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Covid-19 Pandemic Thread

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Given the severity, wide international coverage and serious danger of the current situation, I have decided to start our own discussion thread here in our Mythic Scribes community.

Are you alarmed at the Covid-19 pandemic? Feeling spooked? What are your thoughts at the moment regarding the disease? Do you have any questions or perhaps points of view that you would like to share? Please feel free to express your worries and questions in this thread, so we can have a productive discussion together.

What is the situation like these days in your country or your city?
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
Because of an underlying health condition, the British government has decided that I [and all like me] should social distance [stay at home and work] for at least the next 12 weeks. This is one of the busiest times at work, so it will prove interesting. I live alone and have no family nearby so the prospect of 12 weeks alone does not fill me with glee. The Team I work in has agreed to meet over video every day for a chat, even if there is no work need so at least I will see and talk to someone every day. And I've set up a daily schedule to stop me going stir-crazy [Walk, Breakfast, Work, Lunch, Birdwatch, Work, Dinner, Walk]. I'm lucky to have a nature reserve at the end of my road which is usually deserted.
I'm not that worried about the actual disease. I've been ill before and [hopefully] will again. I just want to make life easy for most people by staying out of the way and only going out when needed.
I think it is the fear of the unknown that is scaring a lot of people right now.
The shops still have most of the food I want and all the food I need. Maybe with a little less choice but it is there. And people are smiling. The smiles are a bit thin and a bit nervous but they are there.
Personally I think things will get worse, then better, then worse, then better and then who knows. This is going to be a Long Haul!
On the upside, I will have lots more time to write. Or at least think about writing. Or maybe watching Buffy and the West Wing from start to finish.
All in all, I have it pretty easy and I am grateful to my gods for that.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I have already 'self-isolated' during flu season for the past few years. I started doing it when I was a caregiver for my mother, not wishing to bring any infection home and stuck to it after she passed (not being all that young myself). Normally, I'd be coming out of 'hibernation' around this time but I guess it will be postponed this year. I live way out in the country so I'm not confined to my home or anything like that and can hike and bike and generally get outdoors. So no great inconvenience there. I am missing on getting out and listening to and/or performing music.

I do have to run to the grocer every couple weeks (minimum) but I never let that bother me when the flu was a concern so I probably won't now. Still, I'll hurry and go when it is least crowded!
 
As near hermits already, in our small coastal fishing town, not much has changed until you get to the grocery store. Odd to see even one empty shelf in a large store but we have it better than most large cities where the number of people shopping per store is far higher.

As of Friday our county hasn't had a confirmed case but testing here is still/has been minimal. Also odd to see all of the restaurants closed except for take away but we've been cooking nearly every meal at home for the last ten years. We went into town to pick up an oven part the other day and, when we signed the receipt, the woman behind the counter said, "And you can keep the pen". I realized she had a holder with about fifty pens on the counter. I know that's such a small thing but it really struck me as to the level of caution in that one small gesture.

We have an elderly couple as our closest neighbors and we are keeping an eye on them, asking if we can get them anything at the store etc but they are pretty intent on doing for themselves still.

Thus far, there's been no slow down at all in our online businesses but we expect that may still come if it gets worse. It does make me glad that I've always been pretty self sufficient and a true homebody who self-entertains well and not one who craves going out much at all. :)

Stay safe everyone.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
My wife and I live in a bedroom community near Boise, Idaho. There's about a quarter million people in the valley, but my town is about 15,000. We recently did planned shopping with the aim of not having to go out for any reason for at least a week (except to walk the dog).

My dearly-loved father-in-law passed away in January. Wife&I remark almost every day on how difficult it would have been for the family had he made it a couple more months. He would be in lockdown, with none of his (large) family able to visit him in his last days. Knowing how painful that would have been makes me sympathetic for others. I'm sure there are people all over who face that exact situation.

Also fortunate, my wife had arthroscopic knee surgery just three weeks ago. All elective surgeries are now canceled. So I think we're set to ride out the next few weeks.

I'm not scared or even worried. I'm quite certain that it's going to get pretty bad here in the USA because we have spent the past forty years gutting our health care system and our social services, and are now led by a delusional fool who has surrounded himself with fools. So we're in for a rough time. In genuinely bad times, you don't worry, you dig in.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Hello everyone!

Thanks for your various and very thoughtful replies. I am glad to discover that we are taking the situation in good spirits, since falling victims to panic would be the worst thing to do right now. Epidemics do not last forever, and yes this one is going to be hard but we shall persevere and eventually see calm after the storm.

I do believe that towns and small cities are going to have an easier time than places with a very large population, and I am somewhat relieved that I live in a small city myself.

My city of Pachuca is eerily quiet at the moment, with all schools, university, pubs and movie theaters already closed by order of the Hidalgean government. Most people here are quite spooked, so a lot of us are venturing out there only for the most essential of needs.

The Hidalgean government is taking strong actions against the outbreak, but we already have several confirmed Covid-19 cases in the city. The good things are that there is no panic, and our supermarkets continue to be well supplied with everything necessary.

We even have our own inflatable hospital equipped with ICUs so that the regular hospitals do not have to handle the crisis all by themselves, and the Tuzobus transport system is receiving constant disinfection rounds. In sharp contrast, the government of nearby Mexico City is taking almost no action, and the Mexican Federal government is even worse.

In general, Pachuca's excellent response has allowed me to quickly build a decent food reserve for a lockdown situation, just in case.

Well, I am just hoping for the best while I prepare my family and myself for the worst.

It's very important to avoid touching our eyes, nose and mouth, keep distance from other people, wash hands constantly and breath loads and loads of clean and fresh air.

Good luck everyone!
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Negatives:
1. Coughed my lungs out ten times over
2. Family stuck halfway across the world under military lockdown. No airplanes.
3. Family works in healthcare (IC) . Not yet, but might soon be overwhelmed.
4. Elderly community in a heavy-industrial region. Potential disaster.

Positives
1. Government (Netherlands) got its act together and work admirably.
2. Illness (doubt it could be anything other than covid-19 given symptoms and length of illness) has forced my day-night rhythm into reset. Used to sleep at 5-6 in the night, now I wake up at 5-6.
3. Lenient University
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Ban Here I am a writer and I can't find adequate words, all I can do is send you best wishes and positive vibes. I'm glad you can find positives.
"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters" - Epictetus

These are 'interesting times' as the old curse calls them, but it's surprising how quickly one adjusts. In the scheme of things I'm still beyond lucky with little to complain and much to appreciate, but I will be honest that I had a moment or two where I felt awful these past days, not just for now but for what I'm afraid might come. I recommend everyone take their time with those feelings as they come.

Thank you Skip, I appreciate the kind words and I send them back to you and everyone else on this forum.
 

Aldarion

Archmage
I'm not scared or even worried. I'm quite certain that it's going to get pretty bad here in the USA because we have spent the past forty years gutting our health care system and our social services, and are now led by a delusional fool who has surrounded himself with fools. So we're in for a rough time. In genuinely bad times, you don't worry, you dig in.

With respect, but you had been led by delusional fools for the last 50 years or so (ever since Eisenhower left office, at the very least). Speaking of which, our own delusional fools surprised me - they actually proved to be capable of doing something. Not as much as they should have, perhaps, and definitely less and slower than they could have, but they at least introduced some coherent measures. So situation in Croatia is not that bad, just middling compared to some other countries. We are definitely no China or Russia, though.

Ban Good luck, and as my late grandmother would have recommended, garlic and olive oil.
 
For me personally, it feels like life has slowed down a bit. Impossible work deadlines have been postponed or canceled and a lot of the work now is just finishing things up. And, with working from home added in, my day starts later than before and ends earlier. Taking care of the kids takes a bit of juggling now that schools and daycare are closed. But so far I can manage.

I almost wonder if it's a bit like what writing full time would be like. Make the kids disappear in the morning, sit behind a computer and do stuff, make the kids reappear.

The great unknown for me at the moment is that my wife is a gynacologist. Though most of it has passed her by until now, she will get caught up in the whole treatment of corona patients at some point in the near future I'm sure. We'll see how it goes.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
Down here in New Zealand the government announced the entire country is going into lock down from Wednesday local time. We will only be allowed to leave home if we go exercising on our own, to get groceries or go to an essential service like the welfare office. Both the police and the military will be out to enforce this lock down. So, for the next four weeks, I will be confined to a tiny fibreglass box on wheels for the most part. The reality of this is just starting to hit home now.

It's been crazy today. Panic buying in the supermarkets that got so bad they had to close. Deserted streets that I was able to walk down the middle of without seeing, let alone being hit by, a car. It's surreal. If I ever have kids (unlikely considering I'm 50 and single) this will definitely be something worth telling them about.
 
If I ever have kids ... this will definitely be something worth telling them about.
I'm very curious how they experience this and what they will remember. My oldest is 5. And she realizes something strange is going on. School is closed, her father is working from home all the time, she's not allowed to visit friends and so on. We explained what's going on as best we could, but it will be interesting to see how she'll remember this whole episode. It must be a weird experience for her.

The youngest is 3, which is still a pretty oblivious age. Stuff might be weird, but that probably goes for most of her life. And her parents will sort it out... :)
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Hello and my best wishes for everyone!

Ban, I am very sad and sorry that most likely you have been infected with the new virus. I live with chronic cough and I know how painful it can be, and yet I know that the severe dry cough caused by this disease can be much worse. I am also saddened to hear that your family is stranded so far from home, and exposed to the danger as well.

I am not a particularly religious person, but I'll be praying, in my own way, for you and your family.

Stay as safe as you can, everyone!

I am sure that there are plenty of mild and very mild cases of Covid-19 that are not counted officially, so the real fatality rates must be significantly lower than the most alarming figures coming from Italy and Spain at the moment. The problem is that this bug is super contagious, and a very important number of patients end up in need of hospitalization and even ICUs to have a chance.

We have some members living at NYC and New York state. They are in a particularly dangerous situation, since the city is very hard hit and the predictions for the state are bleak at best.

Good luck everyone, spend your money wisely and may something up there help us all.
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
It just got real now here in New Zealand. State of emergency declared. Businesses closing down. Tomorrow it'll be a full lock down.
 

Sheilawisz

Queen of Titania
Moderator
Miles, so far I have not interacted much with you here in Mythic Scribes, but you have been a good member of the community all this time and you are very appreciated.

Good luck man, stay as safe as possible this thing is very serious, we all wish and pray that New Zealand is not going to get hit as hard as other countries right now.

The best foods to keep at home are rice, beans, lentils, canned sardine and popcorn, cooking oil, enough water and a supply of basic medicines are great too.

Hugs from Mexico, stay strong!
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Ban, I've been praying regularly for your community, I guess now that you're sick I'll pray for their physical health as well.

:whistle: :whistle: :whistle:

:angelic:

Duude, a dry hacking cough is the worst. You'll get through this. Your body will figure out how to kick some viral butt.

I live in New Jersey, just out of New York City, where my wife was commuting to work before working from home. We're two steps behind NYC in the number of infections, and one step ahead of them in preparedness. Our schools shut down the same day as NYC's, but here we were so prepared that I have many, many packets of at-home assignments my kids have to complete, right down to popping online daily for attendance while NYC kids get to run amok. It's been a lot to handle but my family is equipped to handle this - my wife has a fair amount of job security, and I've already been home for the kids. But a lot of people are really going to struggle with these lockdowns, having to manage a viral disease, children off of school, isolation, work or sudden unemployment, it can be a lot.

As I understand it - and information is changing daily now - South Korea has done wide scale testing and found their fatality rate from this disease to be 0.8%. That number will go up wherever the hospitals get overrun the way Italy has. And no matter what we do at least 20% of the population is likely to catch it, but that number could be as high as 50% if we ignore the problem. That means the best case scenario with social distancing is for half a million people to die in the US, with similar numbers in Europe and elsewhere. Even though some groups of people are in a lot more danger than others, there are still going to be thousands of young and healthy people who are killed by this.

I have family that I'm terrified for, especially my mom, who's slowly gotten old, smoked half her life, is on blood thinners, and has struggled with other recent health problems. If something happens I can't even go down to see her. :(:notworthy::notworthy:
 

Miles Lacey

Archmage
Thanks, Sheilawisz. :)

In many ways, New Zealand is lucky because workers are still being paid via a wage subsidy to employers. Social welfare benefits were increased. People will not be required to pay their mortgages until June. Public transport is now free albeit on Sunday timetables. We've got 203 cases of the coronavirus and, so far, no one has died from it yet.

For me, I'm worried about being able to get to the shops to get groceries as I don't drive. The nearest bus stop is 2km from where I live. The nearest shop is 4km away. Will I be stopped by the police or military? To me, the idea of soldiers on the streets is scary and not something I feel comfortable with even if I do understand why it's happening.

I just noticed something. I live near an expressway that is normally quite noisy. It is absolutely quiet. So quiet that my ears are hurting!
 

Ban

Troglodytic Trouvère
Article Team
Let's be honest, the disease is scary. No one wants to risk slowly choking to death, no one wants to suffer for days at a time, that's a horrendous death. However, YOU are probably going to get through it. I've been having a bad time, but I will also get through it with little harm done. We should continue to speak our minds and air our fears, but now is more importantly the time to worry about others.

Across the world travellers and workers abroad are stuck without room and board, without food and water in some cases. I am trying to convince my family to stay put and not try to travel back to prevent them from these horror situations.

Think also of the elderly and sickly who will feel isolated in the weeks and months to come. Call them, message them, volunteer, fulfill your moral duty towards them. You can be at home and still do good.

If you have family or friends working in medicine, tell them not to lie to themselves or put on a tough front. If they're sick, they should stay home despite what they're told by their company or government. An awful amount of doctors and nurses, young and old, have already died due to the virus. We don't know if prolonged exposure significantly increases viral load, but we do know that stress is a brutal killer. Medical professionals signed up to aid others, not to give their lives for us. Despite your own fears, take care of them, and take care of all other people working in essential industries.

Don't get frustrated with deliverymen or supermarket workers. Their work is essential and your suffering is minor in the scheme of things.

I may be preaching to the choir, but it needs to be said. Air your fears, and put your fear aside folks. We won't be fine, but we are better off than many. Stay civil, think of the vulnerable.
 
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CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
At the place I work, This morning they have sent round an email asking people to volunteer to help the NHS, Government, who ever needs it. We have secure building, great comms, lots of computers and people who understand data. The labs are being turned over to testing and facilities like the Sports centre turned over for emergency use. I'd volunteer but I'm also in a vulnerable group so have to stay away from others.
The people I see [from a safe distance on my one daily walk] are actually friendly and say hello.
The weather is cold but bright so you see a lot of washing out drying.
 
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