Coronavirus

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Z6IIAB
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Coronavirus

Post by Z6IIAB »

So, there's a lot of controversy regarding the new coronavirus, but if you are updated with the news you problably already know that: yes, you should worry a lot IF you're over 80 or if you live with someone who is. Also if you're already sick or have a weak immune system. There ain't a vaccine, yet. Other than that you should wash your hands, avoid public spaces with too many people circulating and take care of your health. Also, it's probably not gonna kill you.

So, what are people saying about it where you live? I just had my shitty excuse for a president in Brasil completely dismiss it like it's not real, which is fucking stupid and hilarious because he is probably infected with it now lol

Also, I do think Italy is exaggerating by suing and arresting people who just go out their houses. Wtf, it's crazy. It's not a super deadly virus that kills any person. But I guess they do have a lot of old people.
Call me Celina. This forum still have a long way to go until it gets filled with its intended public. And I'll do my best to help us reach that goal. I'm a battleaxe, and when you hear my voice it'll be as loud as a thunder and as clear as a blue sky.
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RikkiTikkiTavi
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by RikkiTikkiTavi »

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..."

The early morning scene at a grocery store where I went yesterday just pick up a few things was a strong indication of the panic setting in. More cars in the lot than ever before. People with shopping carts filled. The tension was palpable with everyone focused, fast moving and determined. No one was making eye contact. My empathy sensors were reading full anxiety. I did my best to keep a slow and sauntering pace and at least be one pool of calm in that uptight crowd.

A private client I work with chastised me because she said I had no right to be 'confident' in the things I was saying in regards to the virus. I know I used every qualifier of 'maybe', 'it seems', 'probably', etc., in what I said, but I think she was scared and was unhappy that I was not scared.

Like you Celina, I feel that the virus is not a threat to most. It is however important to seclude in order to protect the vulnerable and in order to slow down the transmission so we don't overwhelm the medical system.

Probably the real threat is the lowest common denominator of human behavior. I fear people who are afraid. The panic response is a very animalistic one and there is a strong danger from group think and human stampedes.

I am not enjoying living in these 'interesting times'...
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BlueUnicorn
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by BlueUnicorn »

I'm one of those people in the category of immunodeficient, thanks to a series of surgeries over the past 4 years, the last of which, in January this year,was due to cancer, and then radiation therapy. The media in the US is saying that anyone over 60 (not 80) is at risk, too.

I'm not panicking. I've noticed through social media that the panic levels are different depending on political bent. Conservatives, who are avoiding the mainstream media, are on the calm side of things, and are even poking fun at what is, certainly, a bad situation. Liberals, who are avoiding the calmer media, are not only in panic mode, but are calm-shaming the rest of us. How can we poke fun at a deadly virus? How can we say it's not terrible? How can we continue to support Trump?

Mind you, I'm one of the ones in the category of catching it and probably not surviving it. But I knew cold and 'flu season was coming up, and having gotten my cancer diagnosis before the first major holiday of the late fall/winter season, I already started taking precautions because members of my family and friends of my family are of the mindset that their illnesses are never too contagious to give up enjoying a good holiday get-together -- and I totally avoided Thanksgiving and Christmas and even a couple birthday celebrations. (Of course, at all those events, a good time was had by all, and yes, there were sniffles and the like. At one point, one member of the family had bronchitis and was still part of stuff.) I was being overly careful before the Wuhan virus was even a thing, and I haven't gotten any more careful than I already was. The basics for avoiding catching the bugger are the same for avoiding catching a cold or the 'flu, either of which was already going to put my life at risk before this new thing reared up its ugly head.

Grocery stores are beginning to look like socialist nightmare scenarios from memes (the part where they say "this is your store on socialism") where you can't find toilet paper, hand soaps, disinfecting cloths, and other cleaning stuff. Someone in the media suggested stocking up on stuff if you're of a certain age group or immunodeficient, and that meant, for some reason, buying up all the toilet paper even though the Wuhan virus does not cause diarrhea. We figure someone must have seen someone buying up some and did the copycat thing, then it went on social media, and more people did the copycat thing. Also, some foods are in short or no supply (one family member showed that there were absolutely NO eggs in the egg section). Meanwhile, shoppers have their carts so stuffed they're overflowing, and people are waiting in line for an hour at least to get to the checkout while the cashier has to ring up every item among the hundreds in the carts ahead. I'm seeing a growing panic among the conservatives only because at some point, we'll be without food if the stores can't restock fast enough. God help us if we run out of salsa and tortillas, but yeah, there are a number of other things that are important as well which will soon prove to be empty places in the stores. The panic buying is being pushed by both the news media and social media, and it is going to impact everyone except those who have been preparing for doomsday all along. (When I was growing up in NY, my parents kept about 3 months' worth of food in the pantry but there was always the refrigerated stuff that needed to be bought on a weekly basis - it would have been rough but we would not have starved if something kept us from getting certain foods for 3 months because we were prepared. I've never been able to get that sort of mindset to grow on my native Texan family because they've never had to deal with long stretches of time without access to food as my parents had. So I may be in for a world of hurt if people don't contract some common sense soon.)

Prescription drugs are running low or not there for those who need them. We have one ancient relative who requires a certain medication who has been out for a couple weeks. She was told it would be in on Monday. Last Monday. It never came in. It's not just her pharmacy. It's all the local pharmacies. My blood pressure medication is due for refill, and I put in my request for it earlier today. The automatic message said it would be ready tomorrow at 3 PM. I'm not betting any serious money that I'll get the message that it's ready when 3 PM tomorrow comes and passes. If I cannot get that medication by the time my current supply runs out, I will run the risk of heart attack and/or stroke, according to what my doctors have told me over the years. (I guess, if I do indeed run out of my blood pressure meds, we'll be monitoring just how accurate that threat is. Meanwhile, I had a friend who stopped taking her blood pressure meds at one point because she "didn't think she needed them anymore" and she ended up having one m-f-er of a heart attack a few weeks later, so there's that which I have to keep in mind, although my current health and hers at that time are not identical.) As we understand it, most of the prescription drugs we get come from China, and China is no longer sending them over because they are in need, or something. (Then again, it's said that alcohol helps to thin the blood, so that being the case, I might have to develop a taste for Corona beer. I understand their sales are hurting because people think you get the coronavirus from Corona beer. So at least there won't be a shortage of that stuff.)

Anyway, yeah, the fear factor is rising, but some of us, until we're really at a point where we're starving or something, will probably remain calm and continue to poke fun at the situation where we can. My parents tried to instill an "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we may die" mentality on me, but I never really bought into keeping my mortality in mind all the time. As someone at risk at this time of year anyway, I'm still not really focused all that much on my mortality. There's still too much living to do. RikkiTikkiTavi is right: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself..."
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Z6IIAB
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Z6IIAB »

BlueUnicorn wrote: Fri Mar 13, 2020 11:12 am
Grocery stores are beginning to look like socialist nightmare scenarios from memes (the part where they say "this is your store on socialism") where you can't find toilet paper, hand soaps, disinfecting cloths, and other cleaning stuff.
You do realize that's a fucking lie, right? Socialist countries aren't like that. Also: https://revistaforum.com.br/rede/italia ... virus/amp/ (use google translator, inb4 yes, that's a credible source)
Call me Celina. This forum still have a long way to go until it gets filled with its intended public. And I'll do my best to help us reach that goal. I'm a battleaxe, and when you hear my voice it'll be as loud as a thunder and as clear as a blue sky.
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BlueUnicorn
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by BlueUnicorn »



Considering that NPR tends to be on the side of the liberals, I don't think they're spinning that wrongly. But I think that's where the memes come from. It may be a lie, but it's widespread over social media. What's the actual truth? Only what the media wants you to know, no matter what the source. Is it the absolute truth? Unless you're experiencing the life yourself, you don't know for certain.

As for Cuban scientists coming up with a cure for coronavirus, that's great. I hope they do. I hope someone does and it's shared around the world.
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Z6IIAB
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Re: Coronavirus

Post by Z6IIAB »

Fyi corona turned out to be one bitch ass virus and Ive changed my opinion o the matter radically since april lol

Jfc I hope we get a vaccine soon enough...
Call me Celina. This forum still have a long way to go until it gets filled with its intended public. And I'll do my best to help us reach that goal. I'm a battleaxe, and when you hear my voice it'll be as loud as a thunder and as clear as a blue sky.
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