Are you hunkering down?

[Foggy]

From some friends we have in Europe, part of the Italy early rapid spread was due
to many many (Millennial age group mostly) Italians showing indifference to warnings.
"Can't be bothered, it's party time" essentially continuing life as usual. They didn't
see 'pandemic' symptoms in their groups (despite the virus being present as well
as the serious warnings), didn't care about others so ignorantly spread it to
whomever they contacted.

So much of this is attitude.

Aye.
Grandpa used to say, "Your attitude will determine your altitude in life."

 

[ssobol]

...

The difference between the regular flu and the COVID19 is the rate of morbidity/mortality.

...

If the same number of people got COVID19 as the flu, a lot more people would die.

One problem is they don't have a good handle on the actual number of infected people. Apparently people can have no symptoms or very mild ones and put it off as a cold or seasonal flu. Only those people who have actually presented with serious symptoms or have a contact trace to someone who is tested to show they have covid-19 are part of the count. Of the ~1.2 billion people in China only ~200K have been tagged as infected by this virus. This is a unrealistically low number. I think that if you could count all the people that actually had the disease, the true fatality rate would be much lower than reported. However, it is not possible to identify every person who had/has this virus, so getting an accurate rate will be very difficult to determine.

That said, Covid-19 is a serious threat to certain people and precautions around them should be taken. However, for most of the population, this disease is not much of a threat (IMO).

 

[Nancy and Bud]

...

The difference between the regular flu and the COVID19 is the rate of morbidity/mortality.

...

If the same number of people got COVID19 as the flu, a lot more people would die.

One problem is they don't have a good handle on the actual number of infected people. Apparently people can have no symptoms or very mild ones and put it off as a cold or seasonal flu. Only those people who have actually presented with serious symptoms or have a contact trace to someone who is tested to show they have covid-19 are part of the count. Of the ~1.2 billion people in China only ~200K have been tagged as infected by this virus. This is a unrealistically low number. I think that if you could count all the people that actually had the disease, the true fatality rate would be much lower than reported. However, it is not possible to identify every person who had/has this virus, so getting an accurate rate will be very difficult to determine.

That said, Covid-19 is a serious threat to certain people and precautions around them should be taken. However, for most of the population, this disease is not much of a threat (IMO).

I agree with all of the above. We don't know the actual rate or the actual numbers and for most of the population is is not much of a threat

The problem is that people can be infected without knowing they are and then spread the virus to a greater percentage of the population and the part of the population, like me, who are part of the group that would be more significently affected.

China took extraordinary action which helped contain the spread of the virus and therefore reduced the number of fatalities.

The only thing we know for sure is that if we, as a nation, take no action, it will not turn out well.

 

[dotnmarty]

Well guys, as an 84 year old former public health professional I'll just say this;
You bet your sweet ass I'm hunkered down

 

[Anita Marie]

Italy’s fashion industry outsourced its manufacturing to China, most of it to Wuhan. With direct routes from Italy to Wuhan the 100,000 Chinese working in Italy could move between the two locations easily.
Like others have said with the large amount of elderly and a 2nd tier medical system has caused this large outbreak.
I am going to stay put at home and venture out only when needed. I do not think I could live with myself If i was the cause of someone’s illness, god forbid death due to my selfishness.

 

[thataway]

When we get off the boat in a couple of days, we will hunker down. We have enough basic supplies to last a considerable length of time.

We are both at high risk, with heart disease, and I am 83. I currently have some mild infection (dry cough, no fever, low PO2 and high pulse). If it is CorVi 19 the only contacts we have had for the last almost 3 weeks has been the C Brat community. Even when we ate out, it was in a separate dining room, with usually a single server.

So how large is the pool of asymptomatic or minimal disease carriers? This is the big question. We cannot trust the initial material out of China, and I don't trust their numbers now.

I do believe that there is a huge over re-action. However, it the real death rate is 4% or even 1% it is one of the worse pandemics in our lifetimes. Remember that the deaths of the "Spanish flu" was mostly from pneumonia, and there were no antibiotics at that time.

I was taking to a lady who is a teacher in Orlando this afternoon at Hontoon. Of her class, 20% are homeless! The children depend on two meals a day from the school. No "computer classes" for those who live under the bridges or in their cars! The spinoff from the layoffs of the resorts is like in LV and the Casinos. Thousands of lower paid wage earners who live hand to mouth have all of a sudden lost their paycheck until the resorts and Casinos open back up.

I just talked to my fiends at home in Pensacola, and they assure me that things are "normal" there. ! Hopefully all of the C Brats stay healthy! Be safe!

 

[thataway]

When we get off the boat in a couple of days, we will hunker down. We have enough basic supplies to last a considerable length of time.

We are both at high risk, with heart disease, and I am 83. I currently have some mild infection (dry cough, no fever, low PO2 and high pulse). If it is CorVi 19 the only contacts we have had for the last almost 3 weeks has been the C Brat community. Even when we ate out, it was in a separate dining room, with usually a single server.

So how large is the pool of asymptomatic or minimal disease carriers? This is the big question. We cannot trust the initial material out of China, and I don't trust their numbers now.

I do believe that there is a huge over re-action. However, it the real death rate is 4% or even 1% it is one of the worse pandemics in our lifetimes. Remember that the deaths of the "Spanish flu" was mostly from pneumonia, and there were no antibiotics at that time.

I was taking to a lady who is a teacher in Orlando this afternoon at Hontoon. Of her class, 20% are homeless! The children depend on two meals a day from the school. No "computer classes" for those who live under the bridges or in their cars! The spinoff from the layoffs of the resorts is like in LV and the Casinos. Thousands of lower paid wage earners who live hand to mouth have all of a sudden lost their paycheck until the resorts and Casinos open back up.

I just talked to my fiends at home in Pensacola, and they assure me that things are "normal" there. ! Hopefully all of the C Brats stay healthy! Be safe!

 

[smckean (Tosca)]

May the Lord watch over all of you.

I wish the Lord would just mind his own business. If there were one entity who could have prevented this entire mess, I would think it would be the Lord. If you're one of those who has the ear of the Lord, please tell him to stop watching over me after these tragedies occur. I prefer that he watches over me before the tragedy strikes. I presume the Lord could wipe out a itsy-bitsy blob of RNA like this virus in....what's the expression?......oh yeah, a blink of an eye. If you have the sway, please ask the Lord to get involved a bit earlier; I'd be grateful.

 

[Micahbigsur@msn.com]

Baja's cases are ramping up here, a lot of California including our county is under lockdown, essential business only, because of the 2 week case lag with Italy and Spain we just want to get back to our isolated farm in Big Sur where they have just locked the gate on our dirt road. I just hope it doesn't get so crazy we can't get home it's just not practical to stay here as things get locked down. We did have a nice cruise up from La Paz to Puerto Escondido we stopped overnight at one of the most beautiful islands in the Sea Isla San Francisco and hiked the ridge trail with fantastic views of mountain and sea. We are decommissioning the boat over the next few days to start our 5 day drive back.
Best of luck to you all, be well!

 

[Peter & Judy]

We are preparing to lock down up here on the Buffalo Horn Ranch. There are about 70 cases of C-19 confirmed in Alberta now, mostly in the cities. The entire province is closing down all public facilities, schools and events.

Our public health system is ramping up to handle the expected rush of cases soon to come. We have been very proactive with testing as Canada has as of today tested 34,000 people compared to 23,000 in the US. (According to todays National Post Newspaper) Most of the cases in Canada are directly travel related, but we are beginning to see some community spread. Only a few people have died, mostly in nursing homes.

The borders are also closing to all except returning Canadians and American visitors. All people crossing the border must self isolate themselves for 14 days. So it is probably the not a good time to come here on a vacation now. The US is considered the highest risk for transmission of the virus due to the proximity and amount of cross border travel. With over a $ billion of cross border trade daily between our two countries, a total ban on crossings is a difficult choice and probably has to be coordinated between Washington and Ottawa.

Our Prime Minister Trudeau is in self isolation, his wife Sophie was tested positive for C-19 and is under quarantine at home. She picked the virus on an official trip to England. Trudeau is running the country from his home.

If you come to Canada, bring your own toilet paper as the store shelves are empty of that product.

There is still snow on the ground here in Alberta. We had planned to head off to Vancouver Island in April to get away from winter and go somewhere where spring was happening. So the skis stay on the roof rack and the kayaks and bikes stay in the barn. We are planning to squeeze in a couple of days of 'social distancing' on our cross country skis in Banff National Park. Then we plan to pick up my 88 year old mother from Calgary and have her live with us on the ranch. She has been through a lot in her life, survived being bombed in Germany during the war and was shot in the last days of the war, so we don't want a little bug taking her away from us. We are remote here with the nearest neighbour a half mile away. The location is beautiful with a river and view of the Rocky Mountains.

We are well stocked with provisions here, as always, by the time we start to run low on food in storage, the garden will be up and we have a herd of bison in the pastures, so no worries about meat or veggies. Hopefully the toilet paper will last that long. I do have an old stack of National Geographic magazines just in case. There is always lots of work I can do here and no shortage of hobbies. I feel much luckier than most Italians locked in their little apartments with only a small balcony to go on. I have hundreds of acres.

Hopefully we will see this pandemic come and go quickly, but we are prepared for the long run.

I hope you all stay healthy and we will all soon be able to be on the water again.

 

[Hunkydory]

I’m as healthy at near 72 as the proverbial horse, but have family members who have immune suppressed issues, so having to kinda lay low. We live in a great place, while such issues are occurring with open spaces all about to wander or drive, so no being cooped up here.

We did cancel a multi family gathering in Moab, UT, planned next week, where we had a house rented & planned to do jeep explorations. What’s really doubtful now is another SE Alaska cruise out of Skagway in May, that has been in the planning for a long time. This was with several additional C-Brat members & something we all are really looking forward to, that may have to be postponed to another year. If we have to cancel, then maybe back to Yellowstone & Lake Powell, but those may end up being shut off too. I’m sure glad this is something that could be harder on us older ones & not zeroing in on young families too, like the 1918 flu, though I do realize there are young people who have immune or other health problems that are being effected.

Jay

 

[BTDT]

Fridge is full, freezer is full, pantry is full, and more than a months worth of toilet paper.....Life is good.

C-Dory and truck are full of gas, so boating and country drives are still a go. We consider Corvid 19 and cheap gas just another excuse to do more boating and scenic driving.

We have one of the best libraries in the world in our home via high speed internet. It makes our 'outside' window to the world 'glorious' . Most of the worlds museums are now on the internet, not to mention millions of articles and books.....and the C-Brats forum.

Just completed second cataract surgery and new 20-20 vision is wonderful. It's amazing how much better our lake shore looks with 'new' lenses'. Can[t say the same for mirror reflections though, as I called 911 this morning thinking some ugly old-fart had broken into my bathroom.

We have long been live-below-your-means Boglehead investors and savers so income is not an issue, and we have sufficient resources to help our friends and neighbors.

Bottom Line....... Life is short, be nice, and enjoy it while you can ;-)

On a side-note for those that haven't used Walmart pickup, we love it. It is a non-contact sport where they load the goods while you sit in your vehicle. No tipping allowed and it's GPS smart-phone based so they bring your stuff out as soon as you arrive in their reserved parking spaces.

 

[BTDT]

I missed the C-Brat thirty minute edit policy but Walmart just changed their grocery pickup policy allowing you to ask the delivery person to sign the hand held receipt device for you. It also asks that you not get out of your vehicle to help load groceries. In other words a means to get groceries and supplies without human contact.

 

[RobLL]

We have pushed our social distancing to about the 85% level. Two friends are joining me on a putt putt up the Duwamish River. It should be fun, and a nice way of doing something.

 

[Foggy]

Here's a ditty that may temporarily lighten spirits.
Some say (even poor attempts) at humor counters stress.

Coronavirusville
(sing to the tune of Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville")

Hoarding my Purell, feels like a jail cell
Outside my window there’s nothing to see.
Wearing my face mask for every small task
Nothing but reruns to watch on TV.
Wasting away again in f*****g quarantine
Waiting for my TP stash to run out.
Some people claim there’s a virus to blame
But I know…it’s all Donald’s fault.

The good news: whether you like'd it or not, you're not dead yet.

Aye.

 

[Desert Dory]

Like everyone else, we're hunkered down for the time being. I did have to run to the store last night for a few things and seeing row after row of almost bare shelves was a bit disconcerting. It's just feels so surreal.

Also, although it's not very effective for what I do, we started teleworking this week and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. So far I'm not a fan.

My wife has a business teaching infant swimming self rescue and has shut down indefinitely. A good percentage of her clients (the parents anyway ) are in the medical profession and quite a few are also airline pilots so, it made good sense for her to shut down.

It appears the closest lakes to us are still accessible so we may try to get out on the water for few days/week.

You all take care and be safe, Allen

 

[ssobol]

... seeing row after row of almost bare shelves was a bit disconcerting. ...

Happens in my area any time they say it might snow the next day. Pretty used to it by now.

 

[hardee]

Hunkering down, mostly. Did have to bring my boat back from Bellingham on Tuesday. Stayed in the truck on my ferry rides, not stopping to eat anywhere, (favorite is the buffet at the Skagit Casino, but it is closed.) Carrying hand wipes and sanitizer and using it copiously.

At home, spending most of the time in the house, stocked for plenty of time. A statistic I found interesting from the news last night, Ammunition sales, and firearm sales have increased by 25 to 35% depending on the area. I haven't been to WM or grocery store for a couple of weeks except for a drive up prescription.

I do have a very part time, essential service job that I am oncall for (24/7) and have been out on a few runs for that, but always taking PPE precautions. It has been beautiful and sunny the last few days so have enjoyed some sunshine outside --- carefully.

Do I think the precautions are over rated? AS I have noted earlier, as a retired RT, and having seen things like chickenpox, various flues, RSV, TB and a host of other "sicknesses" become fatal, yeah, They are no big deal until they are Your Sickness, then fatal has a whole new perspective.

I see Wesley has called off the Cathlamet CBGT. I have been off the site for a while but that was on my mind and was going to be a message to him when I got back to C-BRATS. I think it was a good and prudent call. Thanks Wesley.

AS for me and my house, I'm with Marty. Doin' the house thing, and thanking God for His protection and my health.

And thanks to Mike (Tyboo) and Bill (DaNerd) for this site and the C-BRAT family to keep contact with.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[localboy]

Ammunition sales, and firearm sales have increased by 25 to 35% depending on the area.

I believe it. Not a surprise. I had just ordered two parts to complete an AR15 build and now the vendor said shipments will be delayed by weeks on anything/everything they sell. I think they are overwhelmed.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Ammunition sales, and firearm sales have increased by 25 to 35% depending on the area.

I believe it. Not a surprise. I had just ordered two parts to complete an AR15 build and now the vendor said shipments will be delayed by weeks on anything/everything they sell. I think they are overwhelmed.

It is important to protect your toilet paper, at all costs.