Corona Virus Now Spreading

[rubysmama]

Most of the deaths here so far have been in nursing homes, which is probably inevitable, unfortunately .

In Canada, as well.

I predict a huge spike here in the next two weeks.

For the most part, Canadian provinces are only opening things, when their numbers show large decreases. The only exception is Quebec, and we'll see what happens there in 2 weeks also.

 

[denice]

The unknown with this thing is what is so scary. Plus the people protesting (at least here in the US) seem to be getting their way. My county had an 8 hour town hall meeting and lifted some restrictions. Apparently even our county sherrif showed up saying he can't keep enforcing rules on people who are struggling.

I am really torn because I get people are having a hard time with the restrictions. But we still have climbing numbers and the only reason they are slowly climbing is the restrictions. I predict a huge spike here in the next two weeks.

There will be a continuing cycle of spikes, shutting down and spiking again. The alternative is to have allowed the virus to sweep through without restriction. If that had been done then there will have been one very high spike that would overwhelm the health care system then it would have went back down. I have no patience for the people who are just malcontents who are whining and protesting because that is what they do. There are people who are losing their businesses and running out of money, the people sitting in long lines at food banks who had never resorted to a food bank before, those are the people that I sympathize with. The government is well past it's safe limit when it comes to handing out financial relief.

 

[NY cat man]

But now where are they going to put people who should be in a nursing home? Will they die from lack of skilled nursing care? I'm not sure there are any good answers in that case.

Most of the deaths here so far have been in nursing homes, which is probably inevitable, unfortunately .

Wherever they are put, it must not be among the most vulnerable of the population- unless you don't particularly care about them, that is.

 

[pearl99]

Someone sent me this article, long-ish read but explains the spread of covid-19/coronavirus pretty well, I think:

The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them

 

[WillowMarie]

But now where are they going to put people who should be in a nursing home? Will they die from lack of skilled nursing care? I'm not sure there are any good answers in that case.

Most of the deaths here so far have been in nursing homes, which is probably inevitable, unfortunately .

I was having this discussion with my mom because she was saying if they were living in the homes before they don't have anywhere to go and should go back to the nursing home. My thought was they move all positive or recovered into one building and everyone else who has not had it yet into another building. Maybe they could pair up with other nursing homes to organize this. Yes, it would be work to move people, etc, but if it helps keep the non-positive ones safe it would be worth the time and resources to set up.

 

[Jem]

For the most part, Canadian provinces are only opening things, when their numbers show large decreases.

Not sure what province you're in, but here in Ontario, as of last week, nurseries/garden centers could open - as long as social distancing could continue, hardware and safety supply stores can now open and operate the same as grocery stores, allowing people to actually enter (before it was curbside pickup and delivery only) and now "non-essential" retail stores can open (I think today) ONLY IF they have their own street entrance, for curbside pickup or delivery only.

 

[NY cat man]

The problem with that is that most nursing homes are not designed or set up for isolation of highly contagious people. There is no separate air conditioning or heating systems, and in most cases so much of everything is centralized, a virus like covid will run wild. Here in my county, there is a small nursing home. 19 of their residents have died- over 60% of all the deaths in the county. Another county over, 32 nursing home residents so far have died, in just one home. The list goes on and on.

 

[denice]

This is a problem that other countries have had to deal with. Where do convalescing people who are still contagious go? They certainly should not be in nursing homes, they are not set up to deal with this kind of contagious disease. I know they are not set up for it because working in nursing homes was my summer jobs while in college. I remember reading that some countries have used hotels that were closed, they were also used for hospital workers.

 

[NY cat man]

Since - at least here, anyway- all of the schools are closed, they could be put there. I worked in a nursing home also, although many years ago. They are designed for the residents' mobility, and not for isolation, which is why a nursing home is the last place you want to have a covid positive person- whether resident or employee.

 

[denice]

The better ones also try to keep the residents social. They try to get them out of their rooms even if they are in wheelchairs and be with the other residents. That is exactly the wrong thing to do with people who are contagious.

 

[Xraystyle]

This is a problem that other countries have had to deal with. Where do convalescing people who are still contagious go? They certainly should not be in nursing homes, they are not set up to deal with this kind of contagious disease. I know they are not set up for it because working in nursing homes was my summer jobs while in college. I remember reading that some countries have used hotels that were closed, they were also used for hospital workers.

yes, here in Korea they are using hotels and guesthouses since there's basically zero tourism. It was also a public interest story when the national soccer team gave up their dorms for quarantined people (not patients, just in their self-isolation upon arrival into the country). One of my friends stayed at a quarantine hotel, it looked reasonably nice and the government provided her with 3 meals a day. The cost for staying in one of these facilities is about 85$ a night (that's room, food and supplies.) Which, I mean, is cheaper than most hotels here and definitely cheaper than a hospital bed in the states (she was coming back from Australia). The facilities are also monitored by officials who control when and if you leave your room and they make you download an app that tracks your movements and requires you to input your temperature throughout the day. It's Orwellian, but I'd prefer that to being responsible for myself, honestly.

 

[Willowy]

Schools aren't really set up to be convalescent homes though. And if someone needs a lift bed, there aren't a lot of other options. Maybe a hotel would work, if they had it properly staffed. But it's not like nursing homes are staffed by an overabundance of quality employees; they're short-staffed by underpaid flunkies even under the best of conditions. I think all of our failures are just popping up to bite us now. We've skated on this long but it all implodes eventually.

I'm not thinking of putting random recovering COVID-19 patients in the nursing homes. I mean nursing home residents who get COVID-19 and then need to go "home" to recover. . .where else can they go? Nothing else is set up for elderly people with impaired mobility. Can't just dump them on the corner.

 

[DreamerRose]

Today, the NY department of health made a U-turn, barring nursing homes from accepting anyone who tested positive. This is the same department of health that on Mar. 25, prohibited nursing homes from refusing to admit or readmit anyone who tested positive. The result? Fully a third of all covid-19 deaths in this state have been nursing home residents.

Some nursing homes that were evacuated are going to be COVID-19 only. This is what my HMO is doing. The building my doctor was in is now only COVID-19, and she was moved to another building.

The idea is to keep people infected or recovering all together and away from the general population in nursing homes.

 

[NY cat man]

Some nursing homes that were evacuated are going to be COVID-19 only. This is what my HMO is doing. The building my doctor was in is now only COVID-19, and she was moved to another building.

The idea is to keep people infected or recovering all together and away from the general population in nursing homes.

The thing is, they didn't evacuate the homes- they put people who tested positive under the same roof with everyone else. It was a recipe for disaster.

 

[Willowy]

I guess I still haven't figured out how else they can handle it. Which places where it has already peaked handled it better, do you think?

 

[Jem]

They say that this virus affects men more than women, but here in Ontario (I'm going to double check Canadian (as a whole) stats), women make up most of the infected. And if you break it down even further, in my city, women have higher numbers as well.
I have to wonder if it's simply because most of our nurses and health support staff (psw) are women. Same with nursing homes, I think I have only ever seen one male nurse/psw all the times I've ever visited my husband's grandma (she's been in 2 different homes over the last few years of her life).
There is no current stats that I can find other than back in the beginning of April, they said that 1 in 10 infected were health care front line.

EDIT:
My bad...as I was looking up Canadian stats, I realized that yes, this virus does affect men more than women...but it's that more men are dying from it...not that they are getting infected with it more.

Still worrisome about health care front line though...

 

[LTS3]

Schools aren't really set up to be convalescent homes though.

I think when schools are mentioned, it's college dorms not elementary or high schools. College dorms are currently empty and are already furnished with a bed and basic furniture. Why not put them to use to house anyone who needs to be quarantined or recover and can't safely do so at home? Accommodations could be made to house a specialized bed for those who need one. Most college have at least one or two dorms, many of the larger ones have multiple dorms spread across campus, so it would be easy to designate one entire building to a specific group of people. Or house essential medical personnel in dorms close to the workplace so they have somewhere close to crash in between shifts instead of a long commute home. My thoughts

This is an interesting read about how viruses spread: The Risks - Know Them - Avoid Them

 

[DreamerRose]

The thing is, they didn't evacuate the homes- they put people who tested positive under the same roof with everyone else. It was a recipe for disaster.

Initially, they did. But at least one facility was closed, and now it's being considered for the virus only.

 

[NY cat man]

Initially, they did. But at least one facility was closed, and now it's being considered for the virus only.

That may be, but by the time the brainiacs here thought of that, the damage was already done.

 

[KittyFriday]

We have the first death in our county today. A man in his 30s who apparently had "underlying conditions" but no idea what. He hadn't traveled or been exposed to anyone else that was positive, so he definitely got it via community spread.

I doubt it will make anyone take things any more seriously but it's concerning still. And I feel awful for him and his family.

In the job world, my university has already done one round of furloughs, which consisted of housing and dining and rec center workers who normally can work over the summer but now cannot. The hope is they can return in August to open up the dorms. I learned in my office meeting this morning that individual colleges in our university are being tasked with figuring out who they can furlough or choose not to renew contracts for so there is another round coming. Thankfully, my job is safe as I work in research and we are only 50% funded by the university + research is being leaned on heavily right now. I am very thankful for that.

However, I was in the process of pursuing my master's in academic advising and student services in the hope of getting a job that paid better and was in a field I'm more interested in. I had three classes left before my practicum - and I'm taking one a semester so a year. But I'm going to take the summer off because with everything being so volatile I don't want to give up my secure job even though it doesn't pay well to venture into the unknown and I have no idea what I'm going to do.

I don't mind living paycheck to paycheck, which I largely do with just a bit left over for savings. I wish I could buy or rent a place that was less expensive though, because my dog will likely need an expensive surgery soon and maybe another shortly after and I think I'm going to really be in a bad place financially. I'm very lucky and I realize that - and even my student loans are owed to my parents so I'm not in too tight of a space there. It's just a bummer.