# Over 60 dopers, are you staying home?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 11, 2020, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247 "2020-03-11T03:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/61 "2020-03-14T10:51:42Z")
> [@Cicero](#): > > You have to die of something. And you have to die some_time_, but I’m in no hurry. I expect to live into my 90s, just like my father, and his father before him, with a decent shot at 100. I’ve got a lot to look forward to, too many hikes and bicycle trips I haven’t done that I’m looking forward to doing, evenings in conversation with friends, seeing the Firebug grow up and find his way in the world. And too many people need me _now_; I’m not going anywhere if I can possibly help it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/62 "2020-03-14T11:50:06Z")
It sounds like being proactive isn’t much of a thing among Dopers. When there is an available test, how many people who are not showing symptoms will get it? The point of ‘social distancing’ (unfortunate term) is also to keep asymptomatic carriers (which could be any of the posters going about their business) from spreading the virus. My daughter was at a party in Boston last week and yesterday found out that one of the attendees has been diagnosed. Her partner who was also at the party has diabetes. Now they are … waiting. They were going to come over for the weekend but we all decided, nope. We are already pretty well socially distant here in the backwoods anyway, and are trying to be more so, although we are not much past sixty and are in good health. We keep hand cleaner in the cars now. My guess is that things are going to get much worse much faster than most people imagine. I am not pretending life is normal now. ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/63 "2020-03-14T12:03:55Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Well, rats. Last night, we were told that the college is converting all classes to on-line as of 3/15. Except you really can’t do ASL on-line. Supposedly, this will last thru Apr 30 - my class was only supposed to go 4 weeks, and we’ve just completed week 2. We don’t know if it’ll resume later or if they’ll refund us or credit us for a re-do. I’m bummed. My daughter is in an ASL class at her college, which just switched to online classes only for the remainder of the semester. The professor is instructing by recording the class on video, and the students submit their test answers/presentations back to her on video. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/64 "2020-03-14T12:54:05Z")
Went out last night to a brewery and had food truck sushi. There was a very good crowd and I got to try a Danny Torrance Roll\*\*\*\*\*. The brewery had an extra employee just wiping down the bar and tables. \*\*\*\*\* a roll featuring Red Drum ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/65 "2020-03-14T13:01:15Z")
Gee, I am deeply and I mean deeply disappointed in these responses. When the US is weeks behind other developed countries in preparation, when there is essentially no way to know how the virus is spreading here and how fast, the explosion is inevitable, and all these intelligent highly educated types here are blowing it all off and doing exactly the wrong things? That is so fucked up. Words cannot express how poorly you all are behaving and how much it matters. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/66 "2020-03-14T13:23:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > It sounds like being proactive isn’t much of a thing among Dopers. And yet, many of the posts in this thread read very similarly to the rest of your post, below. > [@](#): > > The point of ‘social distancing’ (unfortunate term) is also to keep asymptomatic carriers (which could be any of the posters going about their business) from spreading the virus. My daughter was at a party in Boston last week and yesterday found out that one of the attendees has been diagnosed. Her partner who was also at the party has diabetes. Now they are … waiting. They were going to come over for the weekend but we all decided, nope. > > We are already pretty well socially distant here in the backwoods anyway, and are trying to be more so, although we are not much past sixty and are in good health. We keep hand cleaner in the cars now. > > My guess is that things are going to get much worse much faster than most people imagine. I am not pretending life is normal now. Outside the GOP/FauxNews/evangelical/Trumpist borg, few are, as best as I can tell. But I think that’s just been a change that’s happened this week. By Thursday afternoon, this country was in a very different place with respect to taking COVID-19 seriously than it was Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning, for instance, it seemed like a bad idea for the NCAA basketball tournament to go forward like usual, but there didn’t seem to be any likelihood that they’d make more than minor concessions to public health. By Thursday afternoon, the NCAA tournament was called off, the NBA and NHL had ceased play, MLB had canceled the rest of its preseason and postponed opening day, the handful of colleges that had announced closures by Wednesday morning had turned into an avalanche by the end of Thursday, five states shut down K-12 public schools followed by several more on Friday…you get the idea. We clearly had some sort of inflection point just now, and people’s attitudes have changed a lot, and are still changing fast. If you’re reaching conclusions about Dopers based on posts from Wednesday, calm down. People are ready to do more to keep the virus from spreading now than they were three days ago, and their attitudes will likely change further over the coming days. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/67 "2020-03-14T14:02:42Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > And yet, many of the posts in this thread read very similarly to the rest of your post, below. Outside the GOP/FauxNews/evangelical/Trumpist borg, few are, as best as I can tell. > > But I think that’s just been a change that’s happened this week. By Thursday afternoon, this country was in a very different place with respect to taking COVID-19 seriously than it was Wednesday morning. > > Wednesday morning, for instance, it seemed like a bad idea for the NCAA basketball tournament to go forward like usual, but there didn’t seem to be any likelihood that they’d make more than minor concessions to public health. By Thursday afternoon, the NCAA tournament was called off, the NBA and NHL had ceased play, MLB had canceled the rest of its preseason and postponed opening day, the handful of colleges that had announced closures by Wednesday morning had turned into an avalanche by the end of Thursday, five states shut down K-12 public schools followed by several more on Friday…you get the idea. > We clearly had some sort of inflection point just now, and people’s attitudes have changed a lot, and are still changing fast. If you’re reaching conclusions about Dopers based on posts from Wednesday, calm down. People are ready to do more to keep the virus from spreading now than they were three days ago, and their attitudes will likely change further over the coming days. I hope you are right. I was a bit nervous before my daughter called with her news. Now I am in full-blown anxiety-control mode. A lot of the people I love are in high-risk categories. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/68 "2020-03-14T18:54:11Z")
Just popped back into the thread to recommend [this article](https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/health/what-60-older-need-to-know-coronavirus-wellness-trnd/index.html) from CNN. Here’s an excerpt [bolding mine]: T > [@](#): > > he CDC recommends that high-risk groups in communities with outbreaks stay home as much as possible and that people who believe they’re sick isolate themselves. > > But long-term isolation can be damaging. Perissinotto studies the effects of social isolation in older adults, and she said that **loneliness and depression are “huge risks for mortality.”** > > “I don’t think the solution of totally being devoid of social contact is the answer,” she said. “Yes, there is some prudence we need to have in social distancing, but we also have to be careful to not isolate more – it can be very detrimental.” > > So if you need to isolate yourself: > •Don’t cut off contact with family or friends. > •Keep in touch to update them on your condition and curb boredom. > • **If groups you’re a member of are still meeting and none of the other members are sick, Perissinotto said it should be OK to go.** > Just exercise caution. It’s an individual choice, so if skipping out would reduce some anxiety, that’s fine, too. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/69 "2020-03-14T19:32:51Z")
I am still on the wards and the ER and will be part of the dedicated COVID team if/when the numbers overwhelm the usual care process. (As an aside, our SARS experience has made us _so_ much better prepared.) Anyway, I think there will soon be as much or more risk in ‘the community’. So if it’s gonna happen, might as well get sick doing something useful at work. ---
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/70 "2020-03-14T19:35:44Z")
I almost went to visit my nieces, but a friend was going to come over first… Unfortunately, people can’t be accurate, so I’ll be staying home, and I don’t anticipate leaving until I run out of food. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/71 "2020-03-14T20:42:29Z")
Ulfreida, I’m not sure what you think we should be doing. Are you suggesting that everyone in the country who is, or who lives with someone, over the age of 60 should stay home entirely: not go to any work that has to be done in person, not go do any errands or go to any public place or go to anybody else’s house whatsoever? How long do you think we could keep that up? Over the entire country? Over the entire planet? Yes, people who are sick should call their doctors, follow doctors’ advice, and barring other advice should stay home. Yes, most people should stay off cruise ships, and stay away from the kind of gathering in which people can’t help breathing in each other’s faces. Yes, those who can work from home should generally do so. Yes, consult with hospitals and one’s doctors before keeping appointments for elective medical work. Yes, consider how urgent an errand is, and whether it can be done in a time or place that’s less likely to be crowded. But that’s actually what most people on this thread say they’re doing – and you’re still scolding us. Some specific areas may need more drastic lockdowns; but they’ll need to be supplied in the meantime from other areas. We can’t lock everybody on the planet up at once; not unless we want a death toll higher than anything that covid-19 is at all likely to produce. Yes, when testing is available, which in almost all cases in the USA it currently isn’t, people should get tested. When tests first become available, it’s highly unlikely there’ll be enough to test everybody in the country at once, let alone enough hands to take and check all the tests at once: so no, people who don’t have symptoms and who don’t have known exposure to people who tested postive shouldn’t go charging out immediately demanding tests that will be needed worse by other people. When tests become available, or if I get sick, I’ll call and consult with my doctor and take my place in line. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/72 "2020-03-14T21:00:40Z")
I’m in. I’m over 70 and on cancer treatment so doubly in the at risk category. I’m semi-retired, but my work this semester is only writing so with network access I’m fine for that. That doesn’t mean I don’t go out of the house. We do take walks, we just stay away from others as we do so. That’s fairly easy to do around here. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/73 "2020-03-14T21:15:57Z")
NM. Wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2020, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/74 "2020-03-14T21:27:59Z")
I’ve canceled all my upcoming doctors’ appointments. I don’t need to overtax the medical system and needlessly expose myself to sick people. And my husband is temporarily managing his import/export business online, as much as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/75 "2020-03-15T02:29:37Z")
I’m over 90 YO, so you bet I’m staying at home. And hand washing a lot. My young wife (only 86 YO) does the grocery shopping, which worried me quite a bit, but have found out that the grocery store she regularly shops at are really trying to keep things safe; they are wiping all the counter surfaces (including credit card machines) with disinfectant between each customer, and my wife wears disposable plastic gloves while in the store. And wipes down the steering wheel and gearshift lever of her car with disinfectant on a daily basis. So she should be ok. I tried to promote the idea of home delivery, but got nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/76 "2020-03-15T02:52:22Z")
Just FYI, it’s not being 60+ that’s the issue. The 60+ data thing was based on Chinese males…who smoke like chimneys. Guess what happens to their lungs? Here’s the deal. COVID is a real issue for older Americans but more to the point, it’s about Americans with comorbidity: diabetes, obesity, lung disease, etc. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/77 "2020-03-15T03:17:53Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > It sounds like being proactive isn’t much of a thing among Dopers… Well, I have a cold. At least, I hope it’s a cold. So I have locked myself in my bedroom, and I’m trying to stay away from my family. Lots of soap, some rubbing alcohol. And Ive been doing this since Monday, and I’m going stir crazy. So I’m trying to socialize on-line. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/78 "2020-03-15T03:24:57Z")
I am early 60s. (The wife is late 50s.) I have not stopped going out like normal including taking public transport, and we are still planning a Vegas trip next month. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/79 "2020-03-15T03:39:37Z")
58 here, pre-diabetic, increased risk for heart disease, I decided to “work” from home for the next few weeks. Social distance is kind of my default state anyway, so what the heck, better safe than sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247/80 "2020-03-15T03:45:34Z")
I went out today to run a couple of errands, including picking up takeout from a couple restaurants we frequent. The two grocery stores i drove by looked packed. The smoothie place was busy though only one table was occupied by people eating there. I went to the pho restaurant a couple doors away and nobody was there except another customer picking up takeout (to be fair, it was 4 PM). They said it had been very slow all day. I said we’d do our best to get takeout as often as we could. Tomorrow i think we’ll pick up at the Chinese place. Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/over-60-dopers-are-you-staying-home/849247.md?page=5)