Contagion Update: Getting Closer to Home

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura) 03/11/2020 at 13:05 • Filed to: None

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My daughter’s community college district (Peralta) canceled brick-and-mortar classes for the rest of the week.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (Story from Wall Street Journal, who are not given to hysteria.)

The LDS Church has !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and will deliver all of the sessions via satellite TV and streaming. (The leaders of that church are not given to knee-jerk reactions to things, so this is somewhat noteworthy.)

For my part, I’m stocked up on home improvement project supplies so if I’m sequestered, I can get some stuff done. Here is a picture of my COVID Car.

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

HammerheadFistpunch > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 13:18

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We’re looking to expand WFH here. We’re all stocked up to live out a quarantine if necessary (probably not, there is always something you don’t know you need until you need it, but we’ll get along just fine ) but I still think its going to be more about taking sensible precautions about group interactions for a while.  Im almost looking forward to the virus becoming community common so we can all go back to normal...that being said it does kill people.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 13:20

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UT-Austin has spring break next week. They are working now on a way to finish the semester online so students don’t have to come back to classrooms. We’re supposed to tour a college next week. We’ll see how that goes. We also have tix for Disneyland in June. Hopefully this will blow over by then.

I will say this about the coverage. We’re finally hearing the word “pandemic”, we’re hearing about new cases, more deaths, etc. But what we aren’t hearing about is people who are diagnosed and got better. And there are likely tens of thousands who have gotten or who will get sick, will get better, but go untested. I spoke to a nurse the other morning who said they are only testing people they plan on admitting to the hospital . I’m not trying to make light of the situation, rather p ointing out how the coverage tends to be alarmist (which is appropriate, to a point). Wuhan, the epicenter of this pandemic, has not devolved into the Middle Ages, though life is more difficult right now.

So much of the angst from this situation is uncertainty. Here at Oppo and elsewhere we talk about preparedness, but we really have no idea what to expect or just what to prepare for . H ow much of my normal routine will be upended? Will I still be able to go to the store? Will there be food on the shelves ? How long might disruptions last? When will I be able to buy toilet paper again? There is a very real chance that these things may happen, yet there is also a real chance that none of these things will  happen. It’s the uncertainty that hits hardest of all. 

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 03/11/2020 at 13:24

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I’m pretty sure you and I are in the same mindset on this. Though if I’m honest, I feel like a quarantine is all but inevitable, and I plan to make very good use of the time. (And be able to do the paperwork when I go Number Two...)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 13:29

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It’s already in my backyard and spreading fast. We’re under a strongly-worded directive to work from home issued by the senior leadership team at the company I work for; we’ll be all on this until at least the 25th of the month . Mind you, we had two confirmed COVID-19 cases among the employees and nearby cities are getting hit hard. My lab is less than 3 miles from the nursing home that is being hit so hard. The dealership where we bought my wife’s car had a cluster of cases among their employees and I took her car there for a repair in late February, roughly 5 days before they identified the first case .

It’s a little scary at this point. We’re not sure what to do aside from stay home as much as possible.

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 13:30

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more than half of all cases are recovered, or about 66,000 people.  Thats good news. 

ttyymmnn > HammerheadFistpunch 03/11/2020 at 13:32

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Right. And mortality rates swing widely based on age, health, etc. I guess they don’t want to make light of it by saying, “Hey, if you get sick, you’ll probably be fine.” I mean, that’s what our President is saying. But we could use some good news. 

user314 > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 13:37

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Well, if nothing else this panic has caused the G7 summit that they were planning on holding here in the ‘ Burgh to be canceled /made a ‘virtual’ event, so there’s that. Last thing we needed was a repeat of the ‘09 G20 (literal ) shitshow .

TheRealBicycleBuck > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 13:37

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I haven’t seen any old-school GI Joe gear since I was a kid! I never owned any of that, but I do remember one kid who had the AT. It was something he inherited, so he really didn’t care about it. I think he may have used it as a target for his BB gun.

Schools in South Loui siana haven’t been cancelled as yet, but New Orleans is shutting down big public events now that 6 cases of coronavirus have been reported down there. Several of the Baton Rouge area schools had students on school trips to southern Italy during the outbreak. All of them cut their trips short and left before any cases reached their area. The kids and teachers who went are now under quarantine, but none of them have shown any symptoms so far.

We are trying to be sensible about being out and about. As for stockpiling, we are always prepared for a hurricane, so that’s nothing new. If worse comes to worse, we could survive for a long time off the grid, even without TP. :)

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 13:39

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On the topic of testing, Utah gets to test 20 people a day... That’s our allotment. We’ve got our own tests coming that will allow for orders of magnitude more (as soon as this weekend) but it's very much triage in testing right now.

CompactLuxuryFan > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 13:45

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I think it’s pretty understood by now that anywhere in the US is going to be set to at least current Italy restrictions minus the mobility bit. So all major events cancelled or postponed and a minimum 3 foot distance between people in public places. The question is how quickly each city  will put those conditions into effect. I think very few places are gonna just say “fuck it” and let the virus spread and peak naturally.

CompactLuxuryFan > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 13:48

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Community common is inevitable in the US  at this point. It’ll just be a matter of how quickly each place decides to get there. I also think no place can get there slowly enough to not have a shit show without quarantines.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheRealBicycleBuck 03/11/2020 at 13:49

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I got one of those trucks for Christmas in the early 70s. Even then, I thought it was kind of cool, but also kind of dumb. Like, why would Joe be sitting there with a radar on top of his truck?

As I’ve been telling other folks, I think it’s almost inevitable that my school will be shut down at some point and I aim to make good use of the time.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 14:19

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I'd daily drive the heck out of that thing. If it were real. And I could afford it.

ttyymmnn > CompactLuxuryFan 03/11/2020 at 14:23

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Austin has already instituted a ban on gatherings larger than 2,500 people through May 1. That won’t affect the symphony or opera where I work, since the hall holds 2,400 and change. Still, I bet a lot of people will stay away, and that’s going to hurt both organizations. 

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 14:29

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I’m in a weird spot right now. I don’t have it, but I figure it’s only a matter of time before it spreads further in my area. I wonder how many people who have had it and didn’t even realize it. Or were in contact with the virus and just didn’t contract it. I’m in no means making light of the people who are in the hospital or died. I just imagine the news is focusing on the bad (new cases) vs the good (people successfully over the virus).

I don’t have a compromised immune system so I feel as though I should be in good health.

My mother, on the other hand, doesn’t have a great immune system. I’m going to be sure to not visit her for the next couple of weeks because on the off chance I do get it, I don’t want to spread it to her.  

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 03/11/2020 at 14:40

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If she’s in an institution that can give you a surgical mask when you arrive, and you don’t shake hands with her, you’d be effectively zero risk to her. Just wash and disinfect your hands.

Personally, as a classroom teacher, I think my chances are pretty high of contracting the virus, particularly since the kids are SO DISGUSTING. But as you say, the majority of cases are mild.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > CompactLuxuryFan 03/11/2020 at 14:41

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I concur.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 14:44

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They closed our Federal Way WA office due to possible exposure, and seriously considering halting all none essential travel. I’m scheduled to be in Santa Cruz next week for three days, may get to stay home and go skiing more. 

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 14:45

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My mother is homebound, and can’t drive. The only person she would come in contact on a usual basis would be my stepfather.

And my wife works in a school and her immune system is awesome. I assume she’s assaulted by so many different things that she has built up a tolerance to a lot. Also, she does an hour of intense cardio 6 days a week. Since she started really ramping up the exercise years ago she really doesn’t get sick at all any more.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 03/11/2020 at 14:54

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Federal Way WA office?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! 03/11/2020 at 14:55

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Sounds good. Sleep helps also.

Jim Spanfeller > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 15:11

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I have a good friend who gets sick literally every other day, but then recovers within a day or two. I hope she’ll be fine. I’ve heard the coronavirus is moving into our area, so that’s wonderful. I don’t think I’m in any danger of dying if I were to get it, but it certainly doesn’t sound like fun.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Jim Spanfeller 03/11/2020 at 15:19

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My own feeling is that I am more likely than not to contract the virus, and also more likely than not for it to be a mild illness. Colds tend to whack my wife pretty hard generally, so I am more worried about her.

CompactLuxuryFan > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 15:26

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I would expect that 2,500 ceiling to go way down or at least add a people spacing  requirement, which would bring your capacity way down. I feel like restaurant and especially bar and club owners are in for a world of hurt.

facw > ttyymmnn 03/11/2020 at 16:04

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My alma mater has told the undergrads not to come back from spring break unless they have nowhere else to go. They will do online the rest of the semester. They are figuring out how to have grad students be online as much as possible as well. Must be strange times, especially if you were taking a lab course.

ttyymmnn > facw 03/11/2020 at 16:25

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My wife works in the Engineering department, and this is exactly what they are discussing right now. The labs are the real difficult thing. I expect her to be working from home soon.  We are sailing in strange waters.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/11/2020 at 18:07

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Yes right by Tacoma.