Global Pandemic Part III: A typical Spring, Just Ask China

[Hewson]

So sad that Broadway actor Nick Cordero died after his long battle with this horrible virus. Forty one years old, leaves his wife and one year old son.

Yeah his ordeal was awful to hear about. So many ups & downs, likely would have ended up needing a double lung transplant if he had survived and had a leg amputated. Wonder if his was one of the 99% of cases that is harmless.

 

[BEAL]

And the fact no one in this administration will state that 99% claim is false.

I’m curious what the % actually is.

We know it’s a 15-20% chance as an adult you could end up in a hospital.

I’m curious what the numbers are of people who’ve gotten this and struggled to return to their normal, optimal health?

My concern with this virus has always been what long term damage could it do to my body ?

Short term while sick is how to take care of my dog if it’s severe enough to knock me down?? Suppose neighbors could help out if they’re not freaked out

 

[LemonMelon]

LA has been averaging a 3% hospitalization rate per new case since cases really started ramping up among the youth:

[TWEET]1278849526770499584[/TWEET]

 

[dazzledbylight]

Yet another appalling thing he has said, and another lie.

I was watching Face The Nation this morning, Margaret Brennan said they've been trying to get Dr. Fauci on for three months and the WH won't "grant permission". It's beyond pathetic. I'm so sick of living with this crap because of the fools who voted for him.

Dr Faucci has appeared on either Public Radio WNYC-AM or NPR in the last 7 - 10 days.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

That's so interesting, I hope and pray it will be meaningful.

So sad that Broadway actor Nick Cordero died after his long battle with this horrible virus. Forty one years old, leaves his wife and one year old son.

Yeah, that was just heartbreaking. Sure, as time went on things didn't look good, but he put up such a fight, you just kept hoping well, maybe...

I'm so sorry for his wife and son.

 

[Hewson]

Keisha Lance Bottoms has The Rona, but is asymptomatic.

 

[BEAL]

https://twitter.com/abc27/status/1280263688017108992?s=21

Florida always leading the way....


https://twitter.com/cnnbrasil/status/1280261911582474240?s=21

Brazilian Trump has Covid like symptoms....awaiting test results tomorrow

 

[anitram]

https://twitter.com/abc27/status/1280263688017108992?s=21

Florida always leading the way....

Their hospitals should be overrun well before August...

 

[BEAL]

I know those problem states have requested masks to be worn, but will the people wear them after being so against it ?

San Diego has closed indoor dining, movie theaters, the zoo, etc for the next three weeks.

Gyms were not on the list which i found surprising.

We need to get back to the CDC plan. You can’t move into the next phase unless you meet the criteria.

 

[LemonMelon]

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/health/regeneron-coronavirus-antibody-drug-bn/index.html

Synthesized antibodies will be the bridge to a vaccine and they're coming along nicely.

 

[Irvine511]

Spending a couple of days in the northeast — CT/NY/MA — and mask useage and social distancing are exemplary. I’m very impressed. It’s nice to know thet some people are capable of braving like adults.

It is possible, even with a toddler President.

 

[BEAL]

https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1280283199445311488?s=21

Andy has really good nightly threads

 

[Hewson]

Spending a couple of days in the northeast — CT/NY/MA — and mask useage and social distancing are exemplary. I’m very impressed. It’s nice to know thet some people are capable of braving like adults.

It is possible, even with a toddler President.

I see excellent compliance here in MA almost all the time, and it is reflected in the numbers.
It astounds me that there's so much push back on simple things like wearing a mask in a grocery store or similar. Maybe the halting & rolling back of opening sectors of the economy in the sun belt will finally give folks the nudge they need to be smarter, but who knows.
Of course bars & nightclubs are still closed here, slated for phase 4, which Baker announced last week would happen "when a vaccine becomes available", so that does eliminate one of the biggest recent spread areas other places have seen.

 

[anitram]

I know those problem states have requested masks to be worn, but will the people wear them after being so against it ?

San Diego has closed indoor dining, movie theaters, the zoo, etc for the next three weeks.

Gyms were not on the list which i found surprising.

We need to get back to the CDC plan. You can’t move into the next phase unless you meet the criteria.

I find the whole mask thing to be really disappointing for several reasons.

First, our governments basically all (outside Asia) immediately proclaimed that masks don't protect you and only need to be worn by healthcare workers. This was absolute idiocy and nonsense but I understand that they did it because there wasn't enough PPE to go around. Instead they should have said, medical-grade masks are not going to be available to the public until we secure enough PPE for our frontline workers BUT we encourage the public to wear homemade masks, etc.

Then a few months later suddenly masks are required while you spent most of the winter/spring convincing people that there is no need for them. It's poor decision making.

 

[anitram]

Of course bars & nightclubs are still closed here, slated for phase 4, which Baker announced last week would happen "when a vaccine becomes available", so that does eliminate one of the biggest recent spread areas other places have seen.

Bars could maybe be open with very strict rules.

Night clubs have no business being open anytime soon. This has literally been the main issue in every single jurisdiction that opened them. The evidence is clear across Europe, Asia, etc - nightclubs must stay closed. Now somebody will come and say I have no empathy for the business owners, but realistically we just can't have this sector operating, much like we can't have packed cruise ships.

 

[gump]

Daycare centers may be reopening in New York next week, and this will raise some uncomfortable questions for me. As one of two working parents of a 17-month old child, I am desperate for daycares to reopen, but I have no confidence that it is safe at all. We will likely give it some time to see the actual results and take it from there.

 

[anitram]

Daycare centers may be reopening in New York next week, and this will raise some uncomfortable questions for me. As one of two working parents of a 17-month old child, I am desperate for daycares to reopen, but I have no confidence that it is safe at all. We will likely give it some time to see the actual results and take it from there.

Ours reopened a couple of weeks ago - restricted to 8 kids + 2 teachers per room. So most people didn't get a spot in any event. We elected to keep our daughter at home through the summer since our son (going in to senior kindergarten in September) is also home and we just didn't feel like being the first to try. It's not ideal - teachers are all masked, kids can't sing, can't touch other kids, have to sit with empty chairs between them at lunch time for distancing, all soft toys that can't be cleaned easily had to be removed and so on.

 

[gump]

Ours reopened a couple of weeks ago - restricted to 8 kids + 2 teachers per room. So most people didn't get a spot in any event. We elected to keep our daughter at home through the summer since our son (going in to senior kindergarten in September) is also home and we just didn't feel like being the first to try. It's not ideal - teachers are all masked, kids can't sing, can't touch other kids, have to sit with empty chairs between them at lunch time for distancing, all soft toys that can't be cleaned easily had to be removed and so on.

Thanks, this is helpful. At least for the first few weeks we are leaning towards keeping him at home (he's also still teething and puts everything in his mouth, so not a great age to be exposed to a pandemic). It's just so frustrating to not have an end in sight while work continues unabated.

 

[Hewson]

I feel for those of you figuring out day care. Trying to get toddlers to social distance etc. will be like trying to herd cats.
Hopeful my teenager will be back in high school come September (safely). We have received word that currently that is the plan, with mask requirements, spreading out of desks (all facing the same direction also, which makes sense) and other protocols.
They are still figuring out buses and whether or not sports/drama/music etc. will happen. Lots of unknowns still and everything of course subject to change at any moment.
But we are preparing. He wants to return to in person school. Bought some cloth face masks on Etsy for him with Mario Brothers and Simpsons on them, make sure he has enough to get through a week and wash them on the weekend.
Thanks 2020.

 

[Jerry Dunk]

I have not been in my office in just about four months, but it looks like I'll need to be in person two or three times over the next two weeks. I'll obviously wear a mask and social distance as much as possible, but it's an air conditioned office with no ventilation.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

We had to bring our old nanny back, starting this week, for our 2 year old as daycare centers are still closed and I'm going to be going to the office to do some virtual programming during the day starting on Monday.

It's a risk but we trust her, as she was with our youngest for a couple of years before he transitioned to preschool. And honestly we don't have much of a choice. She was tested before starting and is going to get tested each week. Thankfully testing is abundant here. If it still wasn't we might have gone a different route - but I'm unsure of what that route would have been.

Our preschool is supposed to reopen in the fall with smaller class sizes and what not, and for now we are planning on sending him. We'll see how things evolve as we get closer.

Our oldest is supposed to start kindergarten in September. We're still waiting on word from DCPS on which of the multiple formats they've suggested will be chosen.

I'd say there's probably a 50/50 shot that I get furloughed in the fall - for how long probably depends on how the vaccine is coming along. Hopping it doesn't happen but not holding my breath. Already at a 20% pay cut, suspension of raises, bonuses and 401k matching so it's the next step. Business is being bludgeoned. Zero money is coming in, everything is going out. We'll see.

This all sucks (and anyone who says ehrmagad you could be on a vernterleter... yea, I know. We don't have to compare levels of suckness).

 

[phanan]

My oldest heads to college in the fall. As of right now, they are planning on starting earlier, third week in August, and wrap the first semester by Thanksgiving break, with Finals remotely after. We’ll see if that plan holds.

My youngest is a sophomore in high school. They are going over different ideas, like alternating days in school vs. virtual. I can’t see fall sports happening though.

 

[monkeyskin]

There’s a strong possibility that my company will be moving to WFH permanently, with very few requirements to head into the office.

Honestly not sure how I feel about that. It’s obviously way more convenient to not commute and to ferry the kids to and from school, but I’ve been missing the social side of the office as I really like a lot of my coworkers. I can’t see myself willingly getting into a rush hour train without a vaccine though.

Also, Melbourne is currently experiencing a bona fide second wave and smashing daily records from back in late March. The issues stem from appallingly slack procedures at the hotels used for quarantining returning citizens. The private contractors used to run these hotels haven’t been following any kind of social distancing and essentially been bringing the virus home with them. The whole of metropolitan Melbourne is now locked down for 6 weeks and the state borders are closed. Terrifying how quickly it can spread with just a little incompetence.

 

[BEAL]

I’ve got friends back in Iowa that are really nervous on what to do with their kids. One friend has a 10 year old, the other five.

Iowa is not enforcing distancing or masks.

I told them you do the opposite of whatever Trump says is right.

Some States or districts might find the balance, but there’s no way we have done anything since the first shutdown to figure out how to safely open schools.

Seems like the recipe would be
Staggering schedules
Cleaning rooms
Distance
Masks

But come winter I’m not sure it’ll make a huge difference. Cold and flu season wrecks havoc every year.

And the Trump team keeps talking about how kids aren’t really affected by this. That’s not completely accurate since they’ll get sick and miss school!

What about the teachers ? Do we have an army of subs just waiting to fill in for a teacher who got sick before them ?

There’s no plan and that’s why i hope they keep their kids away.

 

[Popmartijn]

This all sucks (and anyone who says ehrmagad you could be on a vernterleter... yea, I know. We don't have to compare levels of suckness).

The ventilator doesn't suck. It blows.




...


Sorry, couldn't help it. But I do feel for you and the uncertainty (and pay cuts) you're going through. This pandemic is turning our world upside down, having huge impacts on so many things we used to take for granted.

 

[anitram]

There’s a strong possibility that my company will be moving to WFH permanently, with very few requirements to head into the office.

We've already been asked if we would like to continue to work from home permanently. I figured most people would say yes but it was an overwhelmingly positive response. It appears that the way we will be handling it for the duration of the pandemic is to assign people 1 or 2 days a week during which they could come to the office if they wish to use the technology, their work space, etc but they wouldn't have to. You couldn't come on any other days and the default would be to work from home.

My husband's bank sent around a similar questionnaire to gauge how people feel. For many large employers who are headquartered in some of the most expensive cities, it really doesn't make sense to continue to have such huge real estate overhead expenses when their employees have shown to be fully capable of delivering from anywhere.

I'm fine with this approach - I can get my work done from anywhere but I do think it will be hard to integrate new people into the team going forward. For the time being it simplifies my life a lot since I know that I have the flexibility to be home with the kids if they can't go to school/daycare. We also have an old nanny which we haven't yet had to use but it's a good back up.

 

[monkeyskin]

It seems to be the consensus that most office workers are happy to work from home. Our company is trialing a return to work in the Hobart office as they believed it had the highest percentage of workers keen to return and Tasmania has had 0 active cases for nearly 4 weeks now. Just 14% returned and reportedly didn’t like the restricted conditions (no meeting rooms, no kitchen access for coffee, etc).

Being more flexible for my daughters (3 and 1) is the biggest benefit of WFH for me. My wife and I were already looking into how school runs were going to look in the coming years and this basically solves the issue. Not to mention I can get continual house maintenance (laundry, groceries, vacuuming) fit in around the edges of my work day and not my personal time. Feeling very lucky after everything that’s happening.

 

[anitram]

It seems to be the consensus that most office workers are happy to work from home. Our company is trialing a return to work in the Hobart office as they believed it had the highest percentage of workers keen to return and Tasmania has had 0 active cases for nearly 4 weeks now. Just 14% returned and reportedly didn’t like the restricted conditions (no meeting rooms, no kitchen access for coffee, etc).

That's the thing that people don't get. It's not going back to the workplace you knew.

I went back to my office for the first time since March just about a week or so ago. We are still closed but I wanted to get some personal things that I'd left behind so I got a pass. The office is prepared for the return of about 20% of "most essential" people. I had to get my temperature checked (stand in a box and then try to aim your forehead at the thing for like 2 mins before it worked), got a mask on and then it's one per elevator. OK, mind you there were maybe a dozen essential IT people there out of about 800 of us that day. There is zero way to manage elevator banks in office towers when 1-2 people are allowed on at a time. People on lower floors can take stairs but then it's only one way and it only realistically covers the first 10 or so floors. Everyone else will wait around for an elevator until it's time to go home. So we'll have hundreds of people huddled in elevator banks every morning and on every floor every afternoon at 5 pm? Then I got on my floor, there are arrows on the floor pointing the direction in which you could walk. Because I have a bit of a corner offset office, there is actually no way to access it if you follow the arrows (maybe they're sending me a sign). To go to the washroom, I have to walk literally around the ENTIRE floor the longest possible way because of the one-way traffic flow. The people in open cubicles either have massive plexiglass separating them or hanging industrial sheets of plastic (who would want to work inside a cubicle encased in glorified Saran wrap?). The washrooms are now closed except for 1 stall and 1 sink - heaven forbid you really have to go, you'll be shit out of luck, literally. The kitchen is completely blocked off and the restaurant in the lobby is closed so you're either subsisting on sandwiches or leaving the premises for lunch. No access to fridge, microwave, cutlery, coffee machines, vending machines or anything else. If you print anything, you have to wipe down the printer with Lysol wipes. There are hand sanitizing stations at every corner. Meeting rooms are closed except for the largest ones which can hold a half a dozen people.

So your option is THIS, and sitting in your office without making human contact basically or being in the comfort of your own home. What do you think most people will choose?

 

[Hewson]

Combine Florida with no mask with no social distancing with Hydroxychloroquine and this is what happens:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/f...-hydroxychloroquine/ar-BB16rvGE?ocid=msedgdhp

heartbreaking.

 

[iron yuppie]

My youngest is a sophomore in high school. They are going over different ideas, like alternating days in school vs. virtual. I can’t see fall sports happening though.

I'm on a committee working on contingency plans for returning to school - a high school, in my case. The number of considerations in physically reopening a school in line with public health guidelines are enormous, so much so that I don't see any way for it to be feasible in the long-run. My guess is schools will try to bring students back to campus only to have to go fully remote again within a month, if not earlier.