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

[smokester]

great idea,
Denmark approves start of work for €7 billion underwater tunnel to Germany  is this you ?

We were hoping to get Elon on board. No pun intended.

[8ullfrog]

Seeing a lot of idiots saying salty air at the beach will kill the virus.

It does not.

[smokester]

Seeing a lot of idiots saying salty air at the beach will kill the virus.

It does not.

Wasn't so long ago that they were saying there was an increased risk to surfers as the virus was vented into the sea via sewage systems, and then could become an airborne aerosol in the sea spray.

[8ullfrog]

I heard the thing about sea air, not so much the sewage, but I've not found any primary sources. Which makes me think my local news fished poo off facebook.

[smokester]

So, this time of year I get a hayfever cough that stays with me for months. It's like a tickle in my lungs that is really hard to scratch no matter how hard you cough. With all the madness around us I am frightened to even try and stop the tickle for fear of being treated like a leper.

It calms down at night which is exacly the time that I'm not worried about coughing!

[8ullfrog]

https://www.cityofpasadena.net/city-manager/news-releases/cluster-of-covid-19-cases-traced-to-birthday-party/?fbclid=IwAR3rJCBGy5bALehIk61l0SwPTitiVcU76g0-b_wY17FeaqwerVnnRTCXmJM

bless'ed. Idiots.

My rear adjacent neighbors, who I've mentioned in the past, had a maskless BBQ today.

It's as if the idiots declared "Mission Accomplished" on May 1st, despite doing golly nothing but complain.

[6pairsofshoes]

This has become my sick-0 Wheel of Fortune.  I spin it every morning.  It does wonders to curb my desires to go out.  https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

It's apparently more healthy to spend time in isolation out of doors.  Less concerns about compromised HVAC forced air systems in apartment buildings.  But of course if you are going to be a dunderhead about it and go to a maskless barbeque or other party, well you deserve a Darwin award.

[6pairsofshoes]

I'm not so sure about your assertion re:  low risks of transmission by casual social interaction.  A family in New Jersey had dinner one evening.  They customarily ate together once a week.  This was a multigenerational, extended Italian American family.  3 died and several others were sickened.  One had traveled and was an asymptomatic carrier. 

This is a really nasty disease.  It apparently affects children, young people and older adults in different ways, but none of them are pretty.  A sensible person would take steps to avoid contracting it, lest they discover the hard way that they are one of the people who would experience severe symptoms, despite generalized demographics.

And there is no disputing your observation about the U.S. being so obsessed with individual rights that they are willing to sacrifice elementary school children and church-goers rather than give up their "right" to arm themselves to the teeth.  I suspect this is due to a combination of some kind of mass hysteria and excess of testosterone, but there must be psychologists and sociologists with theories that explain it better than I can.  Every now and then, we contemplate migrating to New Zealand where there are reasonable gun laws.

[6pairsofshoes]

To clarify:  this was an extended family that lived in clusters of small groups that on the occasion in question, left their homes to visit the home of a relative for a group meal.  That is where the transmission occurred and that resulted in the subsequent deaths and illnesses of many in the group.

The fact is that the precise vectors of transmission of this virus are not completely understood.  Many people who carry the virus are asymptomatic, but still can spread the virus to others, and of that group, some seem to be more effective than others in transmitting the virus.  This is a highly contagious illness with profoundly unpleasant symptoms, some of which are deadly.  It's not unreasonable to exercise an abundance of caution in attempting to curb its transmission.  This, from one of those "give me liberty or give me death" Yankees.  I wish more of my countrymen would respect science as much as they do Fox News.

[8ullfrog]

I can't remember if I posted about the city council member who was removed in Antioch - First place I lived, but he was very much of the "If old people die from this, let it happen"

He also said homeless dying of the virus will reduce the burden they represent to city finances.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/04/30/antioch-city-council-calls-meeting-to-remove-outspoken-commissioner/

California Uber Alles.

[6pairsofshoes]

Sounds like a real proponent of eugenics.  He'd fit in perfectly in at least one historical regime that comes to mind.

I know Antioch because it's next to the town where my vet is located.  It is basically a small river town that once prospered due to nearby coal deposits, agriculture and river traffic.  There's a good deal of poverty and crime there.  The downtown is comprised of a small, riverside historic district surrounded by nice early 20th century bungalows and victorian style homes.  It has a big ugly 70's style high school and there's not much going on in terms of local industry any longer.  Many of the farms and orchards that once surrounded it are succumbing to subdivisions that were constructed to accommodate people fleeing the high rents and housing prices of the Bay Area.  But now the economy depends on big box retailers and discount chains.  Macy's just closed its store in the mall, and the local CVS drugstore also closed.  Even my favorite thrift store there closed because of a lack of donations.  So it's not exactly doing well, financially.  There are fundamentalist churches in town, some in former movie theatres.  Still, that kind of attitude is a bit outré even for a slightly provincial city.  It sounds like the guy is digging in his heels despite widespread calls for his resignation.  I know the city hall because it has a public restroom and free parking.

How long ago did you live there, and for how long?

[8ullfrog]

Born to about five ish? Dad got sick, mom refused to live there anymore. She did not want me going to public school in the area, and the religious school classed me as retarded.

 They never divorced, but we separated. I visited regularly, but when dad got more sick, we started having me fly into FAT, Grandma lived in Clovis, Fresno.

We went back once, after dad died, mom had to sell the boat as it was contaminated. Probably wasn't the best that we went aboard, but, golly.

I wonder sometimes, if he'd come with us, if he might have been able to stick around longer.

I hold no love in my heart for Antioch, but I do miss the boat.

[6pairsofshoes]

I'm sorry about your Dad.  That sounds really sad.  The religious school sounds retarded.  It's clear that you aren't.

[8ullfrog]

I'm not a big fan of Catholicism for a lot of reasons, but my first reason not to like them was that they made my mom cry.

I do wish Dad could have been a bit less unyielding, they never stopped loving each other, but he couldn't stand to have her see him at his worst.

[smokester]

A few years ago, a friend had a debilitating stroke requiring him to move back closer to his family where he has been living in a nursing home.  I spoke with him on the phone about a month ago, and he'd had regular flu but was on the mend.  It was a good conversation.  Still, I've been worried about him.  I just got a text from his sister that he's on a ventilator and has COVID 19 with a poor prognosis.  We're all worried sick about him.

If you can send healing thoughts across the waters, please do.  He's a really good guy and this is just so unfair.

Wishing your friend a complete and speedy recovery, six, I know only too well this virus is a real bugger.

I now have 3 friends who have had run-ins with Covid. One recovered and then had a relapse that was worse that the terrible first bout. Still, she's ok now. You may remember me talking of this friend a couple of years ago as her brother committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Bloody awful luck this girl has.

The next friend I know with it has now had it for seven weeks and cannot shift it. She's not as bad as some and is at home (still pretty unwell though), but she just cannot recover completely.

The last friend is not sure if she has it but her 4 year old daughter does. Her daughter is quite ill but my friend just feels a little out of sorts.

Needless to say: I hate covid19.