Ever since the early days of [del]COVID-19[/del] Tom Hanks Disease, one of my employees has approached me daily, panicked over the latest baseless rumor she’d heard and accepted as gospel. I then would explain why the rumor she was spreading was obviously false.
Yesterday I lost my patience. She approached me all happy about how there was going to be an announcement soon that all businesses were going to be forced to shut down, but all employees would still receive their full pay (that is, I’d still be paying everyone).
I shrugged my shoulders, sighed, and told her maybe so, but I’m 62 and if it came to that I’d close permanently, cash in my chips, and enjoy myself. Her jaw dropped and she started crying. I went home.
I have some unrelated symptoms that could possibly be serious, but probably aren’t. Right now I am cheering for “probably aren’t” even harder than I usually would.
Workplace shut down until further notice; will get paid for this pay-period, after that who knows. Possibility of remote computer work, they’re still investigating that.
Intermittent shortages at the supermarket. I already had plenty of toilet paper, so that’s no biggie.
Most restaurants closed, take-out only.
ETA: forgot, all non-emergency hospitalizations cancelled, so my spine surgery is off until further notice.
Stopped at the local bank to make a deposit for my business. I’ve never used their drive-thru, but assumed they’d be closed other than the drive-thru.
Nope. Open for business as usual. I stood well back from the teller and handed over the money. Curious, I asked whey the weren’t using the drive-thru only and she laughed. Turns out all the tellers are pissed off and asking their boss the same thing.
In the scenario you describe (broadly: people are being told “stay away” because they were exposed to a known carrier in the workplace): how are companies handling it re requiring employees to burn limited sick leave / vacation time, versus workmen’s comp?
What about more urgent, but non-emergent, procedures? (not that you’d necessarily know, but as a general question)? There are some that really shouldn’t delay too long. A friend was scheduled for cancer surgery today and it got put off - though not for virus concerns (the doctor actually injured himself that morning and was not able to do the surgery). The friend is hoping it can be accomplished before hospitals in that area get swamped with COVID cases.
Welp, because my symptoms are persistent enough and overlapping enough of COVID-19 disease, I am officially staying home from work next week (am off this week already by coincidence). I was glad my boss did not put up a fight about it (“I don’t want you here either until you get better.”). Unfortunately, unless I can produce a positive COVID test, I will have to burn my personal time to stay home. Just got off the phone with the clinic, and their message was, “We don’t have anymore tests, and it is that way across the state. You don’t meet the criteria to get tested. We’re only testing the more serious cases.” If I could get tested and it came up negative, I could just go back to work. Instead I am stuck in the middle.
In the big scheme of things, people are getting hit a lot harder than having to burn their vacation time. I guess I should be grateful- hopefully when I return I will be immune (?) and can take advantage of what will probably be unlimited overtime opportunities at a time when stocks have crashed. BuuuUUuuut… the whole world is freaking out about this virus. I have had symptoms since Sat, and the answer is NO, no test for you? Just doesn’t seem right.
Well, I was right about two things and wrong about one.
Right: Walmart’s online inventory system, at least around here, is totally useless. It is entirely imaginary – it lists things that certain stores are supposed to have but don’t, and does NOT list things that they actually DO have. This was in my continuing pursuit of hand sanitizer.
Right: My local drugstore will get their supplies of hand sanitizer and liquid soap supplies replenished, not this week, but the week that pigs learn to fly.
Wrong: My belief that Walmart is entirely useless.
The first one I visited had a whole rack of cases of hand sanitizer, but a completely different brand from any I had seen on their website, for any store. Limit was 2 to a customer, and they were disappearing even as I watched. It was just sheer luck that this particular store had obviously just got this shipment in today.
The second Walmart had none, but DID have large gallon refill jugs of the standard liquid hand soap I always use, so now I have enough soap for a year. Plus hand sanitizer. Yay! I’ve probably also got the coronavirus from visiting two Walmarts, but I’ve already used my new hand sanitizer twice.
The funny thing was that after I grabbed the two bottles of sanitizer, I looked for some other stuff and put them down on one of the many empty shelves for a moment while I checked the label on some soap. They had not been there ten seconds before a lady rushed up and grabbed them. She looked really pissed when I politely informed her they were mine, but happy when I pointed out that if she went to the front of the aisle there were still many boxes of them. It would not surprise me if by now they were already all gone.
My hair! I’m normally a haircut every 3 weeks kinda guy and I’m now deeply into week 4 and bordering on shaggy :eek:
I think it’s time to bust out the clippers and scissors and let my wife give it a go. I’m guessing I’ll be looking like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber soon enough.
My wife’s test came back negative for COVID-19, so good news there. Her office is working from home this week and probably next. They’ve approved 40 hours of emergency sick time.
I can’t really work from home, but at least the office isn’t cramped. Much of my daily tasks have slowed down. I process paperwork, and the actions prompting said paperwork have stopped happening. Home medical equipment isn’t being ordered, caregivers aren’t being trained, in-home assessments have been paused.
My toddler’s daycare is open. They’re taking kids’ temperature at the door and not letting parents much past the lobby.
I’ve two elements to blame: COVID and snow. COVID worries us and makes us cautious; snow has isolated us for most of a week. We don’t know what’s at the local mountain market or in the larger stores downhill but I don’t see complaints of shortages on www.nextdoor.com - mostly worries of power outages and bears. One downhill market offers online product picking with 48 hours notice so we’re assembling a shopping list. We should be able to drive out on Sunday for pickup.
So, how are we personally affected by COVID? Hardly at all. Yet. I had non-invasive medical imaging scheduled for today but cancelled because snowbound, not over exposure fears. If we feel a need to remain isolated, friends and family have offered to deliver supplies to us. We may cancel an Easter family visit with grandkids. Otherwise life is about as normal except for consuming the latest news. It gets tedious.
At this point, corporate hasn’t officially instituted the work-from-home policy, so self-quarantining employees (whether this is due to workplace exposure or travel) have to take vacation time. The email in which this notice was sent out also states that employees may or may not be eligible for pay. Although there are plenty of employees here who can’t work from home at all (inspectors, test technicians, etc.), so there are a lot of people who could be hit hard by this.
The county just ordered all schools closed until May 1st, when there will be a re-evaluation. Spring Break is going to last a bit, kids. Sucks to be a senior - their shit’s off the board for good.
I lived in the Hollywood Riviera a billion years ago!
I’m retired, and the sister I live with retired last summer, so we’re sheltering in place. She did a grocery run last week, so we have enough food for now. But two of my neighbors (one last night, and one this morning) offered to do grocery runs for us if we need it. Good people! And I guess that means I’m obviously an old – not like my mind’s eye sees me.
I have a bit of a cough and runny nose, but I get seasonal allergies, so who knows what I’ve got? The hawthornes have been blooming like crazy, so I’m blaming it on that.
I’m working from home for at least another month. My two game nights out a week are pretty much out of the question for a few weeks. I can’t go to the gym, but I do have Pokémon GO now…
Other than that, as I’ve said in another thread, I’m in an incredibly privileged position to ride this out in most ways: age, health, finances, job, family situation. So a lot of my personal impacts are more selfish (wondering what will happen to my local game store where I play every week or the restaurant I go to every month).
I’m in London. My GP has closed, phone consultations only, and most of my upcoming hospital appointments have been cancelled. I’m at risk for multiple health reasons so the advice is to stay home for 12 weeks. My daughter’s classes have been cancelled with no clear guidance about what to do. She’s quarantined for two weeks due to contact with someone with the virus. We’d just signed up for broadband and that’s been delayed even though it’s remotely activated, so we’re hammering the mobile data. If she’s expected to work from home, it’ll be difficult, because we couldn’t afford the animation software she uses at uni (even though some of it has special student prices, we also couldn’t afford computers good enough to run it all, so she works at college).
My pharmacist is running low on some things, and has lost my prescription again; I can’t go in in person - I’m not supposed to, and I’m really not capable of walking round there yet again anyway, it’s difficult at the best of times - but some of the medication is essential asthma medication, so I really, really can’t go without that. I’ll send my daughter in to try to get the reordered medicine tomorrow, and if they say no, to get an “emergency” prescription.
The few social events I had coming up (more than average, annoyingly), have been cancelled, and all museums are closed.
We’re fairly well stocked for food and toilet roll though.
Otherwise it’s mostly concern about so many people I know suffering financially from loss of work due to all this. The financial consequences are going to be huge.
