COVID-19 Discussion & Resources

[Tryhard]

Reminder not to self medicate, especially at the vague advice from a source of ill repute.

[JubileePhoenix]

I work at a food store and its the strangest thing to empty little spaces. The toilet paper along with the paper towels is like a black abyss, thing is nothing there. 

[Jotari]

Whether China is or isn't to be blamed I see as rather irrelevant right now. Blaming China does not help anyone in the current situation we're in. It only shifts to conversation and distracts from the real issue (which is what I think is exactly what Trump was doing). That issue being how we ourselves and our government are handling things. Wait until the virus has vanished before throwing shit at China. Because now with the entire world basically in lock down, it's pointless. It's like trying to get the jury to come to a verdict when the victim is still bleeding out. Medical treatment first, justice later.

[AvatarofDiscord]

On a lighter note, the Corona virus name dragging down the sales of Corona beer is like the same song and dance with the Aids weight loss chocolate product before Aids the sexual disease was a thing

On 3/21/2020 at 7:24 PM, eclipse said:

Reread your first sentence, then think long and hard about the connotations of naming Something Bad after a place will do to people's perception of that place.

I admit this is something I haven't thought about, but honestly it's a line of thinking I would get annoyed at by other people having when people use said stuff to fuel their already prevalent racism. Personally I would never use the China Virus seriously and would take it with a grain of salt, I prefer the name Corona like most others, but I tend to have a personality that let's me see where others could come from (Especially when they get hated alot of the time in media since I myself have been in that position of being the most hated in a group before in a few groups i have been in)

Basically what I am trying to say is that criticism towards China is deserved, especially if they are lying about any cases with the Corona virus or keeping them on the hush hush like before it before popular, but hating on someone from China or any Chinese citizen because they have roots in that country is not only horrible, but downright inexcusable since it wasn't their fault.

[eclipse]

5 hours ago, Johann said:

It's not gonna become systemic, it's just gonna be assholes doing awful things to Asian people. Not everything has to be the next kids in cages thing to be reprehensible, but it's obvious why he said it and where it'll go from there.

edit: Here, read an article

That article looks interesting.  But it's not letting me read it.

[XRay]

5 hours ago, Johann said:

It's not gonna become systemic, it's just gonna be assholes doing awful things to Asian people. Not everything has to be the next kids in cages thing to be reprehensible, but it's obvious why he said it and where it'll go from there.

edit: Here, read an article

That is fair.

37 minutes ago, eclipse said:

That article looks interesting.  But it's not letting me read it.

The archive.is you recommended me a while back is great. No more hassling with the refresh-stop loading trick on my phone if I want to read online newspapers.

Here is the archive copy of the article.

3 hours ago, JubileePhoenix said:

I work at a food store and its the strangest thing to empty little spaces. The toilet paper along with the paper towels is like a black abyss, thing is nothing there. 

Now that you mentioned it, I do not recall seeing any napkins either when shopping. I remember seeing facial wipes for makeup though.

Edited March 24, 2020 by XRay

[eclipse]

3 minutes ago, XRay said:

The archive.is you recommended me a while back is great. No more hassling with the refresh-stop loading trick on my phone if I want to read online newspapers.

Here is the archive copy of the article.

Thanks!

And. . .yeah, that's horrifying.  Never thought I'd have a higher opinion of W than Trump, but here we are.

[eclipse]

Bite me, this is a very. . .interesting situation.

Honolulu's under lockdown, which means everyone stays at home (it's now statewide, effective in six and a half hours or so).  But we're now under a tsunami watch, which means people in low-lying areas need to get out of their homes.  I wonder how this will be handled, given that the usual solution (shelters) is a bad idea.

[Benice]

20 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Bite me, this is a very. . .interesting situation.

Honolulu's under lockdown, which means everyone stays at home (it's now statewide, effective in six and a half hours or so).  But we're now under a tsunami watch, which means people in low-lying areas need to get out of their homes.  I wonder how this will be handled, given that the usual solution (shelters) is a bad idea.

Oof. Stay safe.

 

Well, for my family, we may be stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do, (because Canada just closed all of the national parks and stuff.) but hey, at least we're in the rocky mountains! We have all hecking day to stare at the window and look at the three sisters insetad of being outside. 

There's far worse places to be, though, so I can't complain that much.

[Interdimensional Observer]

55 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Bite me, this is a very. . .interesting situation.

Honolulu's under lockdown, which means everyone stays at home (it's now statewide, effective in six and a half hours or so).  But we're now under a tsunami watch, which means people in low-lying areas need to get out of their homes.  I wonder how this will be handled, given that the usual solution (shelters) is a bad idea.

I had considered once or twice in the past few days: "Well, Coronavirus will be with us for months, hurricane season begins in June- if not very strongly. What if a hurricane hits? Homes will be destroyed and people will be forced to seek shelter, in places where they will be forced to huddle in groups well-exceeding 5 people."

So, I hope the best for you. Even if it sounds impossible to imagine how you'd create a shelter spur-of-the-moment (which is all the few days'/a week's warning is) that wasn't a petri dish.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Interdimensional Observer

[Ottservia]

Michigan is under lockdown as well that is something I can confirm. Fortunately for us there’s no insane weather phenomena over here to worry too much about aside from the occasional blizzard or tornado 

[eclipse]

. . .and tsunami watch canceled.  Thank goodness.  Y'all are the sweetest!

But it's a grim reminder that Mother Nature cares not for our economic situation.  Or the fact that we're cooped up at home.

Edited March 25, 2020 by eclipse

[Excellen Browning]

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I had considered once or twice in the past few days: "Well, Coronavirus will be with us for months, hurricane season begins in June- if not very strongly. What if a hurricane hits? Homes will be destroyed and people will be forced to seek shelter, in places where they will be forced to huddle in groups well-exceeding 5 people."

So, I hope the best for you. Even if it sounds impossible to imagine how you'd create a shelter spur-of-the-moment (which is all the few days'/a week's warning is) that wasn't a petri dish.

Let people shelter in hotels. Plenty of those on Honolulu, and they're empty anyway. 

Hotels are also great places to keep people who need to be quarantined and can't stay home, imo.

[XRay]

I know our government's handling of COVID-19 is not exactly great, but hearing about how incompetent Trump is really highlights just how much better the situation could have been if anyone else, or even just a regular American you see walking down the street, is leading the country. I really hope the orange turd does not win the upcoming election because I do not think America can handle extreme incompetence of this magnitude.

 

[Shoblongoo]

New Jersey been in lockdown for 2 weeks now. Getting the spillover from the outbreak in New York City—we’re getting slammed over here.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Shoblongoo

[eclipse]

10 hours ago, Excellen Browning said:

Let people shelter in hotels. Plenty of those on Honolulu, and they're empty anyway. 

Hotels are also great places to keep people who need to be quarantined and can't stay home, imo.

. . .yeah, good luck convincing them.

---

Looks like our first "death". . .wasn't from the virus?  Testing here's kind of a mess, so we'll see.

[XRay]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

Looks like our first "death". . .wasn't from the virus?  Testing here's kind of a mess, so we'll see.

I think testing is a mess throughout the United States. Sacramento still has no large scale testing. UC Davis nearby was able to make their own test, but it is still for very limited numbers right now, although they plan to ramp up the scale as soon as possible.

Just reading about it makes me more and more disappointed in Trump's handling of the outbreak. We even had months of warning observing China.

Edited March 25, 2020 by XRay

[Nym]

45 minutes ago, XRay said:

Just reading about it makes me more and more disappointed in Trump's handling of the outbreak. We even had months of warning observing China.

I would actually suggest you guys in America to stay inform on how other countries deal with the virus (even those countries already deep in trouble like Italy).

Because if you guys compare to us Canadians, you will see how slow and foolish Trump was and still is to battle the virus.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Nym

[XRay]

Just now, Nym said:

Because if you guys compare to us Canadians, you will see how slow and foolish Trump was and is to battle the virus.

Yeah. It is getting more and more apparent by the day. I really hope his botched handling of COVID-19 means he will be voted out.

[Nym]

2 minutes ago, XRay said:

Yeah. It is getting more and more apparent by the day. I really hope his botched handling of COVID-19 means he will be voted out.

I'm just saying that because not all American are informed of what else is going on around the world. Or because Trump lies about doing everything "with perfection".

Spread the information, not the virus!

I hope for you guys this will plummet his popularity.

[Benice]

8 hours ago, eclipse said:

Testing here's kind of a mess, so we'll see.

Meanwhile, here in Canada, we don't even DO testing! 

Or at least in BC. Can't speak for the other provinces and territories. I'm not too worried about BC, because we've got two or three cities over 100K people, unless you count all of Vancouver's suburbs individually. Down in eastern Canada where the population's more dense, the situation might be different?

Yeah, roughly six cities are over 100k, with only four over that mark in 2016. (Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Abbotsford, but a whole bunch were in the 90's and high 80's.)

[eclipse]

3 hours ago, Benice said:

Meanwhile, here in Canada, we don't even DO testing! 

Or at least in BC. Can't speak for the other provinces and territories. I'm not too worried about BC, because we've got two or three cities over 100K people, unless you count all of Vancouver's suburbs individually. Down in eastern Canada where the population's more dense, the situation might be different?

Yeah, roughly six cities are over 100k, with only four over that mark in 2016. (Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Abbotsford, but a whole bunch were in the 90's and high 80's.)

Testing is severely limited here, because for most people, they can get over it by staying away from everyone and all.  Basically, you'd need to be in the hospital and showing symptoms.

[Nym]

18 hours ago, Benice said:

Meanwhile, here in Canada, we don't even DO testing! 

Or at least in BC. Can't speak for the other provinces and territories. I'm not too worried about BC, because we've got two or three cities over 100K people, unless you count all of Vancouver's suburbs individually. Down in eastern Canada where the population's more dense, the situation might be different?

Yeah, roughly six cities are over 100k, with only four over that mark in 2016. (Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Abbotsford, but a whole bunch were in the 90's and high 80's.)

In Quebec, we do testing. In fact, that was one of the first thing the government focused on improving, to make sure more people could test and those results could come faster.

[Jotari]

So as you probably don't know, I spent some time working in China a few years back, so I know a lot of people living there. All of them are saying things are calming down there. Here's a first hand account of things from someone I know personally.

Quote

 

So there has been a lot of information on social media recently about the virus. Things are getting hectic! from people believing it’s a hoax and ‘not that serious’ to supermarkets selling out of toilet roll(why!?)I’ve been back in Suzhou, China for 6 weeks and with things starting to return to normal here, I would like to share my journey and some info about what’s happening here(warning: it’s a long read)
Other countries with significantly lower populations are now catching up on or surpassing China’s death toll...a lot can be learned from how they’ve handled the situation (no negative comments please, I’ve already seen and heard it all...no country is reporting accurate death rates)

Returning:
Precautions were taken during my entire journey returning to China (from Vietnam) including multiple temperature checks along the way. As Covid-19 is spreading quickly around the globe , China is now protecting itself from other countries. The domestic cases of the virus are under control here with many cities being virus free for over a month. As soon as China realised the situation was getting out of hand globally, they intensified precautions here as they correctly predicted COVID-19 was going to make its way back into the country through international flights, thankfully they’re taking appropriate measures.....

Entering China is now a strict and lengthy process. You must fill out an abundance of paper work, after landing people are taken off the plane row by row to go through immigration, all staff are wearing hazmat suits, at some point you are given a sticker (green, yellow or red) most people would now receive a yellow which means no symptoms but must quarantine ( green and red are self explanatory) however green are no longer being given, everyone must now quarantine at designated hotels upon arrival.
After immigration and a lot more questions, you’re directed to a counter for the district you live in, you will be taken by bus for screening in centres in your district, after this you will be brought to a hotel to quarantine for 14 days(a hazmat suit is now provided for all passengers during these bus rides). food is delivered to you 3 times a day and you can have other deliveries at least once a week . generally the food is placed on a table outside your door but some hotels have robots to deliver- technology eh!? (a couple of weeks ago you could complete quarantine in your home and more recently they were adding sensors to people’s doors- measures are getting more and more intense in order to prevent the virus from entering internationally and spreading again). Now they are testing everyone returning to the country twice, once at the beginning of quarantine and again before you leave. If a test comes back positive from someone who was on your flight, you will be removed from this hotel and put into another hotel where more stringent rules are put in place, if you test positive for the virus you are taken to a hospital. It’s luck of the draw with the quality of hotel you get put into, but my friends and people I know have nice spacious rooms with balconies.
The work they are doing here is invaluable.

My Journey:
My journey home from the airport was easier as I returned when the documented cases of COVID-19 were a lot lower in other countries. When returning home from the airport(by private car) I went through 3 checkpoints where both myself and my driver’s temperature’s were taken(now things are a little different as mentioned above) I was allowed to complete the quarantine period in my apartment with no sensor on my door but I took it upon myself to be responsible and isolate.

I filled in some information online before returning; where I was coming from, flight info etc this allowed me to receive a green QR code, this is my health code, I show this code on my phone when I need to enter the supermarket or other public spaces (green means I’m safe)

Apartment:
I am given a ticket by security when exiting my building and I return the ticket when re-entering the tickets are dated....this is the same at every residence. This ensures no one is entering the apartment complex unless they live there(no guests or delivery guys allowed). My temperature is checked upon returning to my building. I can return at any time but many residences have a midnight curfew.

Restaurants:
A lot of restaurants and public places were closed for many weeks but they have slowly been re-opening over the past few weeks. When going to a restaurant, I fill in my details and my temperature is checked again, this way if anyone is later found to have the virus, I can be notified to get checked or go into quarantine. You can’t have a large group of people and tables are spaced apart. Everywhere closes at 10pm.

Ordering food:
When I first came back, most restaurants were closed but you could still order from some, you just couldn’t go inside. You could order online from the regular food app and have it delivered to your residence(outside the gates) or you could scan a QR code placed on the window and order online- your order was then passed to you outside.

Food and deliveries:
All deliveries, packages and parcels are delivered outside the apartment complex gates for you to go and collect yourself(of course security is monitoring this too, but things being stolen isn’t a problem here). You are notified when they’ve arrived. I disinfect the packages or deliveries before bringing them into my apartment and throw away the packaging asap.

If I order McDonald’s(for example...because it’s a wonderful choice) once my order has been delivered or given to me- on the bag I can see a little notice of all of the people who have handled my order. This tells me each person’s temperature and that it’s safe for them to be handling my food.

Transport:
My didi (taxi) drivers have a plastic sheet separating the front and the back of the car(which was supplied to them) it is sealed around the edges, this protects both myself and the driver...I’m not allowed to enter any taxi without a mask.
Wearing a mask is just the new way of life here, it’s an important tool in preventing the virus from spreading.
Most public transport stopped for a short time here but it seems fine now and it has been for a couple of weeks...of course it’s strict with spacing and again all staff are wearing appropriate protective gear, you must show your passport or green code to take some transportation. If you leave the city you must self isolate again when you return(but for a shorter amount of time I believe...I don’t need to leave, so I’m staying put)

Companies:
Many companies filed to re-open beginning/mid feb. They were required to prove certain conditions- employee masks, disinfection, taking employee temps, minimising the number of employees.
Schools will start to re-open in the next couple of weeks. The department of education has been checking all schools to ensure they have all of the necessary precautions in place before re-opening, providing new rules that need to be implemented and to ensure staff know the procedures to take if someone is thought to have the virus. A lot of staff have already received training for this. Schools won’t be allowed to re-open until they meet the standard required by the government (I work in a kindergarten so they will be very strict with this) I am currently due to return to work on the 7th of April.

Hospitals:
If you experienced any symptoms especially fever, you were required to go to a fever clinic where you would have a consultation and if required, a Covid-19 test. This meant that many potentially infected people were not entering hospitals or doctor’s clinics where they could potentially infect more people, particularly the vulnerable .

Views on China:
I see people say ‘the joys of communism’ that allow China to put these measures in place, but the reality is that a lot of what is being done here is not difficult and many countries could do the same or similar, even on a much lower level. Flight attendants, security guards, restaurant staff, cleaners, supermarket staff- all of these wonderful people were given extra responsibilities and new measures to follow and implement...they were told what to do and they are doing it because they know it’s vital. Also, many people are volunteering in various job roles to help with the situation and are still being paid by their employers.

From what I can see, countries only had to take small preventative measure to stop this spreading but they didn’t, now it will cost their economies huge amounts but most importantly it’s costing people’s lives. People are out of work and struggling a lot during these difficult times too, I hope everyone can take their own preventive measures so everything can return to normal as soon as possible.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STAY AT HOME.

Be Kind and be smart:
I see so much racism , negativity and discrimination presented by ‘professional’ and ‘reliable’ media along with seeing awful comments being made about China and Chinese people. Yes the virus came from here...but are you really going to blame 1.5 billion people for that? Yes people blame the government and communism too- I know they don’t do everything right but they do a lot right too which is never talked about. China is a global leader in technology, people live good lives here, they’re mostly happy(as far as I can see, no more or less than people from anywhere else) and I have never felt safer anywhere else in my whole life... could another nation with 1.5 billion people achieve what they have?

Sometimes racism is subtle, and to me that’s when it’s most dangerous. I urge people to please be aware of everything they are watching or reading online. So many people have VERY strong opinions about a country they haven’t even been to nevermind lived in...and that doesn’t seem fair to me.

This pandemic has brought out the worst in many people but it has brought out the best in this nation. I have not seen supermarkets selling out of toilet roll (again, why!?) or people bulk buying like they’re preparing for an apocalypse. I have seen them come together, work together and everyone do their part. I have seen them follow the rules and recommendations, taking precautions, and generally just trying to enjoy this extra time they get to spend at home with their families and making the most of this awful situation. I am glad I’m here and I worry about my friends and family in the rest of the world.

When the roles are reversed:
Recently I’ve been hearing how Chinese people are now afraid of foreigners, even with all of these measures being put in place here, they are still scared. They are scared because they know we don’t follow rules like they do and we feel we are somehow ‘above’ the situation. We don’t understand ‘no’. All I can say is that we look really stupid right now...because they’re right... look at what’s happening around the world. people were still socialising, going out and not following the recommendations. Countries are not being strict enough and they failed to act when it was necessary. I’m so happy to see many people taking it upon themselves to make responsible choices, but for the people who aren’t, please be more aware of the repercussions of your actions.

That being said, I have also not seen, heard or felt the same discrimination or racism towards us as I saw when the roles were reversed and Chinese people were being attacked verbally and physically all over the world when news of the virus was first released. There are always a few bad apples but I think we can learn a lot from them.

Final Note:
I know China have to be more careful because of their population but I’m so scared of what I’m seeing around the world..so little is being done, so many countries acted so late and so many people are carrying on as normal. I see more and more people staying in doors which is great but I also hear about people still going out.
Maybe sharing this info will help people to understand the measures that have been taken to keep this under control and that what we are being asked to do really isn’t a lot:
staying indoors , washings hands regularly (I don’t know why people don’t do this anyway but hey) wear a mask(don’t get me started on the irresponsible info I’ve seen telling people not to wear masks or only to wear one if you think you have the virus. What!?) don’t touch your face and sanitise regularly.

Someone I know recently returned from the UK. luckily, everyone returning is now put into hotel quarantine for 14 days and being tested twice. Herself and her husband tested positive for the virus, they had no symptoms...they were carriers. It’s so so important to take precautions at all times.
Not a lot of is known about people who are carriers, so fingers crossed everything goes well here over the next few weeks with China trying to return to normal.

Countries had months to prepare for this possibility and as far as I can see, not a lot was done. Please help the nurses and doctors who are working so hard for you. They are heroes. Please help to keep the vulnerable safe. STAY AT HOME. Let’s all work together and take care of one another. And BE KIND.
Things will get better.

PS these are just my experiences and opinions and not here to compare or criticise

 

And I've also just been informed that tomorrow China is going to close their borders to all foreign travelers, even with these restrictions.

In only slightly related news I took an Air China flight a few days ago (into Japan from Taiwan) and there was only twenty people onboard. Which was crazy. I'm surprised they flew at all. No way they made a profit off of that trip. There were almost as many staff members as there were passengers.

[XRay]

Seriously, fuck the orange turd. What the fuck is wrong with this dipshit? New York does not need more ventilators? They do not have enough ventilators, that is why they are asking for assistance.

If this asshole gets COVID-19 we should just be like "Nah, you do not need a ventilator. You chance of dying is less than half anyways."

Oh, and the stimulus bill passed the Senate, just waiting for House now.

Edited March 27, 2020 by XRay