ghost of miles Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 Hey all--Jsngry has given me the green light to begin a new thread about this topic, which is so threatening and pertinent to us all right now. I learned much of value from the previous one (the bogus nature of the so-called "Stanford" list, for starters), but it was shut down because it turned political, and in a very volatile way. While I understand that many of us harbor strong feelings about the causes and handling of this crisis, we cannot bring politics into the discussion on this particular forum. So please, post personal updates, public information of use, news, etc.--but do not weigh in in any manner that sets a political fuse burning. Here's Jsngry's response to my request to start a new thread: Feel free to open the thread, with my blessings. Note that no posts were deleted from the closed thread, I can and will repeat this process as much as necessary. But yes, communication and information are critical, so go ahead, start a new thread, quote me if you like, and stress what the guidelines will be. And that they will be enforced. So stay well, all, and stay apolitical in this thread (and elsewhere on the board).
jlhoots Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 As I said elsewhere, people are frightened, angry & frustrated. San Francisco just issued a shelter at home order.
Brad Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 The president said this might last through the summer. At this moment, that’s hard to grasp but we will have to grasp it.
ghost of miles Posted March 16, 2020 Author Report Posted March 16, 2020 Governor of Indiana has followed suit of neighboring states and ordered restaurants and bars to go to carryout/delivery only immediately through the end of the month. My guess is that timeline will be extended.
ejp626 Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) I've read that the Old Vic in the UK is extremely reluctant to do refunds for cancelled shows. Most the theatre companies here are processing full refunds, though most will at least ask you to consider leaving the funds with them as a credit (for future production some day) or an outright donation. If I'm asked very nicely, I will consider holding off on a refund, though it gets my back up when you assume that I will or make it hard for me to get said refund. I have encountered one company in Toronto that was very reluctant to do any refunds, but I decided not to press the issue. Given that my gym membership fee is very nominal, I will continue paying that for the time being. I'd like them to be able to keep the lights on and still be there whenever this blows over. Same with the arts/theatre companies for that matter. Edited March 16, 2020 by ejp626
Jim Duckworth Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 I went to my local mega-grocery at 6 am on Saturday to get supplies while largely avoiding crowds and was surprised by the empty shelves-not that there were empty shelves but what kinds of things are being snapped up by ancious shoppers. I took some pictures with my phone to show Mrs. Duckworth and was shut down by Korger employees telling me that I can not do that. I understand that pictures of empty shelves could cause panic among some, but the restriction felt unnecessary.
kh1958 Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 The City of Dallas just ordered the closure of all bars, theaters and gyms. Restaurants to be to go only.
clifford_thornton Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 NYC is in the same boat, in addition galleries, museums, and most stores have shut down. I would not be surprised if we get some sort of rolling stay-home orders too. I work for a nonprofit as an archivist. I can do some of my work remotely, but getting out of the rhythm of going to my office sucks. Our work relies in part on a summer program for resident artists that sadly I see being cancelled this year. I don't know what will happen as a result. Also, though I'm in my 40s and reasonably healthy (exercise regularly, don't smoke, don't eat too much garbage), I think the danger to people under 50 is grossly understated.
JSngry Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 Regarding refunds and/or the lack thereof, as mentioned in the locked thread, cash flow is a bitch.
felser Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 7 minutes ago, clifford_thornton said: I think the danger to people under 50 is grossly understated. So do I. The 80% of "minor" occurrences include pneumonia and lung scarring. Just means you didn't need to be hospitalized and put on a respirator. I'm 65 and my wife is 68 and we are in the Pennsylvania epicenter, so we are definitely in for the duration except for essential supply runs.
Brad Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 12 minutes ago, felser said: So do I. The 80% of "minor" occurrences include pneumonia and lung scarring. Just means you didn't need to be hospitalized and put on a respirator. I'm 65 and my wife is 68 and we are in the Pennsylvania epicenter, so we are definitely in for the duration except for essential supply runs. Likewise.
Rooster_Ties Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 Reuters is as non-partisan a source as I could find (and appears to be the very first source on this story as well)... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-usa/germany-tries-to-halt-u-s-interest-in-firm-working-on-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSKBN2120IV BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move its research to the United States, prompting German politicians to insist no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine. ...which I find... https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unconscionable
mjzee Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 (edited) 29 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said: Reuters is as non-partisan a source as I could find (and appears to be the very first source on this story as well)... https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-usa/germany-tries-to-halt-u-s-interest-in-firm-working-on-coronavirus-vaccine-idUSKBN2120IV BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin is trying to stop Washington from persuading a German company seeking a coronavirus vaccine to move its research to the United States, prompting German politicians to insist no country should have a monopoly on any future vaccine. ...which I find... https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unconscionable Appears the Reuters article is fake news. See: https://www.breitbart.com/the-media/2020/03/16/reuters-stealth-edits-debunked-story-claiming-trump-sought-monopoly-on-covid-19-vaccine/ Edited March 16, 2020 by mjzee Changed "Appears that the article..." to "Appears the Reuters article..." Tired of snarky comments, I wanted to be as exact as possible.
mjzee Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 8 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said: Yes, Breitbart is fake news. Did you read the article? Ad hominem snarky comments don't help.
Chuck Nessa Posted March 16, 2020 Report Posted March 16, 2020 No politics involved here: https://buffalonews.com/2020/03/16/ammo-flying-off-shelves-at-local-stores-triggered-by-covid-19-fears/
Brad Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Chuck Nessa said: No politics involved here: https://buffalonews.com/2020/03/16/ammo-flying-off-shelves-at-local-stores-triggered-by-covid-19-fears/ It does raise some concerning questions. People in the service industries as well as the service industries themselves are going to be hurt. At some point they may not choose to take it anymore. There may be a tipping point.
JSngry Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 Let's stick to personally known/provable facts here and keep our opinions for elsewhere. This is not a music or sports thread, so please, adjust the "banter" accordingly and appropriately. Y'all know who y'all are, ok?
ghost of miles Posted March 17, 2020 Author Report Posted March 17, 2020 Hoping (perhaps against hope) that we as a country--messy and complex and troubled/screwed-up as we are--will somehow rise to this and ride it out. There's going to be a lot of damage--all kinds of it. The measures that seem so extreme right now may help mitigate that damage, or at least stretch it out in a way that's not impossible to absorb.
T.D. Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) FYI. Politicize this (or not) as you see fit. If you don't believe me, delete the post and sayonara. My brother is a doctor in a major city (3d largest in the state) in upstate NY. This is what he said in personal e-mail today: [in reply to "How's it going?"]: Crazy. Not a lot of cases yet but uncertainty and anxiety. The sad thing is that this illustrates how messed up our health care system is. The outfit that supplies our hospital with all personal protective gear was, until a few weeks ago, getting all of the materials from factories in Wuhan China. We have not gotten any of the results of the 250+ COVID tests and have just gotten the capacity to run the tests here today and capacity will only be about 100 a day. The hospital and country are running out of gloves, masks and goggles. Not a good scene. [in reply to "Damn"]: I'm not worried personally but we are so poorly prepared for something like this. Running out of gloves and masks in the US in 2020! Edited March 17, 2020 by T.D.
medjuck Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 52 minutes ago, Captain Howdy said: CBS Evening News is saying "it's estimated" 3.5 billion N-95 masks will be needed, but currently there is a national stockpile of 12 million.
Brad Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) 20 minutes ago, medjuck said: A sad commentary. The present state of our public health system is a result of our federalist system where the central government and states share power. Although there are certain areas where the federal government has key and sole responsibility (“preemption”), such as foreign affairs, public health isn’t one of them, so you wind up with power diffused among the feds, the states and local municipalities. Normally, it’s not a problem but now it is. Edited March 17, 2020 by Brad
GA Russell Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 Goldman Sachs had a conference call Sunday with 1,500 clients. They expect 50% of Americans to catch (if that's the right word) Covid-19. https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/half-america-will-get-sick-here-what-goldman-told-1500-clients-its-sunday-conference-call ***** The NY Daily News reports that New York State's unemployment website shut down Monday because it was swamped with the newly out-of-work. https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-state-unemployment-website-crashes-20200316-ccc6fqalgrf3ree3o5zvi54ite-story.html ***** McDonald's is encouraging its franchisees to shut their dining rooms. https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2020/03/16/mcdonalds-closing-dining-seating-areas-coronavirus-covid-19/
T.D. Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) Interesting British academic paper that is claimed to have influenced policy: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf Sadly, the USA is probably too intellectually backward to include such discussions in public dialogue or policy deliberations (good grief, look at all the non-Anglo-Saxon names in the list of co-authors - it's gotta be some kind of foreign conspiracy). Edited March 17, 2020 by T.D.
sidewinder Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 (edited) Interesting - policy over here now seems to be very much being driven by the modelling work coming out of Imperial College London. The modelling is literally evolving in real time, using outcomes in Italy etc. to validate it. This has led to a major change of approach and tightening up since the weekend. Major concerns with total overburdening of the health resources. ‘Herd immunity’ theories and approaches now abandoned. Much bigger level of homeworking and isolation for high risk groups coming up. ’Urgent Operational Requirements’ to fast track manufacture of additional ventilators from ‘blueprints’ is also being initiated - an approach previously only used for rapid military procurements. Unprecedented ! Edited March 17, 2020 by sidewinder
Coda Posted March 17, 2020 Report Posted March 17, 2020 Here's the link to the John Hopkins tracker, it's pretty good information: https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6 I also like this one, if you click on the John Hopkins tab at the bottom of this page it takes you to some nice interactive charts: https://shiny.john-coene.com/coronavirus/ Stay safe everyone, the virus doesn't pick sides.
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