COVID-19 Video

[CLAY]

In person classes cancelled at Penn State.  Students told not to come back from Spring Break until at least 4/6.

I'm at a private university in SoCal. We've canceled in person classes starting tomorrow. Campus isn't closed and students aren't being sent home from the dorms, but we're moving

Other locals that I'm aware of:
Nearly all of the LA County universities (including USC and UCLA) have gone online.

Out here in Orange County:
UC Irvine is on spring break and goes online when they return
Cal State Fullerton is business as usual but faculty are supposed to experiment with online learning starting next week, so they're on the way.

Talking to my colleagues across the country, it looks like most people are making the move this week. People I talked to this morning who said they weren't making the move are telling me this afternoon that they are. My school is in that group.

All of the colleges are closing in Michigan, including my wife's- till April 15.  Going to online teaching.  Yeah, that's not gonna work for nursing clinicals.  They are trying to figure out how to make them work.

Dept of Health said that if it shows up in any school district the district will close for 5 days.  That will happen.

Yes, the places are reacting- I'm sure at some point we will close for the 5 days.  It is going to spread.  I continue to stand by my claim that it will be less than the regular influenza.  The media is going crazy.  Wash your hands, take common precautions.

Or freak out.  Your choice.   

[1KPerDay]

I prefer this COVID-19 video
https://youtu.be/XPpzHYKpndk

[bedlamite]

So why in the hell is every store in town out of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and over the counter drugs??

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[Cookie]

I will mock this sickness till I am on my deathbed coughing up blood.

https://youtu.be/345uegSj-zQ

Lithium is no longer available on credit.

[zer0netgain]

In person classes cancelled at Penn State.  Students told not to come back from Spring Break until at least 4/6.

That actually makes sense.  I’d think a bunch of students going God knows where for spring break would increase the number of students already exposed to the virus compared to classes still being in session.

[chornbe]

So why in the hell is every store in town out of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and over the counter drugs??

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Literally my favorite movie quote of all time. Because it's true.

[viffergyrl]

Practicing protective measures flattens the rate of infection so that healthcare resources are not maxxed out.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1235867362538041345?te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_NN_p_20200312&section=backStory&campaign_id=9&instance_id=16677&segment_id=22121&user_id=ef378e0b0266220044302f452ba04908&regi_id=76290685on=backStory

[chornbe]

I ain't trusting the general populace to do what's best for everyone.

Hell, you can't swing a cat without hearing people say "it's no big deal."

It's a big deal. It's manageable, but it's a big fucking deal.

[viffergyrl]

I ain't trusting the general populace to do what's best for everyone.

Hell, you can't swing a cat without hearing people say "it's no big deal."

It's a big deal. It's manageable, but it's a big fucking deal.

Well I'm not waiting around for someone to tell me what to do either.

[Max Wedge]

I'm thinking if I get it, to prevent spread to my family I will hotel it, put out a do not disturb notice on the door, and just Howard Hues it. Collect urine and only chocolate bars and drinking milk, and wait to see if death finds me.

[Black Hills]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

[squeezer]

We have moved to online classes only here at the University if Virginia.  Not sure what they are going to do about grad students and our ongoing research.

Going to be a fun ride.

Yeah, a lot of tricky stuff. Performing arts, labs, internships, community engagement courses, practica -- it's going to take a while to figure out that stuff.

[squeezer]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Except it came from bats.

[Black Hills]

Hmm.. ok, maybe a shack?  kinda like ted kaczynski but without the bombs?

[zer0netgain]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Sadly, it is ENDEMIC.  Meaning it will FOREVER be with us.  I suppose if you can hold out until a vaccine is created, you'll have an effective immune response without first catching the disease, but hiding out and not getting it won't protect you from getting it later if there's no vaccine.

[Cablebandit]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Except it came from bats.

All our bats are dead from white nose syndrome. 

[Baxter]

It might be time to start looking at practical things to do as individuals.

I agree with the comments that "containment" is no longer possible in the US, now we have to go to "delay" so that our resources aren't overwhelmed.  But I'm also thinking that those most vulnerable to the worst effects will need to take extra precautions, and that those of us who aren't in the high risk groups may need to help out those who are.

There's a good number of elderly folks in my condo association.  If it looks bad here, we are thinking of letting the association members know that we can make grocery runs, etc., for people who feel that they shouldn't go out in public.  It might help.

I'm also hoping that local governments, religious and civic organizations, and the like start to think of these things and get something organized.

[Flyer]

Never mind hoarding toilet paper...
I’m buying up diaper futures for the inevitable massive baby-boom, post quarantine.
 

[chornbe]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Sadly, it is ENDEMIC.  Meaning it will FOREVER be with us.  I suppose if you can hold out until a vaccine is created, you'll have an effective immune response without first catching the disease, but hiding out and not getting it won't protect you from getting it later if there's no vaccine.

Truth.

When viruses jump species, it's usually a pretty traumatic and deadly event until the new host species builds immunities (when possible). Fast-killing viruses are kind of self limiting (ebola, as an example). The slow ones, or the ones that don't nominally kill, are the ones we have around forever and ever and ever because we're so communal, and thanks to fast travel, are so globally communal. Hopefully we can adjust to this one easily enough, and it becomes no worse than flu or cold over time; but this initial wave, it's silly for folks to be so casual about it, IMO. This is a new pathogen to our entire species.

[PatM]

I like this interview:

https://youtu.be/cZFhjMQrVts

[Papa Lazarou]

Holding off the virus by infecting myself with other diseases it won’t fuck with. Currently have botulism, the King's Evil and mange, anyone suggest any others?

Edit. Now with Anthrax.

[Black Hills]

I'd throw a random STD in there just for good measure.

[Papa Lazarou]

I'd throw a random STD in there just for good measure.

excellent idea. know anyone with something interesting?

[Baxter]

The cynic in me is sadly expecting to see an article written by someone with good financial skills but terrible people skills that cheerfully explains how a large number of oldsters dying will help stabilize the social security fund.

[Papa Lazarou]

The cynic in me is sadly expecting to see an article written by someone with good financial skills but terrible people skills that cheerfully explains that a large number of oldsters dying will help stabilize the social security fund.

already happened in the UK.

[SuperHans]

I work in a commercial power plant, so shutting down and telling people to stay home is not an option. We were just given some very restrictive instructions on how to conduct business.

All employees are to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other.

No visitors are allowed on site unless they are critical to operations. The visitors that are allowed on site will not be permitted to enter any buildings or have any contact with employees.

All doors will be locked and all deliveries from Fed Ex, UPS, etc must left outside the door. We are not allowed to sign for anything.

If we notice any our employees appearing to be sick, we are to instruct them to leave the site immediately and see a doctor.

My only concern is we do share common work spaces from shift to shift so when once person gets sick, it tends to spread quickly through the crews. I myself try to mitigate the risk by spraying and wiping down everything at the beginning of my shift. 

I guess I'm really not too concerned about any of this. Just have to take the necessary precautions and see how things play out.

[squeezer]

It might be time to start looking at practical things to do as individuals.

I agree with the comments that "containment" is no longer possible in the US, now we have to go to "delay" so that our resources aren't overwhelmed.  But I'm also thinking that those most vulnerable to the worst effects will need to take extra precautions, and that those of us who aren't in the high risk groups may need to help out those who are.

There's a good number of elderly folks in my condo association.  If it looks bad here, we are thinking of letting the association members know that we can make grocery runs, etc., for people who feel that they shouldn't go out in public.  It might help.

I'm also hoping that local governments, religious and civic organizations, and the like start to think of these things and get something organized.

You are a good man. Keep thinking that way.

My school banned student workers working on campus effective today. At the same time, the students were told to continue submitting their normal hours and that they would be paid. Gigantic relief, because a lot of them depend on that income.

[Papa Lazarou]

pic of the day.

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[Black Hills]

I'd throw a random STD in there just for good measure.

excellent idea. know anyone with something interesting?

none that are willing and/or worth the ride.... sorry.

[Cablebandit]

We just got the boot from work.  Work from home if at all possible.

[zer0netgain]

We just got the boot from work.  Work from home if at all possible.

I thought your aviator was a celebration smiley.

[Skee]

The state just shut down the whole county where we live. 

But I work in a different county where I'm still expected to show up 4 days a week (at least for now).

Makes a whole lot of sense, doesn't it?

Every non-essential business in our county must close for next 2 weeks.

But it's only a 10-minute drive to the shopping center in the neighboring county.

It does not make a whole lot of sense to me.

Not to worry; we had decided to do the right thing before they put the ban in place.

[CLAY]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Sadly, it is ENDEMIC.  Meaning it will FOREVER be with us.  I suppose if you can hold out until a vaccine is created, you'll have an effective immune response without first catching the disease, but hiding out and not getting it won't protect you from getting it later if there's no vaccine.

Not true. 

If the initial wave of the virus affects a bunch of people, they develop immunity after surviving it.  If you hide long enough for that to happen, there would be no one left to give it to you.  Herd immunity.  Enough have had it that it won't pass through again.  It's why the Spanish Flu, H1N1, name-the-virus hasn't come back through.  They got enough people the first time that there aren't enough to spread it again and it goes away.

I'm curious who is going to get it here first.  Prolly me given my exposure load.  If I do, I'll keep you updated.

[CLAY]

Holy crap.  The governor just shut down every school in Michigan, K-12, till April 6- which is when our spring break starts.

I guess my chances of getting it just dropped.

[chornbe]

maybe I'll just go hide out in the woods and find a cave to live in until this is over?

Sadly, it is ENDEMIC.  Meaning it will FOREVER be with us.  I suppose if you can hold out until a vaccine is created, you'll have an effective immune response without first catching the disease, but hiding out and not getting it won't protect you from getting it later if there's no vaccine.

Not true. 

If the initial wave of the virus affects a bunch of people, they develop immunity after surviving it.  If you hide long enough for that to happen, there would be no one left to give it to you.  Herd immunity.  Enough have had it that it won't pass through again.  It's why the Spanish Flu, H1N1, name-the-virus hasn't come back through.  They got enough people the first time that there aren't enough to spread it again and it goes away.

I'm curious who is going to get it here first.  Prolly me given my exposure load.  If I do, I'll keep you updated.

We don't know yet if it's that kind of bug. There's no true immunity to the rhinovirus even though everyone gets it. All the time. Repeatedly. Every year. Sometimes several times a year. We're not really all that terribly immune to MOST viruses, certainly not naturally. A very small handful from the big pool of deadly, scary, painful, DNA-altering stuff.

The problem with covid is exactly all these unknowns; this is a new and novel species jump - and yes, that's a huge deal - and that's basically the underpinnings of a species ending event in all sorts of works of fiction; it's a scary idea for fiction exactly because it could very well end up being completely true one day.

Humanity may or may not come out of the other end of this with some level of immunity... or may not at all, ever. We don't know.

It's not about whether you get it. It's about how quickly it spreads from you to the 100, 200, 500 people you may encounter through a normal day or week, and how quickly the disease can overwhelm our medical infrastructure 'til we develop a vaccine, or determine if we can ever build natural immunity to it.

Go back and look through a history of dangerous, identified pathogens; viruses are scary, and again, MOST of them aren't something we have natural immunities to. Even now. Even after having them floating around society for centuries, and longer.

[Jim]

I like this interview:

https://youtu.be/cZFhjMQrVts

Yep - good. Where it ended I wanted more - and there is more. This looks to be the complete version (or at least much longer):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw
Joe Rogan Experience #1439 - Michael Osterholm

[zer0netgain]

I suppose it’s official that China engineered the virus...they’re accusing the US military of introducing it to China. 

[garry]

It's about how quickly it spreads from you to the 100, 200, 500 people you may encounter through a normal day or week

This working from home thing greatly limits my contact with the outside world. I went out for a couple hours Saturday night and haven't been away from the house since. Typical week these days. Wifey doesn't get out much either. As long as we keep our hands clean after shopping/whatever, I think our exposure is quite small.

[jadziadax8]

My school just went into limited shut-down mode.  During the next two weeks all faculty and staff will report to campus, but students will not.    Starting next week, faculty has been asked to teach each class online basically as independent study.  The week after that is Spring Break, so no instruction.  We have been told to use Spring Break to start prepping our classes to be taught fully online.  Campus will be completely closed for the two weeks after Spring Break, because we assume that people will still be traveling during that time.  We will re-evaluate the state of public health at the end of this time period and decide whether or not we will re-open campus on April 13th.

I really wish they could have held out another week on allowing classes to run.  I have three exams scheduled for next week!

[Black Hills]

If you know any nurses looking for work have them contact a travel company. My wife used to be a traveler so she is still on some of their contact lists. So far the best offer she's seen is $5,150/wk. in NY many more in the $4k/wk. range.

[viffergyrl]

My county has now declared a local health emergency.

95 people tested
90 negative
1 positive (traveler)
2 presumptive positive (both travelers)
2 pending
25 at home on quarantine (all travelers)

No evidence yet of person to person transmission.

We have a website for the county directing people to guidance from the state. Limit gatherings, etc. All the social distancing stuff. Procedures for caring for an infected person and so on. Procedures for schools, healthcare facilities of all types, restaurants, etc.

[sleazy rider]

The wife does internal audits for clients.  She’s in Chicago for training and is receiving a bombardment of cancellation and postponements of work.  Everyone’s locking doors to outsiders.

[chornbe]

Yep. It's happening across a ton of market segments. I have a job interview next week. It was just changed from on-site, in person to virtual over skype or something.

[Virginian]

Gov. Northam declares state of emergency as COVID-19 cases rise to 17 for Virginia.

The newest developments

As of Thursday, March 12, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed 17 cases on their website.

The total number of cases includes 10 in northern Virginia, 2 in central Virginia, 4 in eastern Virginia, and 1 in northwestern Virginia (not the Shenandoah Valley).

According to a newly available VDH breakdown, the cases include 4 in Fairfax County, 2 in Virginia Beach, 2 in Williamsburg, 2 in Loudoun County, 2 in Arlington County, 1 in Fredericksburg, 1 in Prince William County, 1 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Hanover County, and 1 in Alexandria.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Governor Ralph Northam declared a State of Emergency for Virginia.

The state of emergency will help provide ongoing support for vulnerable populations and multi-state coordination by freeing up funding for state support.

[Mrs. DantesDame]

Switzerland is one step closer to becoming an island again:

Switzerland imposes sweeping measures to contain coronavirus

I fully support the government's decision on this. I think that they are going about this in a very serious and competent manner.

I don't know how this will link after the live discussion is over, but it is refreshing to watch civilized adults in a governmental capacity:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFI7vQU-YnY&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR12k2A40wZH4Wh6Uhl3d5twiRnKTVda7_EMSVhdJWd3DtVLwgNI26U7sjU

[bedlamite]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOPvuGZO_Fs

We have achieved

[chornbe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOPvuGZO_Fs

We have achieved

Our education system at work. 

[Black Hills]

and people wonder why our political system is the way it is.. these are the "masses" that are voting.

[Max Wedge]

Holy crap.  The governor just shut down every school in Michigan, K-12, till April 6- which is when our spring break starts.

I guess my chances of getting it just dropped.

But your chances of getting a nice ride in just way up. If you end up on the flat side of the state give me a holler, I know of a small local brewery that have big spacious tables we could talk across.

[zer0netgain]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOPvuGZO_Fs

We have achieved

Our education system at work. 

I'm hoping my niece's graduation gets cancelled...or at least closed to non-graduates.  It's at 5:30 on a Thursday...utterly inconvenient as I'm over 2 hours away and have to work the next morning.