Topic: Is the Corona virus the elephant in the room?

[6pairsofshoes]

Thanks, smokes.  He passed away this morning. 

[goldshirt*9]

So sorry for you 6.

[smokester]

I'm desperately sorry to hear that, six. These deaths are almost impossible to reconcile.

While this pales into insignificance with the pain and suffering all around, today I was allowed to claim SEISS which is income support for the self employed. Bizarrely, the amount I am due to receive is almost, to the penny, the amount the government took from me when I had a clerical oversight. It's good as I have been worried about the fact that now I am back working I cannot really social distance from the contractor I am working with as doing so would open up far worse health and safety issues. I mean, if I am up a ladder with something heavy that I have to hand down, I can't exactly throw it 2 metres. There isn't much virus around now and both my partnered contractor and myself do not mix outside our households, so the risk is further minimised. However, these funds will allow me to take another couple of months off if necessary.

[6pairsofshoes]

That sounds like a real boon at a vulnerable time for you.  And I'm sure it's harder as you have a family to support.  I wish the U.S. had better support for the self employed.  Do take care and do as much as you can to stay safe.

[8ullfrog]

golly this virus.

I saw him on TV again, he says "We're back! Sometimes you don't have a vaccine and you just have to work through it!"

I never wish illness on anyone, they say that you get back what you wish on others threefold, but I really wish someone could inception a single bless'ed thought into that head of his for the sick and vulnerable.

I am so terribly sorry you lost your friend.

[dweez]

I'm very sorry for your loss, 6. My thoughts and condolences to you and your friend's family. It's devastating right now and with all the isolation, it's easy (so not the right word) to be stuck in your bubble and forget/not think about how others are being affected.

[6pairsofshoes]

Thank you for your condolences.

It's hard to wrap my brain around this as it happened so quickly.  The virus is really terrible.  Wash your hands.  Stay safe.

[smokester]

I went to my friend who's had the virus in north London today (the one with the endless bad luck) as she had a plumbing issue and didn't trust anyone local. It was a long way and I couldn't help feeling more worried than I might usually even though she recovered from the virus a month ago. I couldn't help worrying that there might be some still floating around somewhere but in the end I just bit the bullet, put it out of my mind, and did all the work she needed doing.

I'm considering a couple of Hail Marys now I'm home. Perhaps even a shot or 2 of disinfectant. Environmentally friendly stuff of course.

[6pairsofshoes]

Do you have a mask to wear for in home jobs like that?  I'd expect it's necessary.  I don't know if gloves are necessary as long as you are hand washing, regularly, but the virus is so scary.  I hope you can still stay safe while continuing to earn a living.

I went to a grocery store yesterday and people were pretty stupid in not making any effort to distance themselves from one another.  I had to go out of my way to avoid them.  This illness is not going away any time soon, and just because people are bored by having listened to the news going on about it for months doesn't mean it's not still a danger. 

[smokester]

I have masks aplenty but I only use them when working with dust. They aren't going to do much to protect you from the virus, but they would others if you were contagious. You have to constantly fiddle with them when working anyhow, so you'd have to wash your hands every 2 minutes which just isn't feasible.

The Oxford vaccine sounds like it's good to go. I think they knew there was a great chance it would be successful as it was built on an existing corona virus vaccine that had good results. In fact, the only time anyone has ever made any sense when describing what was going on with the damn virus, was when I first listened to the head of that department in Oxford spell it out clearly and in plain english. That was about a month ago.

The truth is: if a viable vaccine is not realistic (maybe ever), then I think at some point we all are, quite willingly, going to have run the gauntlet with the virus on a daily basis. The alternative might be worse if there is a complete financial meltdown of the planet.

[8ullfrog]

I got in a bit of a fight with a friend of my aunt's on facebook.

His position is "It's time to go back to work".

But the way he's saying it is "Other people may die, and I'm willing to take that chance".

To which I replied "If YOU are afraid of MY drunk driving, YOU should stay home!"

My Aunt then commented on my dry humor, to which I replied

"All jokes aside, your friend is a shitty person."

Considering she's been ducking skype calls for a month, I feel good about it.

And Smokes, I'm not insulting you. I'm insulting the bud light swilling hillbillys.

I do wonder what will happen if there is never a vaccine. They haven't cured AIDS yet, what the golly makes people think they have a handle on this mess?

I am so incredibly angry for the tradespeople, like you Smokes, who have to play Russian Roulette, just to keep living.

I think that makes me hate my Aunt's friend MORE.

[8ullfrog]

Instead of chastisement, Aunt dropped a smiley. LOL.

[smokester]

Thanks for the concern, 8ully, but I don't think I'm running a fraction of the risk that the staff at my local convenience store are. They have to brush shoulders with hundreds of folk a day just to get paid.

I suppose ultimately it's financial pressure that forces people into making the choice to return to work. It should never be a directive issued by those on social media.

[6pairsofshoes]

I have 2 N95 masks that I rotate when going to the grocers', otherwise, I wear a bandana when I'm out so I can cover nose and mouth to avoid troubling other people that I have to pass. 

Most people either go into the street or cross to the opposite sidewalk, so it's been pretty easy to deal with moving about on the days I do go out.  Of course, this whole business has been the kiss of death in terms of being able to do much job hunting.  In order to work from home you have to be employed in the first place.  So I'm getting more training in order to take exams for certificates when the testing centers open up.

[goldshirt*9]

Haven't stopped working, As we are owned by PCC Airfoils (American owned) they came up with
"So critical for defence and etc etc" we have stayed open, PCC wouldn't allow Furlough and so now PCC have taken the move to lay off most of their UK work force.
The aerospace market is bad and will not recover for a long time (even worse than 9/11) as the quote goes

"We live in interesting times"

Corona - Hospital my wife works in is full again, of negative cases and beds have vanished.
All who are admitted are tested and checked, goes something like
A query tested then either. 
B negative
C positive
most are negative and moved to B and most cannot be moved from the B due to still ill from ??  Wife said it's as bad if not worse then when corona peaked.
They are still waiting the second wave of corona.