Stay Safe Everyone!

[OscarGuy]

Same. My mother refuses to stop doing her charity work. It's noble of her, but with her underlying health problems, it could be quite devastating. Nothing short of a state order to shelter in place will get her to stop.

[mlrg]

From a sociological point of view it’s very interesting to note that some of the comments, beliefs, behaviors, etc, from people living in the USA about the disease itself is very similar to the ones we were having over here about a month ago.

It's not only interesting, it's scary. It's not just young people who are being cavalier about it. The old people in my community are just as bad, having dinner parties in the clubhouse, which should be closed for the duration, and gatherings in each other's homes in lieu of planned dinners out. One of the contributors to the monthly newspaper that I'm the editor of, took a picture of three residents, one man and two women, for an upcoming article focusing on the three who will turn 90 this year. My response that I hoped it wouldn't be their "last picture" didn't go over very well.

The community was in shock last night when one of the older, sicker residents was taken away in an ambulance, a frequent occurrence here but the first time the attendants wore protective masks. Maybe it's finally sinking in.

We have exactly the same problem with older people over here. Both my parents have passed away but all of my friends and co workers with living parents are complaining about the same: they just can’t get their parents to stay home.

[Big Magilla]

From a sociological point of view it’s very interesting to note that some of the comments, beliefs, behaviors, etc, from people living in the USA about the disease itself is very similar to the ones we were having over here about a month ago.

It's not only interesting, it's scary. It's not just young people who are being cavalier about it. The old people in my community are just as bad, having dinner parties in the clubhouse, which should be closed for the duration, and gatherings in each other's homes in lieu of planned dinners out. One of the contributors to the monthly newspaper that I'm the editor of, took a picture of three residents, one man and two women, for an upcoming article focusing on the three who will turn 90 this year. My response that I hoped it wouldn't be their "last picture" didn't go over very well.

The community was in shock last night when one of the older, sicker residents was taken away in an ambulance, a frequent occurrence here but the first time the attendants wore protective masks. Maybe it's finally sinking in.

[mlrg]

From a sociological point of view it’s very interesting to note that some of the comments, beliefs, behaviors, etc, from people living in the USA about the disease itself is very similar to the ones we were having over here about a month ago.

[Precious Doll]

I don't think anyone knows the long term ramifications of this thing. They're saying that x-rays show major scarring of lungs in previously healthy individuals. That may not bring immediate health problems, but it could lead to shorter life spans for those affected.

Thats all very troubling. Some of those cases have also been children with no symptoms.

Also, being a coronavirus it is unlikely and unknown that people who do get infected will be immune for life or only a limited time. The four existing coronavirus' that have been around for decades and gives us all colds do not give lifetime immunity for example. Immunity only lasts anywhere between a few weeks and a couple of years if you are lucky. Hence, why we get so many colds over our lifespans rather than just four.

This also makes the 'herd immunity' that The Netherlands is adopting and the U.K. were going to until they were talked out of it is such a dangerous proposal. Locking down for a period of time, ramping up testing and restricting the movement of people appear to be the only viable options at this time.

[Sonic Youth]

Here is someone's comment on FB who desribes being infected in the USA.

Just self isolate when the symptoms arrive. I've had covid 19 for this last week along with my 11 yr old son. We're fine. Just extreme fatigue, mild fever and very mild flu symptoms. For most people this is not life threatening at all. Fear is worse than the reality for most, unless you have more serious underlying medical conditions. Keep well and safe everyone.

LOTS of people have more serious underlying medical conditions! Some don't even know they have them. (The word, btw, is "comorbidities" which I think we all learned a few days ago.) I've seen accounts of more severe (if non-life threatening) cases in younger people, and it's no walk in the park.

And, btw, you're NOT supposed to "self isolate when the symptoms arrive". You're supposed to be self-isolating already. I don't know how long ago she started having symptoms, but it should be clear to everyone now that just because you have no symptoms it doesn't mean you don't have the virus.... and that you're not spreading it around if you do have it.

[Big Magilla]

I don't think anyone knows the long term ramifications of this thing. They're saying that x-rays show major scarring of lungs in previously healthy individuals. That may not bring immediate health problems, but it could lead to shorter life spans for those affected.

[Reza]

Here is someone's comment on FB who desribes being infected in the USA.

Just self isolate when the symptoms arrive. I've had covid 19 for this last week along with my 11 yr old son. We're fine. Just extreme fatigue, mild fever and very mild flu symptoms. For most people this is not life threatening at all. Fear is worse than the reality for most, unless you have more serious underlying medical conditions. Keep well and safe everyone.

[Precious Doll]

The fact that climate change is slowed down while everyone stays home is a good sign but it has to be sustained. Once the world is on the move again, pollution will increase.

Agreed and probably at a faster pace to make up for lost time. If anything coronavirus may buy the planet a couple of years but that's it.

This is all so so depressing on so many levels. I'm finding hard to concentrate when watching films at home (at least at the cinema I'm not looking at my mobile phone) so I'll have to leave it in another room. I started getting depressed about this on 23 January and whilst I've had some good days I've tendered to have more bad days I'm afraid. Overall I feel like I'm living in a bad dream that could turn into a nightmare at any time.

I suppose everybody is getting their local and international updates for various sources but I highly recommend from an international level the Live Blog on The Guardian website (all their websites International, US, UK & Australia) carry the same 24 hours rolling global news - its depressing stuff but gives a sense of what is happening worldwide. Also Wikipedia's coronavirus outbreak page is useful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019–20_c ... s_pandemic (can't get the link to work properly but if you copy and paste it into a new webpage you should be right).

Also, if you key in coronavirus with a country of our choice on the search facility on Wikipedia you can get a detailed history of the diseases spread for that respective country.

Also Dr. John Campbell from the UK does daily updates on the virus and they are worth viewing. His pretty much on the mark in general but they are extremely depressing viewing.

[Big Magilla]

The fact that climate change is slowed down while everyone stays home is a good sign but it has to be sustained. Once the world is on the move again, pollution will increase.

[anonymous1980]

I don't think life will ever go back to what it was and when you throw climate change into the mix it's a very bleak future.

Au contraire. According to quite a number of articles, the coronavirus pandemic is actually SLOWING DOWN climate change at least temporarily. I think it bought humanity some time.

Venice canals are now clear enough to see fish.

Dolphins and swans also return.

Coronavirus reduced China's CO2 emissions by a quarter.

[Precious Doll]

Australia & New Zealand are closing their borders from tomorrow night to all non-citizens. They should have done it six weeks ago but better later than never and hopefully this belated action will prevent a medical disaster unfolding.

They will be making efforts to bring citizens back to Australia from 'popular' destinations around the globe. 80% of the cases in Australia are from international travel or close contact. To date 80,000 people have been tested for the virus with the first 'fever clinic' opening in Australia more than a month ago up the road from where I live.

I suspect a lockdown of Australia for a couple of weeks will probably happen within the week to ensure no further community spread (we have probably had about 80 or so such cases) then we can than return to some sort of normality - like at least travel within the country, eat out, etc. I don't know what is going to happen to non-citizens 'trapped' in Australia.

I don't think life will ever go back to what it was and when you throw climate change into the mix it's a very bleak future.

[Big Magilla]

OK, so basically staying hydrated helps the immune system, but there is no science to support the theory that drinking a lot of water will push the virus to the stomach where it will be killed and holding your breath for ten seconds without coughing does not prove the virus isn't present in your lungs although I don't think it hurts to do that.

[danfrank]

Refuted why?

Just saw this: https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go ... d=69578209

Be skeptical about what you read on the internet.

[Big Magilla]

Refuted why?