Corona Virus Now Spreading

denice

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Because we only get 2 a week, we wear them multiple days in a row
The only state now telling people to wear them is specifically saying no N95 or surgical masks, only homemade ones, scarves or bandannas. That is the problem here in the U.S. they do not want people outside of healthcare workers buying the effective ones. That is because there simply isn't enough for the healthcare workers much less people like the police. I saw an article that said that 1000 of the people in the NYPD are testing positive. There are doctors and nurses working with COVID19 patients who are wearing the same N95 mask for days at a time, some are slathering them with hand sanitizer to try to get some kind of protection. That is why I have an issue with this becoming a thing. It will be the same situation as the toilet paper, let the price gouging and the hoarding begin.
 

Xraystyle

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The only state now telling people to wear them is specifically saying no N95 or surgical masks, only homemade ones, scarves or bandannas. That is the problem here in the U.S. they do not want people outside of healthcare workers buying the effective ones. That is because there simply isn't enough for the healthcare workers much less people like the police. I saw an article that said that 1000 of the people in the NYPD are testing positive. There are doctors and nurses working with COVID19 patients who are wearing the same N95 mask for days at a time, some are slathering them with hand sanitizer to try to get some kind of protection. That is why I have an issue with this becoming a thing. It will be the same situation as the toilet paper, let the price gouging and the hoarding begin.
That's why they are government regulated here. People tried to hoard them and price gouge in the beginning. I didn't even bother buying masks at that time, thinking I wouldn't really need them. The government then seized masks that had been hoarded and took control of all distribution. Of course, Korea is a much smaller place than the US, and so it would realistically have to be done at the state or even county level. We have domestic mask producers that can deliver shipments anywhere in the country within a couple of hours, the US definitely does not. I think outside of cities, most people realistically don't need masks or will be ok using a cloth mask/bandana if they are going to, say, the supermarket.
 

denice

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Production capability is a big problem in the U.S. This is the result of offshoring everything for many many years because of lower labor costs. This has been well known in the Rust Belt but now the rest of the country sees the downside to this. We depend not only on production being done offshore but on just in time delivery through global supply chains. Even the ventilators are a problem. Yes we have sites here in the U.S. that put them together but the components for them come from overseas. The reagents used in the original tests for COVID19 comes from overseas. That means going into the lab, developing a test that doesn't depend on them, then mass producing them and getting them out across the country. We don't even make antibiotics in this country anymore. New York just got a plane load of medical supplies from Russia, Putin will be beating us over the head about that one for years to come.

Doctors in New York hospitals have been given the guidelines on how to decide who gets a ventilator and who doesn't. New Orleans is projecting running out of ventilators on April 4 and beds a few days after.
 
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Ceracera

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Before you give Korea too much credit, I will say that most people here don't know how to properly handle or wear them either. Because we only get 2 a week, we wear them multiple days in a row and have to take them on and off to eat and drink. I usually sip water all day at my desk and so every time I have to take a sip, I have to touch the mask. Belatedly, I started carrying mouthwash with me to use after I eat to hopefully keep things a bit fresher in there. I also stopped wearing make-up about a month ago. My skin condition is the worst its been in a while, but whatever, it's not like I'm trying to date anyone at the moment (lol) I dread the weather warming up because it is already swampy under the mask. Then again, most Koreans don't have the sweat bacteria westerners do, so I'm sure most of them are fine.
duno if its available in korea, but philips here makes an electric n95 mask thats really comfortable to wear. Electric masks are rechargeable and have a motor pushing the air into the mask, so it doesnt feel swampy.
The philips one is one of the higher end electric n95s. It has inserts that you change regularly and the outer cover is washable.
 

doomsdave

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There was an article in WSJ this morning, which featured an interview with a nurse in a hospital in the Bronx, which has the highest level of CV-19 patients in NYC. There was another outlet that printed it, too, and I link it here.

Thank you, nurses, for your service. And doctors, orderlies, and others, too.

https://izodnews.com/2020/04/01/what...amps-new-york/

Christina Norstein was hoarse, her nose swollen by mask marks. She wasn’t sleeping much, and woke up crying one morning after a day at work. “I feel like we’re being sent to slaughter,” she said.

In hospitals across New York City and elsewhere in the country, nurses and doctors are complaining about a lack of safety equipment, insufficient staffing, murky policies and other challenges. New York City accounts for the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. On Tuesday morning, the city reported 40,900 cases and 932 deaths.

In the last few weeks, the 57-year-old Ms. Norstein and other nurses say they have seen freezer trucks out back for dead bodies; four to five patients dying every emergency-room shift; the loudspeaker frequently booming out “codes” for patients whose hearts or breathing stopped. Colleagues who were healthy one day fell critically ill the next.
 

pearl99

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There was an article in WSJ this morning, which featured an interview with a nurse in a hospital in the Bronx, which has the highest level of CV-19 patients in NYC. There was another outlet that printed it, too, and I link it here.

Thank you, nurses, for your service. And doctors, orderlies, and others, too.

https://izodnews.com/2020/04/01/what...amps-new-york/

Christina Norstein was hoarse, her nose swollen by mask marks. She wasn’t sleeping much, and woke up crying one morning after a day at work. “I feel like we’re being sent to slaughter,” she said.

In hospitals across New York City and elsewhere in the country, nurses and doctors are complaining about a lack of safety equipment, insufficient staffing, murky policies and other challenges. New York City accounts for the largest number of Covid-19 cases in the U.S. On Tuesday morning, the city reported 40,900 cases and 932 deaths.

In the last few weeks, the 57-year-old Ms. Norstein and other nurses say they have seen freezer trucks out back for dead bodies; four to five patients dying every emergency-room shift; the loudspeaker frequently booming out “codes” for patients whose hearts or breathing stopped. Colleagues who were healthy one day fell critically ill the next.
So awful. I saw interviews on TV last evening with healthcare workers, it's just horrible.
 

pearl99

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Some types of masks (cotton ones for instance) are not effective for the person wearing it against coronavirus- the virus can go through them. So those aren't going to help as far as keeping droplets out. They would remind people not to touch face. And would catch some droplets, who knows how much, if the wearer coughs or sneezes, so that would be good!
And the medical people should have ALL of the medical ones, I think, so people should make their own or wear bandanas, etc.
The CDC is reconsidering recommendation about wearing masks for the general public, thankfully.
I bought an N-95 from Home Depot a couple years ago for doing stuff in my house that was going very dusty, don't know if they are less effective with time or not, but glad I have one if I feel the need.
 

denice

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The nurse that died a little bit ago was taking care of patients with this stuff with no protection at all. He was a manager so he wasn't supposed to be involved with direct patient care so he wasn't issued any protective gear at all. They got so overloaded that he started caring for patients with no protection at all. I saw a picture of him and he didn't look that old, I don't think he was close to middle age.

I really hope the CDC reconsiders this. That isn't because I have an issue with wearing a mask, I am 64 vanity what little I had of it fell by the wayside a long time ago. I am like you, all of the medical grade protection should go to the people in the hospitals and the ambulances period. Now if we had more then enough sure, I would have it and be wearing one every time I went out.
 

tarasgirl06

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Korea is now requiring all out of country travelers to quarantine. My Korean friend just arrived home from Belgium, and she got her self-quarantine kit yesterday after getting tested. Everyone who enters the country has to download an app that tracks their movements and to which they have to upload their temperature readings daily. If they miss a day, they get a call from the government. The kit includes masks, sanitizer, and a thermometer.

They have been catching foreigners who did not self-quarantine and now are trying to decide whether to fine them or deport them (deporting is hard because of flight shortages) Short-term visitors have to stay at a government facility for 2 weeks, but will have to pay their own expenses (~$82/day).
Pretty harsh, but for good reason. Korea is controlling the virus spread very well. Keep it up.
 

doomsdave

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So awful. I saw interviews on TV last evening with healthcare workers, it's just horrible.
A friend of mine, a nurse, also a bit of a crazy cat lady, said, after I told her I was going to do all possible to avoid healthcare facilities, said: "and go to another galaxy if you can."
 

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We have another new case in our county. The week of March 16th a professor at my school and a group of students went to London for spring break. When they got back, the professor was sick and was hospitalized - he's at home now and apparently doing better. We found out yesterday that one of the students is now ill.

To me, that's probably the most concerning thing about this virus - that you can be "sick" for two weeks before showing symptoms. That's a long time to potentially spread it around, but it's also a long time to count exposures - for example, if it were only a couple of days, like with the normal flu, I could go to the grocery store, come home for a couple of days, and if I don't get sick I know I'm not infected. Not the case with this one, and after two weeks it's hard to remember the laces I may have gone in that two week period.
 

Kieka

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Not the case with this one, and after two weeks it's hard to remember the laces I may have gone in that two week period.
Check your phone map application. A lot of them have tracking and will record where you go for .... well since you've had the phone unless you set it to delete. I use it to do my timesheets at work since it tells me when I got to the office and when I leave.
 

Georgia on my Mind

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I live in Suffolk County, NY (about an hour and a half from NYC) and we have 6,713 confirmed cases as of yesterday. My elderly mother lives with me and she's at chemotherapy right now for stage 4 ovarian cancer. I still have to go to work every other week and I am terrified I'm going to bring it home to her.
 

Georgia on my Mind

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I just went shopping and nothing on the shelves. People here are now hoarding light bulbs and toothpaste. Still no toilet paper.
It's been that way here for at least a month. I was lucky enough to find a deli chain here that will deliver and they had pretty much everything I needed. Try smaller convenience stores, delis, bodegas. They have been far better stocked than large supermarket chains.
 

WillowMarie

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I live in Suffolk County, NY (about an hour and a half from NYC) and we have 6,713 confirmed cases as of yesterday. My elderly mother lives with me and she's at chemotherapy right now for stage 4 ovarian cancer. I still have to go to work every other week and I am terrified I'm going to bring it home to her.
A family member of mine just completed chemotherapy this week, and I've been really worried about them, too, since they have to go to a hospital for treatments. Sending positive and healthy vibes to you and your mom. :heartshape:
 

MoonstoneWolf

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It's been that way here for at least a month. I was lucky enough to find a deli chain here that will deliver and they had pretty much everything I needed. Try smaller convenience stores, delis, bodegas. They have been far better stocked than large supermarket chains.
I have. Our smaller stores here are also sold out.
 

tarasgirl06

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Everyone, this is why the CDC and other experts stress stress STRESS the soap and water hand washing for at least 20 second, social distancing, and staying home at all times except for grocery runs and health/veterinary. Because these methods WORK. The nations and communities that are practicing these measures stringently are flattening the curve and keeping cases and deaths low. Look it up for proof.
And when possible, get stuff delivered. Petco.com, Chewy.com and other supply places, as well as eBay and amazon, are the best in these times and always.
 
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