General Chit Chat - #2

Chgohighlife wrote: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.

So the fact that this small county is doing all the right things to stay safe should be discounted because of all the other sh*t going on in the world?  If there were more people like them in the world, maybe those tens of thousands of lives that have been lost would not have happened.

For the record, proceeds from the sale of this shirt is going to Covid-19 relief funds as well as all funds from another shirt about Covid-19 relief itself that the vendor has been asked to make.

Agree to disagree.

There is a glimmer of  hope in my region, but the increase in infected cases is due to testing has started in all the long term health care nursing homes whether showing signs or not, since there is an outbreak in many of them. I am very pleased to see social distancing in the grocery store the other day with many wearing masks or some sort of face covering. If I turned a corner down an aisle and someone else was coming the other way one would turn around. They are asking not to bring our cloth bags into the stores and all store bags are free. Employees outside near the sanitization centre have sanitized shopping carts ready to use in order to avoid having to put a quarter in and grabbing your own cart.

The only thing that has changed is they used to have a social distancing sticker on the floor (they still do) so when you got to the checkout you kept your distance. When the previous customer paid for their items the next person moved up and loaded their groceries. Now they have one line, everyone keeping their distance, and one person at a time goes to the next check out that is free.

Niagara Region Public Health has confirmed 13 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 364.

123 of those cases have been resolved.

109 of Niagara's cases are in people above 80 years old, with 33.5% of all cases taking place in residents of long-term care or retirement homes.

17.6% of Niagara's cases are hospitalized, and 19.5% of cases are health care workers.

https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/news/niagara-region-public-health-confirms-13-more-cases-of-covid-19-1.12075389

HavaDrPepper wrote:

Chgohighlife wrote: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.

So the fact that this small county is doing all the right things to stay safe should be discounted because of all the other sh*t going on in the world?  If there were more people like them in the world, maybe those tens of thousands of lives that have been lost would not have happened.

For the record, proceeds from the sale of this shirt is going to Covid-19 relief funds as well as all funds from another shirt about Covid-19 relief itself that the vendor has been asked to make.

Agree to disagree.

The credit for getting or not getting this dreadful disease often has NOTHING to do with individual behavior. Yes, there are some people who are stupid and reckless but, there are also, first responders who are putting their lives on the line everyday to protect people they don’t even know, there are innocent old people in nursing homes who cannot leave, there are people who try to protect themselves but, must work to eat and feed their children, there are people in lines for food who cannot eat otherwise, essential workers like garbage men. 

I’m sorry but anyone who thinks they themselves are the reason they don’t have this dreaded disease, that thinks they can (afford to) just shelter in place for months until it’s magically over and then deserves kudos because they didn’t catch it is an ingrate and a fool. We are at the beginning of this unfortunate time not, the end. Celebration is premature as well as stupid, in any case. The fact that no one does have it or know that they have it today, means nothing. This is not the flu or, pneumonia or chicken pox. This is an unknown, unstudied, barely tested strain of disease and happy tshirts help prove the ignorant absence of thought and knowledge. The people wearing the shirts could be a symptomatic carriers for all they know. Postpone the party. All IMO.

I live in a town 20 minutes from Montreal.  In my town, there are 60 cases but in Montreal we're up to 17500 confirmed cases and 850 deaths.  In groceries, there are arrows on floors that you follow so people don't go wandering around in aisles, cashiers are behind plexiglas and you bag (plastic bags) your own groceries.  The oubreaks are mostly in the long-term old age residence where some residents where even left without care for hours and hours... Now ,the army is going in those residences to help out.  Big question is will they reopen school in early May ? there is quite a debate around here about this. My son does not want to return to work and take the metro and buses this summer and I understand him.  I have no idea how we can return to doing what we were doing before without having another wave of cases.  That vaccine is too far away!

Fleurdesel wrote:I live in a town 20 minutes from Montreal.  In my town, there are 60 cases but in Montreal we're up to 17500 confirmed cases and 850 deaths.  In groceries, there are arrows on floors that you follow so people don't go wandering around in aisles, cashiers are behind plexiglas and you bag (plastic bags) your own groceries.  The oubreaks are mostly in the long-term old age residence where some residents where even left without care for hours and hours... Now ,the army is going in those residences to help out.  Big question is will they reopen school in early May ? there is quite a debate around here about this. My son does not want to return to work and take the metro and buses this summer and I understand him.  I have no idea how we can return to doing what we were doing before without having another wave of cases.  That vaccine is too far away!

Hi @Fleurdesel.
IMO your son is very wise to be smart enough to understand that no human being - governor, mayor, president, etc. can place a flag on the calendar and make it safe or even possible to return to pre-COVID19 operations like school. We need a prophylactic medication, a vaccine, better and more PPE and treatment for symptoms and more knowledge. Good news is, China is testing two vaccines, the US is testing two medications and at least two vaccines and South Korea and Cuba have promising treatments in their labs too so in time, if politicians get out of the way and shut up, the scientific community (with God’s help, IMO) will find a solution and I do hope and pray it’s soon. This push to return to normalcy in the US is politically and economically motivated. Smart people who can afford to not comply will not fall for it, IMO. That will make it hard for those who do to succeed. There aren’t enough useful idiots to restore the entire supply chain and fuel the economy so, the desired effect will not be achieved, right away. Normal people understand that as long as 99% of the US population remains untested (as of 4/17/2020) - no resumption of the status quo makes sense. All IMO.

I understand and support the need to stay home but I also have sympathy for those who lose incomes due to the coronavirus. This is a very hard issue and I am extremely grateful my family can work/take classes from home, because I know not everyone is as lucky.

sdmom wrote:I understand and support the need to stay home but I also have sympathy for those who lose incomes due to the coronavirus. This is a very hard issue and I am extremely grateful my family can work/take classes from home, because I know not everyone is as lucky.

I’m grateful too. And doubly thankful to those who are on the frontlines for the benefit of others. What a sacrifice! Such kindness and dedication.

"This is all very good news that we're seeing fewer cases and we're seeing our curve flattening, but that's only happened because everyone has been so diligent about keeping their physical distance, hand hygiene and not gathering in groups and interacting with others," said Hirji, Niagara's acting medical officer of health.

"We need to keep that up. We can't stop now because we're not at zero cases yet. If we let up, we're going to start seeing those numbers go up."

After several days of elevated positive test results with 36 new cases reported on Wednesday, 21 cases on Thursday and 31 on Friday — most of them related to outbreaks at long-term care homes — the health department reported only two new cases of the virus on Sunday, and 13 on Saturday.

Health department encourages people with mild symptoms to get tested for COVID-19

Signs of hope found as COVID-19 crisis continues in long-term care homes

COVID-19 testing at Niagara long-term homes expands as number of victims rises

‘It really seems to impact elderly people the most’: Hirji
Neither of the two latest cases, which bring Niagara's total to 366 since March 13, were related to the recent outbreaks and were instead attributed to community transmission and direct contact with someone with the virus, which has so far claimed at least 27 lives in Niagara.
https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/9956299-niagara-s-diligence-paying-off-with-drop-in-new-covid-19-cases/#.XpzNrBZ1BKE.twitter

The poorest will be the ones suffering since they will be the ones who will be the first ones forced back to work in order to survive. I feel that as Canadians we are more fortunate than our US neighbours since we have universal health care and much more of a social safety net. Also, our politicians seem to be holding the line and not pushing to get things restarted.

I work in a group home and our protocols are changing daily as the local health unit provides updates. We were fortunate that I had ordered a good supply of gloves and masks before all hell broke loose. A couple of days ago our agency distributed more masks and we got supplies in case someone does come down with the virus. We get one mask per day and you aren't supposed to touch it or take it off, but how do you take a drink or eat your dinner? They also got more sanitizer and I asked for some for our house as we are starting to run out. Mostly we wash our hands and try to save it as a last resort...if we have to go out somewhere in the van.

We also have to have our temperature taken when we arrive for our shift. Everything is recorded. We also take the temperature of the people we support every four hours. When we aren't providing direct support we are cleaning and disinfecting and praying that none of us comes down with something. We are all stressed and exhausted, but no vacations will be approved for the foreseeable future. You might be able to swing a couple of days off, but even that is uncertain since they can cancel that depending on how things go.

As if all that isn't stressful enough, I worry about my parents who I haven't been able to visit. They have to go for medical appointments due to their ongoing health issues and this morning my cousin called me that my aunt who is 88 collapsed and is undergoing tests at the hospital!

@HavaDrPepper, thank you for sharing your informative updates. I appreciate them immensely and look forward to reading them always--so knowledgeable.

@Sprite and @sdmom, thanks for sharing your experiences serving vulnerable populations. The stories deepen my perspective of COVID's impact.

Stay well, everyone

COVID-19 update for April 20, 2020. Check back daily for updates or visit https://t.co/gMeZp5r95v pic.twitter.com/BINfWypcic

— Doug Ford (@fordnation) April 20, 2020

https://twitter.com/fordnation

I wonder how much more we don't know about COVID.

2 cats in NY state test positive for coronavirus

The two cats live in different parts of the state; the USDA and CDC wouldn’t say where specifically.

The first cat fell ill about a week after a person in its household had a short respiratory illness, though the person’s ailment wasn’t confirmed to be COVID-19, Barton Behravesh said. The animal goes outdoors at times and might have come into contact with an infected person in the area, she said.

The second cat’s owner tested positive for COVID-19 before the cat became sick, officials said. Another cat in the same home hasn’t shown any signs of illness.

The agencies have recommended that any pet owners with COVID-19 avoid petting, snuggling or other contact with their animals as much as possible, including wearing a face covering while caring for them.
https://www.wivb.com/news/national/2-cats-in-ny-state-test-positive-for-coronavirus/