Coronavirus - Health and preparedness aspects - II

[daylatedollarshort]

Some of the guidelines out there recommend avoiding events like concerts, but I have been wondering if that means arena Rolling Stones type concerts or includes smaller venues, like a local blue grass band at a bar. San Francisco recently posted this: "People 60 and older or with health conditions should avoid gatherings of 50 or more people." In SF the symphony and ballet have been cancelled for at least week. A zoologist who studies events like this said this virus could be around 2 years or more. With those kind of time frames in mind, we've been looking for some moderate measures to take. I can't see sitting home or only going places like hiking for 2 years, but the 50 person gathering seems more reasonable for the long term. That still leaves out most music and theater venues for us, but going out to eat at small restaurants, meeting friends at wineries and breweries in the off hours, and events like that would be lower risk.

 

[Nemo2]

"People 60 and older or with health conditions should avoid gatherings of 50 or more people."

I'd imagine it'd only take 1 person to infect you.

 

[Gumby]

Set phasers to Disinfect.

 

[gwraigty]

I don't have much direct contact with others outside my household. I do the grocery shopping, preferably during less busy hours, and I take my daughter to/from work. Other than that, I consider myself more potentially exposed through the 3 people in my household who work outside the home. There isn't a whole lot more I can do to limit my exposure to this virus.

However, I'm seriously considering cancelling my appointment for a teeth cleaning that's coming up mid-March. The thought of the dental hygienist hovering over me, mere inches from my open mouth for what seems like 30+ minutes or so, who has been hovering over multiple people each and every day under the same circumstances, some of whom may have coughed or sneezed suddenly while their mouths were open...No. Not for just a routine teeth cleaning. It can wait.

I'd feel so guilty and angry at myself if I brought home the virus and caused my 3 family members to have to miss work because of something "optional" like that.

 

[REWahoo]

Some of the guidelines out there recommend avoiding event like concerts, but I have been wondering if that means arena Rolling Stones type concerts or include smaller venues, like a local blue grass band at a small venue.

You'll be safe attending any gathering involving country & western music. Don't think any virus can survive in that environment.

 

[GenXguy]

I'd imagine it'd only take 1 person to infect you.

This is true. I think the main thing is having enough social distance - keeping people at 6 ft or further from you as much as possible, which could be difficult as the body count increases in a defined area.

 

[tmm99]

We need to define the size of the area for the gathering.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I'd imagine it'd only take 1 person to infect you.

I know but are you really going to stay home for a year or more? I'm trying to think of ways to meet up with our friends and get out of the house other than just going to parks or the beach.

 

[harllee]

YIKES!! This is getting too close for comfort. I went to lunch last week with a good friend. Today she calls me to say that her neighbor (who she sees frequently and went to lunch with recently) goes to Church with the first person to test positive in North Carolina. This man visited someone in the Washington State nursing home that has had the big outbreak. The man did not know about the outbreak, felt fine, flew back home to NC and went about his normal life for 2 weeks (including going to Church) and then got sick and tested positive for the virus.

The folks in his Church are considering self quarantine. My friend that I had lunch with last week is also considering self quarantine. So far my friend does not have any symptoms. Where does it stop? How many degrees of separation? I guess if my friend or her neighbor get symptoms I should self quarantine too?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We need to define the size of the area for the gathering.

Good point. We're cancelling plans to attend a party that would have been around 50 people inside a house. It is a good sized house, but not a mansion and was pretty crowded at the last event we attended there.

 

[Sunset]

YIKES!! This is getting too close for comfort. I went to lunch last week with a good friend. Today she calls me to say that her neighbor (who she sees frequently and went to lunch with recently) goes to Church with the first person to test positive in North Carolina. This man visited someone in the Washington State nursing home that has had the big outbreak. The man did not know about the outbreak, felt fine, flew back home to NC and went about his normal life for 2 weeks (including going to Church) and then got sick and tested positive for the virus.

The folks in his Church are considering self quarantine. My friend that I had lunch with last week is also considering self quarantine. So far my friend does not have any symptoms. Where does it stop? How many degrees of separation? I guess if my friend or her neighbor get symptoms I should self quarantine too?

And this is why the spread of this is inevitable. Since Covid-19 can be spread prior to symptoms showing,
That fellow spread it around.
Many of his Church members are spreading it around, and will only stop when self-quarantined.
And harllee may be spreading it right now (thank goodness I have anti-virus software ).

People are spreading it, before they even know they are sick. I could be one as well, will only know if I was sick now, in about 2 weeks.

 

[Nemo2]

I know but are you really going to stay home for a year or more? I'm trying to think of ways to meet up with our friends and get out of the house other than just going to parks or the beach.

To paraphrase Joe Louis "You can hide but you can't run".

 

[TromboneAl]

I accidentally said I was 72, but actually right now I am 71.

I wonder what made you confused about your age.

 

[harllee]

And this is why the spread of this is inevitable. Since Covid-19 can be spread prior to symptoms showing,
That fellow spread it around.
Many of his Church members are spreading it around, and will only stop when self-quarantined.
And harllee may be spreading it right now (thank goodness I have anti-virus software ).

People are spreading it, before they even know they are sick. I could be one as well, will only know if I was sick now, in about 2 weeks.

I was feeling OK until I read your lame antivirus software joke!! HAHA. I guess it is either laugh or cry.

 

[doneat54]

You'll be safe attending any gathering involving country & western music. Don't think any virus can survive in that environment.

LOL!! Thanks for the chuckle!!!

 

[gwraigty]

YIKES!! This is getting too close for comfort. I went to lunch last week with a good friend. Today she calls me to say that her neighbor (who she sees frequently and went to lunch with recently) goes to Church with the first person to test positive in North Carolina. This man visited someone in the Washington State nursing home that has had the big outbreak. The man did not know about the outbreak, felt fine, flew back home to NC and went about his normal life for 2 weeks (including going to Church) and then got sick and tested positive for the virus.

The folks in his Church are considering self quarantine. My friend that I had lunch with last week is also considering self quarantine. So far my friend does not have any symptoms. Where does it stop? How many degrees of separation? I guess if my friend or her neighbor get symptoms I should self quarantine too?

You could self-quarantine now, then the next time you run into a friend of a friend of an acquaintance, whose 3rd cousin once removed spoke to the mailman who...you get the idea. So my answer would be no. Someone who works wouldn't be able to self-quarantine under those circumstances.

Please don't think I'm mocking you. I'm not. I've wrestled with what our household would do if one of us came down sick, but not sick enough to warrant seeking medical care or testing. Employer policies aren't really written for the type of situation that is presenting itself right now.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

And this is why the spread of this is inevitable. Since Covid-19 can be spread prior to symptoms showing,
That fellow spread it around.
Many of his Church members are spreading it around, and will only stop when self-quarantined.
And harllee may be spreading it right now (thank goodness I have anti-virus software ).

People are spreading it, before they even know they are sick. I could be one as well, will only know if I was sick now, in about 2 weeks.

But just because it is inevitable doesn't mean we shouldn't try to take precautions to prevent the spread. First, we want to spread out the cases, so we don't have a huge portion of the country incapacitated at once (see graph). Second, your precautions could prevent you from spreading it to a more vulnerable person who might be more likely to be seriously incapacitated or die from it.

ref: https://www.economist.com/briefing/...now-in-50-countries-and-things-will-get-worse

 

[W2R]

I know but are you really going to stay home for a year or more? I'm trying to think of ways to meet up with our friends and get out of the house other than just going to parks or the beach.

Believe me, I feel for you and others as we try to figure out this dilemma.

I have enough to keep me busy and happy at home for a year or more. Still, I know that during knee surgery recovery, I really missed seeing the weather and nature, feeling the wind on my face, and so on. I almost cried with joy when I got to go outside for the first time, and that was after only about 2 weeks IIRC.

However if I was to be in self quarantine, I'd probably be able to spend some time sitting on my patio in the back yard so at least I'd be exposed to some of the beauties of nature; a ray of sunshine, a little breeze fluffing up my hair, and so on. F and I talked about self quarantine, should it become necessary, and we could talk using cell phones and see one another from a distance. Also he has walkie-talkies that we could use if need be.

Perhaps you could meet up with your friends using Facetime, or regular phone calls. Getting out of the house doesn't have to mean leaving home, if you have a back yard. You could also drive around without exposing yourself to a sick person if you were alone in the car with the windows up.

I only have 3 months' worth of food here, so if a quarantine lasted a year or more, I'd probably have to order more from some place like Amazon. But, there's no guarantee that it would arrive virus free.

 

[stepford]

I think I'm enough of a hermit by temperament that I could self-isolate for months if necessary. If I tried to make my wife do that, however... let's just say COVID-19 would not be my likely cause of death.

 

[MarieIG]

Just got back from a doc-in-a-box. Was diagnosed with a "viral syndrome," told to manage the symptoms (which include a hacking dry cough, pain, fatigue, dizziness, etc.) and told to call my primary care on Monday. I was asked if I had been out of the Country in the last two weeks; and if I had a flu shot. No swab was deemed necessary because my vitals were good. Sigh . . . The place was crowded and I felt it was a "punt."

 

[JoeWras]

And this is why the spread of this is inevitable. Since Covid-19 can be spread prior to symptoms showing,
That fellow spread it around.
Many of his Church members are spreading it around, and will only stop when self-quarantined.
And harllee may be spreading it right now (thank goodness I have anti-virus software ).

People are spreading it, before they even know they are sick. I could be one as well, will only know if I was sick now, in about 2 weeks.

Yeah, but he's at least being responsible. He got sick, heard about the outbreak, and called the authorities.

For each of him, there will be many others in denial or who just don't care. I can't tell you the times I've been at church with people coughing, sneezing and spewing whatever... only to say, "But I'm not contagious."

Hogwash.

I don't get it. Stay home. Not just COVID, but for everything else. This business of declaring oneself immaculately free from spreading contagion has to stop.

 

[sengsational]

There should be some virus killing glove developed...maybe little tiny UV emitting sources all over it or some form of non staining disinfectant imbedded in the surface.

I pictured rubber gloves with cotton gloves over those, and a bin of isopropyl alcohol to periodically dip the gloves in. I'd feel a lot better about taking an item from the flight attendant with that set-up than with a pair of blue gloves. Concerning the other 'invention', I was looking in the mirror and trying to figure out if the angle of arms could be used detect and, in shock collar style, alert the wearer of some arm attached devices that they were touching their face I came to 4 blue tooth devices, paired with your phone. If an arm got in a configuration that indicated a hand was near head, it would beep. Or a each device could have a buzzer, so that arm would get feedback. Let's see if we can get funding for it!

Just got back from a doc-in-a-box. Was diagnosed with a "viral syndrome," ...

Oh, no
So serious now. I hope things work out ok for you.

 

[TromboneAl]

On the difficulty of not touching your face:

 

[TromboneAl]

But just because it is inevitable doesn't mean we shouldn't try to take precautions to prevent the spread. First, we want to spread out the cases, so we don't have a huge portion of the country incapacitated at once (see graph). Second, your precautions could prevent you from spreading it to a more vulnerable person who might be more likely to be seriously incapacitated or die from it.

ref: https://www.economist.com/briefing/...now-in-50-countries-and-things-will-get-worse

Wow, excellent point. Something I wouldn't have realized without this forum.

Here, I fixed the poor labeling that caused me to misunderstand the graph at first:

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Believe me, I feel for you and others as we try to figure out this dilemma.

I have enough to keep me busy and happy at home for a year or more. Still, I know that during knee surgery recovery, I really missed seeing the weather and nature, feeling the wind on my face, and so on. I almost cried with joy when I got to go outside for the first time, and that was after only about 2 weeks IIRC.

However if I was to be in self quarantine, I'd probably be able to spend some time sitting on my patio in the back yard so at least I'd be exposed to some of the beauties of nature; a ray of sunshine, a little breeze fluffing up my hair, and so on. F and I talked about self quarantine, should it become necessary, and we could talk using cell phones and see one another from a distance. Also he has walkie-talkies that we could use if need be.

Perhaps you could meet up with your friends using Facetime, or regular phone calls. Getting out of the house doesn't have to mean leaving home, if you have a back yard. You could also drive around without exposing yourself to a sick person if you were alone in the car with the windows up.

I only have 3 months' worth of food here, so if a quarantine lasted a year or more, I'd probably have to order more from some place like Amazon. But, there's no guarantee that it would arrive virus free.

We're pretty social so I doubt we would stay home for a year. But I could see switching the theater, dinner out and dance groups for activities like bird watching and gold panning. On the plus side, I've lost weight not going out to eat and Corona beer has been on sale.

In recent news here Stanford University has cancelled on-campus classes and is going to online only.