General Chit Chat - #2

@GuardianAngel If I understand correctly, these are Mexican men that are usually not citizen, but are hired for day jobs, like landscape or maintenance projects and are paid cash by people literally picking them up from the corner of a street. They are usually poor, and hard workers, seasonal tradesmen and there are a lot in California. Especially near the border where many people cross over each day to work and go back to their families at night. With what is going on now, these men may be stuck here, unable to move as freely as before and also in fear of getting caught.
@sdmom has opened her heart to these forgotten men by providing some needed sustenance and hope.

GuardianAngel wrote:@sdmom We need the heartwarming stories like yours!

I'm not sure I understand what "day labourers" are.

Astrobach wrote:@GuardianAngel If I understand correctly, these are Mexican men that are usually not citizen, but are hired for day jobs, like landscape or maintenance projects and are paid cash by people literally picking them up for the corner of a street. They are usually poor, and hard workers, seasonal tradesmen and there are a lot in California. Especially near the border where many people cross over each day to work and go back to their families at night. With what is going on now, these men may be stuck here, unable to move as freely as before and also in fear of getting caught.
@sdmom has opened her heart to these forgotten men by providing some needed sustenance and hope.

Yes, they are migrant workers who usually gather outside of our local Home Depot for job opportunities as Astrobach describes. With current situation, I doubt they will get any job offers so probably not earning any money, and very unlikely any unemployment benefits. The breakfast burritos we bring over might be the only meal they will get today,

We have a lot of migrant workers that come every year to work on our farms which include crops and grape growers. They come from Mexico Central America and Jamaica. They are exempt from the travel ban and have already started to arrive. Once here, they are placed in self quarantine for 14 days. This has been dealt with early March to protect the farmers and the food supply chain.

https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9910566-exclusive-ottawa-to-ease-covid-19-travel-restrictions-on-migrant-farm-workers/

@sdmom do you get any donations to make their meals?

My son and his friends started a program to feed the homeless a couple of years ago. In the summer it's pizza water and dog treats, in the winter it's socks, Tim Horton cards and dog treats. They started doing this on their own, but when word got around it's amazing how much people donated. Actually, the last time they were out was March 1st. It was cold snow showers and very damp but they still went out. A week later my son got really sick, in bed for a week, fever loss of appetite. He started feeling better after a week, but it took him two weeks after that to start feeling much better. We at the time thought it was the flu, but who knows now after what has transpired since then.

@GuardianAngel someone else pays for the meals, but I don’t know if it’s an individual or a charity.

For me personally, donating money is easy. But stepping outside of my comfort zone is something I need to learn.

Kudos to your son and his friends! This world has lots of kind, loving people.
I firmly believe a time like now brings out the best of human nurture, just look at all the people who work frontline.

I have a friend with a family member who is severely immunocompromised and they have been ordering everything online and wiping it down before bringing it in the house. But ordering supplies is like the ultimate crap shoot - you put it in your cart and don't know if it will show up. Even though we live 2 hours apart, I have offered to bring her supplies. Said send me a wish list and I'll try to be a fairy godmother. Seems like such a small thing to do. Even though our grocery stores have hit or miss, I've been able to find most everything I need. On Wednesday, I even found dry yeast and flour for the first time in over 4 weeks!

The day before Easter I went into my local Safeway (not my first choice for shopping) and I was dumbfounded that the produce area was just about bare. I wanted a few potatoes for Easter dinner and there were none - no bananas, berries, vegetables to cook or even pre-packaged salads. Couldn't figure out why ... until this was on the news yesterday.

https://abc7news.com/food/bay-area-produce-shortage-after-safeway-employee-dies-from-covid-19-complications/6109205/

The shortage item for me is Country Crock! The butter/margarine section of both grocery stores in my town is depleted. I even had my cousin ask her husband that manages a grocery store in another town if he is having problems getting Country Crock. Short answer... yes.

I eat a lot of potatoes... mashed and baked because they are soft and easily edible with my dental issues. I love Country Crock on them. Guess this is my panic item!

Also, just so you know. If you see any media reports that Ohio is opening up everything on May 1st, just know that it is not true. Some reporter yesterday ran with a statement the governor made about opening up some things on May 1st and put it out there that the whole state would open. We aren't. It will be a slow opening and no decisions on what will possibly open on May 1st has been made yet. There is a lot of data to come through during that time and Ohio hasn't even reached peak yet. Projected peak is April 19th, 2 days from now. One thing I did read is that he is looking at allowing some things in the medical realm to happen again... like those elective surgeries that were cancelled for people. But, nope. No light switch is being thrown that will turn on for Ohio on May 1st. As it should be.

They have not made a final decision about schools but will make a decision/announcement next week. Still so much unknown at this time.

@Norcalgal Thank you for that article. I had no idea as I am very rarely shopping at Safeway, and not sure if ours - we have 2 here- are affected right now.
I feel extremely lucky to be able to shop directly at the Farmer's Market where all new precautions- distance, gloves, mask, etc- are taken, and we still have the great fresh organic farm fresh produces twice a week.
I also went to a Grocery Outlet that was looking very full of all the varieties of food and produce possible, from basic onions and potatoes, to all the salads ,vegetables and fruits. Lots of avocados and even asparagus that are in season now. As I said, I’m very fortunate to live here, it has many benefits. My son is a full time worker at Trader Joe’s and we are very aware of the whole chain of supply.
Now, the down side is the terrible air quality and that has affected my health tremendously over the years and this time of year is the worse for me, so the added concerns of Covid-19 are real.
But I am able to eat the best foods!

Canada isn't opening borders, or easing restrictions anytime soon, until they feel Canadians will be safe. Our self isolation has been extended another 30 days.

That's the way I like it.

@HavaDrPepper Thanks for clarifying. I did see an article about Ohio opening up everything.

It’s pictures/stories like these that bring tears to my eyes. Tears of gratitude, tears of hope.

Doctors and nurses from other states to help NY Presbyterian hospital. One of the hardest hit areas  in US.
True heroes. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

From their stories
https://instagram.com/nyphospital?igshid=1jqkquaj64ofu

That’s so great!

The day laborers around here are usually waiting to work for home builders. That’s so nice of you to feed them, @sdmom!

Texas is starting slowly thankfully but we're woefully behind on testing so not sure how people can go back to work without a huge improvement.

Ohio has now surpassed 10,000 cases and has had their largest single day increase in the number of cases reported these last 24 hours.  1,115 cases. But it can be explained.

The state has targeted testing in prisons, especially those without symptoms.  It was announced yesterday that in one prison dorm 152 were confirmed as positive.  60 of those 152 had absolutely no symptoms.

The largest increase in cases today was one county that jumped from 428 cases on Friday to 983 on Saturday. Tuesday's number for that county was 110.  The prison in that county has a working capacity of 2,623 inmates.  95 of the 350 member staff have also tested positive.  The Ohio National Guard has been brought in to help at this facility and another one in the state with a high number of positive cases for both staff and prisoners.

Other data points for the state are staying steady with the number of deaths, hospitalizations and ICU admissions actually being lower today than the 5 day rolling average.  These are the numbers being looked at for the reopening of the state.

With the large increase in the prison population positive cases, the percentage of healthcare workers has dropped to 19%.

On a lighter note, there is one county in the state that still has zero cases.  It is the smallest county in the state population wise (about 13,000 people) and in the "hills" of southeastern Ohio.  One small business that does custom t-shirts decided to fulfill requests from people for a "championship" shirt boasting about them being the last county with zero cases.  So he made some up and business has been brisk.  Cute shirt too!

HavaDrPepper wrote:Ohio has now surpassed 10,000 cases and has had their largest single day increase in the number of cases reported these last 24 hours.  1,115 cases. But it can be explained.

The state has targeted testing in prisons, especially those without symptoms.  It was announced yesterday that in one prison dorm 152 were confirmed as positive.  60 of those 152 had absolutely no symptoms.

The largest increase in cases today was one county that jumped from 428 cases on Friday to 983 on Saturday. Tuesday's number for that county was 110.  The prison in that county has a working capacity of 2,623 inmates.  95 of the 350 member staff have also tested positive.  The Ohio National Guard has been brought in to help at this facility and another one in the state with a high number of positive cases for both staff and prisoners.

Other data points for the state are staying steady with the number of deaths, hospitalizations and ICU admissions actually being lower today than the 5 day rolling average.  These are the numbers being looked at for the reopening of the state.

With the large increase in the prison population positive cases, the percentage of healthcare workers has dropped to 19%.

On a lighter note, there is one county in the state that still has zero cases.  It is the smallest county in the state population wise (about 13,000 people) and in the "hills" of southeastern Ohio.  One small business that does custom t-shirts decided to fulfill requests from people for a "championship" shirt boasting about them being the last county with zero cases.  So he made some up and business has been brisk.  Cute shirt too!

I’m floored. I just can’t believe anyone would be insensitive and ignorant enough to brag about not having evidence of a disease that is taking tens of thousands of lives all over the world, in their little county. IMO it’s no thanks to them or anything they’ve done right or wrong. They should quietly be thankful and stfu. All IMO.