[Itwæs Nom]

In the wake of the Italy thing and a lot of people coming back to Czech from there, and with over 40 confirmed cases in here as of monday and over 20 new ones during tuesday, starting yesterday all schools (except kindergartens) have been shut down and all events with over 100 attendants have been banned by the state until further notice, universities are to follow individual schedules but all the ones I know of have shut down (well more specifically went into kinda distance education mode) for atleast 2 weeks, a major pain in the ass for me as I've just got half a dozen of plants growing in my newly-converted-into-growbox-closet at my uni flat which is at the other end of republic from where I live and don't have anyone to water them in my and mates' absence, and had 2 concerts I really wanted to go to coming up in those weeks, but it seems our governments has done some right calls for once

[Tsundoku]

I was wondering why Iran had been hit so hard so early by this virus. Then I remembered they had fuck-all medical supplies thanks to Trumpian economic sanctions.

My work is already disseminating procedures if you show symptoms or if anyone in your local workplace shows symptoms. Fun times.
Knowing my luck I'll get after everyone else and will miss out on the 2 weeks of Netflix because they won't need me to self-isolate (like they said on The Last Leg it sounds like something a teenage boy says to his mum).

I just have to make sure my Mum is OK though. Her health hasn't been the best recently and she's pretty much in the middle of the highest fatality rate age range.
Hopefully Dad will be OK though, considering his partner is a (semi-retired) nurse. I get the feeling aged care facilities could cop it worst though.

[QuickTidal]

My Mother-in-Law is terminally ill with an affliction that has one of two ends (pneumonia from aspiration, or kidney failure)....so getting this respiratory infection would absolutely finish her...so she's the one we are most concerned about. Now, she doesn't go out, but care workers come into the home every day, so we are trying to exercise a lot of caution.

Canada's cases are starting to go up on the daily, not spiking mind you (I really hope that getting so hard hit by SARS 17 years ago has extra-prepared us for this), but my best friends wife is a respiratory therapist...I'll panic when she panics.

[Morgoth]

I'm being asked to work from home until further notice, as have everyone in the administration. So that's a thing I guess. I'll be sick of my apartment in not too many days I suspect.

[Obdigore]

So, not to freak anyone out, but this is what I'm currently understanding about the virus:

Can spread before the person spreading has symptoms.
Hits the older people very hard, transitions very quickly into pnuemonia.
around 85% are 'minor' cases, which means they don't need medical help to breathe.
The amount of ICU beds in your average area is in no way able to keep up with the amount of people who need medical intervention to breath.
Lots of places are absolutely fucked.
The best thing you can do is assume you're going to get it, but try to get it as late as possible, or right now.
You're going to be in your bed for 1-3 weeks in pain/fever apparently.

This thing sounds pretty gross.

[Malankazooie]

Was reading a breakdown of this being the first one of these happening during the social media zeitgeist. "Infodemic" is a thing. Also, I'm hearing "social distancing" used a lot now.

[Morgoth]

You can also have coronoa with only minimal cold symptoms, but be infectious for weeks. Or so our media is reporting anyways.

[QuickTidal]

A city councillor in my city has it, and is ENTIRELY asymptomatic....he went and got checked because he'd had contact with an infected person, and does indeed have it....but zero symptoms. He's self-quarantined.

[QuickTidal]

Oh, and now a guy from Sudbury who has it, attended the PDAC (mining) convention with 23,000 other people in my city...that was also attended by my Prime Minister, and the Premier of Ontario...like WTF is wrong with my city? Absolutely zero precautions and now some of the 23,000 attendees have been out for more than a week viral shedding this shit amonst the populace...this is likely the community-transmision turning point in my country.

Fucking amateur hour man.

[D'rek]

Sigh, Big Brother China trying to flex even in the midst of this. The John Hopkins GIS map lots of people have been using just switched Taiwan to "Taipei and environs, China". Guess it got too popular, the CCP noticed and started using its connections on JHU to get it switched.

[Malankazooie]

Not sure if this falls under the 'infopanic' category, but was listening to a interview with a doctor and his viewpoint is that everyone should expect to get it eventually.

[Obdigore]

Malankazooie, on 11 March 2020 - 04:32 PM, said:

Not sure if this falls under the 'infopanic' category, but was listening to a interview with a doctor and his viewpoint is that everyone should expect to get it eventually.

Well yea.

The goal is to have the infections spread out to not overwhelm the medical system. There are a bunch more deaths if everyone gets it at the same time than if 5% of the population get it every month.

[Macros]

The goal is to literally flatten the bell curve, same numbers but stretched out to give hospitals a chance, and keep their staff numbers up as well.

I have pretty much zero concerns that my body will kick the fuck out of this virus if I get it, my concern is spreading it to family and friends that might not be able to deal as easily.

[Primateus]

Danish government has just a few moments ago announced that all public schools and non-critical institutions will shut down from Friday and 2 weeks ahead.

[Mezla PigDog]

The coverage in the UK is really annoying me and I only read The Guardian and watch Ch4 news, both of which are quite restrained.

For healthy individuals there is no point worrying. Plan for a few days being bed ridden with a rotten fever and a few more with a cough and sniffles. Then cross your fingers that nothing else unrelated crops up leading to the requirement of medical care because your health system will not be coping trying to care for those who really should be worried about it. Those of us who are healthy and have had it and recovered should get out and care for those around them - everyone is imagining being trapped indoors or dying but the 80% of the population who suffer mild symptoms will bounce right back.

It is very serious for the elderly and already unwell and I feel rotten for those with relatives they are worried about. I've just got back from a trip away and we have agreed at home not to socialise for a while to ensure we aren't part of the problem. The weather is perking up here so we can do loads more outdoors with the sprog anyway.

Otherwise, this has been coming for literally forever. It's a fact of life and although there are things we can do to flatten the bell curve the genie is out of the bottle. We will all have had it before the end and it will become endemic in the population like many many other viruses.

The last time I had proper flu (I know this isn't flu but symptoms are similar) was about 20 years ago and I remember 24 hours stuck in my bed without water, none of my housemates came to check on me and I could hardly breath or sit up, couldn't even call for someone to come into my room - they thought I was out
My lungs burned so bad and I was delirious for much of it. Eventually the fever broke enough I got out of bed and got a drink and started to improve. I had cold symptoms for another couple of weeks I think. Not looking forward to having similar again but such is life and it's not something to be scared of.

[Kanese S's]

QuickTidal, on 03 March 2020 - 01:37 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 03 March 2020 - 08:04 AM, said:

If only Washington had some form of accessible, non-costing healthcare

I heard that screening for this in the USA is $3000 per person/screening.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the fucking SANE world, it's free because WTF is wrong with the United States? There are banana republics that do this better than you.

Instead we have FREEDOM.

Obdigore, on 03 March 2020 - 01:43 PM, said:

QuickTidal, on 03 March 2020 - 01:37 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 03 March 2020 - 08:04 AM, said:

If only Washington had some form of accessible, non-costing healthcare

WTF is wrong with the United States?

Late Stage Capitalism.

Also that.

QuickTidal, on 03 March 2020 - 02:54 PM, said:

Macros, on 03 March 2020 - 02:44 PM, said:

Stuff all over Europe is starting to be cancelled.

I was initially surprised by Italy being such a hotbed, but then I guest tourist destinations like that are going to be ground zero for a lot of this simply because people travel within that 14 day window or aren't symptomatic, and so unknowingly infect others.

In Canada, some clown KNEW she was infected with it (had all the symptoms), and hid it when she landed at the airport from Iran, and proceeded to take a GO bus full of people to get home...some people are so selfish. I've heard rumours that she might be charged with negligence since she was aware of her symptoms and her relative in Iran was legit diagnosed with it before she left.

So exactly like someone in a zombie movie who gets bitten and then sneaks inside with everybody and doesn't tell anyone. Great to know that trope is realistic.

Obdigore, on 03 March 2020 - 08:43 PM, said:

Malankazooie, on 03 March 2020 - 04:36 PM, said:

You guys been washing your hands adequately? You better be. I don't want to have to play the role of "hand washing shamer."

Just in the bathroom at work. Hear someone come in, use the urinal, and then the door opens and I'm alone in the bathroom again. No sound of sink.

People are fucking gross.

Absolutely vile.

Obdigore, on 04 March 2020 - 03:53 PM, said:

D, on 04 March 2020 - 03:51 PM, said:

Obdigore, on 04 March 2020 - 03:41 PM, said:

D, on 04 March 2020 - 03:40 PM, said:

You guys still don't have contactless "tap" where you just hold the card vaguely close to the terminal for a few seconds?

Apple/Google pay and all that jam is available at smaller establishments, but I'm not aware of something like that at the larger ones. It's possible I'm just not using that feature though.

The U.S. in general does seem to be slower to get these things. I remember being surprised when visiting years ago that a lot of places were still doing signatures on receipts for credit cards when even my tiny town back home had upgraded to mobile terminals and PINs.

Signatures are a joke. You can sign any name you want. No one checks and it has nothing to do with card security. Its the same as the TSA, it's to make people think things are secure, not actually there to make it secure.

With signatures it's this weird holdover from earlier times. It's technically the act of signing with a witness itself that makes something legally binding, not the physical signature left behind. This is something I learned when i worked at the county.

Mezla PigDog, on 05 March 2020 - 07:21 AM, said:

It's amazing how many topics can be turned into a "the US is in the Dark Ages" discussion

Almost like there's a pattern there or something.

Silencer, on 05 March 2020 - 11:04 AM, said:

Macros, on 05 March 2020 - 09:48 AM, said:

I have made no such purchases. And refuse to.

I am inclined to the same, was rather annoyed last week when I had a choice between buying no toilet paper, or buying twice what I normally do, because all the regular size packs were sold out. As of today's shop, my local is completely out of: hand sanitizer; toilet paper; canned fruit; dispoable wipes/antibacterial wipes; and running out of regular tissues and other canned food.
It's frankly ridiculous. And ultimately this kind of panic is probably going to do more damage than the Coronavirus was ever likely to, if it causes a recession.

Australian supermarkets are now instituting limits on the amount of certain goods you can purchase, like toilet paper, and rice. SMH.

I went to get toilet paper and like literally only the store brand that we get anyway was left. So lucky, I guess?

Cause, on 05 March 2020 - 04:16 PM, said:

With trump at the helm you just have to hope something more serious doesn't happen. A terrorist crisis, a war, a bigger natural disaster he can't seem to manage any of it, has lost the trust of more than half Americans

Lost? He never had it to begin with.

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 06 March 2020 - 04:09 AM, said:

Maybe this will help bidets to get a foothold in the US. #spraymybutt

We can only hope so. And that's an interesting choice of hashtag.

Aptorian, on 09 March 2020 - 04:53 AM, said:

Wouldn't it be ironic if CPAC was ground zero for a big outbreak?

I'm not sure of the schadenfreude would do much to take the edge off the horror of so many people getting sick and dying.

Primateus, on 11 March 2020 - 09:22 AM, said:

https://www.nytimes....oronavirus.html

What the actual fuck!?

This is a thing? Is this real? This can't be real, can it?

You seem surprised. I'm not sure why you'd be surprised at this. I thought this sort of thing was common knowledge?

[Aptorian]

Primateus, on 11 March 2020 - 08:00 PM, said:

Danish government has just a few moments ago announced that all public schools and non-critical institutions will shut down from Friday and 2 weeks ahead.

Whooo boy. I'd already gone to bed when I got a call from a co-worker about the news. Jumped out of bed, got in my clothes and rushed my local supermarket. Bought a ton of nice to have stuff and got back in time for another call telling me that him and me are the skeleton crew at the library tomorrow. As a library we're pretty much out of commission for two weeks. At least two weeks.

I guess I can finally get around to reading all those newsletters and doing all those tutorials and SOPs I've been wanting to write for our part time staff. And then I'm going to read all the books.

Edit: I should add I've never felt that kind of nervous energy on the street before. Everyone was walking faster, talking louder. Felt like a Saturday night on the town.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 11 March 2020 - 08:55 PM

[Aptorian]

Ugh, I just realized 80% of my work day tomorrow is going to be spent telling people that yes, we're closed on Monday, no I don't know when we'll reopen, yes we will auto-renew your loans, etc. Oh joy.

I bet the leadership at the central library are gonna have a long night. They better have some official guidelines ready in the inbox tomorrow morning or I'll just start selling the furniture.

This post has been edited by Aptorian: 11 March 2020 - 09:13 PM

[Primateus]

Aaaaand I've been informed I have to stay at home. I don't work in a public institution, technically. But I do work as daily maintenance in a gym and community center-ish, so it's definitely open to the public. But even though it's private, it's still closed for the forseeable future.

I guess I can live that.

[Tiste Simeon]

I'm a cop. I'm still going around speaking to people who have likely never washed their hands in their life. It's only a matter of time til I get it...