Wow, it’s getting really scary in Texas - and everywhere else!

[Sunset]

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Originally Posted by mf15 Well one thing I did to try and protect ourselves is to install a UVC light in the furnace return duct. When the grandkids come over I have the blower on. What you see in the picture is visible light not the UV which does the killing. Oldmike

That is pretty interesting, as well as interesting to see how clean the ducts are.

Any chance you could provide a reference site how to do this, and tips you discovered while doing it

[Katsmeow]

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Originally Posted by Car-Guy I skimmed the article and it made me think about the current rules here. I honestly don't know what the rules are in Texas "at this time". Here in the rural parts of East and Central Texas today it "looks" like there are none with regards to mask, capacities, social distancing, etc.... The rules were changing so often, I quit trying to keep up... From the looks of things everything is open at 100%, and the wearing of masks is optional... All the restaurants are open.. Some still have every other table closed, others do not. Stores quit offering masks at the door but still have signs posted... Clearly some people either can't read or just don't care. No enforcement... I'm not sure how it is in the big cities and I'm not going there to find out. No wonder why we were the first state to have a million documented cases..

There is a mask mandate in Texas. The counties that are exempt from the requirements are at this site:

https://tdem.texas.gov/ga29/

Most of East Texas is not exempt.

I live in a suburban area of a large county. My experience is that people do wear masks at indoor places. Not everyone wears them properly. Some start out wearing them properly, but will pull them below their nose or even lower as time goes on.

I voted during early voting. Masks weren't required but everyone had a mask on. I saw one person with their mask under their nose. One person didn't have his mask on outside but put it on inside (there was about a 20 minute long line).

I haven't been to a restaurant or gym or bar since March so I don't know what capacity limits they are observing. My understanding on bars is that opening is up to the specific county. Most of the larger urban counties have not opened bars. Since restaurants with bars are open I am not sure how much good that does as a practical matter though.

The two things that I think would help most in Texas would be closing down bars and limiting restaurants to take out and outdoor dining with distancing. Some of the recent studies suggest that indoor restaurants are particularly high risk which makes sense given that people have to take off masks to eat, there is often a lot of talking, and the ventilation is often not that great. And, of course, the big thing is that people are usually there for an extended time. It is likely going on a relatively brief trip to the grocery store. And, it isn't like running into a restaurant to pick a takeout order (although most places have curbside).

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound It appears to me that rural areas that are sparsely populated would have a much easier time to control the virus spread, compared to crowded cities. All it would take is a bit of care and caution. As long as you don't go kissing and hugging everyone at the trading post, the country store, the church, and maintain some decent social distancing, you will not have a problem. And you can do that without the county commissioners decreeing some mandate.

Well, I think that was very true initially, and that’s why this summer most rural areas were barely affected by the virus, unless there was some large local super spreader event like a large funeral bringing in out of town folks or a factory/meat packing plant outbreak, etc. And that led to overconfidence, not taking virus seriously, a we can go “back to normal” attitude, and inevitably the virus caught up with them with a vengeance. And we are seeing the result now. But it seems that instead of realizing that they are vulnerable too and should take care, attitudes haven’t changed and they cling to the “not us” mentality.

I really noticed this in rural GA over the summer and early fall. Local mandates were very limited, except for limits on large gatherings were recommendations in most cases, and compliance with general safety recommendations dropped steadily, replaced by a “not us” mentality in spite of an eventual alarming rise in local cases. If it hadn’t been for the universal Walmart mask requirement and that our favorite meat market required masks and had high compliance, I’m not sure what we would have done shopping wise. We wouldn’t have been able to shop locally, I expect. My dad’s attorney would wear a mask if I requested it but generally did not otherwise (unless shopping in Walmart I noticed), and the probate judge did not wear a mask in his small office when meeting with folks, nor any of the county courthouse staff, nor the vast majority of the folks coming into the courthouse building for early voting. And this in spite of local numbers that weren’t good at all and hadn’t been for a while. At least no handshaking and (absolutely minimum) social distancing was observed and inside doors kept open in the courthouse.

I suspect social distancing is generally ignored in these low population areas, let alone other precautions between “neighbors”, so once the virus gets into the community, it easily spreads. Low population won’t help if people don’t socially distance.

[donheff]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound It appears to me that rural areas that are sparsely populated would have a much easier time to control the virus spread, compared to crowded cities. All it would take is a bit of care and caution. As long as you don't go kissing and hugging everyone at the trading post, the country store, the church, and maintain some decent social distancing, you will not have a problem. And you can do that without the county commissioners decreeing some mandate.

I suspect quite a few smart seniors in these areas are doing just that and avoiding the virus - if they live alone or in two person households and can readily do so. With the bulk of the population in denial it can be near impossible for workers and large households to protect themselves. Eventually someone in the house contracts it and then spreads it to others.

[Aerides]

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Originally Posted by NW-Bound It appears to me that rural areas that are sparsely populated would have a much easier time to control the virus spread, compared to crowded cities.

You would think so, given all the "aha that's why new york..." of the initial wave assumed mass transit and population density was a factor.

But really not I guess. I mean if you are rural, and your social circle is a dozen folks, and one person gets it...well, off we go. And even small circles overlap, and 1 becomes 20 in short order.

Reminds me of a shampoo commercial in the 80's "And then they tell two friends and then they tell two friends..."

[big-papa]

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Originally Posted by Aerides You would think so, given all the "aha that's why new york..." of the initial wave assumed mass transit and population density was a factor. But really not I guess. I mean if you are rural, and your social circle is a dozen folks, and one person gets it...well, off we go. And even small circles overlap, and 1 becomes 20 in short order. Reminds me of a shampoo commercial in the 80's "And then they tell two friends and then they tell two friends..."

".... and so on, and so on, and so on." Glad to see I'm not the only one with old commercials stuck in my head, wasting valuable memory space that I could probably use for something more productive. Where is the "delete file" shortcut?

[retire-early]

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Originally Posted by Aerides I mean if you are rural, and your social circle is a dozen folks, and one person gets it...well, off we go. And even small circles overlap, and 1 becomes 20 in short order.

I was reading in an article that in rural areas there is usually just one of anything --- one grocery store, one church, one high school, etc.
So that is how the virus can spread as easily as in a big city.

All it takes is one person.

.

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mf15 Well one thing I did to try and protect ourselves is to install a UVC light in the furnace return duct. When the grandkids come over I have the blower on. What you see in the picture is visible light not the UV which does the killing. Oldmike

More information please. I'm interested in what is involved in the installation and the UVC light used.


Cheers!

[GravitySucks]

My survival depends on the common sense of others.
I'm doomed.

[NW-Bound]

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Originally Posted by GravitySucks My survival depends on the common sense of others.

But has the above always been true? Ever since humans banded together to live in caves for mutual assistance and protection, we depend on each other. And there have always been some rogue elements that have to be dealt with, and that's the price to pay if we don't want to live on an island by ourselves.

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I'm doomed.

Not necessarily. We can tell who those rogue elements are, and stay away from them.

It's not a sure thing though, the same way you cannot tell if the car approaching you in the opposite direction has a texting idiot on board. What can you do? Maybe always drive a 1-ton pickup, or a Hummer to improve your chance?

It does make you mad thinking about it, but sadly there's only so much one can do.

[Gumby]

Modern life has simply become too safe for idiots. Back in the day, they would quickly become a saber-toothed tiger's lunch, and then we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

[audreyh1]

Seems like it!

[Navigator]

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Originally Posted by Gumby Modern life has simply become too safe for idiots. Back in the day, they would quickly become a saber-toothed tiger's lunch, and then we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

Well said!

[timo2]

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Originally Posted by GravitySucks My survival depends on the common sense of others. I'm doomed.

When common sense fails, we have new rules implemented.

New Mexico today announced what is doing basically a 'reboot' in its COVID response. A two week very tight limitation on business operation, followed by a county by county tiered benchmark opening system like other States have used.

[retire-early]

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Originally Posted by Gumby Modern life has simply become too safe for idiots. Back in the day, they would quickly become a saber-toothed tiger's lunch, and then we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

While dying of COVID-19 is of equal severity to being eaten by a saber-toothed tiger, it is not as immediate. There is a time lag of up to 14 days. This leads people to not see the correlation of their actions to the consequences.

[BigNick]

Health-care workers can’t go on like this.

[bobbyr]

I tested positive yesterday, think I picked it up Sunday after a golf game at the local watering hole with my crew (3 positives so far). I definitely let my guard down a bit and am paying for it.

Age 62, 6'1, 235 pretty good shape, walk a lot, no big health issues other than apnea/cpap
symptoms so far: dry cough, tired (duh), diahrea, a bit achy, sore throat

fingers crossed for a smooth next 10 days.

[Sanstar]

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Originally Posted by bobbyr I tested positive yesterday, think I picked it up Sunday after a golf game at the local watering hole with my crew (3 positives so far). I definitely let my guard down a bit and am paying for it. Age 62, 6'1, 235 pretty good shape, walk a lot, no big health issues other than apnea/cpap symptoms so far: dry cough, tired (duh), diahrea, a bit achy, sore throat fingers crossed for a smooth next 10 days.

Praying for a mild illness and speedy recovery, Bobbyr.

[Dtail]

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Originally Posted by bobbyr I tested positive yesterday, think I picked it up Sunday after a golf game at the local watering hole with my crew (3 positives so far). I definitely let my guard down a bit and am paying for it. Age 62, 6'1, 235 pretty good shape, walk a lot, no big health issues other than apnea/cpap symptoms so far: dry cough, tired (duh), diahrea, a bit achy, sore throat fingers crossed for a smooth next 10 days.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[audreyh1]

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Originally Posted by bobbyr I tested positive yesterday, think I picked it up Sunday after a golf game at the local watering hole with my crew (3 positives so far). I definitely let my guard down a bit and am paying for it. Age 62, 6'1, 235 pretty good shape, walk a lot, no big health issues other than apnea/cpap symptoms so far: dry cough, tired (duh), diahrea, a bit achy, sore throat fingers crossed for a smooth next 10 days.

I hope you have a mild case and recover quickly!