(8 minute read)
Quite often in life I will hear the phrase “everyone knows this” or something similar. Well, “everyone” does not think or know or believe a certain thing.
I’m just doing a follow up on the current pandemic that we find ourselves in after reading several lengthy reports and watching more video. Obviously I am NOT an expert. It is important though in times like these for regular citizens to document the world that they are in and how they feel about things.
I have gone to the trouble to try to ensure that I am NOT passing along incorrect information.
https://www.cdc.gov/ does have information available now, including some statistics, even though they are still playing catch up.
I keep reading comments where people are saying that COVID-19 (the disease) is no different than the flu this season. It is.
The actual designation for the virus that causes COVID-19 disease is SARS-CoV-2 (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus). Novel coronavirus was a provisional name (2019-nCoV). It is a different type of virus than an influenza virus. They are the same only in the sense that they are both viruses and also cause or can cause respiratory as well as other similar symptoms. The shared symptoms will cause statistical issues when it comes to determining whether someone has the flu or COVID-19 since not everyone will be tested and many cases of both will go unreported.
As of today 3/11/20
Ω In response to criticism of the Trump Administration’s lack of transparency in their handling the corona virus pandemic the Administration made all meetings classified. So in the midst of an epidemic the White House is going dark. (On March 3rd Vice President Pence said that the Administration would be fully transparent.)
Ω Philadelphia happened in 1918 because the government lied to the people.
Ω Health Experts vital to the handling of the coronavirus pandemic were not allowed to attend meetings held by the Administration because they lacked the necessary security clearances.
Ω (You know this would be funny if it weren’t so sad. It isn’t that the Administration keeps shooting themselves in the foot it’s how fast they can reload.)
Ω South Korea tested more people in one day than this country has since the outbreak.
Ω Testing kits are NOT available to everyone. Period.
Ω Testing is not yet free to everyone.
Ω Some of the Republicans exposed to the virus who had contact with the President have been tested. (It’s almost poetic that the biggest physical threat posed to the President has come from Republicans shaking hands with him. There’s a conspiracy theory!)
Ω There is NOT yet a complete travel ban from China. American citizens are still being allowed to return.
Ω Ships have also allowed the return of citizens to our shores. Those already having the coronavirus are being allowed to return to the country.
Ω Foreign ships are still unloading goods.
Ω There is no plan presented that will make up for the wages lost by working people. A reduction in payroll taxes only means that people will get a little more money back when they return to work. The reduction in payroll taxes is a back door Republican maneuver to attack social security.
Ω Layoffs due to COVID-19 have started.
Ω The white House has recommended that the budget of the CDC be reduced and will not amend their budget request to do so.
Ω The Senate rejected a House stimulus plan that would have reimbursed working people who had to miss work because of the virus. A proposal along with other proposals that would put $$$ in the hands of working people.
Ω We should know by the end of next week if we’re going to end up like Italy.
Ω The Fed isn’t going to be able to fix the stock market.
Ω It isn’t a hoax.
Ω Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have coronavirus.
Comparisons
Comparisons of statistics from the flu to what is developing with the coronavirus pandemic are made to show the differences that the two have when it comes to mortality rates and who will be affected more. COVID-19 so far is more dangerous for those that have it in the age group that Shelley and I are in (60-70) as well as 80 plus, especially if there are underlying illnesses. BUT that does NOT mean that young healthy people can’t die from it because they are. That age group is just in the lower mortality rate group of around 3%. The difference between the mortality rate associated with the current flu of .05% and the COVID-19 rate is dramatic in terms number of fatalities especially in certain age groups as mentioned above.
The President continuing to do his level best to minimize the risks and telling people to just go to work if they’re sick is reckless endangerment. (He won’t be charged or convicted.) The man is incapable of not lying. He can say that this “will go away” and be 100% correct. So did the Spanish flu after 650,000 deaths.
Along for the ride
At this point there really isn’t need for panic at all. In fact, there is no need to panic ever. Panic is not productive.
Apply social distancing as much as is possible. This means stay away from people ESPECIALLY if you’re sick. This is what is being referred to as flattening the curve. Slowing the spread down so that hospitals don’t get overwhelmed.
Wear a mask IF you’re sick.
Wear gloves in public and don’t touch your face. This admonition is worrisome because it’s hard not to touch one’s face. Also, there’s a proper way to remove gloves without picking contamination from your own gloves. Here’s a link as to how that’s done if you’re so inclined https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4gyNAsPCbU
If you’re able to self-quarantine and stay home, try to have enough stuff on hand to make it a couple of weeks. This shouldn’t require vast amounts of toilet paper unless you have been saving up more than is humanly possible.
Avoid crowds. Seriously. I can’t believe that candidates are still holding campaign rallies and that people are going to them.
Some levity
A friend that had previously mentioned that they purchased a bidet that was an add on to an existing toilet was taking the opportunity to gloat over their purchase recently in reference to the current for-no-apparent-reason run on toilet paper in markets.
I would like to say at this point that there is a low cost alternative to purchasing a bidet if you and/or your loved ones, friends or family find themselves in a paperless situation. Simply use a pressurized tank garden sprayer. Have one sitting beside the toilet. A two gallon sprayer should be more than sufficient for several…um…visits!...yeah, visits, that’s what we’ll go with. You’ll need a sprayer with a plastic wand as opposed to an inflexible metal wand. I suggest setting the nozzles for the widest coverage. And it should go without saying just in case anyone is taking this seriously to only use water!
Obviously guys will have to be told to be sure and pump the sprayer back up before they leave and that this is one instance where more horsepower is NOT better! Seriously. Just don’t! I also advise caution if the decision is made to hook a garden hose up to the sink. The opportunity for significant water damage is greatly increased.
If a person has problems with dexterity or any other wand usage issues then I suggest using a buddy system. Some considerations should be made in determining who would qualify as a buddy in the instance.
A really good buddy will be needed. A through-thick-and-thin buddy. A through-better-or-worse buddy. A buddy with a low gag reflex. Attention to detail as well as availability should also be a consideration.
Unlike the DIY hand sanitizer I don’t anticipate anyone coming up with a DIY toilet paper solution any time soon that doesn’t involve major quantities of pulp, water and significant drying time. So the above method does at least from surface and untested appearances offer a more readily available solution.
If you or anyone you know should actually try this please feel free to post how it works out because there isn’t any way that I’m going to try it.
Back to the real world
BTW yes I did watch the President as he addressed the nation. I had my fingers crossed that he would stick to the script that they gave him and he did. I am amazed. He did a great job of pronouncing the big words. (He has struggled in the past in this area. There are entire videos of garbling words up.) He said that partisanship should stop. I feel like I should start a pool guessing how long it will be before he tweets something partisan. At least the lies were scripted. There is hope.
I’m not having to change anything that I wrote and I was hoping that I would.
What gives me hope in this pandemic is that real leaders from the top to the bottom are stepping in and make a difference. People outside the thumb of the Administration. People at the local level that are making hard decisions. There are still enough professional people at the top that are continuing to put out accurate information even if it’s at odds with the Administration’s line.
Beyond anything else the people of the health care industry, nurses, doctors and everyone in between have already stepped up from day one. They are on the front lines and they are extraordinary.
Extraordinary people accomplish extraordinary things.