Not changing much. But then, we live in the country, on an island, with a big garden; I go to town maybe once a week. I'll be going to a massage-exchange party next weekend about 100 miles from us. I'll be keeping more distance once we have community transmission on the island.
I have put a bottle of isopropyl (which the World Health Organization treats as equivalent to ethanol) in the car. I have a couple hundred exam gloves (no, I did not just buy them. I stock them to use them during eczema flares) but will probably not be wearing them in public. If I touch a virally-contaminated surface with the glove, and then touch my face, I might as well have used my bare hand.
A rag is better. It's a little paradoxical, how virus particles last on surfaces. (This is not new news, restaurant safety experiments have demonstrated this for years.) Just because a surface won't rot, doesn't mean it doesn't harbor germs. A virus lasts much longer on plastic or stainless steel than it does on wood, paper, or (dry) cloth. Why? It's killed by light and air. And the organic surfaces allow penetration of air.
There has been ridiculous panic buying of toilet paper here in Oz and some stores are out of supplies. It shows the power of media & social media as it seems they had a part to play in this reaction. Yesterday a local supermarket was crowded at a time when normally it would have 1/4 of the number of cars & people. This reaction is insane. The virus is like the flu, some will have no trouble, some will have cold like symptoms, some will have a flu type reaction. Those who are elderly, very young or who have other medical problems or have reduced immunity through chemotherapy (such as my wife) are at risk so unless you are in those categories there is not a lot to fear. We need our political leaders to lead and not just talk as they always do but have medical experts and scientists do the talking.
I work with high risk populations so I am being cautious, considering the risk to others if I was to contract a mild case but infect them. The nearest cases at this time are about 130 miles away. But I am keeping an eye on places I had planned to travel to over the next few months. Darn, and I have such interesting things planned.
Perhaps this seems obtuse or too retro for some, but could I suggest PRAYER? Among the very important "social distancing" steps we are rightly taking, a little conversation with the God above about our yearning for safety,hope for less loss of life, desired for the health and wellness would seem a pretty reasonable step to take. Not proselytizing, but rather informing any like-minded people that this is an important step I am deploying against this scourge. Wishing Blessings and Health to you all! - Bill (holed up in my rural compound 70 miles from the nearest population center - but planning to drive 52 miles round trip to church tomorrow morning to join others in prayer for our people, country, and world)
Great advice, Bill! Prayer isn't really about asking for something. God already knows what we need. Rather, through prayer, we feel closer to Him and that is a great comfort to many right now.
No way I would take a cruise now. It's the best way to catch the virus
We got back from one a week ago. No problem except the slow check in from checking every page of each passport in case someone had been to one of the quarantined areas.
All the cruise ships and mass events definitely need to be canceled. All the research already proved that from all Coronaviruses, Covid-19 is the most powerful one in terms of spreading (not the most deadly).
Im sure its not the most deadly compared to something but not most, this on is scary. I saw and verified some numbers earlier today. The H1N1 virus infected approximately 60.8 million people and killed something like 12,496 people thus had 0.0205% fatality rate. As of the other day Coronavirus had infected 1,329 (Its 3,400 this evening) people in the US and killed 38 thus a 2.86% death rate which fits with China having seen 3% to 3.5%. If we get 60.8 million infected with this one we are talking over 1,738,000 deaths. Also I saw a report tonight that models show between 40% and 70% of Americans getting infected. Out of our 330,,000,000 people thats between 132,000,000 and 231,000,000 infections, 2 to 4 times as many 60.8 million that H1N1 infected.
Scary, sobering numbers!
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