Coronavirus pandemic

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^

I can't help but imagine employers open themselves up to serious liability if they really attempt to enforce something like that.  Similarly my vacation in late April to Idaho hasn't been approved which is more of a passive resistance to out of state travel (which wouldn't stop a theoretical four day weekend).

I know the whole deal with Costco is buying in bulk but putting a temporary purchase limit would grind a lot of things like that to a halt. 

I'm stunned that they allowed it to begin with. Or, that other customers let them get away with it! This is where I expect fights to occur.

I'm surprised supply fights haven't happened, they certainly did when people hoarded in the immediate aftermath of 9/11.  There was some anger locally about older people hoarding locally here since they have the ability to go shopping more than age groups that more workers. 

[Rothman]

My wife missed a fight over toilet paper at our local Walmart by five minutes.

[jeffandnicole]

My employer sent out a company-wide email saying that anyone who henceforth travels to any state that has declared a state of emergency, or travels on an airplane to anywhere, will be required to stay home from work for 14 days. They did not say whether this will count against you in terms of attendance, nor whether the leave will be paid (but knowing them, it won't be, unless you're a manager, in which case a beam of celestial light will descend from the heavens, along with a check made out in your name).

A couple hours after the email was sent, Texas declared a state of emergency.

Being that a State of Emergency is to simply reduce red tape for spending purposes and emergency relief (such as for calling out the National Guard), it really doesn't have anything to do with the number of people being sick.

You can also tell when a company lives in an area without a subway system, which is inheritably more germ-infested than an airplane.  I guess if you can drive to Chicago and ride around on the El, you're fine.  Fly to Omaha and you're assumed contagious. 

[1995hoo]

Went to Wegmans this morning shortly before 8:00 to do our regular grocery shopping. Meat was mostly picked over, though I got a corned beef brisket, some burger meat, and two steaks (no pork or chicken, though). No eggs, no potatoes; I got those from a local produce place nearby. The checkout line wrapped two-thirds of the way around the store's interior perimeter, but surprisingly it was only a 20-minute wait–at the front, they had an employee acting as a sort of traffic cop sending people to particular checkouts to keep it moving. Worked great.

But the weird part.....the store had one roll of TP. Not one package. One roll, and a beat-up looking roll it was.




Meat department:




The checkout line. It was actually longer when I first got there. From this point, it ran all the way to the far end of the store before turning past the empty TP section.

[Tonytone]

Went to Wegmans this morning shortly before 8:00 to do our regular grocery shopping. Meat was mostly picked over, though I got a corned beef brisket, some burger meat, and two steaks (no pork or chicken, though). No eggs, no potatoes; I got those from a local produce place nearby. The checkout line wrapped two-thirds of the way around the store's interior perimeter, but surprisingly it was only a 20-minute wait–at the front, they had an employee acting as a sort of traffic cop sending people to particular checkouts to keep it moving. Worked great.

But the weird part.....the store had one roll of TP. Not one package. One roll, and a beat-up looking roll it was.




Meat department:




The checkout line. It was actually longer when I first got there. From this point, it ran all the way to the far end of the store before turning past the empty TP section.

People do know some stores will still be open right?


iPhone

[1995hoo]

Hymns inappropriate for use when churches reopen: "Crown Him with Many Crowns." 

Why?

Just what I was going to ask. 

Look up the meaning of "corona" .

And the number of people that will actually make that connection?

So someone shouldn't make a bad pun because not everyone will get it?

FIFY

Unless churches are "closed" well past the Easter season, the average church-goer wouldn't think twice about any other meaning of the hymn text.

"Bad pun" is redundant! If the pun causes moans, I moan. If it causes groans, I groan. If it causes moans and groans, I tell it to other people!

[kalvado]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

You would hope...

[MikeTheActuary]

^^^

I can't help but imagine employers open themselves up to serious liability if they really attempt to enforce something like that.  Similarly my vacation in late April to Idaho hasn't been approved which is more of a passive resistance to out of state travel (which wouldn't stop a theoretical four day weekend).

Among the calls/emails I've been getting through work (an insurance company headquartered in Canada but has a large US presence) are discussions on the differences in Canadian and US labor laws on such matters.

Among the points raised was that US companies are very limited in their ability to control what happens on employees' own time.  Therefore, in the US, we are not prohibiting personal travel....but we are requiring that employees inform their managers of their itineraries (origin, destination, layovers).  We can "ask" that employees that are showing symptoms go home, but we can't actually require they do so, short of closing the office.

(YMMV; that's just the interpretation of the rules coming from corporate legal and HR.)

In Canada...employers are apparently allowed to butt in a bit more.

It's moot for me.  I work from home, and the company won't pay for travel, attendance at professional meetings/classes, etc. until this all blows over.   It's also pointless for me to come back to Memphis, until my father's retirement community gives the all clear.  This will probably end up being the first time in almost 20 years where I've stayed "local" for more than 6 weeks at a time.

I think relying on official states of emergency is naïve as a basis for imposing attendance restrictions.  In the US, a state of emergency is a legal construct that lets the government bend its rules and deviate from its budget.   You really need some other metric to go by (official travel warnings, quarantine zones, etc.).

[MikeTheActuary]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

[bing101]

http://www.microbe.tv/twip/twip-181/

This week in Parasitology does an update on COVID-19 and yes they normally talk about parasites.

[Tonytone]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

Stores are still open in Italy, they are allowing people to go outside.

They just cannot be in large groups or gatherings.

This isnt a hurricane you can still go outside.


iPhone

[kalvado]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

Stores are still open in Italy, they are allowing people to go outside.

They just cannot be in large groups or gatherings.

This isnt a hurricane you can still go outside.


iPhone

Assuming there are enough people willing to work checkout
Assuming  stores didn't close for disinfection
Assuming warehouses didn't send workers home because of infection on site
Assuming processing plants didn't send everyone home as  well to replenish warehouses after the mad rush.
so on so on.

[Max Rockatansky]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

Stores are still open in Italy, they are allowing people to go outside.

They just cannot be in large groups or gatherings.

This isnt a hurricane you can still go outside.


iPhone

Assuming there are enough people willing to work checkout
Assuming  stores didn't close for disinfection
Assuming warehouses didn't send workers home because of infection on site
Assuming processing plants didn't send everyone home as  well to replenish warehouses after the mad rush.
so on so on.

I could be wrong given it's Italy but I would assume companies would still want to make money, or at least soften the blow on the Profit & Loss Statement. 

[kalvado]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

Stores are still open in Italy, they are allowing people to go outside.

They just cannot be in large groups or gatherings.

This isnt a hurricane you can still go outside.


iPhone

Assuming there are enough people willing to work checkout
Assuming  stores didn't close for disinfection
Assuming warehouses didn't send workers home because of infection on site
Assuming processing plants didn't send everyone home as  well to replenish warehouses after the mad rush.
so on so on.

.

I could be wrong given it's Italy but I would assume companies would still want to make money, or at least soften the blow on the Profit & Loss Statement.

There is a gap between "would want to" and "would be able to". Besides, with 80% of US living paycheck to paycheck, money on hand may become an issue

Of course, closing down grocery stores is close to the most pessimistic scenario - and even that would come after rationing is implemented But taking those stores running normally for granted is optimistic.

[Max Rockatansky]

People do know some stores will still be open right?

Stores will probably be open.  Note the word "probably".

It's good practice to always keep supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for 2 weeks, just in case. Some folks may be realizing that at this late date.

Stores are still open in Italy, they are allowing people to go outside.

They just cannot be in large groups or gatherings.

This isnt a hurricane you can still go outside.


iPhone

Assuming there are enough people willing to work checkout
Assuming  stores didn't close for disinfection
Assuming warehouses didn't send workers home because of infection on site
Assuming processing plants didn't send everyone home as  well to replenish warehouses after the mad rush.
so on so on.

.

I could be wrong given it's Italy but I would assume companies would still want to make money, or at least soften the blow on the Profit & Loss Statement.

There is a gap between "would want to" and "would be able to". Besides, with 80% of US living paycheck to paycheck, money on hand may become an issue

Of course, closing down grocery stores is close to the most pessimistic scenario - and even that would come after rationing is implemented But taking those stores running normally for granted is optimistic.

In the context of the U.S. given that's the case I would assume that most would work or would chose to if they were given a choice.  State Side I don't really see stores really shuttering unless they are ordered to do by a public authority.  The workforce essentially is a captive audience given they usually are in lower wage brackets.  Really if it got that point where stores are ordered to be closed then it would be approaching a national quarantine anyways or part of it.  So far it's been public agencies shuttering and mostly sports/events entities on the private side so far. 

[kwellada]

A friend in Alameda, CA, sent a photo of the completely empty frozen food section at Trader Joes.  Meanwhile, I did go out yesterday morning to make sure I do have plenty of food in the house for a couple weeks and it wasn't so bad in Tacoma, WA (other than no TP to be found at a Safeway).  I realized I had forgotten rice, which is important since I like to make stir fries, but had no trouble getting a 5 pound bag at a pharmacy where I was getting my monthly prescription refilled.  Maybe here in Washington we're already a bit more used to the situation and feel less immediate panic.

People are forgetting that while this virus should be taken seriously, it's not like Stephen King's The Stand with a 97% mortality rate.  Grocery stores will likely stay open the entire time this situation is going on.  And hopefully people just learn better hygiene habits in the meantime (myself included).

[Tonytone]

A friend in Alameda, CA, sent a photo of the completely empty frozen food section at Trader Joes.  Meanwhile, I did go out yesterday morning to make sure I do have plenty of food in the house for a couple weeks and it wasn't so bad in Tacoma, WA (other than no TP to be found at a Safeway).  I realized I had forgotten rice, which is important since I like to make stir fries, but had no trouble getting a 5 pound bag at a pharmacy where I was getting my monthly prescription refilled.  Maybe here in Washington we're already a bit more used to the situation and feel less immediate panic.

People are forgetting that while this virus should be taken seriously, it's not like Stephen King's The Stand with a 97% mortality rate.  Grocery stores will likely stay open the entire time this situation is going on.  And hopefully people just learn better hygiene habits in the meantime (myself included).

+1 Thank you for the sensible input.


iPhone

[Max Rockatansky]

Ooooo...I need to add The Stand (Captain Tripps and Randall Flagg...good times) to my movie playlist for tomorrow.  What are some other good pandemic movies that we can come up?  I'm partial to the first two George Romero Dead movies (which isn't exactly stated to be a pandemic in either film).   

[J N Winkler]

Latest Protezione Civile bulletin:  21,157 cases in Italy (19.8% increase over yesterday).

[bing101]

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Virginia-flu-season-782-deaths-so-far-three-of-them-pediatric-568633301.html   Now there are reports that 782 Deaths in the flu in Virginia but given the latest issue has been overshadowed by the COVID-19 scares.

[Max Rockatansky]

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Virginia-flu-season-782-deaths-so-far-three-of-them-pediatric-568633301.html   Now there are reports that 782 Deaths in the flu in Virginia but given the latest issue has been overshadowed by the COVID-19 scares.

That's the thing, the Flu is a known quantity.  That number would probably need to be way higher to even get really mainstream attention.  It's the unknown of something like COVID-19 that really spooks people since they don't have answers and don't have anyone telling them what expect. 

[bugo]

Best advice for dealing with this shit?

Continue standard hygiene behavior practices as usual.

Good Point

Just rub Vick's on that Coronavirus, problem solved...or at least that's what my wife thinks.  Usually that Vick's comes in on the waning days of disease (for me) and somehow steals all the credit as a miracle cure. 

Pour Robitussin on it.

[Max Rockatansky]

Best advice for dealing with this shit?

Continue standard hygiene behavior practices as usual.

Good Point

Just rub Vick's on that Coronavirus, problem solved...or at least that's what my wife thinks.  Usually that Vick's comes in on the waning days of disease (for me) and somehow steals all the credit as a miracle cure. 

Pour Robitussin on it.

Didn't Chris Rock do a skit once that involved his grand parents trying to use Robitussin to heal a broken bone?

[1995hoo]

All you need is Campbell's chicken noodle soup, DayQuil, and Sprite.

https://youtu.be/sckSb2-4vp8

[Max Rockatansky]

Didn't Cartman and Kyle ended up being cured of AIDS after injections of cash?