COVID-19/corona virus mega thread/prepping thread

[MechAg94]

Those big rolls of which you speak are not toilet paper in the strictest sense. It is smearing paper.

Woody

It isn't as good as Charmin, but I wouldn't call it that bad.  And with the pressurized flushers in most commercial toilets, you can use a little more if needed.

[ConstitutionCowboy]

You know you can double it over, right?

That doesn't help. Double, triple, quadruple or more .... it doesn't make the layer 'doing the job' absorb any better! 

Woody

[MechAg94]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-health-care-workers-layoffs.html#click=https://t.co/VLqjaebNII
During a Pandemic, an Unanticipated Problem: Out-of-Work Health Workers

Across the country, plunging revenues from canceled nonemergency medical appointments have forced hospitals to furlough or cut the pay of doctors, nurses and other staff.

[freakazoid]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-military-sympt/coronavirus-clue-most-cases-aboard-u-s-aircraft-carrier-are-symptom-free-idUSKCN21Y2GB
More proof that the dangers have been greatly exaggerated. While the high amount of asymptomatic people isn't good, but what this also shows is just how ineffective this virus is at infecting people in general, and the extremely low death rate. 4,800 people all living together, walking the same halls, climbing and touching the same ladderwells, all gathering in the same few places like berthing and the galley, all working in close confines, and only 600 of the 94% tested have come back positive, and only 1 death with 5 more in ICU.

Also in regards to things like Italy's hospital crowding issues. I wonder how many people overcrowding them are actually sick with the corona, or even sick at all, and if the actual issue is people simple feeling a little funny so they rush off to the hospital, a by-product due to the media's constant fear mongering.

[BobR]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-health-care-workers-layoffs.html#click=https://t.co/VLqjaebNII
During a Pandemic, an Unanticipated Problem: Out-of-Work Health Workers

Across the country, plunging revenues from canceled nonemergency medical appointments have forced hospitals to furlough or cut the pay of doctors, nurses and other staff.

One of the hospitals in Pullman, WA (maybe the only one) imposed a 25% pay cut on staff for 60 days. I have heard of worse.

bob

[TechMan]

I read a very good explanation for why this isn't panic buying. (I can't find it right now, but I'll post it if I find it.)

People went from spending half of their waking hours at work (using mostly commercial TP) to spending most of them at home (using residential TP).

The commercial TP and residential TP producers are completely separate. Commercial TP makers can't just flip a switch and produce residential TP.

So, although people aren't going to the bathroom any more, they are using residential TP more- at least 40% more demand for it.

Is this the article?  https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/coronavirus-shortage-where-has-all-the-toilet-paper-gone/2964143001/

[Jamisjockey]

Well I guess the way things are headed, we’ll find out the real truth in about 1-2 months.

[Ben]

Well I guess the way things are headed, we’ll find out the real truth in about 1-2 months.

There are certainly going to be some interesting "AARs" as it were. I would only hope we'll learn something either way to apply to future incidents, but we probably won't.

I think one thing we could already learn is that lowest common denominator, "quarantine everybody" is impractical and inefficient for a number of reasons. Higher resolution, discrete combinations of geographic and demographic quarantining would seem to be the ideal solution (at least for curve flattening), but there are probably too many social and political obstacles in the way to implement something like that, including cooperation of the citizenry.

[BobR]

I ran across this article on how NYC area has skewed the numbers for the US. I can't verify it but it does raise an interesting idea that if it weren't for lower NY state things would not look so bad in the US.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/heres-how-much-downstate-new-york-is-skewing-the-united-states-coronavirus-numbers/?fbclid=IwAR0n89qh3ZHLpT4Xa-kW_2zW6Hr-c5-BrLQz09qjQUzF-HGF6ff1opRUocc


bob

[Ben]

I ran across this article on how NYC area has skewed the numbers for the US. I can't verify it but it does raise an interesting idea that if it weren't for lower NY state things would not look so bad in the US.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/heres-how-much-downstate-new-york-is-skewing-the-united-states-coronavirus-numbers/?fbclid=IwAR0n89qh3ZHLpT4Xa-kW_2zW6Hr-c5-BrLQz09qjQUzF-HGF6ff1opRUocc


bob

That's pretty interesting, and again, seems to lead to the need for cooperation of the citizenry, as well as local leadership. You have DeBlazio calling for people to rat on their neighbors for being outside, while he continues to go to the parks and the gym. Plus he's the guy who told everyone to go party like it's 1999 during the Chinese Lunar New Year because otherwise, racism.

You also saw tons of images of NYC residents going outside and going shopping every day, because  I guess it didn't occur to them to buy a week's worth of stuff in one trip. Also I saw multiple videos that the urban yute cop punching fad remained ongoing. So much for social distancing.

In the meantime, NYC celebrities, pundits, etc. were denigrating the deplorable rubes in flyover country for not isolating because their cell phone data showed them driving 10 miles to the store, and they even ragged on that lone paddleboarder in San Diego.

[cordex]

My impression is that NYC does not lend itself to buying in bulk in general. Between a lack of warehouse stores or even large grocery stores, the difficulty in transporting and taking the bulk purchases up to your apartment, and storing them in tiny living spaces, buying for weeks at a time may not be an option for most New Yorkers.

[MillCreek]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/us/politics/coronavirus-health-care-workers-layoffs.html#click=https://t.co/VLqjaebNII
During a Pandemic, an Unanticipated Problem: Out-of-Work Health Workers

Across the country, plunging revenues from canceled nonemergency medical appointments have forced hospitals to furlough or cut the pay of doctors, nurses and other staff.

This is a very real thing all across the country.  We have approximately 35% of normal patient volumes in our hospitals and clinics.  Furloughs have been the order of the day for several weeks now. As a member of leadership, I have been told to prepare for a 25-30% pay cut in the coming weeks to help keep the system afloat and keep as many people employed as possible.

[zxcvbob]

This is a very real thing all across the country.  We have approximately 35% of normal patient volumes in our hospitals and clinics.  Furloughs have been the order of the day for several weeks now. As a member of leadership, I have been told to prepare for a 25-30% pay cut in the coming weeks to help keep the system afloat and keep as many people employed as possible.

What will be interesting is whether the hospital top administrators take a big pay cut.  (or if instead they give themselves big bonuses)

[MillCreek]

What will be interesting is whether the hospital top administrators take a big pay cut.  (or if instead they give themselves big bonuses)

Since I am one of the top administrators, I would say yes to the big pay cut.  In most of the systems I am aware of, it is the top administrators and senior members of the medical staff who are taking the largest cuts.

[zxcvbob]

Since I am one of the top administrators, I would say yes to the big pay cut.  In most of the systems I am aware of, it is the top administrators and senior members of the medical staff who are taking the largest cuts.

 
That's not what my cynical self expected.  Thanks.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Spur of the moment, I went down to High Point, NC, to help my mom and Eric finish moving.

Their new house is right at the start of the High Point Greenway and there is a park with paddle ball courts, baseball field, playground and dining pavilion.

The playground did have a battered little sign saying it was closed, but I saw plenty of children playing on it. The park was packed yesterday and today, especially the paddle ball courts. People were hanging out in the pavilion (including what looked like a make shirt birthday for a little girl) I did see the park police come by, but they didn't do anything or tell people to leave (I had a free pass because I was clearly walking a dog) The greenway was also opened and well traversed.   

I'm not surprised that it was open to walkers and joggers, but I was surprised that people were openly using the amenities without any concern. 

As far as I could tell, it's business as usual in High Point, NC. 

[Perd Hapley]

We drove through a suburban neighborhood yesterday, and saw 3 or 4 groups of people either tailgating (at a distance), or just sitting on chairs at the curb in front of their houses. The block party even had a singer, or maybe they were doing karaoke.

A friend of ours has an Aussie/Pyrenees puppy, and we met her at a park by the Missouri to walk our dogs together. Place was slammed. We had to stop about every minute or two to let cyclists pass.

[Ben]

It appears that we gave a $3.7 million grant to the Wuhan lab likely responsible for the virus release. It happened under Obama, so it won't get a lot of coverage. Not that it necessarily should, but I think we know that if it happened under Trump's watch the MSM would make it the culprit of the virus release.

https://twitchy.com/brads-313037/2020/04/19/ummm-the-wuhan-viral-lab-suspected-of-releasing-the-covid-19-virus-was-funded-by-the-obama-administration/

[Perd Hapley]

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/story/2020-04-18/u-s-factories-in-mexico-are-still-open-as-coronavirus-spreads-workers-are-dying

State Labor Secretary Sergio Moctezuma Martinez said that last week investigators closed a U.S.-owned factory that had been operating illegally and had chains on its doors to prevent its roughly 800 workers from leaving.

A spokeswoman for the company, Georgia-based Cooper Lighting, said in a statement that the chains were a temporary solution because locks on doors to the factory floor were broken. She said the doors were closed during each shift “to ensure the safety of our workers.”

[WLJ]

It happened under Obama, so it won't get a lot of coverage. Not that it necessarily should, but I think we know that if it happened under Trump's watch the MSM would make it the culprit of the virus release.

You think the libs/dems/MSM are going to let something like facts get in the way of a good TDS frenzy?

[charby]

We drove through a suburban neighborhood yesterday, and saw 3 or 4 groups of people either tailgating (at a distance), or just sitting on chairs at the curb in front of their houses. The block party even had a singer, or maybe they were doing karaoke.

A friend of ours has an Aussie/Pyrenees puppy, and we met her at a park by the Missouri to walk our dogs together. Place was slammed. We had to stop about every minute or two to let cyclists pass.

I was going to go to Menards (big box hardware/lumber yard for those unfamiliar) on both Saturday and Sunday. I made a loop around the parking lot, which was full and going in and out of the store was multiple people per cart. Let's just say I didn't darken their doorsteps. Played golf instead on Saturday and I got a lot of yard work done on Saturday afternoon and Sunday all day. Smoked a Boston butt on Sunday while I did yard work.

[Perd Hapley]

I was going to go to Menards (big box hardware/lumber yard for those unfamiliar) on both Saturday and Sunday. I made a loop around the parking lot, which was full and going in and out of the store was multiple people per cart. Let's just say I didn't darken their doorsteps. Played golf instead on Saturday and I got a lot of yard work done on Saturday afternoon and Sunday all day. Smoked a Boston butt on Sunday while I did yard work.

Yeah, you can't close the hardware stores or the grocery stores, and if those are the only places open, that's where people are going to go. Or even if they're staying home, when you tell a bunch of people to stay home, they're going to start doing all those projects they've been putting off.

Maybe we should be glad all those people are shopping. If not, who knows how many more millions would be laid off by now?

[bedlamite]

I was going to go to Menards (big box hardware/lumber yard for those unfamiliar) on both Saturday and Sunday. I made a loop around the parking lot, which was full and going in and out of the store was multiple people per cart. Let's just say I didn't darken their doorsteps. Played golf instead on Saturday and I got a lot of yard work done on Saturday afternoon and Sunday all day. Smoked a Boston butt on Sunday while I did yard work.

Menards is always busy on the weekends. I went thursday morning about 7am and it was pretty empty.

[AZRedhawk44]

I'm really glad that AZ isn't overreacting like it sounds like a good bit of the rest of the country is.

I subscribed fully to the notion of voluntary isolation for this thing, but aside from a handful of metro hotpockets, the national response is beyond absurd.

I just went dirtbiking this last weekend, and I'm going camping and fishing next weekend. 

[charby]

Menards is always busy on the weekends. I went thursday morning about 7am and it was pretty empty.

2 weeks ago it was a ghost town on the weekend. I know it's normally busy on Saturday but I think folks are finding any excuse to get out of the house. I use golf as my excuse, but I can social distance pretty easy walking the course.