COVID-19 Diaries.
4/8/2020
My thoughts today on Covid-19 and these strange times.
Last Night Governor Jay Inslee extended our "Stay At Home" orders for another month. It's been 3-4 weeks since we were asked to stay in except for necessary trips.
For me I work from home, I don't know anyone sick and the entire situation feels surreal.
I've had to greatly limit how much news coverage of the situation I watch, because the networks love fear and the people are feeding on it. I feel annoyed fear is not only bad for your immune system it is bad for judgement.
I've been greatly limiting my exposure to people who are angry that others aren't scared enough or saying the "right" things.
It's none of my business what people think, and people are certainly allowed to use their voice as they work through their own thoughts and I respect those who question, and feel annoyed by those who simply parrot messages.
I'm more concerned about what people do, than what they say or think.
In my opinion just as dangerous as the Virus is shutting down the Global Economy, and teaching people to fear and police each other. I am not saying we are doing the wrong things, I am just saying, we are doing very dangerous things.
I'm not a doctor, so I don't know, maybe only history will know, but only if it goes badly.
Today's state of affairs, edited from a list I saw elsewhere.
-Gas price a few miles from home was $1.91.
-School closed atleast till May 4th.
-Self-distancing 6 feet.
-Tape on the floors at grocery stores to help distance shoppers (6ft) from each other, plexiglass around cashiers.
-Costco limits 2 members in per membership.
-Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed.
-Parks, trails, entire cities locked up.
-Entire sports seasons cancelled.
-Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
-Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
-No masses, churches are closed.
-No gatherings of 100 or more, then 10, and now if you don't live with them, you don't visit them.
-Children's outdoor play parks are closed.
-We are to distance from each other.
-Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
-Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill.
-Panic buying sets in, there is no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer, women's hygiene products or dog food.
-Shelves are bare.
-Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses switch their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
-Government closes the border to all non-essential travel.
-Fines are established for breaking the rules.
-Stadiums and recreation facilities open up for the overflow of Covid-19 patients.
-Press conferences daily from the President. -Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths.
-Barely anyone on the roads.
-People wearing masks and gloves outside.
-Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
-Medical field workers are afraid to go home to their families.
This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, declared March 6th, 2020.
Stay safe and healthy!
We need to remain positive and keep going with our lives.
I live in Honduras if this thing hits us hard I can assure you we will be in a much worse shape than any developed country. Right now where I live we have been in a lock down for nearly three weeks, so they had to back down and open supermarkets, banks and drugstores three days a week, many people have already run out of money, the government is giving out small bags of rations but that is hardly enough. Of course these days that people walk the streets negates any benefits the lock down could have had. I am actually hoping that the heat and vitamin D(that comes from the sun, and we do have a lot of that) theories are true and that they will thwart the virus.
Up to now I am OK, but if this doesn't end soon we will be seeing very difficult times. I somehow think if Mr. Trump is right I must be immune because I took industrial amounts of chloroquine the several times I had malaria.
Take care... Sounds challenging. I think the whole world feels uncertainty.
These are definitely crazy times in which we live. But I also have this sense that the longer we are under these isolation conditions, the less of a "normal" will exist, when we exit on the other side.
One effect I am already seeing is people having more of a "local" focus... many I know now spend more time participating on the "NextDoor" app than on Facebook. I see more neighbors on our street helping each other... and maybe that will be a positive, in the long run.
Yeah, I agree there will have to be a new normal. I'm in an off mood today, I am sure there will be good things as well.
A reduction in regulations might be nice.
This is indeed an awful and difficult time. Today we are in day 9 of 21. I keep on wondering what will happen on day 21 and whether it will be extended. South Africa's curve may drop, but it seems the world curve is still rising exponentially
Be well. Be safe
I know what you mean. I just recorded a video related to this, which I'll post along with the script as soon as it's done uploading to YT.
Hey, @whatsup.
I'm more of the mind now than ever that we should be letting this virus run it's natural course. And by saying that, I mean, people should do the common sense things without needing for it to be mandated (wash hands, stay home if sick, keep a healthy distance, don't visit the elderly or the infirm unless precautions are taken, etc.).
I don't think shutting down entire industries is a good thing for any length of time, nor do I think bailouts on all levels is a good thing, or sustainable. All I think we're accomplishing here with this is making a bad situation worse. I don't want to get sick and I don't to make others sick, so they get me with the "We don't know who might still be an asymptomatic carrier" bit. I don't know how to counter that because I'm not a medical professional.
It seems to me, though, that we've gotten to the point where if we're breathing the same air as someone else, we're toast.
Fear can be more dangerous than the virus itself. Blessings my friend.