Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

[Undertoad]

The very worst aspect of Trump is that he's a divisive person at a divisive time. That's precisely what we don't need - worst case scenario. Or, maybe it's exactly what we need because we need to rip the band-aid off. I can't tell.

~

In a divisive time you have to work harder to determine truth. Because both sides prefer exaggeration, lies, and bullshit narratives as it becomes more important to support *their* version of truth than the actual truth. Emotionally, the sides are more important to everybody. Nobody is invested in the actual truth. This is what we are seeing.

(What's worse is, post-modernism then suggests that everyone's truth is true, because everything is relative, and then we wind up in a hole that deeper than we dug.)

[BigV]

Trump is the victim (this time) of "post-modernism"?

LOL.

The very worst aspect of Trump.... That's a good one. It's a vigorous competition, but being divisive is an undercard bout at best. Fundamentally, he's a bad person. The traits he displays, embraces, claims as his own, are what make him a bad person. Divisive... pffft--that's just a side effect.

[Flint]

I do NOT want to make this into a political thread. I'm just telling you what I've heard with my own ears: people with a known cultural/tribal combativeness against "liberals" are refusing to believe/ignoring/doubting/downplaying the official information we have on a pandemic outbreak, even though they work at a ƒucking HOSPITAL. It is NOT political and it SHOULDN'T BE political so please, let's discuss the actual subject. I'm sorry I said anything, but I wasn't offering an "opinion" --just telling you what I heard, and why it was troubling in the context that appropriate actions taken by individuals are unavoidably critical to mitigating the impact of a communicable disease with a long, asymptomatic incubation period.

[BigV]

fair enough.

But those threads of human life can not be teased apart completely or indefinitely.

Our shared experience with this virus will be affected most directly by our behavior, association, hygiene, medical response, and on and on. Each one of those is affected by what we think, in turn affected by what we believe, and that is based on what we're exposed to, so to speak.

We all take in things from outside ourselves, the microbes then inhabit our bodies and the ideas inhabit our minds. They are inseparable. How well we can incorporate or resist them depends on how we respond and how "healthy" we are at the outset.

The urge to wax political is strong, but I'll resist it for here and now.

[Undertoad]

Trump is the victim (this time) of "post-modernism"?

I cannot fathom how you might have gotten this conclusion out of my post.

[monster]

or look at this graphic

[xoxoxoBruce]

They don't know who patient zero is.

However, a study, by Chinese researchers published in the Lancet medical journal, claimed the first person to be diagnosed with Covid-19, was on 1 December 2019 (a lot of earlier) and that person had "no contact" with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

Wu Wenjuan, a senior doctor at Wuhan's Jinyintan Hospital and one of the authors of the study, told the BBC Chinese Service that the patient was an elderly man who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

"He (the patient) lived four or five buses from the seafood market, and because he was sick he basically didn't go out,” Wu Wenjuan said.

She also said that three other people developed symptoms in the following days – two of whom had no exposure to Huanan either.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/2...s-patient-zero

[Clodfobble]

All y'all are being super patient with the "flattening the curve" explanations, but what Dude asked was why ONLY a month. The restrictions slow the spread only as long as they're in place, and any lifting of those restrictions before significant herd immunity has developed will cause the spread to speed right back up again.

The incubation period alone has been shown to be up to 28 days in some cases. Recovery takes anywhere from 3-8 weeks. Wuhan is only now back at normal hospital capacity (last temporary hospital closed its doors yesterday,) and restrictions are very much still in place there.

American quarantines, when they are declared, will have to be longer than a month.

[monster]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

All y'all are being super patient with the "flattening the curve" explanations, but what Dude asked was why ONLY a month.

you're right, to me the curve thing makes it obvious the plan is not to make it disappear, merely slow it down so we can cope better, but I guess that needed spelling out.

The period might well get extended, but we can't all stay indoors for ever until it disappears completely/sufficiently/we have a reliable vaccine......

Some of us are unemployed right now so don't have an employer who will pay them to stay at home. Some work in jobs where their employer will go out of business if forced to pay them when they are not working. Those people will not be able to buy food, pay pills, might lose their houses and cars, AND THEIR HEALTHCARE (if they have any) There is a limit to the extent to which even the most community-minded can "take one for the team".

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by monster

Some of us are unemployed right now so don't have an employer who will pay them to stay at home. Some work in jobs where their employer will go out of business if forced to pay them when they are not working. Those people will not be able to buy food, pay pills, might lose their houses and cars, AND THEIR HEALTHCARE (if they have any) There is a limit to the extent to which even the most community-minded can "take one for the team".

Oh absolutely, a critical part of all this will have to be financial relief. Delayed mortgage payments, utilities, etc. with no penalties. City of Austin has already declared that no one's electricity is getting cut off while this is ongoing--not least because they anticipate they won't have staff available to go out and do the manual shut off anyway. Other cities have officially put residential evictions on hold. Shut down schools are offering free food to kids during the suspension, ostensibly for the ones who were on free breakfast/lunch programs, but they make it clear that no ID or anything else will be needed, just show up and get a box of free food Mon-Fri. Some are using school bus routes to avoid having people gather for food pickup, just drive the normal route at the normal time and slide a box out the door to any kid standing outside at their normal spot.

It's like, there's no point in repossessing a car that you can't sell because all the car auctions have been shut down, you know? The debt will rack up, and I doubt very many creditors will be outright forgiving anything, but putting people out on the street is exactly what they won't want to do.

[Flint]

But how will we pay for it?

[xoxoxoBruce]

"Just went to Seattle’s UW Medical Center to ask how much patients are being charged for a coronavirus test. $100-$500 if they have insurance. $1,600 if they don’t."

[monster]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Oh absolutely, a critical part of all this will have to be financial relief. Delayed mortgage payments, utilities, etc. with no penalties. City of Austin has already declared that no one's electricity is getting cut off while this is ongoing--not least because they anticipate they won't have staff available to go out and do the manual shut off anyway. Other cities have officially put residential evictions on hold. Shut down schools are offering free food to kids during the suspension, ostensibly for the ones who were on free breakfast/lunch programs, but they make it clear that no ID or anything else will be needed, just show up and get a box of free food Mon-Fri. Some are using school bus routes to avoid having people gather for food pickup, just drive the normal route at the normal time and slide a box out the door to any kid standing outside at their normal spot.

It's like, there's no point in repossessing a car that you can't sell because all the car auctions have been shut down, you know? The debt will rack up, and I doubt very many creditors will be outright forgiving anything, but putting people out on the street is exactly what they won't want to do.

Basically, those people can stomach being told it's for 2 weeks/a month, but if it's longer than that, they are less likely to co-operate because they know they won't make it financially. That's why ONLY a month. Trying to slow it and make it more manageable with the good will of the public.

[glatt]

Yeah. It’s two weeks (for now) that I am remote working. I’m sure they will re-evaluate when the two weeks are up. Hopefully there will not be layoffs then. I need to stay productive.

[Undertoad]

Really heartwarming and beautiful: Italians facing the quarantine are making music with each other, singing and playing tambourines from their balconies and windows!