Pandemic Update

[cjlasky7]

No, no! I'm fine! (A scratchy throat, but okay otherwise...)

Everything else around me, though....

For the first time in my memory, a public health crisis has impacted my every day life.

My corporate headquarters sent two boxes of disposable gloves for bank personnel.

Parent/teacher conferences at my son's school have been cancelled.

Our cub scout trip to Liberty Science Center has been cancelled.

(My 401k is taking a beating.)

I'm thinking back to the SARS epidemic, and I don't remember it being this disruptive.

How are you guys doing out there?

Comments

[cactuswatcher]

The shelves of the local grocery have been stripped of toilet paper and paper towels. (I won't need either any time soon. I resupplied before this hit.) The annual book fair at the university has been cancelled, but no school has been cancelled here.

There is one case in our county, but the person doesn't live in the city and is recovering at home.

Sorry, about your 401K. Most of the stocks I owned, and it wasn't much, went worthless back in the 2008 recession, so I'm not much affected now.

[cjlasky7]

If Coronavirus continues spreading in NYC, I can see my son's school closing if even a whiff of it shows up in class. That will be a big problem.

I'm reading about TP and paper towel shortages elsewhere, but it hasn't happened here. Yet.

I was mostly kidding about my 401k. My stocks also took a huge beating in 2008. But they got better. It'll take the collapse of Western civilization to kill the stock market, and we're not there. (Yet.)

[shadowkat]

I'm reading about TP and paper towel shortages elsewhere, but it hasn't happened here. Yet.

No. Just hand sanitizers, anti-bacterial hand soaps, and disinfectant wipes. LOL! We're a city that is suddenly obsessed with hoarding cleaners. (I'm not sure people are using them.)

I think they may end up closing more schools tomorrow. It was up in the air today in the news. They have closed them up North of us.

Broadway Shows have sliced their prices.

And the problem with the stock market diving is well...see 2008...and the 1930s, that kind of affects everyone regardless of how much we have saved in it. I'm blatantly ignoring it. I can't do anything about it. Just hope it bounces back like China's did.

But if this thing shuts down NYC? That's going to be a huge problem for us and the rest of the country.

[atpo_onm]

Only 12 cases in PA so far, none in my neck of the woods. Morning newspaper yesterday reports that local contractors (carpenters, painters, drywallers, mold treatment, asbestos removal companies etc.) are having trouble obtaining face masks that they use for protection during their work. Also, crisis pirates are already jumping into their profiteering biz-- for example, a 10 pack of a certain kind of mask that normally sells for $23.00 is going for $169.00 on Amazon.

You're right... I don't remember the SARS epidemic causing this much turmoil. What do you think has changed? Am I wrong in that COVID-19 is less deadly by a fair amount than SARS?

What I fear is that the financial damage to the country's working class will be worse than the momentary physical effects the disease might have on them. There are millions out there who quite literally can't go for two weeks without a paycheck, and I'm currently dubious about recent promises by various governments to help out with that.

Strange days...

[cjlasky7]

What I fear is that the financial damage to the country's working class will be worse than the momentary physical effects the disease might have on them.

There it is. I think that's a big underlying cause for the panic--not "we're all going to die!", but "I can't afford to get sick." Despite the government's rosy employment figures, more people than ever before are living from paycheck to paycheck. Coronavirus could break the backs of a lot of lower middle class families.

With the current oil glut and a possible plunge in consumer demand, the whole economic house of cards is looking kind of shaky...

[shadowkat]

I don't remember the SARS epidemic causing this much turmoil. What do you think has changed? Am I wrong in that COVID-19 is less deadly by a fair amount than SARS?

From what I've read SARS is part of the group of viruses that contains COVID-19. So COVID is a version of the SARS virus or in the same family. It's currently spreading faster than SARS did. But not as deadly - although it's hard to know at this point. What's freaking out the health officials is how fast it spreads, and how hard it is to contain. The lawyer in New Rochelle who is critically ill - spread the virus to about 118 people at last count, and he didn't get it from overseas. They found him - by conducting their own testing. Part of the difference is the delay in testing, it wasn't caught fast enough. SARS was caught much faster and was contained faster as a result.

A lot of mistakes were made in regards to COVID 19.

In regards to financial situation? Yep. There's too many people in this country who cannot work from home and live from pay-check to pay-check. Also if they don't go to work - our country shuts down. We need the sanitation workers, police officers, fire fighters, nurses, doctors, train operators, subway conductors, contractors, road-workers, delivery people, postal workers, truck drivers, etc.

Also, think of the effect of cancelling entertainment events/concerts, not to mention closing stores? Broadway shows, movies, concerts, sporting events, baseball games, NBA (they are considering cancelling), NCAA tournaments, the Olympics is still up in the air. That's a lot of money and a lot of jobs.

Add to that, having to close banks. Granted most of this is electronic - but how much can be done from home?

That's what scaring me - a shut down. Look at Italy. Not just China, but Italy. It's on complete lockdown. All stores except grocery stores and pharmacies have been ordered to close.

[cjlasky7]

It's obvious that the Republican administration low-prioritized health care funding because that's what they always do. Pandemic? "Eh, that's never gonna happen." Government is never needed... until it is.

The NBA season has been cancelled.

One of Trump's biggest oil company donors lost half his company's value in the stock plunge. Look for the words "corporate socialism" to trend very soon.

[shadowkat]

Well, just got an email from the church that they are considering holding the worship services online only, closing the sanctuary on Sundays, and cancelling all social or in person events. And according to a co-worker, who is in the know, there are six confirmed cases at my crazy organization so far - nothing that I know of in my department. CBS had three and had to do some shuffling about.

Also the Doofus is threatening to cut health care funding to NY. Good luck with that - because if he does that, the Dow Jones Industrial will crash. The Stock Market is located in NY, hello. (SMH). Just banning air travel to Continental Europe caused it to fall.

The conservatives have this view that other people's health doesn't affect them. Of course it does. It's like saying if your neighbor's house is on fire - you aren't affected - of course you are. But, no it's all about money - because people would rather get Hamilton tickets than pay for infrastructure. Well, guess what folks? There is no Hamiliton without infrastructure. There's no movies, no television, no sports, na da without a infrastructure. (Tom Hanks came down with it in Australia while filming a movie.)

[cjlasky7]

The Trump administration made some big noise in the beginning about investing in infrastructure. Two years of Republican controlled government produced zippo. Roads are worse, hospitals are closing, vital health care agencies are underfunded, and now we are unprepared for a real crisis.

A central modern Republican tenet is that government is the problem, and the mommy state will bankrupt us. Maybe. But the Abusive Daddy state isn't much of an alternative.

[shadowkat]

Have you listened to Cuomo's live update? If's very smart. Socialism wouldn't necessarily have made it better, by the way - all you need to do is look at the countries with it in place. (Working for a government agency has made me very aware of that.) They are in deep shit too. No, what made Italy collapse was the burden to the hospitals - not enough health care workers/hospitals to take care of the sick. They didn't have things in place to handle their health care workers getting sick, or ways to regulate how people were treated. NY is probably the closest you'll get to socialism in the US by the way. And it's problematic.

By the way? Broadway is being shut down as we speak. And the Parade was "post-poned".

[cjlasky7]

Broadway is being shut down as we speak.

King Crimson and an all star Frank Zappa tribute band are playing Forest Hills Stadium on June 19th. If it's on, I'm going. I don't care if I have to wear a hazmat suit....

[shadowkat]

Yeah, well a friend bought me a ticket to see Laurie Metcalf and Rupert Evertte in a rival of "Who's Afraid of Virigina Woolf?" - on March 20. Something tells me that it ain't happening. Said friend is over 70.

Also, I'm kind of hoping I can still make the Doctor's appointment on June 16.

[shadowkat]

Scratchy throat - ugh allergy season. And right in time for the virus from hell.

And yeah, right there with you - this is seriously impacting my life. And everyone is wondering around like they were before Superstorm Sandy was predicted to hit. Debating on how bad this will actually be.

Glad to hear you are okay, as is the family. (You read my journal, so you know how I am.)