Coronavirus / COVID - 19

[JessLess 1,163]

Thanks for the update from Mississippi. Some people think things will improve when the weather gets warmer, so I was wondering how things were going in states where it's already warm. In Boston, all kids are out of school through April and most religious institutions are closed. The Boston Marathon has been pushed to the fall. I agree it's going to be a huge hardship for parents and anyone who gets laid off.

[lisafrommassachusetts 319]

In Western Mass most schools are closed until the end of March; in Springfield there are sites throughout the city for students to get a take home Breakfast and lunch for free. (Springfield has a very high percentage of students living in poverty). It is the hourly workers and parents with younger kids who are suddenly home with no one to watch them that must be scrambling. In our state there can be no gatherings of more than 250 people, so concerts, our local huge St. Patrick's day parade and road race, churches, etc. are all closed. Restaurants are deserted. Our local grocery stores have some shortages, but not like what friends and family elsewhere are experiencing. We have a local MGM casino, it is closed for at least 2 weeks. Scary times, odd times, I worry about our seniors, parents, low wage earners and small businesses. We have so many friends and family members who work in the medical field; I worry about them! I read today that sunshine is good for killing the virus; I kind of doubt it because it sure has walloped Australia (where it is summer!); but it is good for our mental health. Trying to practice conscious gratitude every day, and getting outside for some fresh air and movement.

It almost doesn't seem real. Hope everyone is staying healthy and hopeful.

[Slownstedy 210]

On 3/11/2020 at 5:44 PM, AZhiker said:

The virus has been seeded throughout the country and I think the next couple of weeks will show a lot more cases as all the ones incubating now will pop up. Most of us will eventually get exposed and develop immunity - just like with West Nile Virus that now lives among us. The biggest problem is the disruption of services and the financial impact on businesses and families. I work in a hospital and masks are in short supply already. Most of our masks and protective equipment are made in China. China has shut down a lot of these factories, so that is a very real issue. Some hospitals are shutting down services like elective surgeries in order to save supplies for emergencies.

Bottom line - we will get past this. The more we can slow the spread, the better off we will be. The elderly are the most vulnerable and I worry about my 86 year old mom in a care facility. People will die, yes, but up to 40,000 people die in the US each year from the flu and still, a lot of folks won't get a flu shot. In another year, this will just be another virus that lives with us.

My take on the whole thing is that it is an excellent rehearsal in preparedness for a really BAD pandemic, with a much higher mortality. If the avian flu ever mutates and goes person to person, it will wipe out over half the world's population. If we can learn lessons from this Coronavirus outbreak, it could actually be the best thing to happen. People need to be prepared with food, Water, medicine - for ANY disaster. FEMA, the CDC, and state health departments have been saying this for years, but people still don't even have enough TP in their homes to last 2 weeks!

This already is a real bad Pandemic . Take care.

[Pansypicker 32]

Just a little bit of funny if someone needs a laugh.

[summerset 5,265]

lol

[DeadSpaceGrave 53]

Yeah , us special dieters cant buy alot of things we have to eat. Even those that are elderly and disabled with special diets. Even kids !

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[DaisyChainOz 343]

On 3/15/2020 at 12:20 PM, lisafrommassachusetts said:

I read today that sunshine is good for killing the virus; I kind of doubt it because it sure has walloped Australia (where it is summer!);

Hi Lisa,

When you wrote that in March yes it was the end of our Summer and we did not shut down as a country until around the 22nd of March...I was stood down from my job along with most of the country on the 31st of March.

I am not quite sure what constitutes "walloped" where you are, but just to clarify, we in Australia have had a very lucky and "best case" scenario when it comes to Covid, whilst the lock down has been difficult and economically challenging, our death rate had been truly astounding considering that we travel the world a lot and have a very large international tourism industry.

As of today May 30, we have only lost 103 people due to Covid-19 and only 7,200 total cases in the country since the pandemic hit, currently there are only 2 people on ventilators due to Covid in the whole country.

We have moved from level 4 lockdown and are at level 2 or even 1 in some states now and the country is starting to return to normal, although travel especially any international travel to or from will be off the cards for a long time I think.

Was it due to the fact it hit in Summer?... The distance we are from the rest of the world?.. Quick, decisive and thorough lock down as soon as the scale of the problem was identified? or Just sheer good luck?

No doubt analyists will be studying, conjecting and analysing for years to come.

I hope and pray the rest of the world can get some better outcomes from this in the very near future, the death rate has been truly appalling in so many developed nations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_by_country_and_territory

[lisafrommassachusetts 319]

@DaisyChainOz; Thank you for the clarification. My goodness, what a different world it was March 14th! I know it is not quite 3 months back, but it feels so much longer ago. Where I live, in Massachusetts, we had (have) a huge crisis with Covid19. We have had over 102,000 confirmed cases, with over 7,000 deaths to date. For context, our population is just shy of 7 million in this state.

Now, as you know, our streets are teeming with protesters, at the same time we are trying to slowly re-open the country a bit. Since where I live (like in NY, Connecticut, etc.) the virus has been so virulent lots of us are anxious about re-opening, but the financial devastation is also frightening.

I have been amazed and impressed by how other places, including Australia, have dealt with the pandemic. I hope and pray that we get effective treatment, and a vaccine, while simultaneously dealing with all the issues that have lead to the social unrest we are now seeing.

I have told several people, while it was strange to be going through the lockdown and pandemic right after surgery, the hardest part, I think, has been not being able to see my friends and family in person. I also miss having a beer!

Hope things continue to go well in Australia for you and your family.

[DaisyChainOz 343]

1 hour ago, lisafrommassachusetts said:

@DaisyChainOz; Thank you for the clarification. My goodness, what a different world it was March 14th! I know it is not quite 3 months back, but it feels so much longer ago. Where I live, in Massachusetts, we had (have) a huge crisis with Covid19. We have had over 102,000 confirmed cases, with over 7,000 deaths to date. For context, our population is just shy of 7 million in this state.

Now, as you know, our streets are teeming with protesters, at the same time we are trying to slowly re-open the country a bit. Since where I live (like in NY, Connecticut, etc.) the virus has been so virulent lots of us are anxious about re-opening, but the financial devastation is also frightening.

I have been amazed and impressed by how other places, including Australia, have dealt with the pandemic. I hope and pray that we get effective treatment, and a vaccine, while simultaneously dealing with all the issues that have lead to the social unrest we are now seeing.

I have told several people, while it was strange to be going through the lockdown and pandemic right after surgery, the hardest part, I think, has been not being able to see my friends and family in person. I also miss having a beer!

Hope things continue to go well in Australia for you and your family.

Gosh you are so right!! I was at a funeral interstate on the 14th of March, flew to the nearest town, hired a car, drove 1.5 hours, hugged and cried with a hundred + other mourners, many of whom travelled interstate or internationally to get there..... seems like about a year ago and a different world, everything changed here about a few days later, and none of that would be possible even now!!!

Wow, I can imagine you are anxious about re-opening up, the protests (whilst I can understand completely) seem like just asking for a second - worse wave of infections... so difficult and so stressful for everyone right now, it must be really hard living there.

We are all pretty stunned and amazed down here at how "lucky" we have been... just a blessing really, could so easily have been a very different story, I am impressed with (most of) my fellow Aussies and how we have pulled this off... somehow!!! We are slowly getting back to normal, but still wary of a second wave here.

I don't think anyone or any country can be complacent until that effective treatment and vaccine are widely available.. no point only one level of society/advantage having access to it.

I miss my family too... so much, my family all live interstate and I can't get to see them, nor them me for now... not sure when that will change either.

Thank you for the kind thought, I wish you and your family all the very best in these trying times!