COVID-19 Discussion & Resources

[Johann]

Kinda surprised nobody bothered to make a thread about this before, but anyway, I figure some of yall wanna talk about this stuff and maybe get some info. In particular, I'll link some info from the World Health Organization (WHO), and the US Center for Disease Control (CDC):

• WHO page on the virus, with a large variety of resources
• WHO Q&A overview of the disease
• WHO advice for the public
• WHO global situation reports (statistics of cases, etc)
• WHO Best Practices for the Naming of New Human Infectious Diseases (pdf)-- why "Chinese Virus" is a horrible, racist, unhelpful name
• CDC info page on the virus
• CDC Q&A pdf
• CDC "What to do if you are sick" pdf
• CDC nationwide situation reports (statistics, etc)
• CDC-- Reducing Stigma

Feel free to share other resources, but make sure they are coming from legitimate sources (so like, not random Twitter rumors that simply spark panic). I have further resources on epidemiology if anyone's interested (my master's degree is in Emergency Management and I teach about Public Health issues). Remember that this is a serious disease that is affecting the whole world and taking lives, and so jokes about it would be in poor taste. Feel free to talk about what you're feeling and what your situation is like.

Note that there has been a serious increase in harassment and violence towards Chinese people (including people of Chinese descent). This is due to stigma caused by people misinterpreting the facts to claim that the disease was caused by China, when the only conclusive fact is that it was first identified there. Bear in mind that calling it the "Chinese Virus" is a racist act, which only furthers the stigma & stereotypes towards Chinese people, while distorting what we know about the virus/disease. While it is acceptable to ask questions and get clarification, bigotry and rumor peddling are not acceptable.

On 3/19/2020 at 2:36 PM, eclipse said:

Anyway, this sucker's either "coronavirus" (or some non-mangled spelling of it) "COVID-19", or whatever else the Big Government Health Agencies call it.  I'm going to use my discretion about warning "China virus", but it's probably gonna be a heavy one.

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As a college professor, I've personally shifted what elements of my class that aren't already online to the internet. I'm even making videos of my lectures to put on Youtube because I'm a crazy person who does way more than is necessary. Also, an upcoming musical I've been rehearsing in for months was gonna open on Thursday, but is postponed til the summer, so my friends are pretty bummed. I'm a total extrovert but I can handle this kind of isolation pretty well. What kind of experience are you having?

Edited March 21, 2020 by Johann

[XRay]

My friends and I have a group text that we use to message each other, so it is not that bad for some of us. Even when I was New York, I never really felt cut off from my friends since we stay connected via Facebook.

In terms of what to do, wash your hands frequently, sneeze into a tissue (or armpit) but not hands (we use our hands to touch things), avoid hanging out physically (or just hangout online, social media, etc.), and be careful when interacting with old people.

And also do not hoard facemasks.

Edited March 17, 2020 by XRay

[Jason-SilverStarApple]

If a vaccine is ever found, it should be given to the people for free.

However, it should go to doctors first. Then to firefighters, then cops and regular people get it at the same time.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Jason-SilverStarApple

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I considered making a thread about what are peoples' #SelfQuarantine plans. That is, how do we plan to spend the next weeks/months staying inside. What shows/movies are we streaming, what games are we playing, just fun stuff like that. But I also knew the more ethically responsible thing to do in a first covid thread would be to have a bunch of helpful, informative links which I did not care to acquire. Kudos, by the way.

Edit: Btw please be sure to check on any of your extroverted friends every so often. Not being able to go out and socialize is very hard on them, no doubt.

Edited March 17, 2020 by Glennstavos

[Benice]

18 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

Btw please be sure to check on any of your extroverted friends every so often. Not being able to go out and socialize is very hard on them, no doubt.

Tell that to my friends, please.

Yeah, I hope this ends soon, because it's messing basically everything up in our lives.

[indigoasis]

I'm currently taking a social psychology class, and my professor mentioned in an online post that the term "social distancing" could be included in future sopsych (that's my abbreviation for it) textbooks. Just to clarify, is the term "social distancing" something new that's come about due to the pandemic, or is it something that's existed, but hasn't really been used all that much until now?

2 hours ago, Johann said:

I'm even making videos of my lectures to put on Youtube because I'm a crazy person who does way more than is necessary.

You would't mind sharing those videos when you post them, would you? I might be interested in watching them, if that's okay.

1 hour ago, XRay said:

And also do not hoard facemasks.

Same with hand sanitizer, soap, and toilet paper. When I went to the supermarket a few days ago, there was a shelf that was completely cleared of it's contents. There was a sheet of paper saying that certain items were going to have to be limited to 6 per person. My friend works at another supermarket, and he said that hand sanitizer and stuff like that is being limited to 4 per person there.

[XRay]

20 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

Same with hand sanitizer, soap, and toilet paper. When I went to the supermarket a few days ago, there was a shelf that was completely cleared of it's contents. There was a sheet of paper saying that certain items were going to have to be limited to 6 per person. My friend works at another supermarket, and he said that hand sanitizer and stuff like that is being limited to 4 per person there.

Are people really that lazy to wash their hands?

22 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

soap

I assume you mean hand soap, cause I cannot imagine people hoarding every type of soap in their house. Shampoo, dish soap, laundry detergent, and regular old bar soap can all be used to wash hands.

26 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

toilet paper

We really need to move on to using bidets or at least get into the habit of washing our butts in the bath or shower. Cuts down massively on toilet paper usage. Relying solely on toilet paper is kind of uncivilized in my opinion.

[Johann]

42 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

You would't mind sharing those videos when you post them, would you? I might be interested in watching them, if that's okay.

Sure, though they're going to be for a college course that uses a program that you won't have access to, so you might get a bit bored of them haha

[Interdimensional Observer]

@Johann Thanks for the links! The global statistics is interesting to me, probably since I have a degree in World History.

I didn't know you were a professor on that note, the job that comes easiest to my degree, but which I think I'm not best suited for. Introversion and a doubt of being able to effectively communicate my wisdom to others being the reasons. As a longtime teacher's pet I wish I still was one, I give you my respect.

 

2 hours ago, Glennstavos said:

I considered making a thread about what are peoples' #SelfQuarantine plans. That is, how do we plan to spend the next weeks/months staying inside. What shows/movies are we streaming, what games are we playing, just fun stuff like that.

I'm thinking maybe this is finally the time for me to try a bunch of out-of-the-norm recipes I've never gotten to. And I think I still have a few seasons of the Great British Baking Show to watch. That'll be a good backup in case I can't find good Parmesan, due to panicked people hoarding food, to try stirring up some cacio e peppe ("cheese and pepper" in Italian, pasta where you blend the hot water you cooked the pasta in with cheese and pepper for the sauce).

[Johann]

Just now, Interdimensional Observer said:

@Johann Thanks for the links! The global statistics is interesting to me, probably since I have a degree in World History.

I didn't know you were a professor on that note, the job that comes easiest to my degree, but which I think I'm not best suited for. Introversion and a doubt of being able to effectively communicate my wisdom to others being the reasons. As a longtime teacher's pet I wish I still was one, I give you my respect.

It's basically like Three Houses but nothing dramatic happens and no personal connection to the students. Like I don't even learn most of their names. You do get a lot of total strangers going "hey professor" in the halls and stuff though.

For what it's worth, you might find online teaching more preferable. I prefer face-to-face interactions in any situation, but for introverts, it's easy enough online since communication works a lot like it does on a forum like this.

[eclipse]

I'm going to be extremely strict with the moderation of this thread.  As in, attempt to spread panic, and I'm going straight to the suspension step, at minimum.  This is a clusterfuck of a situation, and things are already tense in my neck of the woods.  Don't want to think of how bad it is in places where the cases are higher than single digits.  The last thing I want is rampant misinformation.

[XRay]

40 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I'm going to be extremely strict with the moderation of this thread.  As in, attempt to spread panic, and I'm going straight to the suspension step, at minimum.  This is a clusterfuck of a situation, and things are already tense in my neck of the woods.  Don't want to think of how bad it is in places where the cases are higher than single digits.  The last thing I want is rampant misinformation.

Oh yeah, that is extremely important too. John Oliver talked about being careful about not spreading false information, cause it may be dangerous. So be careful about sharing health/medical information on social media if you do not know if it is true. If it is information that is from a trusted source like from the government or health institution, then it should be safe to share. However, if it is from a random website or something, it is best to fact check it first or simply not share it.

And even if the information is from the government, Trump and his administration does not count for obvious reasons. The CDC and NHS should be taken seriously, but words from people like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson should be taken with a lot of salt and skepticism.

[Burklight]

11 hours ago, XRay said:

And even if the information is from the government, Trump and his administration does not count for obvious reasons. The CDC and NHS should be taken seriously, but words from people like Donald Trump and Boris Johnson should be taken with a lot of salt and skepticism.

I think even trusting the CDC or NHS is questionable. I don't think they're lying to us or anything, and I believe they have our best interests at heart, but they don't really know any thing either. One of the problems we've had is lack of general testing, which means the only people getting tested are either people sick enough to go to a hospital, or people who are panicking. That is a not big enough, skewed, self selected sample. 

The only source I can think of that's both A) trustworthy, and B) has a good enough sample size, is South Korea. But in the state's we're so spread out that their numbers probably don't apply to us. 

Just use your brain and be careful! 

[Nym]

My final internship got interrupted because of the virus.

But at least Quebec's government acted really fast which is a really good thing.

Hope you guys in America will be okay.

[Captain Karnage]

6 minutes ago, Nym said:

My final internship got interrupted because of the virus.

But at least Quebec's government acted really fast which is a really good thing.

Hope you guys in America will be okay.

I feel you

All my firefighting training just got canceled, it's really set me back

4 hours ago, Burklight said:

I think even trusting the CDC or NHS is questionable. I don't think they're lying to us or anything, and I believe they have our best interests at heart, but they don't really know any thing either. One of the problems we've had is lack of general testing, which means the only people getting tested are either people sick enough to go to a hospital, or people who are panicking. That is a not big enough, skewed, self selected sample. 

The only source I can think of that's both A) trustworthy, and B) has a good enough sample size, is South Korea. But in the state's we're so spread out that their numbers probably don't apply to us. 

Just use your brain and be careful! 

I remember being taught that one of the most important things to do in emergency management is that you need to keep the population calm. While I believe that they're doing the best,they're probably not telling us everything. 

[Shoblongoo]

Office closed and temporarily out-of-work due to statewide shutdown of courts, government buildings, and “nonessential businesses” (i.e. anything that isn’t a supermarket, a gas and auto service station, or a healthcare facility). School where wife teaches also closed—she’s prepping online classes and teaching from home. Next few weeks are gonna be rough.

[eclipse]

9 hours ago, Burklight said:

I think even trusting the CDC or NHS is questionable. I don't think they're lying to us or anything, and I believe they have our best interests at heart, but they don't really know any thing either. One of the problems we've had is lack of general testing, which means the only people getting tested are either people sick enough to go to a hospital, or people who are panicking. That is a not big enough, skewed, self selected sample. 

The only source I can think of that's both A) trustworthy, and B) has a good enough sample size, is South Korea. But in the state's we're so spread out that their numbers probably don't apply to us. 

Just use your brain and be careful! 

I trust the CDS/NHS/WHO far more than "some guy I know".  Hence why I'll allow it.  Otherwise, we'd have no sources whatsoever other than anecdotes.

Speaking of, the virus is hitting in a weird way here - supermarkets aren't getting enough supply for their demand.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I imagine a lot of the demand was falsified. Word gets out there's a shortage on things, then people rush out to make that shortage a reality by overstocking. Either because they're panicking or profiting as a scalper. Maybe both in that order for some individuals.

[Interdimensional Observer]

5 hours ago, Nym said:

My final internship got interrupted because of the virus.

But at least Quebec's government acted really fast which is a really good thing.

Hope you guys in America will be okay.

I've got a relative on the cusp of finishing their internship (well, something with a more professional name) at a hospital b/c students are being forced out of working there. I would presume b/c they want to focus entirely on Coronavirus and critical healthcare services and don't want nonessential potential victims on the premise either. Said relative is also far from their home and will soon have to give up their apartment due to the lease expiring.

[eclipse]

25 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

I imagine a lot of the demand was falsified. Word gets out there's a shortage on things, then people rush out to make that shortage a reality by overstocking. Either because they're panicking or profiting as a scalper. Maybe both in that order for some individuals.

I can understand hoarding things like toilet paper.  But hoarding fresh meat makes no sense.  And that's what worries me.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

In my town people can't be tested on the virus anymore because the demand is too high.

It's said my hometown has two cases, but the dark figure is much higher because of that.

 

Some workmates are set in quarantine because they have contact persons who might have been infected.

They have to wait multiple days because it takes that long to get.

It shows how badly prepared the health system was against Corona.

I hope they learned a lesson from this.

To be fair it has been the first pandemy with a giant that extent in my lifetime so far.

H5N1 and SARS were nothing against it.

Edited March 18, 2020 by Falcom Knight

[XRay]

21 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I can understand hoarding things like toilet paper.  But hoarding fresh meat makes no sense.  And that's what worries me.

I feel the opposite. You can store meat in the freezer, so hoarding some meat makes some sense to me.

For toilet paper though, it is not a big deal to not have any since you can just wash your booty after you poop. It is cleaner and cheaper too.

[indigoasis]

On 3/16/2020 at 10:43 PM, XRay said:

Are people really that lazy to wash their hands?

Personally, I prefer to wash my hands. It feels a lot safer and cleaner to me than using hand sanitizer.

7 minutes ago, eclipse said:

I can understand hoarding things like toilet paper.  But hoarding fresh meat makes no sense.  And that's what worries me.

Soon enough, toilet paper will become the new global currency.

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. I don't think people think as straight as they usually do during certain periods of time (like with what's currently going on and during full moons), so decisions that are made aren't always the best ones.

Where I'm working, we're still getting regular business somehow. I think it's because of other similar establishments that are close by are closing for the time being, so those customers are looking for alternatives. I would think that people would stay home, but the customers we get (which are golfers) are keeping us busy. I feel like that shows that not everyone is making the safest decisions right now... but to each their own, I suppose. Like hoarding fresh meat makes no sense, I feel that going out to golf (at this time) makes no sense (especially when golf carts are continually being cycled through and exchanging drivers throughout the day).

5 minutes ago, XRay said:

I feel the opposite. You can store meat in the freezer, so hoarding some meat makes some sense to me.

That's true, but meat doesn't last forever. Someone couldn't eat it by themselves all within the time frame that it's safe to eat in, especially if it's in large quantities like in elementary school math problems with the person buying 67 watermelons. I feel that I'm getting off topic, though.

[Excellen Browning]

I wonder if there's some sort of targeted campaign on facebook that's telling people that tp's about to run out. That's really the only thing that makes sense to me.

[Benice]

Corona put on summer break two and a half months early. School's been cancelled.

Which actually sucks because I can't do much right now.

Honestly, I think that the biggest threat, at least where I live, is the panic caused by COVID. My dad's cowerkers literally took our toilet paper and hand sanitizer! I hope that everyone's OK, though. In my city it's doing all right, probably.