COVID-19 III: No Politics For Thee

[JSngry]

I have zero problem with staying home as much as possible or wearing a fresh mask when I have to go out.

Anything less would be uncivilized.

 

 

[ejp626]

27 minutes ago, catesta said:

Some seem to think the mask is a magic shield and is effective even when worn on the chin. It never needs to be cleaned or disposed of and perspiration is not a problem.

 

I'm hearing that once returning to work (in indoor locations) most office workers really ought to carry 3 masks and replace throughout the day (particularly after removing to eat lunch) and then wash them all each night.

The odds of everyone following this advice are nil, but presumably some people will.  I mean given that the masks are really to prevent your droplets from spreading to others, I don't think it matters that much if the mask is reused (though obviously if you haven't washed your hands well, then you increase your odds of catching COVID).

[JSngry]

Working remotely if/when possible should continue to be aggressively encouraged and evolved.

[catesta]

27 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Working remotely if/when possible should continue to be aggressively encouraged and evolved.

I won't disagree but I do believe it is situation specific. If a person can be productive and accomplish their tasks in this manner, proceed.

It doesn't work for me and I'm okay with that. It's also been a source of frustration conducting business these last few months when dealing with people and firms that would not normally be working from home but are doing so now. Not everybody is cut out for it.

Edited June 26, 2020 by catesta

[JSngry]

Evolve or die,  at some point. Harsh, but provably true.

I'm doing great with it myself, my company is acting like they love it and are in no hurry to get everybody back into the pen, traffic is better, air quality is better, buying exponentially less gasoline/etc.

If I was a fossil fuel industry or a commercial real estate broker, I would be ramping up all the old scare tactics and threats, but really, this is one of so many things that we just can't keep doing forever like we always have. It just doesn't make sense to not start evolving now. If ever there was a catalyst, this is it.

[ejp626]

Some recent studies have suggested 25-30% max of US working population can realistically telecommute (and of course this is more like 80-90% of white collar employment), but too many other things still involve physically being there (construction, farming, resource extraction, most health care jobs, cleaning services, beauty salons, etc.).  They are trying to keep most office workers out of downtown Toronto until Sept., so we'll see how this all plays out.

[kh1958]

If I never went back to the office again (except one time to pick up some books), that would be okay. Working from home has been perfectly fine.

[sgcim]

1 hour ago, ejp626 said:

I'm hearing that once returning to work (in indoor locations) most office workers really ought to carry 3 masks and replace throughout the day (particularly after removing to eat lunch) and then wash them all each night.

The odds of everyone following this advice are nil, but presumably some people will.  I mean given that the masks are really to prevent your droplets from spreading to others, I don't think it matters that much if the mask is reused (though obviously if you haven't washed your hands well, then you increase your odds of catching COVID).

The advice on masks from various sources is pretty confusing. The surgical mask box says single use only. Other sources online say that you can wash them, but other sources say that once they're wet, they're useless. I bought a KN95 mask once, and the women pharmacists who sold it, all insisted that you can clean them with soap and water, yet the CDC says they retain viral particles, and should be thrown out after a single use.

Some say you should never spray them with disinfectants, and others say a brief spritz is sufficient. Here in NY, supply has finally improved, and I was able to buy 15 masks for $10, so I'm just going to throw them out after a single use, and forget about washing them.

[JSngry]

I also get how people who don't have patios and yards and shit might not enjoy staying in their apartment or other spaces all the time. That's not me, thankfully.

[JSngry]

Regrets, he's had a few. But then again, too few to mention.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/26/greg-abbott-texas-bars-regret/

 

[Michael]

6 hours ago, JSngry said:

Regrets, he's had a few. But then again, too few to mention.

https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/26/greg-abbott-texas-bars-regret/

 

Yeah, but wait until he faces the final curtain!!!

 

I was in WalMart for a bit yesterday and lots of mask-free people.  And many I saw also must not have been able to read, going the wrong way down the one-way aisles.  

[Dave Garrett]

On 6/26/2020 at 2:19 PM, sgcim said:

The advice on masks from various sources is pretty confusing. The surgical mask box says single use only. Other sources online say that you can wash them, but other sources say that once they're wet, they're useless. I bought a KN95 mask once, and the women pharmacists who sold it, all insisted that you can clean them with soap and water, yet the CDC says they retain viral particles, and should be thrown out after a single use.

Some say you should never spray them with disinfectants, and others say a brief spritz is sufficient. Here in NY, supply has finally improved, and I was able to buy 15 masks for $10, so I'm just going to throw them out after a single use, and forget about washing them.

We have a mixture of disposable, single-use masks and reusable cloth ones. We wash the cloth ones after every use and discard the single-use ones. I tend to prefer the cloth ones. 

[Brad]

We have several KN 95 masks and after a few uses we wash them in soap and warm water. We do the same for gloves. 

[jlhoots]

Several people dead & others critically ill here in New Mexico from ingesting methanol containing hand sanitizer.

Edited June 28, 2020 by jlhoots

[JSngry]

[ejp626]

I was able to go inside a used book store and do actual browsing over the weekend (wearing a mask & hand sanitizer, etc.).  That was an interesting milestone.  I also visited a couple of small art galleries (our major museums are reopening over next few weeks).

We've just reopened malls in Toronto and barber shops/beauty salons, though gyms and movie theatres and indoor concerts are all still no-go.  I won't go (don't have a car), but one entrepreneur is getting ready to open a drive-in movie theatre in Toronto.

 

[Matthew]

I get why athletes are opting out of playing. I have to go to a mandatory meeting in three weeks (and I'm not confident that proper protocols will be followed), and I'm seriously thinking of opting out, even if it negatively effects my future. I think I can survive getting Covid-19, but there are people in my life that I know can't.  I'm surprised at the resentment I feel having to make the decision.

[Brad]

18 minutes ago, Matthew said:

I get why athletes are opting out of playing. I have to go to a mandatory meeting in three weeks (and I'm not confident that proper protocols will be followed), and I'm seriously thinking of opting out, even if it negatively effects my future. I think I can survive getting Covid-19, but there are people in my life that I know can't.  I'm surprised at the resentment I feel having to make the decision.

Are you referring to resentment that you feel against family members? If so, I think that’s natural. I think most companies would understand and let you attend remotely.
It’s great that players have the financial wherewithal to opt out (not to mention not being penalized for not showing up). Most of us can’t do that. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Brad

[Matthew]

14 minutes ago, Brad said:

Are you referring to resentment that you feel against family members? If so, I think that’s natural. I think most companies would understand and let you attend remotely.
It’s great that players have the financial wherewithal to opt out (not to mention not being penalized for not showing up). Most of us can’t do that. 

The resentment is toward the leadership that is forcing the choice. It's a meeting with people coming from various western states, all with major upswings in the virus.

[ejp626]

1 hour ago, Matthew said:

The resentment is toward the leadership that is forcing the choice. It's a meeting with people coming from various western states, all with major upswings in the virus.

Our leadership is not looking to bring us back to office yet, but they have spent a lot of time putting down floor markings and such.  (On weekends, I go in and then offer "constructive" criticism like telling them all doors into an area are marked one way, so you are literally trapped inside (if you respect markings).  It's an evolving thing...)

But most of our meeting rooms will only hold 3 people now and the larger ones 6.  If you can't have a proper team meeting anyway, what's the point of trying for an in-person meeting if most of the team gets left out?  (And while the upper management irks me much of the time, they do take safety seriously.  There is no way anyone will be able to sneak in an extra person above what the room is signed for.)

[Coda]

Same here.  My employer closed all offices until October 1st and will revist this decision, likely extending work from home until year end.   I continue to run economic impact of covid on our company results.  I'm not seeing a return to pre-covid sales levels until summer of 2021, provided there's not a second wave.   This will not be a v shaped recovery.  I'm trying to get my arms around impact to our supply chain which I'm fearful will increase our risk profile even more.  We're predicting a 22% revenue decline this fiscal year.  Confidence intervals are still not great but they're improving as more post-covid data is generated.

We got a new CEO yesterday, our second one in six months.  We're not small, about 2bn annual.  I smell a big round of lay-offs coming.

[ejp626]

I suppose (some fraction of) young people were always this stupid and we just hear a lot more about them now with Twitter and TikTok and Youtube, but really this takes the cake...

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/people-in-alabama-are-throwing-covid-19-parties-with-a-payout-when-one-gets-infected-official-1.5007903

"Some young people in Alabama are throwing COVID-19 parties, a disturbing competition where people who have coronavirus attend and the first person to get infected receives a payout, local officials said.

The parties are being held in Tuscaloosa, and infected people are urged to attend so others can intentionally contract the virus..."

[JSngry]

You can't fake this type of sincerity...nor all that comes with it.

[Matthew]

On 6/30/2020 at 7:24 AM, Matthew said:

The resentment is toward the leadership that is forcing the choice. It's a meeting with people coming from various western states, all with major upswings in the virus.

Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the meeting is delayed until better conditions come about.

[JSngry]

19 hours ago, JSngry said: