Coronavirus pandemic

[Max Rockatansky]

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?

That's what I was referencing. Good catch.

[1995hoo]

Wow. While I'm not Muslim, if you've ever seen pictures of how crowded the Grand Mosque in Mecca gets, this picture from a day or two ago really gives a sense of how much this situation is disrupting things.

[jemacedo9]

And you could spread the virus to somebody who isn't healthy enough to fight it. Your attitude is extremely selfish and not cool at all. If you truly don't care if others die because of your incompetence, then that tells me a lot about what kind of person you are. It's the whole "I got mine, fuck you" attitude.

Note also that it's not just the "you could spread the virus to a high risk person" risk (since it's tempting to rebut with "but I don't come into contact with any such people" or "those people should go into isolation"); it's "you could spread the virus to others who come into contact with high risk people".

The its-all-about-my-comfort-and-convenience attitude is a major reason why entire countries are going into lockdown.  It's a step being taken because too many people cannot be trusted to do their part in slowing the spread of the virus to a manageable rate.

It's this. 

[bandit957]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

[kalvado]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

[Plutonic Panda]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

[kalvado]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

If quarantine is not taken seriously, first one definitely becomes an option.

[kwellada]

I read this interesting article earlier today:
http://nautil.us/issue/83/intelligence/the-man-who-saw-the-pandemic-coming

It's from a scientific perspective and one of the things he points out is that we aren't doing well at a global response.  The other is that this virus has the potential to mutate over the summer.  It could come back worse, or it could turn into something as mild as a common cold.  But we just lack data and information at the moment.

There's going to be a truckload of speculation from all walks of life on the internet.  I'm trying my best to cut the signal to noise ratio to hopefully learn facts about the situation so I can plan my coming months properly.  I have elderly relatives who I love dearly, but for the moment there's no way in hell I'm going to pop by for a visit because of the heightened risk for the elderly (and my uncle already has a heart condition).  I will try to keep my cupboards filled with groceries to last 2-3 weeks (and really, I should also try to get my earthquake kit prepared, since I live in the PNW where we could have a major quake any day).  Being prudent and properly prepared is important...not panicked. 

[LM117]

The its-all-about-my-comfort-and-convenience attitude is a major reason why entire countries are going into lockdown.  It's a step being taken because too many people cannot be trusted to do their part in slowing the spread of the virus to a manageable rate.

Yep. On a state level, this is a perfect example:

https://twitter.com/NC_Governor/status/1238925712733552640

There's speculation that this was in response to Billie Eilish continuing with her concert in Raleigh, which pissed off Cooper.

[RobbieL2415]

I'm going to say something you may not like, but to hell with avoiding domestic travel.

With all the panic going on, fares for flights and hotel rates are stupid cheap.  I saw some round-trip flights from BDL to LAX for $250.  I saw a bunch of hotels in Midtown Manhattan going for $150 or less, many below $100.  If you're healthy, I say take a chance and go somewhere.  If you get the virus, you get the virus.

And you could spread the virus to somebody who isn't healthy enough to fight it. Your attitude is extremely selfish and not cool at all. If you truly don't care if others die because of your incompetence, then that tells me a lot about what kind of person you are. It's the whole "I got mine, fuck you" attitude.

Traveling is a luxury I cannot normally afford.  Do you expect me or anyone else who has over a month of time off from work to stay put?

There are still places you can go where large people don't congregate. Hiking, national parks, the beach.

The same sanitation and social distancing practices would still apply. 

It's not like you would be going and throwing caution to the wind.  The purpose of my post isn't to "stick it to the man".  It is to say that you can travel within the limitations.  I am at no greater of a risk for passing the virus along whether I'm at my local Walmart or touring the Everglades.

[hotdogPi]

I'm going to say something you may not like, but to hell with avoiding domestic travel.

With all the panic going on, fares for flights and hotel rates are stupid cheap.  I saw some round-trip flights from BDL to LAX for $250.  I saw a bunch of hotels in Midtown Manhattan going for $150 or less, many below $100.  If you're healthy, I say take a chance and go somewhere.  If you get the virus, you get the virus.

And you could spread the virus to somebody who isn't healthy enough to fight it. Your attitude is extremely selfish and not cool at all. If you truly don't care if others die because of your incompetence, then that tells me a lot about what kind of person you are. It's the whole "I got mine, fuck you" attitude.

Traveling is a luxury I cannot normally afford.  Do you expect me or anyone else who has over a month of time off from work to stay put?

There are still places you can go where large people don't congregate. Hiking, national parks, the beach.

The same sanitation and social distancing practices would still apply. 

It's not like you would be going and throwing caution to the wind.  The purpose of my post isn't to "stick it to the man".  It is to say that you can travel within the limitations.  I am at no greater of a risk for passing the virus along whether I'm at my local Walmart or touring the Everglades.

If you're going by plane, be careful at airports. Driving is perfectly fine, though.

[bandit957]

There are still places you can go where large people don't congregate. Hiking, national parks, the beach.

Or roadmeets.

[ftballfan]

Many European countries are shutting down all air travel. I wonder if the IATA will recommend all airlines worldwide stop international flights for the next 2-4 weeks (exceptions would be made for cargo and repatriation flights).

Disney World is planning on a medium to long term closure (a month or more) as they're sending all international workers home if possible.

[kwellada]

There are still places you can go where large people don't congregate. Hiking, national parks, the beach.

If I have a gap between getting hired for a new position (I have interviews going on this week..and it's for a remote position so I can work from home), I am definitely thinking of a road trip to national parks.  But that definitely has me thinking of the logistics of doing so, since many restaurants might not be open and hotel accommodations need some consideration.  (I don't camp, so ultimately I might not go anywhere)  Luckily here in Washington there's lots of places to visit that'll be free of crowds and can be done in a day.

[Plutonic Panda]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

If quarantine is not taken seriously, first one definitely becomes an option.

Could you please elaborate? Even with the worse scenario I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. A burden on the economy and day to day life sure. A horrible tragedy with many losing loved ones sure. But the end of the country?

[kwellada]

Could you please elaborate? Even with the worse scenario I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. A burden on the economy and day to day life sure. A horrible tragedy with many loosing loved ones sure. But the end of the country?

Now please note that my thoughts on this matter are PURELY SPECULATION and I know far more about photography than finance, so take this with the appropriate grains of salt.  Covid-19 alone is not going to cause the end of the country.  However, it might be pulling back the curtain on an economic and financial system that is already stressed and fragile as heck.  The stock market's roller coaster is an example of that.  There's been other stories in the past few months that suggest something unpleasant is ahead for the economy and perhaps this pandemic is just a match that lights a major bonfire.  Things are unfolding at a pace that is hard to process on a day to day basis.  After all, at no other point in modern times have all the major sports leagues shut down, giving ESPN nothing to do. 

With luck and some level headed thinking, I hope we can come out of this with a better awareness of the interconnectedness of our world, more respect for one other (even if our views on political policies differ) and better knowledge about pandemics to avoid a catastrophe if another happens. 

[kalvado]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

If quarantine is not taken seriously, first one definitely becomes an option.

Could you please elaborate? Even with the worse scenario I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. A burden on the economy and day to day life sure. A horrible tragedy with many loosing loved ones sure. But the end of the country?

Well, imagine what would happen when US economy plunges, the dollar is not seen as a rock-solid world currency, and US is actually forced to have balanced budget and zero trade balance - if not paying off debt to the creditors who also try to recover e.g. China and Japan?

[Max Rockatansky]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

If quarantine is not taken seriously, first one definitely becomes an option.

Could you please elaborate? Even with the worse scenario I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. A burden on the economy and day to day life sure. A horrible tragedy with many loosing loved ones sure. But the end of the country?

Well, imagine what would happen when US economy plunges, the dollar is not seen as a rock-solid world currency, and US is actually forced to have balanced budget and zero trade balance - if not paying off debt to the creditors who also try to recover e.g. China and Japan?

You're aware credit on the level of nations doesn't work like it does when you fail to pay a credit card or default on a mortgage? 

[kalvado]

I support social distancing, but I find the increasing threat of city/state enforced curfews to be very concerning. Shutting down bars and restaurants is acceptable. Forcing people to stay home overnight is unhelpful and not going to stop the spread of the virus.

There seems to be a consensus among the public that lockdowns are unacceptable. Our ridiculous media seems to think otherwise though.

If our current measures don't work, it's because the pandemic is past the point where restrictions work. No lockdown will change that. Even after the lockdown, the number of cases in Italy is soaring. South Korea was a lot less strict, and their cases are dropping now.

Freedom of assembly should put the kibosh on having an ineffective lockdown.

your comment will be used as an example in the last chapter of US history books for decades to come

are you suggesting this virus is the end of the US or that we will lockdown this time and change the course of this country forever?

If quarantine is not taken seriously, first one definitely becomes an option.

Could you please elaborate? Even with the worse scenario I fail to see how that is even remotely possible. A burden on the economy and day to day life sure. A horrible tragedy with many loosing loved ones sure. But the end of the country?

Well, imagine what would happen when US economy plunges, the dollar is not seen as a rock-solid world currency, and US is actually forced to have balanced budget and zero trade balance - if not paying off debt to the creditors who also try to recover e.g. China and Japan?

You're aware credit on the level of nations doesn't work like it does when you fail to pay a credit card or default on a mortgage?

Yes, but I heard "Obama is not my president" and "Trump is not my president"  more often than I would like to. I can easily see states trying to preserve their wealth regardless to what happens with the big country - and constitution be damned. It happened before, including US.

[Scott5114]

I'm just hoping that this leads to a business culture change away from fetishizing attendance above all else. I would happily socially distance myself, even without pay, for a month, but my employer demands that I show up as usual and deal with throngs of people with questionable sanitation practices.

[kwellada]

I'm just hoping that this leads to a business culture change away from fetishizing attendance above all else. I would happily socially distance myself, even without pay, for a month, but my employer demands that I show up as usual and deal with throngs of people with questionable sanitation practices.

I've been working for tech startups for nearly a decade and have exclusively been remote the entire time.  I've been pretty lucky to continually land remote jobs.  But it's surprising how many tech companies buy into this idea that people only productive in an office and can't possibly be trusted at home.  Since much of Seattle's tech industry is suddenly doing work from home (and probably seeing little drop in productivity), the culture might finally change.  Think of the reduction in emissions and easing of congestion on freeways if people who can work from home are allowed to do so on a permanent basis in the future. 

Though that would be the death knell of WeWork...

[skluth]

I'm just hoping that this leads to a business culture change away from fetishizing attendance above all else. I would happily socially distance myself, even without pay, for a month, but my employer demands that I show up as usual and deal with throngs of people with questionable sanitation practices.

I've been working for tech startups for nearly a decade and have exclusively been remote the entire time.  I've been pretty lucky to continually land remote jobs.  But it's surprising how many tech companies buy into this idea that people only productive in an office and can't possibly be trusted at home.  Since much of Seattle's tech industry is suddenly doing work from home (and probably seeing little drop in productivity), the culture might finally change.  Think of the reduction in emissions and easing of congestion on freeways if people who can work from home are allowed to do so on a permanent basis in the future. 

Though that would be the death knell of WeWork...

It would not surprise me if several places increased productivity with working from home. Before I retired, my days were interrupted with meetings that could have been handled with emails, nearby conversations because some moron thought open offices were better than cubes despite most of us working on individual projects, phone calls from someone who wanted to know if so-and-so was in the office because they hadn't answered their own phone (usually because they were busy in meetings or training and couldn't be at their desk), bosses having a meltdown forcing everyone to switch to their pet project because of their own mishandling of a situation, and all sorts of other time-wastes. I originally worked second shift and occasionally midnights as a new employee, and I was far more productive than I was once I was stuck on days.

[Bruce]

Washington is now banning all gatherings over 50 people, preventing restaurants from serving dine-in customers, and closing all entertainment and recreational facilities (gyms, movie theaters, etc). Most retailers will have reduced occupancy, except grocers and pharmacies.

https://twitter.com/GovInslee/status/1239376248335265794

[Max Rockatansky]

Washington is now banning all gatherings over 50 people, preventing restaurants from serving dine-in customers, and closing all entertainment and recreational facilities (gyms, movie theaters, etc). Most retailers will have reduced occupancy, except grocers and pharmacies.

https://twitter.com/GovInslee/status/1239376248335265794

The gym is the one that has me worried will be next in California.  I already did 8 days in a row of push ups, burpees, and sit ups in Mexico earlier this month which isn't something I considered much fun.  At minimum I do all my running outside and if the weather is bad I have a higher end rowing machine. 

[jakeroot]

The gym is the one that has me worried will be next in California.  I already did 8 days in a row of push ups, burpees, and sit ups in Mexico earlier this month which isn't something I considered much fun.  At minimum I do all my running outside and if the weather is bad I have a higher end rowing machine.

My building has shut all of our resident centers, including the gym. The weather has been good, so I'm mostly walking/jogging outside, and had been doing push-ups/crunches in my apartment anyways. Won't be lifting for a while now.