Social Distancing

This thread is about the phenomenon of social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Please, NO POLITICS! This is about our personal experiences with social distancing, about "how-to" advice about minimizing interaction with other humans, and about the effects of social distancing on our society.

As of 1.5 years ago, my wife has a suppressed immune system. She was diagnosed with Wegener's Granulomastosis -a 100% fatal auto-immune disease that is only survivable by taking chemotherapy drugs every day to weaken her immune system, thus keeping her Wegener's in remission. In Nov 2018 my wife quit her job as a registered nurse because she needs to avoid contact with sick people because of her weakened immune system. Last week, she was declared to be disabled by the federal government.

I have been my wife's caregiver for the last 15 months. We live alone. If I catch the coronavirus, then my wife will likely catch the coronavirus virus and will be at elevated risk of dieing. So, even though there are no COVID-19 cases within 100 miles of where we live, this is a very alarming situation for us.

Today, my wife and I are beginning the process of sheltering in our home. Today:
1. We will be buying dry beans, dry rice, and canned foods in bulk, as well as filling our refrigerators and freezers.
2. Buying pet food in bulk.
3. Buying household soaps and cleansers and high-efficiency filters for our HVAC.
4. Evaluating all of the activities I am involved in and trying to understand which ones will naturally be suspended, and which ones I may need to actively pull out of.

There are many more 'social distancing' issues we need to face, but this first post is already long enough.

I'm hunkering down for a few weeks. Shut my store and suspended eBay sales.
It's better to be safe. I'm amazed how nonchalant many of my neighbors are. One guy is in his early 70s, on oxygen and told me he has gone shopping twice a week for the last fifteen years and will continue to do so.
I'm looking at it as a two week vacation that will let me get a lot of small things done around my property that I've been putting off.
Unless you love dry beans and dry rice, you can find plenty of better alternatives.
Best of luck.

I squeezed in one last excursion to LV Feb 24-29th to cash a ticket and scout March Madness futures. I waited until Chinese New Year was three weeks gone before heading out. Anyway, I wore gloves on the planes and in the LV airport, but what struck me was how impossible airports are to defend from something like this. Just impossible. So when I got back, I did a final couple of lunches with people here in eastern Tennessee the first couple days in March, then we shut it down. We skipped the SoCon basketball tournament in nearby Asheville.

Basically, we'll put on the gloves and head to Kroger every few days, but that's about it. No restaurants, no movies, no sporting events, no hanging out with friends because many of them travel, no testing is available for home use, and some of the virus victims have exceeded by a wide margin the alleged 14-day window before exhibiting symptoms.

When my late wife had chemo, it was such an issue to screen things and not have flowers in the room (dirt was a no-no) and pets had to be quarantined, that I swore afterwards I'd be the filthiest, non-scrubbing dude on the planet. But this coronavirus is a test of protocols and discipline, and I'm following rules. I have enough canned goods for probably two months. What surprised me is that, compared to the stashes my grandparents had of canned goods 30 years ago, my stash is actually pretty modest in comparison.

Quote: redietz

... compared to the stashes my grandparents had of canned goods 30 years ago, my stash is actually pretty modest in comparison.

Perhaps the national "distribution" system wasn't as efficient then as today's next-day delivery. On a (perhaps infrequent) visit your grandparents' nearby store could be "out" of something they need, perhaps making them wait until a later trip to buy it. However efficient today's system is, it is so complex now that a minor disruption could have catastrophic effects ... as we may soon see.

Tracking Your Temperature
If you want to check to see whether or not you may be getting sick, monitor your temperature at least once every day. That is often the very first indication of trouble. (But, don't get too excited about minor fluctuations. That's normal.) If you don't feel ill, but your body says it's over 100 degrees inside, that should be a clue. (But, I defer to recommendations by those in the medical profession, who wrestle with this event on an increasing basis.)

Younger folk, please unner'stan why all the older folk are suddenly walking around like cats at a rocking-chair convention.

The school I currently attend has canceled in-person classes for several weeks. Everything has moved online.

There are maybe 20 employees where I work, and I'm in my own office most of the day. I'm hoping they'll close the doors for a little bit at some point, but it's a retail environment so there's probably zero chance of that happening. Other than that I usually never leave the house, except to go grocery shopping.

Just had some doctor checkups, and I seem to be in great health, and I eat fairly clean and exercise regularly. I think I'm going to increase the exercise volume just in case.

That's about all I can do.

I'm in an interesting subgroup, oldsters (62) who exercise regularly. My main job will be in the other direction -- to not overdo any series of workouts so as to prevent any immune system dips. Plus for the next 10 weeks or so, eastern Tennessee is a top 10 worst pollen place, so that is a problem, too -- sorting out shortness of breath from one cause or another.

Well, I was about a decade behind on my reading list, so now's the time.

Quote: gordonm888

I have been my wife's caregiver for the last 15 months. We live alone. If I catch the coronavirus, then my wife will likely catch the coronavirus virus and will be at elevated risk of dieing. So, even though there are no COVID-19 cases within 100 miles of where we live, this is a very alarming situation for us.

Thought experiment...

Say you're in this situation, but haven't the ability to quarantine. Bugging out to create separation and hoping your charge does not die in your absence doesn't seem possible, as waiting for it to pass an area seems to be on the order of months, if it even passes at all. Staying to the last minute and hoping you don't kill them seems equally impossible. A combination of no tests plus a nearly two week incubation means by the time it's close to you, it's already in you. So that's out.

What's the feasibility (IYO) of purposely infecting? Go to a hot spot, lick some railings, and sit tight for 20 days. You get it, beat it, learn immunity, and then can go back home in less time and with full(ish) certainty that you're not gonna kill anyone.

Discuss.

Quote: redietz

I squeezed in one last excursion to LV Feb 24-29th to cash a ticket and scout March Madness futures. I waited until Chinese New Year was three weeks gone before heading out. Anyway, I wore gloves on the planes and in the LV airport, but what struck me was how impossible airports are to defend from something like this. Just impossible. So when I got back, I did a final couple of lunches with people here in eastern Tennessee the first couple days in March, then we shut it down. We skipped the SoCon basketball tournament in nearby Asheville.

Basically, we'll put on the gloves and head to Kroger every few days, but that's about it. No restaurants, no movies, no sporting events, no hanging out with friends because many of them travel, no testing is available for home use, and some of the virus victims have exceeded by a wide margin the alleged 14-day window before exhibiting symptoms.

When my late wife had chemo, it was such an issue to screen things and not have flowers in the room (dirt was a no-no) and pets had to be quarantined, that I swore afterwards I'd be the filthiest, non-scrubbing dude on the planet. But this coronavirus is a test of protocols and discipline, and I'm following rules. I have enough canned goods for probably two months. What surprised me is that, compared to the stashes my grandparents had of canned goods 30 years ago, my stash is actually pretty modest in comparison.

How does wearing gloves help? Unless you're taking them off every time you touch something and wearing a new pair I'm not sure how they can help that much? I can see if the gloves have some type of antibacterial killing coating of some kind on them.

I think that gloves will give you a false sense of security and make you a little more careless than you normally would be.

Quote: Face

What's the feasibility (IYO) of purposely infecting? Go to a hot spot, lick some railings, and sit tight for 20 days. You get it, beat it, learn immunity, and then can go back home in less time and with full(ish) certainty that you're not gonna kill anyone.

Discuss.

sounds a little nutty and 'trying' to catch something can be oddly frustrating as I remember from studies they've done on the common cold

but one thing I think is for sure ... and no official person could dare say this ... it would be better to be the first one to catch it in your community if you are going to get really sick ~ rather than some hapless person with severe illness in an area where the hospitals are overwhelmed with a huge number of other patients, and medical staff themselves too also sick, and the necessary really ready to treat with high quality care places packed to the gills

just saying

Quote: AxelWolf

How does wearing gloves help?

Isn't it about the extra awareness you'll have of when you touch your face / rub your eyes / eat a burger / pick your nose / lick your fingers etc?

I agree with your second assertion though. Masks and gloves are mostly an illusional benefit to most of us.
Re-using gloves could easily make matters much worse.

Speaking of social distancing: Today me and Missus OnceDear went to the cinema, an 8 screen multiplex. There were only ten customers, total, watching the screening and we only encountered one cinema employee, the whole visit. Automated ticket machines only: 1 Counter, sales assistant selling snacks and drinks. There was no-one checking tickets and no challenge to anyone entering any of the 8 screens! This was a mainstream new movie in what is normally a popular venue. Pretty obvious lots of people, including staff, were staying away. No-one sat within 3 metres of us :o) so no chance of catching anything.

Quote: odiousgambit

sounds a little nutty and 'trying' to catch something can be oddly frustrating as I remember from studies they've done on the common cold

but one thing I think is for sure ... and no official person could dare say this ... it would be better to be the first one to catch it in your community if you are going to get really sick ~ rather than some hapless person with severe illness in an area where the hospitals are overwhelmed with a huge number of other patients, and medical staff themselves too also sick, and the necessary really ready to treat with high quality care places packed to the gills

just saying

All true. I'm in the medium risk group. Almost 60 with diabetes. I will try and be in the not infected group. But success? If I stop posting you'll know why.....

Quote: Face

Thought experiment...

Say you're in this situation, but haven't the ability to quarantine. Bugging out to create separation and hoping your charge does not die in your absence doesn't seem possible, as waiting for it to pass an area seems to be on the order of months, if it even passes at all. Staying to the last minute and hoping you don't kill them seems equally impossible. A combination of no tests plus a nearly two week incubation means by the time it's close to you, it's already in you. So that's out.

What's the feasibility (IYO) of purposely infecting? Go to a hot spot, lick some railings, and sit tight for 20 days. You get it, beat it, learn immunity, and then can go back home in less time and with full(ish) certainty that you're not gonna kill anyone.

Discuss.

Once you have it, you have it and will be stuck. You would have to probably keep going to an at risk hospital or something until you catch it. Then find out you're not one of the first ones, it's too late for that. To be honest, then once you're sure you're infected, you would have to go somewhere where you know it isn't to get good care. All in all, better to just be hiding for you and for everyone else. I think this might be a long time out of commission.

Quote: Face

Thought experiment...

Say you're in this situation, but haven't the ability to quarantine. Bugging out to create separation and hoping your charge does not die in your absence doesn't seem possible, as waiting for it to pass an area seems to be on the order of months, if it even passes at all. Staying to the last minute and hoping you don't kill them seems equally impossible. A combination of no tests plus a nearly two week incubation means by the time it's close to you, it's already in you. So that's out.

What's the feasibility (IYO) of purposely infecting? Go to a hot spot, lick some railings, and sit tight for 20 days. You get it, beat it, learn immunity, and then can go back home in less time and with full(ish) certainty that you're not gonna kill anyone.

Discuss.

This is a very interesting concept. I probably can't do this in practice, but you correctly state the drawbacks of the other approaches and your idea is clever. It had occurred to me that the future spread of this virus may be slowed once some of the population has been infected and developed immunity. But I had not thought about getting intentionally infected.

I went shopping for supplies today. Here is the section of our grocery store where toilet paper is stocked.



Either people are expecting diarrhea of epic proportions, or they are hoarding TP because they expect a breakdown in the supply chain as the coronavirus spreads.

I've been accidentally buying way too much toilet paper because of Amazon subscribe and save and and not knowing what we have. Guess I better go buy a rifle.

Quote: gordonm888

This is a very interesting concept. I probably can't do this in practice, but you correctly state the drawbacks of the other approaches and your idea is clever. It had occurred to me that the future spread of this virus may be slowed once some of the population has been infected and developed immunity. But I had not thought about getting intentionally infected.

I don't know too much about this stuff, however, I was under the impression that you can keep getting the virus and there are different strains as well, so you really can't develop a good immunity to it?

South Korea has the highest per capita testing in the world. Their figures are the most accurate. They’ve found the mortality rate there is 0.7%, or nearly five times lower than the 3.4% rate reported by the WHO.

The mortality rate for the seasonal flu is 0.1%.

Quote: gordonm888

I went shopping for supplies today. Here is the section of our grocery store where toilet paper is stocked.

Same thing around my neck of the woods, and apparently just about everywhere else.

Doesn't make a difference to me because I have a bio bidet. The're inexpensive, (many are less than $50), and install easily under your existing toilet seat.

Quote: gordonm888

2. Buying pet food in bulk.

I started doing this two months
ago. Walmart stopped selling their
in house canned cat food 6 weeks
ago. I have 2 months stored. Buying
more today. Local schools and colleges
are c;losing, pro sports is over, Disneyland
is closed. We're screwed.

Quote: SOOPOO

All true. I'm in the medium risk group. Almost 60 with diabetes. I will try and be in the not infected group. But success? If I stop posting you'll know why.....

99.3% of S Koreans are living thru it.

Quote: Hullabaloo

Same thing around my neck of the woods, and apparently just about everywhere else.

Doesn't make a difference to me because I have a bio bidet. The're inexpensive, (many are less than $50), and install easily under your existing toilet seat.

I've never used one of these, but I can't imagine this working very well. Is this like a water-pic for the butt? Would you not have to move your butt around if the jet is fixed? I know what its like to use a pressure washer on your driveway or house: its slow and tedious.

What if you're in Mexico and have just eaten some 'carne del diablo' from a street vendor? And you've run to the bathroom, dropped your drawers and as you lower yourself to the toilet, the first gusher comes shooting out of your butt? And that first gusher bounces off the toilet seat and the upward backsplash encounters your descending butt, and coats you from mid-thigh to your lower back? I mean like the L5 vertebrae or higher? Is this dainty water jet from the bidet really preferable to five rolls of toilet paper?

I assume that the Frenchman who invented the bidet had never eaten Mexican food.

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: Hullabaloo

Same thing around my neck of the woods, and apparently just about everywhere else.

Doesn't make a difference to me because I have a bio bidet. The're inexpensive, (many are less than $50), and install easily under your existing toilet seat.

I've never used one of these, but I can't imagine this working very well. Is this like a water-pic for the butt? Would you not have to move your butt around if the jet is fixed? I know what its like to use a pressure washer on your driveway or house: its slow and tedious.

What if you're in Mexico and have just eaten some 'carne del diablo' from a street vendor? And you've run to the bathroom, dropped your drawers and as you lower yourself to the toilet, the first gusher comes shooting out of your butt? And that first gusher bounces off the toilet seat and the upward backsplash encounters your descending butt, and coats you from mid-thigh to your lower back? I mean like the L5 vertebrae or higher? Is this dainty water jet from the bidet really preferable to five rolls of toilet paper?

I assume that the Frenchman who invented the bidet had never eaten Mexican food.

I must say that was weirdly detailed for a hypothetical.

Quote: gordonm888

What if you're in Mexico and have just eaten some 'carne del diablo' from a street vendor? And you've run to the bathroom, dropped your drawers and as you lower yourself to the toilet,

Me and a buddy went to Mexico in the late 70s.
He ate a bunch of street food, that I warned him
about, and he had to run back to the hotel to
get to the room. He only made it to the lobby.
He rushed over to one of those big potted palm
trees they have in the lobbies down there and
dropped his pants, and crapped right there in
the pot. Good Times..

Target online is out of deliverable
TP and canned cat food.

Quote: Hullabaloo

^ oh my lol

Quote: odiousgambit

sounds a little nutty...

I don't disagree. I just find that suppressing nuttery only puts it in a corner of your mind where it will hassle you in perpetuity. Give it a voice and it usually shuts up in a day. This is just me working through it.

Quote: gordonm888

This is a very interesting concept. I probably can't do this in practice, but you correctly state the drawbacks of the other approaches and your idea is clever. It had occurred to me that the future spread of this virus may be slowed once some of the population has been infected and developed immunity. But I had not thought about getting intentionally infected.

I probably couldn't practice it, either. But when the choice is "hope to miss it else death", it kinda demands more than just hoping for the best, even if the option is "camp in a NY March alone with the kung flu". That is surely nutty. But juxtapose it with "but if you get it, you're going to kill your family", and it gets real sane real quick. I'm sure you can empathize.

Officially, it's 6hrs away. Unofficially, it's 30min, in the town of my employ.

F#$%'s sakes.

Quote: EvenBob

Me and a buddy went to Mexico in the late 70s.
He ate a bunch of street food, that I warned him
about, and he had to run back to the hotel to
get to the room. He only made it to the lobby.
He rushed over to one of those big potted palm
trees they have in the lobbies down there and
dropped his pants, and crapped right there in
the pot. Good Times..

just kidding

Quote: EvenBob

I started doing this two months
ago. Walmart stopped selling their
in house canned cat food 6 weeks
ago. I have 2 months stored. Buying
more today. Local schools and colleges
are c;losing, pro sports is over, Disneyland
is closed. We're screwed.

I use Chewy.com because I hate carrying those heavy bags of dog food from the car to the house. They offer free delivery and leave it on my front porch. Usually the wife gets home from work first so she carries it in.

Quote: DRich

I use Chewy.com because I hate carrying those heavy bags of dog food from the car to the house. They offer free delivery and leave it on my front porch. Usually the wife gets home from work first so she carries it in.

Chewy can be nice, but on more than one occasion we've found maggots in the food for our guinea pigs or hedgehogs. Small pet select is fantastic.

I have what my doc refers to as a 'compromised immune system" due to a lower than normal white cell count that is a side effect of going thru chemo about 6 years ago. It's not that big an issue as it has not prevented me from doing anything I really want to do (e.e, going to a casino, eating in restaurants) but I have gotten in the habit of doing pretty much everything they are now recommending folks do to deal with COVID-19. For example, I always have a small bottle of Purell in my pocket and would use it in a restaurant just before eating to eliminate any germs I might have picked up from handling the menu. I also try very hard to remember not to touch my face when out in public. My wife if very hard-core about eliminating germs from the surface of any groceries brought into the house. For example, wiping down with iso-propyl alcohol the containers of all the Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia I like to buy (FYI, my#2 favorite is Americone Dream). If it's something in a plastic bag (e., hot dog buns) she throws out the original bag and puts it in a zip-loc. Bottom line is that if it was handled by the check-out clerk it's considered to be a potential source of contamination. She also wears disposable gloves while doing all this. All considered, I've got nothing to bitch about as the cancer is gone and I haven't had a cold or flu in over 5 years where as I used to get a cold a 2 or 3 times a year.

Until now, however, we didn't engage in any "social distancing". We would hit a casino about 5 or 6 times a year, go to to the theater about as often, shake hands with folks, take the train in to NYC, etc. That is no longer the case.

What's changed for us with the arrival of COVID-19 is the risk factor. Until now the main threat was the flu virus or pneumonia, both of which my oncologist makes sure I get vaccinated for every year. My risk of being exposed while in public to COVID-19 is much higher than my risk of being exposed to the flu and my risk of catching it if exposed is also much higher. Being 68 already makes catching the virus potentially more lethal but even if the virus doesn't kill me, I sure as hell do NOT want to be in even the 15% of the cases that are classified as just "serious". I speak from personal experience when i say that being hospitalized for anything that requires you to be hooked up to tubes is something to be avoided at all costs.

Our plan therefore is to stay home as much as possible for the next 8 weeks. I've always worked from home so that's aspect isn't an issue. instead of doing weekly grocery shopping, my wife is now doing it every other week. Another change is I no longer go with her. The casino visits are off, as are restaurants (we normally eat out about once per week). We've never been party animals nor participants in organized group activities (e.g., religious, sports, business networking) so that isn't a factor for us. I used to have a membership at a nearby fitness center but that was dropped long ago. One of our favorite activities is going for walks in the park when the weather is nice. No need to cut that out. I can't recall the last time we wen to a movie theater (streaming is so much easier and cheaper). We've always maintained a pretty well-stocked pantry and freezer so that isn't an issue either. So the bottom line is that for us, the current situation hasn't really had a major impact on our day-to-day life.

In 09-10, Swine Flu killed 18,000
Americans in a year. A national
emergency was called after the
first 1000 deaths. Nobody panicked,
TP and water and canned goods
didn't fly off the shelves. Entire
sports seasons weren't cancelled.

41 people die, 36 of them old old
people in a Wash State nursing
home, and all hell breaks loose.
The lives that we know grind to
a halt. Not a single person under
50 has died. Most who have it don't
even know it and recover.

Have we all lost our minds?

Quote: EvenBob

In 09-10, Swine Flu killed 18,000
Americans in a year. A national
emergency was called after the
first 1000 deaths. Nobody panicked,
TP and water and canned goods
didn't fly off the shelves. Entire
sports seasons weren't cancelled.

41 people die, 36 of them old old
people in a Wash State nursing
home, and all hell breaks loose.
The lives that we know grind to
a halt. Not a single person under
50 has died. Most who have it don't
even know it and recover.

Have we all lost our minds?

Counterpoint: How many lives would potentially have been saved in 2009-2010 if we reacted then like we're doing now?

Quote: EvenBob

In 09-10, Swine Flu killed 18,000
Americans in a year. A national
emergency was called after the
first 1000 deaths. Nobody panicked,
TP and water and canned goods
didn't fly off the shelves. Entire
sports seasons weren't cancelled.

41 people die, 36 of them old old
people in a Wash State nursing
home, and all hell breaks loose.
The lives that we know grind to
a halt. Not a single person under
50 has died. Most who have it don't
even know it and recover.

Have we all lost our minds?

Please explain Italy then.

Quote: SOOPOO

Please explain Italy then.

Can retired Doctors be called back, either voluntarily or by an act of government in a health emergency?

Quote: EvenBob

In 09-10, Swine Flu killed 18,000
Americans in a year. A national
emergency was called after the
first 1000 deaths. Nobody panicked,
TP and water and canned goods
didn't fly off the shelves. Entire
sports seasons weren't cancelled.

41 people die, 36 of them old old
people in a Wash State nursing
home, and all hell breaks loose.
The lives that we know grind to
a halt. Not a single person under
50 has died. Most who have it don't
even know it and recover.





Have we all lost our minds?

I think this is called asymmetrical comparison or, in layman's terms, being calendrically challenged.

EvenBob is comparing the sum total of an event with the first few days of a different event. Maybe check back in 90 or 120 days for those kinds of comparisons.

Quote: SOOPOO

Please explain Italy then.

Fake news, obviously.

Quote: SOOPOO

Please explain Italy then.

It's simple. Italy lacks American exceptionalism. LOL.

Quote: EvenBob

In 09-10, Swine Flu killed 18,000
Americans in a year. A national
emergency was called after the
first 1000 deaths. Nobody panicked,
TP and water and canned goods
didn't fly off the shelves. Entire
sports seasons weren't cancelled.

41 people die, 36 of them old old
people in a Wash State nursing
home, and all hell breaks loose.
The lives that we know grind to
a halt. Not a single person under
50 has died. Most who have it don't
even know it and recover.

Have we all lost our minds?

The prognosis on coronavirus in the next 6 months or so is so much worse than the Swine flu it's not even funny.
Millions. Let's just hope it doesn't go to the upper predicted limit. But it doesn't seem like it judging by the Italy situation development.

Quote: rawtuff

The prognosis on coronavirus in the next 6 months or so is so much worse than the Swine flu it's not even funny.
Millions. Let's just hope it doesn't go to the upper predicted limit. But it doesn't seem like it judging by the Italy situation development.

When it kills 1% of the population I will start taking it seriously.

Quote: DRich

When it kills 1% of the population I will start taking it seriously.

Remember these words as you're starting taking it seriously way earlier than that.
Estimations are it may kill off about 2 % to 2.5 % of the population in an year or so depending on many factors of course.
The socio-economic impact on yours, mine and everyone else's life will be impossible to ignore even before it kills 0.1% of the population.

A wise man speaks because he has something to say.
A fool speaks because he has to say something.

Quote: billryan

Can retired Doctors be called back, either voluntarily or by an act of government in a health emergency?

I don't think I can be compelled to work as I am essentially just a private citizen.

When I was employed at my Level I Trauma Center we did have a Disaster Plan where we all could be called in 24/7 essentially. If there were some disaster affecting my ex partners and I was asked to work again I would likely do so. I still have my license active.

One thought I've had recently is if it becomes like Italy and there are not enough ventilators, each OR has an anesthesia machine, which is essentially a ventilator that has additional bells and whistles to be able to ventilate and keep someone asleep. At my ex hospital that is 17 additional ventilators that could be used in a crisis situation. It would require a lot of manpower as each one would require a dedicated person to stay with each OR ventilator.

In a true disaster, a human squeezing an ambu-bag can substitute for a ventilator.

Quote: DRich

When it kills 1% of the population I will start taking it seriously.

It'll never kill that many of the
population, it kills people over
50, especially over 75. And
there are a helluva lot of people
under 50 than over 50. The vast
majority will never get it & never
know it when they do.

Until 1900, the major cause of death
in the elderly wasn't heart attacks
or strokes. It was infectious disease.
As far back as you want to got in
any society. It's natures way to
thin out the herd. Doctors were
never rich till they figured out how
to prolong the lives of the their
richest patients, the elderly. Then
it was gravy train time. How many
times have I reported here they
got all of my wife's parents half a million
in assets in nothing flat. That's chump
change compared to what some of
these old farts are worth.

I just got this passed to me by my sister and thought it worth passing on. This is the advice the folks who run the Stanford Univ. Hospital are giving their staff. Some of the recommendations are ones I haven't heard anywhere else.


*EDIT BY MOD: ONCEDEAR:-
THIS CIRCULATION IS AN INTERNET HOAX : IT DID NOT COME FROM STANFORD HOSPITAL BOARD.
IT IS MISINFORMATION! DO NOT RE-CIRCULATE !

Quote: NOT* Stanford Hospital Board

From members of the Stanford hospital board; This is their feedback for now on preventive measures to take against the Coronavirus: 
 
The new Coronavirus may not show sign of infection for many days. How can one know if he/she is infected? By the time they have fever and/or cough and go to the hospital, the lung is usually 50% Fibrosis and it's too late. 
 
Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check that we can do every morning. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for more than 10 seconds. If you complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection. In critical time, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air.
 
Serious excellent advice by Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases: Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat are moist, never dry. Take a few sips of water every 15 minutes at least. Why? Even if the virus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other liquids will wash them down through your throat and into the stomach. Once there, your stomach acid will kill all the virus. If you don't drink enough water more regularly, the virus can enter your windpipe and into the lungs. That's very dangerous. Please send and share this with family and friends. Take care everyone and may the world recover from this Coronavirus soon.
 
IMPORTANT tips - CORONAVIRUS
 
1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours - so if you come into contact with any metal surface - wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but - a lot can happen during that time - you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice
10. Can't emphasis enough - drink plenty of water! 
11. It will first infect the throat, so you'll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days 2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further. 3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing. 4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you're drowning. It's imperative you then seek immediate attention.

Quote: TumblingBones

I just got this passed to me by my sister and thought it worth passing on. This is the advice the folks who run the Stanford Univ. Hospital are giving their staff. Some of the recommendations are ones I haven't heard anywhere else.

Internet nonsense thats been floating around for months. If it dies at 26/27 degrees, how would it survive in the human body which is 37 degrees.

Quote: TumblingBones

I just got this passed to me by my sister and thought it worth passing on. This is the advice the folks who run the Stanford Univ. Hospital are giving their staff. Some of the recommendations are ones I haven't heard anywhere else.

Confirmed as a hoax: https://www.lamag.com/article/coronavirus-hoax-stanford/

Obvious from the second line. No way you will have that much lung damage prior to symptoms presenting.

Well that's embarrassing. Serve's me right for trusting my sister.

Quote: TumblingBones

Well that's embarrassing. Serve's me right for trusting my sister.

As a general rule, sister's are the worst people to get information from.

*EDIT BY MOD: ONCEDEAR:-
THIS CIRCULATION IS AN INTERNET HOAX : IT DID NOT COME FROM STANFORD HOSPITAL BOARD.
IT IS MISINFORMATION! DO NOT RE-CIRCULATE !

Good job OD for staying on top of it and setting us straight. I've upgraded/ downgraded your worst Mod ever status to 3rd or 4th 😁