Novel Coronavirus

Welcome to Wondercafe2!

A community where we discuss, share, and have some fun together. Join today and become a part of it!

Register Log in
Ritafee said:
Welcome to the future. Politics can’t trump culture, and our culture is now a Corona culture. A far cry from hippies spreading free love in muddy tents at Woodstock half a century ago, the whole thing now is about contagion, survival, isolation, and the final surrender of all human needs, at least if said needs involve contact with other humans.
Click to expand...

I'm old enough to appreciate this comment........ :cool:

I can understand the fear, but I think we could all benefit from disciplining our fear. Hoarding of toilet paper is ridiculous. (Especially when I'm due for a colonoscopy in a couple of weeks - and many of the shops have none of the shelves!)
Face masks are impossible to buy now -and dentists - who actually need to wear them -are running out and threatening to close down.
Discipline the fear - and remember what my Nana used to say, "There are others, you know".

Methinks empathy is in much shorter supply than masks, sanitizer, etc.
 
Do you ever watch a common cold travel through your neighbourhood? If you live/work somewhere you see a lot of people, you can almost watch it travel around.

Have relatives in old folks homes? Where the residences are "shut down" for weeks on end to prevent the spread of flu to vulnerable residents?

If you work outside the home, isn't there a hand sanitizer station close? Doesn't your health & safety committee send/make you watch videos about hand-washing?

Why can't we just carry on being sensible?
 
Yup ... all I can do is tackle the things in my control.

I do my best not panic about things that aren’t.

If I am 'sick' ... I have the luxury of being able to stay at home ... so I do.
 
Are human emotions contagious ... causing departure of thoughts ... accrued intellect appearing out there as OBI ... if you happen to be beyond the debated 27 emotions ...

There is a culture that says there are only 3 emotions; fear, love and anger as a triad ... jest hated by a mass of people ... improperly gathering?

It may be impulse of gravitas ... a solemnity! Thus sole crashes ... due to enmity! More word to play with ...
 
Ritafee said:
If I am 'sick' ... I have the luxury of being able to stay at home ... so I do.
Click to expand...

Now, see, there's a sensible policy suggestion that would really reduce the chances of spread: free sick days, up to X - say 20 - a year, for everyone - full or part-time. Most poor people live very close to the edge. A single 5 hour shift means the difference between having $30 and having $90 for your family's groceries to feed them that week.
 
BetteTheRed said:
Now, see, there's a sensible policy suggestion that would really reduce the chances of spread: free sick days, up to X - say 20 - a year, for everyone - full or part-time. Most poor people live very close to the edge. A single 5 hour shift means the difference between having $30 and having $90 for your family's groceries to feed them that week.
Click to expand...

Yeah, statutory paid sick days, adjusted for full or part time, would be a good addition to employment standards. Right now, we get 7 days for both family and personal leave and can take it hourly (which would account for part time). Not sure what's statutory, though.
 
Last edited:
I think low income folk should get a cash payment to cover expenses if they are told to self isolate. This morning on FB I saw a photo of Corona Emergency boxes being prepared at a Food Bank somewhere in the US. That seemed to be useful thing too. I confess to being a bit surprised that there is no information coming out locally. Are sick people really supposed to just show up at ER? Wouldn't it make more sense to specify an office where people get monitored and tested? We have several small hospitals within an hour's drive of each other - why isn't ONE selected for flu cases?
 
In Berlin, Germany they have arranged for a clinic just for people who want to get tested. As you can imagine, people are lining up and prefer to line up outside rather than in an indoors wait room.
Our health authority is also preparing. Part of it is assigning certain areas for assessment and treatment if and when more people are affected. Right now, there isn’t a case in Nova Scotia.
 
A friend on a different discussion forum shared her appointment letter from her specialist. It gave the date and time and added something like this - when you have parked phone 'this' number. A staff member will record your phone # and call you back when it is safe for you to enter. This will enable us to ensure that you spend minimal time around staff and patients. We will also be able to disinfect where it seems sensible.

Sounds smart to me. It wouldn't work for all medical appointments but every little thing can be of help.
 
KayTheCurler said:
I think low income folk should get a cash payment to cover expenses if they are told to self isolate. This morning on FB I saw a photo of Corona Emergency boxes being prepared at a Food Bank somewhere in the US. That seemed to be useful thing too. I confess to being a bit surprised that there is no information coming out locally. Are sick people really supposed to just show up at ER? Wouldn't it make more sense to specify an office where people get monitored and tested? We have several small hospitals within an hour's drive of each other - why isn't ONE selected for flu cases?
Click to expand...
Here they are supposed to call healthlink, not just go to the emergency room. If they have to call 911, that information can also be relayed when calling.
 
Some coworkers brought up some concerns early on. The response from the higher ups wasn't great, so those further down did a bit.
Now though, there are some pretty strict things in place. Certain travel as well as conference attendance needs approval.
Those with respiratory illnesses need to be symptom free for 24 hours before showing up to work - including if influenza has been diagnosed.
Funny think is it wasn't included with an email, that did outline some stuff. It was mentioned check the info online - without a link. I actually read it, so some of the lower level management has now spread the word via email.

Working remotely is possible, although some things wouldn't get done/need to be passed onto others. So just because someone is home doesn't mean taking a sick day if they feel up to doing stuff.
 
They're turning away Canadians at US border crossings, who've been travelling - I believe both to China and Iran - in the past several months, regardless of symptoms or not. They are being less stringent in the other direction (people coming from US into Canada).

We've been told that the tourism industry here still expects and looks forward to decent, though already decreased, business from US travellers coming in on the ferries from Seattle, and the cruise ships. The cruises have been rerouted. They cancelled their Asia tours and are now just going up and down the West Coast.

So, now, the cruise ship stuck off of the coast of San Fran is due to dock here in April. It'll be the first cruise ship of the season to stop here. This downtown is fairly small - it's not a big city - there are only a few grocery stores and pharmacies - it's not uncommon to run into the same tour group twice in an afternoon. It's teaming with Washington state tourists (which is normally a good thing) - the virus is spreading at a higher rate in the community there. Here (well, the mainland - no cases on the island 'yet') it's mostly been travellers who've been in China and Iran, and now, a nursing home, that've been affected.

Americans don't even have proper screening measures in place the US. And people can be a symptomatic carriers for several days. That makes cruises a really bad idea.

Downtown here is purposely geared to attract tourism and keep people circulating around the shops and sights downtown.

Cruises are not necessary travel and in the case of one of the recent deaths - that person had been on the same boat that's stuck off the coast of SF (coming here) for the previous leg of the cruise.

This virus is an equalizer. It can spread through poor and affluent communities alike...but at least here we have diligent testing, and public healthcare.

I don't want to see mass quarantines and harsh authoritarian measures - but maybe putting a halt to vacation travels - especially cruises - for the time being, wouldn't be a bad idea. These ships seem to be hotbeds for the virus.
 
Last edited:
It's always cruise-ships, though, isn't it? Norovirus/ Norwalk, seems to spread through them too. And, like covid 19, spreads fairly easily, and while asymptomatic (though, Norwalk can spread for several days after symptoms have subsided - I had it once, and I thought I had food poisoning, then the person I was at the same restaurant and in close contact while I was sick with didn't get it right away, but a few days after I was sick - so we figured out it was viral, and the clinic confirmed it was spreading in the community) . It kills 200,000 per year worldwide. We've been through that numerous times in this region. Maybe the risk is similar with this. If so, that makes it seem less scary. ...though nobody died from it in 2018, in Canada (the latest stats available).
 
Last edited:
Don’t cruise-ships have medical facilities and a few medical staff on board?

Pence wants to bring people off the ship to get them cared for. Trump wants to contain the spread of the virus and keep them on the ship.

If there are going to be cruises, and there are going to be serious viruses...Why not equip the ship (if they can’t do it for this one, make sure subsequent ships are equipped before they set sail) with small “hospital” areas with proper equipment and enough medical staff? They’re big enough. Just take out one of the many food and entertainment facilities aboard. Hire several “Dr. Adam Brickers”. Trump could probably relate to that idea in that “as seen on TV” head of his.

Does that sound like a bad idea? (They do have “infirmaries/ sick bays”...why not make sure they are equipped for the appearance of covid-19 (as much as possible) before sailing?
 
Last edited:
Trump really never hat a Pense thought ... it was unthought under the master de cepts ... these inhibit precepts! Seventh order ...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top