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Coronavirus discussion thread - NO POLITICS, or "POLITICS by PROXY"
- Thread starter Stewie26
- Start date
Update: My department (50-ish people,) is being strongly encouraged to work from home starting tomorrow. I suspect the entire office (close to 2000) will follow suit soon.
Makes you wonder why anyone goes to the office in the first place
My last day of work was 2/28/20. During that week I had 2 suppliers contact me saying parts from overseas were going to be delayed due to the virus. I can only imagine what it's like now.
I don't have cable or an antenna which means I can't watch the news but I do catch little bits here and there online. Last Sunday I was over at my moms helping her, she had the news on on I was very surprised to hear what was going on world wide with this thing. I knew there were global concerns but I didn't realize the extent of it. How much of it is blown out of proportion, I don't know. I mean, haven't more people died of flu's?
As far as my neck of the woods, I received an email from our church today saying that the school where we have our service will be closed this weekend. No activities what so ever will be allowed this weekend due to concerns. Whoa!!
I don't have cable or an antenna which means I can't watch the news but I do catch little bits here and there online. Last Sunday I was over at my moms helping her, she had the news on on I was very surprised to hear what was going on world wide with this thing. I knew there were global concerns but I didn't realize the extent of it. How much of it is blown out of proportion, I don't know. I mean, haven't more people died of flu's?
As far as my neck of the woods, I received an email from our church today saying that the school where we have our service will be closed this weekend. No activities what so ever will be allowed this weekend due to concerns. Whoa!!
Ironic that they wouldn't have been tested if they weren't in another country. They only know because they were in Australia.
Makes you wonder why anyone goes to the office in the first place
Then the Boss wouldn't be able to hover over your shoulders to annoy you.
The title of the thread has been edited to reflect the reality of the situation, and to better reflect the ongoing direction of the discussion.
Thanks for keeping the thread going. I find it very interesting.
It would be nice if we can avoid the alarmist posts and the repeated calls to action and sensibility.
If you have medical advice to share, think very carefully before clicking Post Reply. This is a global audience you are 'talking' to.
-Mike
If you have medical advice to share, think very carefully before clicking Post Reply. This is a global audience you are 'talking' to.
-Mike
A fair question. In 2014 I was laid off and had to get Obama-care. (Perfect timing). Something had to go so it was goodbye cable. I only had a very basic package but it had to be cut. Came to find out I don't miss it one bit at all. I was never big on watching much TV anyway.
It's true that more people have died of the flu. Folks have mentioned two key differences: 1) The coronavirus is possibly more deadly. (I say "possibly" because we don't know how much more deadly because we don't know how to count mild cases that don't result in getting tested). 2) Flu is serious but relatively static, whereas the coronavirus may be regarded as "out of control with no known limit." The massive public reaction is due to the second factor.
And the flu wasn't ever exactly great. We conduct extensive research and monitoring of flu cases, hoping to detect new strains in order to help formulate each year's vaccine recipe. In fact, the earliest detected cases of the coronavirus in the Seattle area was because they already had a large number of samples in storage from flu testing, and they re-tested those samples for the coronavirus.
Read this thread. There is some good perspective and lots of FACTS, particularly about this not just being the flu...and it is really interesting following the changes happening from day to day (that should speak enough volume about taking action). And yeah...if you get it, it's not a death sentence, but being bed ridden with a really bad virus making it hard to breath doesn't sound too appealing either, plus the speed of spread will make it hard to get care if you need it. It's really great to talk to other people who are just like me but in other parts of the world. Get the candor of what's really happening from just another regular bassist living life. Each day, more and more people are starting to take it more seriously, but the amount of inaction is still relatively alarming. I'm working remotely since my kids school closed at the start of the week (supposedly govt closed them down for 2 weeks and they are appealing to re-open so we are told day-by-day that it is still closed), but my global office has only shut down in the top 4 countries dealing with this...they are mostly telling people to make sure they are ready to go remote. Seems they are waiting for a confirmed case to be in the office, which makes it too late. Clearly we are in a safety 3rd situation, not a safety first.
It should also be obvious, but realize that as the cases spike in number...those people didnt know they had it yesterday. That means the people you are interacting with today may start showing signs tomorrow. Waiting for your neighbor to be a confirmed case before taking action is just increasing your risk of exposure. My local has it and the numbers aren't spiking since there are no tests available unless you want to go to the hospital which everyone is avoiding. With the domino effect of shutdowns more shelves are being emptied of supplies. This morning we saw pictures on social media for COSTCO and the like and it looked like people were lined up for black friday...and sadly too many still sending around jokes instead of just staying the f home.
The wife of our Prime Minister has been diagnosed as a presumptive case and both he and her are in 14 day isolation.
Fishheadjoe
Fishheadjoe
OP here. Thanks for updating the title Chris. In just the past six days from the original opening of this thread, the facts and circumstances have really accelerated and changed for the worst. It has now become a subject to take very seriously world wide.
I beg to differ. Just yesterday and this morning we were talking about the huge differences about flu and covid 19 and how so much data about flu is exaggerated, and a few hours later the same questions appeared.
That's my point.
I'd caution against appointing yourself the one to educate the TalkBass community about COVID-19.
I understand you're a medical professional, and appreciate the time you've taken to share your thoughts. In that line of thought, you know better than I do the danger of giving medical advice over an internet forum.
-Mike
Mike, I apologise if I myself sounded too "alarmistic", but with this specific thing, anything one says, any news just sounds "alarmistic". And there's only one thing to do: to realise what is actually going on. Furthermore, I am talking from what we could call a sort of "front line" and seeing that in other countries people still go to the pub, movies, on the bus etc. not yet fully realising what is going on really makes me sad. But this could be just me.
No cases known yet here near Cincinnati, but rumors of public schools going to at-home, online learning for three weeks have begun to circulate.
I realize how fortunate I am that I can do my job from home. My wife works in retail, but most of her shift each day takes place before the store opens--she's typically gone within an hour of the open, so she sees few customers and interacts with even fewer. In addition, the pre-open staff is fewer than 10 people and they're typically spread out across a big store.
I'm thinking about all the cashiers everywhere right now and wishing them the best. They're often stuck on registers for a long time with no chance to wash their hands. Hopefully employers are diligent in providing cleaning materials at their checkout stands.
I'm thinking about all the cashiers everywhere right now and wishing them the best. They're often stuck on registers for a long time with no chance to wash their hands. Hopefully employers are diligent in providing cleaning materials at their checkout stands.
