Yes, a freaking pandemic.
A few months ago it was reported that China was having this outbreak.
An outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
There were a couple doctors who were whistleblowers.
They got the disease and died.
I think the Chinese government is covering up a lot more than people think.
Their government is just so corrupt.
The videos these doctors have posted to warn others are heartbreaking.
This coronavirus, or COVID-19, is a virus that causes flu like symptoms, fever, cough, aches, etc. It's apparently highly contagious and stays on surfaces for something crazy, like up to 9 days or something.
So it was spreading around Asia and then Italy got hit.
Yeah.
The place we're supposed to go for our 10 year anniversary.
China closed the Wuhan, the city where the outbreak started. But they closed it too late.
Way too many people have died.
Hospitals simply cannot keep up with the influx of people who need their help.
The older folks are getting hit hard.
The young ones aren't really getting it, or at least aren't showing any symptoms.
That in and of itself is scary.
Because the government is saying that only people who are showing symptoms should get tested.
But if people are carriers but are asymptomatic...
I don't know.
I'm totally on the fence.
Panic?
Don't panic?
Stock up on toilet paper? I'm still not sure WHY ON EARTH people are stocking up on toilet paper.
The deal is that people need to be prepared to be quarantined for 2 weeks in their homes.
Personally, we are incredibly grateful that we could manage if schools closed and all that happened.
My company is continuing to operate and we can do our jobs remotely.
So we're very lucky in that regard.
But some people aren't so lucky.
Some people don't have paid time off or have the ability to work from their homes.
Some kids don't have technology that will allow them to continue course work online.
The whole idea here is "social distancing" which is what is being recommended to slow down the spread of the virus.
If everyone gets sick all at once, our hospitals will not be able to handle it.
They simply won't have enough beds or respirators.
But, if we can slow the spread and lessen the load for hospitals, we'll be able to maintain without being overly overwhelmed.
People are panicking.
It's insane.
I'm panicking a little only because this hasn't happened before.
I mean, of course there have been diseases and sicknesses that have spread that had people freaked out a bit. SARS, MERS, EBOLA, ZIKA, H1N1 (which I personally got and while it was horrible for a solid week, I did obviously recover).
So we've been through that shit before.
But schools across the nation weren't closing.
The freaking NBA canceled the rest of their season after 2 NBA players tested positive.
The wife of the Canadian Prime Minister has it.
Tom Hanks and his wife tested positive.
Like WTF is going on here?
The MLB is postponing opening day.
Our county (well, not my county, but the next one over where most of the stations are) has strongly recommended that people not gather in groups of more than 50.
SUNY schools have all shut down and are conducting classes remotely.
Syracuse University has done the same.
And Cornell.
And Harvard.
And a SLEW of others.
I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this.
I'm not exactly the picture of health with my chronic asthma.
And my kids' allergies and likely diagnoses of asthma at some point in their lives.
UPDATE AS OF SATURDAY, MARCH 14.
Our County has decided to close schools until April 12.
Mila will go in on Tuesday for half a day to get materials and get instructions from the teacher on how the next month will go.
Classes resume in person on Monday, April 13.
HOLY FUCK.
This is a big fucking deal.
It's unprecedented.
This is a GOOD thing.
There are no cases of the virus in our county.
They are being proactive and not reactive.
I went grocery shopping today.
Just regular 'ol grocery shopping. My weekly haul.
And here's what I encountered.
Toilet paper aisle at ALDI's. This has taken over peoples' rational minds. Authorities and the health department have repeatedly stated that hoarding toilet paper is completely unnecessary and to stop it. People are still hoarding. This is terrible! What about the poor people who literally live paycheck to paycheck and NEED to buy this shit weekly and now cannot find ANY? I'm lucky that I normally have at least one extra package at home, so I didn't need to "stock up". And for what? Even if we are quarantined for 2 weeks....how much toilet paper do you really need?
Other than that, ALDI's seem to have a decent amount of stuff. Frozen stuff was there. It didn't seem all that bare.
Here's Wegmans:
The meat section. What the actual FUCK? SHOULD I BE PANICKING MORE?
WHAT? Ok, so my family is literally allergic to everything and I buy a LOT of this stuff. Two kids, two doses per day. We go through a lot. I got one regular/daily (kids), one fast-acting (kids), and one daily (adult). I was actually worried they'd stop me and tell me I had 3 and was over the limit! They didn't.
Cheese? Why is all the cheese gone?
Facial Tissues.
Toilet paper and paper towel aisle. I admit, I actually picked up a 4 pack at ALD's because I didn't want to run out, only have 4 rolls at home.
I also snagged the very last "Fantastik" disinfectant spray.
The very last one.
I figured our schools would close, just because neighboring counties were closing. I guess it's the duration that's a little surprising.
It makes perfect sense though and I'm 100% for "flattening the curve" to ensure we get through this without losing lives and overwhelming t our healthcare workers and hospitals and healthcare infrastructure.
Jesus fuck this is insane.
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