Coronavirus

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They have changed our policy at work. Now, any movement outside your normal work area requires a mask.

We also have c.c. monitored hand washing stations before you enter. Those are cool, because 90% of people grab their mobile as soon as they are done 🥸



I always laugh (i.e. cringe) at the posted Covid health signs on retail stores...'Mask are required' unless of course someone doesn't want to wear one
I have to rant about this for a moment.

I went to buy chicken feed today and two people were walking around with no masks on. Multiple employees just said nothing. And the aisles in this store are really narrow, like you have to turn sideways to pass someone in an aisle. They were also not respecting distancing. I finally asked an employee to say something to the maskless couple and they refused! "But they're a customer." Dude, I AM A CUSTOMER! It's better to risk my health (and the health of all the other customers) than politely ask people to put a mask on?!

And the people who were maskless were not big scary biker dudes or anything. (I really, REALLY sympathize with store employees who don't want to get punched out or shot for telling someone to mask up). They were a young Mennonite couple.

Our county's positivity rate is literally DOUBLE the state average. Many of my students' parents and grandparents (and even some of my students!) have COVID right now.

So not okay.

I so wish I had said something to the couple, but I was worried it would come out super hysterical sounding. These days the shock of being around someone with no mask sends my heartrate through the roof and I feel like I can't think clearly.

When I got home I called the store and told the manager that I would not be returning to their store.

Like, I'm sorry, but clothing is required in your store and if someone walked in naked you'd say something, right? If someone lit up a joint in your store you'd say something, right? But when it comes to a deadly, highly-contagious disease we're going to get all coy about enforcing hygiene rules?

And the mask mandate is literally an order from the Governor. It is the law. It's not some optional store policy.

Part of why it's so frustrating is that I have been so careful about picking places to shop that are good about mask enforcement. And I really want to support local businesses. AND this store is the best place to get chicken feed. But I will drive the extra hour to get feed if it means I don't have to spend the rest of the day in a sub-panicked state wondering if it's okay for me to go and see my parents.



My niece tested positive.
(No fears, she's in only her thirties and is a school teacher, but hasn't been in school since last spring and is trying to teach remotely. She came down with flu-like symptoms and lost her senses of taste & smell so went for a "rapid test").

Here's what I don't get - her husband and two baby girls all tested negative. If the virus is so contagious how come no one else in her household got it? I mean she sleeps in the same bed with her husband (among other things, presumably - thus the baby girls) and she's probably kissing the babies (at least before she tested positive), and I know little kids don't tend to get it, but can't they be asymptomatic and still have it in their system, and thus test positive, can't they?



My niece tested positive.
(No fears, she's in only her thirties and is a school teacher, but hasn't been in school since last spring and is trying to teach remotely. She came down with flu-like symptoms and lost her senses of taste & smell so went for a "rapid test").
Just found out my niece had it too. On lockdown in London & working remotely (she’s 25 or so), but she got it anyway. Exact same symptoms as your niece. My bro tells me she is recovering very well, but was quite sick for a week.



Here's what I don't get - her husband and two baby girls all tested negative. If the virus is so contagious how come no one else in her household got it? I mean she sleeps in the same bed with her husband (among other things, presumably - thus the baby girls) and she's probably kissing the babies (at least before she tested positive), and I know little kids don't tend to get it, but can't they be asymptomatic and still have it in their system, and thus test positive, can't they?
Did she only just test positive? Does she know how/when she was exposed?

One possibility is that her husband (and possibly her girls) had it but were never symptomatic (this happened to my friend who literally had not left the house or interacted with anyone and got it--the only explanation was that her husband had been asymptomatic and gave it to her).

If she only just got it, then testing is supposed to happen 5 days after last exposure. Did the husband and kids test after several days of her knowing she was sick, or did they all test on the same day?

I'm seeing many of my students' families have a mixed positivity. Sometimes the dad and the child are sick, but not the mom. Other times both parents have it but the kids are fine. Other times everyone in the house has it. Her husband and kids might have just gotten lucky.



Did she only just test positive? Does she know how/when she was exposed?

One possibility is that her husband (and possibly her girls) had it but were never symptomatic (this happened to my friend who literally had not left the house or interacted with anyone and got it--the only explanation was that her husband had been asymptomatic and gave it to her).

If she only just got it, then testing is supposed to happen 5 days after last exposure. Did the husband and kids test after several days of her knowing she was sick, or did they all test on the same day?

I'm seeing many of my students' families have a mixed positivity. Sometimes the dad and the child are sick, but not the mom. Other times both parents have it but the kids are fine. Other times everyone in the house has it. Her husband and kids might have just gotten lucky.
Latest news is her husband and kids were all tested twice (all negative), and apparently someone told her husband to stop brining the baby girls (2 years old and 8 months old) for testing.

My niece's senses of taste & smell are returning and she described the illness like a bad cold.



Latest news is her husband and kids were all tested twice (all negative), and apparently someone told her husband to stop brining the baby girls (2 years old and 8 months old) for testing.

My niece's senses of taste & smell are returning and she described the illness like a bad cold.
It's good that she's on the road to recovery! My principal had COVID and she had ALL the symptoms. The way she put it was "every day it was something new." It took her about 10 days to fully recover (and she was sequestered in her bedroom to protect her family).

There's also some interesting research emerging about blood type and vulnerability to COVID. I think it will be years before we really understand the scope of the disease and why it is so variable in how it acts and how it is transmitted.

Two of my students are close friends and their families went hunting together last weekend and now they ALL have COVID (kids, parents, all of 'em!).

The last month has been pretty rough in my friend circle (people all over the USA)--5 deaths of parents and many deaths of mother- or father-in-laws. One friend has a family-in-law that refused to wear masks or practice distancing, including a 12-person Christmas Eve gathering. Her husband lost his grandmother and father in the same week. His mother has COVID and over 7 other family members (cousins, uncles) are infected.



I've been dodging bullets left and right for the past couple of weeks, as in declining invitations to events that later resulted in multiple infections, so it's starting to feel like it's closing in on me. So far my "Go Literally Nowhere But The Office For An Entire Year" system seems to have paid off, so I'm sticking with it. But here's an annoying story--

My mom's uncle died a couple of weeks ago. (Non-covid, he was 92) My parish (aka county) only allows outdoor services, so I briefly considered going, as the son of the deceased is a pal of mine. After some thought I decided not to go. My mom is the highest of high risks, and I happened to find a Facebook post from a cousin who was at Disneyworld the week prior, and who would definitely be at the funeral, so I got skittish and decided I'd skip it, and convinced my parents to do so as well. Turns out the funeral was postponed anyway, because the daughter of the deceased (and her daughter) both tested positive. The night he died there was a gathering of cousins at his house, which was no doubt the source of the infection, so everyone that was there was asked to quarantine for 10 days. Well, one of those cousins, despite having symptoms of a minor cold, ignored the quarantine order and went to a diner for breakfast. He texted a bunch of folks, complaining that the food was bland AND HE COULDN'T TASTE ANYTHING! Care to take a guess who tested positive a few days later? This guy is in his 50s so there's no excuse for his carelessness other than stupidity or stubbornness. I could murder him right now. I only pray that the diner was sparsely attended that day.
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I've been dodging bullets left and right for the past couple of weeks, as in declining invitations to events that later resulted in multiple infections, so it's starting to feel like it's closing in on me. So far my "Go Literally Nowhere But The Office For An Entire Year" system seems to have paid off, so I'm sticking with it.
I leave the house to go grocery shopping and animal food shopping once a week. Because of cash flow, buying weeks worth at a time isn't really a choice. But I also know people who are being really careful and only leaving home for necessities and still getting infected. Maybe one of the worst is someone whose father was leaving the home to deliver food to needy families and became infected that way.

But here's an annoying story--

My mom's uncle died a couple of weeks ago. (Non-covid, he was 92) My parish (aka county) only allows outdoor services, so I briefly considered going, as the son of the deceased is a pal of mine. After some thought I decided not to go. My mom is the highest of high risks, and I happened to find a Facebook post from a cousin who was at Disneyworld the week prior, and who would definitely be at the funeral, so I got skittish and decided I'd skip it, and convinced my parents to do so as well. Turns out the funeral was postponed anyway, because the daughter of the deceased (and her daughter) both tested positive. The night he died there was a gathering of cousins at his house, which was no doubt the source of the infection, so everyone that was there was asked to quarantine for 10 days. Well, one of those cousins, despite having symptoms of a minor cold, ignored the quarantine order and went to a diner for breakfast. He texted a bunch of folks, complaining that the food was bland AND HE COULDN'T TASTE ANYTHING! Care to take a guess who tested positive a few days later? This guy is in his 50s so there's no excuse for his carelessness other than stupidity or stubbornness. I could murder him right now. I only pray that the diner was sparsely attended that day.
I'm sorry about the loss of your great-uncle and that you were unable to attend the funeral. This is exactly what happened to my one friend's family: grandmother was already in bad shape and the family ALL decided to visit her on the same day around Christmas.

What makes me so frustrated is that, statistically speaking, if you get this disease you will infect other people. And that means that a chain begins with you and at some point probably hits someone who cannot fight it or who will have lasting impacts from it. So you might be fine and maybe your family or friends you infect might also be fine. But someone's grandmother or a cancer survivor could be a few degrees removed from you. And if you got it because you were in a store or a restaurant or a party unmasked, it means you contributed to an unnecessary death.



I leave the house to go grocery shopping and animal food shopping once a week. Because of cash flow, buying weeks worth at a time isn't really a choice. But I also know people who are being really careful and only leaving home for necessities and still getting infected. Maybe one of the worst is someone whose father was leaving the home to deliver food to needy families and became infected that way.
What I've been doing is making a grocery run at 7 am on Saturday when the store is mostly empty, and I can usually go 2 weeks before another trip. My main concern is the office, because my co-workers aren't the brightest. I'm thankful there are no militant anti-maskers among them, but their mask-wearing is still sporadic at best. Somehow they've decided that their germs only spread part of the day, I guess? I've never been able to determine what inspires them to put on a mask at 2 pm when they've gone the previous hours without one. And then there's the two guys that insist on going out for lunch every day (together). We've explained to them a hundred times that if they get infected at the seafood buffet (I mean, really?) it's coming back to the office with them, but it will take one of them getting sick before they catch on. The only good news is that my work situation is such that I am often 50 feet from the nearest coworker, so they're easy to avoid most of the day, but it only takes a second to be infected.

What makes me so frustrated is that, statistically speaking, if you get this disease you will infect other people. And that means that a chain begins with you and at some point probably hits someone who cannot fight it or who will have lasting impacts from it. So you might be fine and maybe your family or friends you infect might also be fine. But someone's grandmother or a cancer survivor could be a few degrees removed from you. And if you got it because you were in a store or a restaurant or a party unmasked, it means you contributed to an unnecessary death.
This has been my biggest source of stress, the fact that I'm relying on the intelligence, common sense, and consideration of my fellow man, in whom I've got very little faith. I live in Hurricane-ville and I've made the comparison to prepping for a storm. No matter how severe the hurricane, there's always that one guy on the news who lives in a shed on the coast but has chosen to "ride out the storm". That guy is probably going to drown, but that has no bearing on my situation. I am in complete control of my fate. Whether I survive or get swept into the gulf will be the result of my decisions. But with COVID, that one guy is in effect making us all stay in the symbolic shed-on-the-coast with him. And if you try to explain why none of us want to drown with him in his shed, he will become belligerent and rant about his freedoms.



Some good news, my Nan didn't catch covid off her carer. Phew! Which also means my Father didn't catch anything because parts of the week he looks after Nan.

Should be getting her first dose of the vaccine soon since she got her invitation to go have it, so hopefully she gets that all done before anything like this with the carers happens again...



This has been my biggest source of stress, the fact that I'm relying on the intelligence, common sense, and consideration of my fellow man, in whom I've got very little faith. I live in Hurricane-ville and I've made the comparison to prepping for a storm. No matter how severe the hurricane, there's always that one guy on the news who lives in a shed on the coast but has chosen to "ride out the storm". That guy is probably going to drown, but that has no bearing on my situation. I am in complete control of my fate. Whether I survive or get swept into the gulf will be the result of my decisions. But with COVID, that one guy is in effect making us all stay in the symbolic shed-on-the-coast with him. And if you try to explain why none of us want to drown with him in his shed, he will become belligerent and rant about his freedoms.
Right. It's the difference between not wearing a seatbelt and reckless driving.

Not wearing a seatbelt puts you at risk.

Reckless driving puts you at risk but also puts others at risk, including the possibility that they will be harmed and you won't.



You ready? You look ready.
As much as I don't like wearing a mask I do appreciate that my employer has taken a hard stance on the wearing of masks. I don't do good in situations where it is unclear what is expected so knowing that masks are required at all times is a relief. Plus, it is keeping us all employed and allowed us to finish the school season without incident. We killed it this past semester: we had other local universities that got massive outbreaks and had to send people home, but in their defense it was the idiots that were partying that caused most of the mess in those areas.
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As much as I don't like wearing a mask I do appreciate that my employer has taken a hard stance on the wearing of masks. I don't do good in situations where it is unclear what is expected so knowing that masks are required at all times is a relief.
Yeah, I'm thankful that my company does not allow customers in the building. (They call their order in and their stuff is waiting for them to pick up.) Fighting with non-compliers all day must be exhausting, so I'm glad I don't have that to deal with.

I think of masks like traffic lights or school zones. They're a minor inconvenience but I comply so as not to kill my fellow humans.



I’m so thick sometimes! Was just finishing my walk today when I stopped to play on the sidewalk with a stranger’s two little fluffy dogs. So cute! We chatted for about 5 minutes, exchanged names, etc., etc. When I got to my house 5 minutes later dawned on me that neither of us wore masks.

This is the single error I have made numerous times. I never go inside anywhere without a mask, but I generally don’t wear one for my daily constitutional. Even if it’s inside my bag, I get carried away with chatting & totally forget to put it on.

STUPID!



I’m so thick sometimes! Was just finishing my walk today when I stopped to play on the sidewalk with a stranger’s two little fluffy dogs. So cute! We chatted for about 5 minutes, exchanged names, etc., etc. When I got to my house 5 minutes later dawned on me that neither of us wore masks.

This is the single error I have made numerous times. I never go inside anywhere without a mask, but I generally don’t wear one for my daily constitutional. Even if it’s inside my bag, I get carried away with chatting & totally forget to put it on.

STUPID!
If you were outdoors I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

There's not much data on it, but everything I did read seems to say that there's little chance of viral spread outdoors (excepting of course direct contact - like kissing).

Most viruses need a certain concentration to be infectious within the body, and while there may be millions of particles in every breath, outdoor air currents begin dissipating concentration as soon as breath exits.

My contention is that virtually no one gets it or spreads it outside (excepting for direct contact of bodily fluids), however, at outdoor gatherings eventually people go inside and people go into bathrooms and that's where I believe the virus is caught & spread.



⬆️ But don’t they emphasize social distancing outside as well? Me and this guy were definitely not 6 feet apart.



⬆️ But don’t they emphasize social distancing outside as well? Me and this guy were definitely not 6 feet apart.
Being outdoors is definitely safer than being indoors. But the general rule is to avoid being within 6 feet of someone for any prolonged amount of time.

Do you have any of those masks that are tied instead of with elastics? That way it just hangs around your neck when you aren't using it but you just pull it up if you encounter someone.