Corona Virus Now Spreading

[terestrife]

terestrife I know you were worried about your upcoming doctor's appointment. I spoke with my dad (not about this or anything, he was just telling me in general what things are like in his office), and there is a real worry that as things get moved around and there's a rapid disorganized move to doing more telemedicine than they're used to that some patients won't get scheduled for things that they should be scheduled for. So to you and everyone else who has a concerning or potentially concerning condition, please do fight to keep appointments that you need if they try to reschedule you. They're not going to make the right call on everything right now because they are overwhelmed. Some things will get classified as elective that really shouldn't be, so if you're in pain or at risk for something, please appeal these decisions. Remember, it's not being selfish. We all need to stay as healthy as we can right now for the good of everyone.

thank you for thinking of me. i just called my gyno this morning, and they said that for right now "it is business as usual". Hopefully it stays that way. Unfortunately my test cant be done unless i am in the office, and the doctor is doing the biopsy. I will make sure to keep on top of things so my appointment isn't postponed or forgotten. My gyno has shown to be very caring to his patients. So long as his office is open, i am hopeful he will do everything he can for the patients that have issues that need to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Thank you for caring for others during a time like this.

 

[furmonster mom]

Went to 3 petri dishes today...

Costco:
No tp, pt, baby wipes, napkins, kleenex, chicken fryers, frozen chicken, ravioli, flour, canned beans, canned tomatoes... canned anything, really
Limited eggs (1 doz per), roasted chickens (one per)
Bread racks moved to front for better control, I'm assuming
And people are being idiots... entire families out shopping (you do NOT need to take your teenagers shopping, give them some friggin chores to do at home!!!)
Credit to the staff, though, as they were herding cats wonderfully

Winco: No tp, pt, baby wipes, napkins, canned goods, all bulk flour bins empty, "deli" shelves empty,
Found a couple boxes of kleenex, limited bulk pasta, in-house bakery items were stocked
Shopping flow was about normal

Target: No tp, pt, baby wipes, napkins, kleenex,
Found cat food and litter, specially labeled as "conveyance flow".
Shopping flow was slow

 

[catapault]

So I went to a very small local post office to mail the wildflower seeds I had packaged to mail to the local arboretum. They'll (or so I hope) be mailed, along with printed copies of the handouts to students who registered for the covid-19 cancelled class that was to run on Saturday. Understand that this post office is so small that it closes for an hour when the post mistress has her lunch. It's a small enough post office that 6 feet of separation would have you practically out the door.

This is what I saw when I went in.

Apparently a woman who came in yesterday gave such a big sigh, exhaled so forcefully, that the postmistress' hair was blown about! Postmistress opened a trash bag, taped it up, cut a file folder opening at face height and taped a piece of clear plastic to cover it.

I think this is very clever.

I was sharing it around and my brother wrote back saying, "Does having a plastic barrier (as in the post office) protect against airborne transmission--or does it lead to complacency (since it seems like such a significant separation) and then people don't clean surfaces as much?"

Yes it would be lovely if the postal service would offer guidelines. But she cannot even get gloves, wipes, sanitizing things from the site she's directed to order from because they are always out.

I'm not saying this makeshift makes everything perfect. But it makes the postmistress feel better. And it made me feel better too.

 

[Willowy]

Understand that this post office is so small that it closes for an hour when the post mistress has her lunch. It's a small enough post office that 6 feet of separation would have you practically out the door.

Yeah that's my office too. She came up with an interesting solution! I don't know if that kind of plastic barrier will make much difference but it can't really hurt either.

They told us the district was going to make a mass order of sanitizer and gloves and distribute them to the individual offices, because they aren't available on the regular supply site (which is mostly Staples and OfficeMax). I don't know who they're ordering them from, maybe some kind of government stash.

 

[molly92]

Yeah that's my office too. She came up with an interesting solution! I don't know if that kind of plastic barrier will make much difference but it can't really hurt either.

It can help! Reducing the amount of virus you're exposed to helps if you can't avoid being exposed to the virus entirely. If a small amount of the virus enters your system initially, your immune system has more time to mobilize and fight it off than if you get exposure to a large amount of the virus.

 

[Margret]

They are looking at an old antimalarial drug for this. It is being studied here and in Europe. China tried to use it for advanced cases and it didn't work. The believe here is that it works by stopping the virus from invading and taking over cells so it wouldn't work on advanced cases. It would help in the beginning stages and it would work as a preventative. It actually is of little use for malaria now because malaria in most regions has become resistant to it.

Please be aware: President Trump is touting Chloroquine as a useful treatment, but this has not been proven yet, and the FDA hasn't approved it for this purpose. They're conducting clinical tests on it now, and it's on a fast track for approval if it works, but so far we just don't know.

I was sharing it around and my brother wrote back saying, "Does having a plastic barrier (as in the post office) protect against airborne transmission--or does it lead to complacency (since it seems like such a significant separation) and then people don't clean surfaces as much?"

Will it keep aerosolized virus out? No, probably not. Will it keep someone from directly coughing on her? Darn right it will! This was an excellent idea, and if she's concerned enough to come up with it I bet she's being very careful about cleaning as well.

Margret

 

[molly92]

The unfortunate reality of biomedical research is that it's not hard to find a treatment that looks promising at first, but most of these results do not hold up in scaled-up testing. Not to say that this one isn't a good idea worth pursuing, but if it doesn't work, hope is not lost. We will likely try and fail with many, many more potential solutions over the coming months before we find a good one. This is how science works, and it will get us there with time.

 

[molly92]

This is a really excellent article if you want to visualize how this virus spreads and infects very clearly. It is NOT a good read for the anxious germophobe!

 

[denice]

Please be aware: President Trump is touting Chloroquine as a useful treatment, but this has not been proven yet, and the FDA hasn't approved it for this purpose. They're conducting clinical tests on it now, and it's on a fast track for approval if it works, but so far we just don't know.

I took what Trump said with a grain of salt. I will admit his touting it is why I looked it up on the internet. If it turns out to work the way that they think it may it would be a way to end this. If everyone who can takes it, there are always some people who can't take any medication, then the virus would have very few places to go and would die out.

 

[furmonster mom]

If you haven't seen this yet...

Toilet Paper Calculator

Pass it on!

lol

(be sure to adjust the advanced settings)

 

[DreamerRose]

I've been wondering. If a face mask doesn't protect a healthy person from getting the virus, why is there such a demand for masks for nurses and doctors?

 

[denice]

For health care professionals the mask is just part of it. They also have a face shield that protects their eyes, the disposable gown, head and shoe covers and gloves. EMTs also wear the gear when someone is possibly contagious. They also have disposable covers for surfaces inside the ambulance. They only have what they need out where it can be exposed. After transporting someone who may be contagious they go out of service to decontaminate the ambulance.

 

[KittyFriday]

I’d imagine that health care workers are also fit tested for the masks so they know which ones fit properly to do the most good. The people in my office that do lab inspections have to be fit tested yearly. Of course, with such a shortage of masks and workers just having to take whatever type is available it is probably less effective now than under normal circumstances.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

Not sure how I feel about this. If these restaurants weren't buying these there wouldn't be a shortage, but then again if they weren't buying then others would be hoarding. This is an extremely reliable source as they have been our local news for the almost 65 years I've been alive.

Some restaurants are offering rolls of toilet paper with to-go orders

Also a pre school child just tested positive for it, in an Illinois county. So the virus is mutating as before we were told that children under 10 are not testing positive for the virus. Which is scary.

 

[terestrife]

Not sure how I feel about this. If these restaurants weren't buying these there wouldn't be a shortage, but then again if they weren't buying then others would be hoarding. This is an extremely reliable source as they have been our local news for the almost 65 years I've been alive.

Some restaurants are offering rolls of toilet paper with to-go orders

Also a pre school child just tested positive for it, in an Illinois county. So the virus is mutating as before we were told that children under 10 are not testing positive for the virus. Which is scary.

that makes me worry about my nieces and nephews. how scary!

also, how is them buying a bunch of toilet paper and only "give it away" to customers helping anyone? if they wanted to be helpful they would just donate it. This just makes it look like they are taking advantage of the situation to get publicity. Just my opinion.

 

[muffy]

My neighbor needs to have back surgery but the hospital won't do it because they need the room for the Corona virus patients. I also need to have knee replacement surgery and I am sure they won't do it because they will need the room for the Corona virus patients. That is fine with me but I would like to have the surgery sometime in the near future because I can barely walk.

 

[terestrife]

My neighbor needs to have back surgery but the hospital won't do it because they need the room for the Corona virus patients. I also need to have knee replacement surgery and I am sure they won't do it because they will need the room for the Corona virus patients. That is fine with me but I would like to have the surgery sometime in the near future because I can barely walk.

Are they really that full? I hope they can fit you both in soon for your procedures.

Your doctors both work at the hospital? I know some doctors have private practices but do surgeries at hospitals. The doctor cant do the procedure somewhere else that isnt full?

sorry, i dont know how this works, just trying to help.

 

[KittyFriday]

My neighbor needs to have back surgery but the hospital won't do it because they need the room for the Corona virus patients. I also need to have knee replacement surgery and I am sure they won't do it because they will need the room for the Corona virus patients. That is fine with me but I would like to have the surgery sometime in the near future because I can barely walk.

A family friend had a knee replacement a couple of weeks ago and her physical therapy sessions have been completely cancelled. They gave her some exercises to do at home but that's it. I hope she's able to heal well.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

that makes me worry about my nieces and nephews. how scary!

also, how is them buying a bunch of toilet paper and only "give it away" to customers helping anyone? if they wanted to be helpful they would just donate it. This just makes it look like they are taking advantage of the situation to get publicity. Just my opinion.

The one thing that crossed my mind while getting ready to do the dreaded shopping is that this "fear" we have may be detected by our pets. Yesterday I posted about Cooper, otherwise friendly, acting mean and while I may not have the panic type fear, it is concerning because of Mom, and the more I think about it Cooper may have been reacting to the emotions he's feeling from my neighbors who do have to go to work or lose their jobs. I noticed the cats started to act a bit "off" when this came full head in the news. Just a thought. If I'm wrong just ignore me but thought I'd mention it since this is still a cat forum.

 

[Katie M]

My brother's breathing better, but his coughing has worsened. He's waiting for his roommate's test results.