isolation with at-risk people after only 7 days. Go figure. Why they think that the 10 day rule is only something they want to share with Doctors is anybodies guess. We still have small enough numbers that is possible.