Wuhan virus

~sigh~

I was just listening last night to my favorite off-the-wall US AM radio talk show, from the night before that. (It airs at midnight ET, so I usually just do the replay of the prior night's show on a given night.)  No joke, they were all about blaming it on a lab tech in China who sold snakes to the market, said snakes having been fed on bats that had been part of lab experiments in a secret lab. And then going on about how it was all a plot by the New World Order to control the population. That all the media hype as just hype, as it was "just a flu" and not that bad. And that it was all a plot to control the economy and the people. And to damage Trump. (All that was missing was that there was a small army of CDC workers ready to take away their guns....)

No, seriously. This was beaming out to millions of Americans who trust the host of the show. Earlier yesterday I heard Rush Limbaugh (of all the people to be evil-of-heart and wish Covid on!) spouting something very similar, in the five minutes I could stand to have his show on. That it was all a Democratic hoax to push Trump out of power.  Oh, my freaking gods.    There are so many people who believe these ...persons.     I am in contact with so many of my friends in the States who are really blase about this. Only one is taking real precautions, bless her. Out of a half-dozen people who otherwise seem to think this is all a tempest in a teapot.

There are some times I am really happy we stayed here just a bit longer. Since Trump has effectively shut the borders we'd have to go sit in a room for two weeks somewhere to prove we're not diseased before we could do anything - like get on the return flight. (And I do wonder if they're going to bill people for that.) And as he is now talking about potentially quarantining California, it's a good thing we didn't  go over later this month to scout housing, as was our original plan.

I think I know how Napoleon felt when pacing around on Elba.    Minus the arsnic part.   

I'm really concerned. No one here is taking it seriously and the PM seems to be making decisions based on his personal plans to attend large events. I have friends attending full weekend raves with no plans to self isolate afterwards (and if there is a single person there with this, I can guarantee they all will catch it with pool parties and such). My husband wants to take the train to see his parents this weekend because I can't drive and I told him I wasn't comfortable letting him back in the house if he does. There are no NHS hospitals that are safe for me to attend because they do not have fragrance policies for their staff, imagine having Covid-19 and an asthma attack triggered by the nurse or doctor attending to you?

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My guess (and that's all it is) is that they are trying to do a "Keep Calm and Carry On" to avoid future burnout. That if they put everyone on full lockdown too early the lockdown will fail over time and/or the economic damage will be unsustainable. I think they're just trying to time it to do the most good and the least damage.

Hopefully they get the timing right.

We are both vulnerable here in our house. But we still go out when we can, for the fresh air and exercise. Thankfully (sort of) neither of us has to work for a living right now. So we avoid crowded places, but take precautions when we have to be around groups of people. We have switched to getting take-away rather than sitting-in at restaurants. But we still do "eat out."

We no longer ride the buses here, as they tended to be dirty even before the current crisis. (Daughter was disgusted to find she had sat on a seat someone had soaked with pee the last time she actually sat on a First Bus - we have stood up to ride them since then. Only one hand contacting any surface, and that hand thoroughly sanitized on exiting the bus, long before the coronavirus.) The Daughter has training in infection vector protocols from having worked at various hospitals, so I follow her lead. I bet we also have the cleanest hands in town.

There is no way to live in a complete bubble, Margo, short of relocating to one of the islands off of the coast, I think, in today's world. All you can do is take reasonable precautions. If your husband has to leave the house at any point on any given day, it's probably no different for him to take the train to his folks as to go to work. He's as likely to pick it up getting change at the coffee cart in the train station as from the coffee cart down the road (etc.).  He just needs to be careful.  And take reasonable precautions.

My guess (and that's all it is) is that they are trying to do a "Keep Calm and Carry On" to avoid future burnout. That if they put everyone on full lockdown too early the lockdown will fail over time and/or the economic damage will be unsustainable. I think they're just trying to time it to do the most good and the least damage.

Hopefully they get the timing right.

Yes, I and think so too. My hands are so dry and raw from constant washing/hand sanitiser (despite hand cream), and I'm watching all of this carefully. I was 'jesting' in my post about getting Covid19 (I really don't want it- Have lupus and asthma, so not great for this), but I was thinking about the timing really. 

Yes, I and think so too. My hands are so dry and raw from constant washing/hand sanitiser (despite hand cream), and I'm watching all of this carefully. I was 'jesting' in my post about getting Covid19 (I really don't want it- Have lupus and asthma, so not great for this), but I was thinking about the timing really.

No, I actually agree (with both subtexts in your post, the jest and the other one). I'd rather be seriously ill in a situation where the resources to help be become well again were fully stocked and rested, rather than in a time of mass-epidemic-overload with exhausted medical personnel stretched too thin.

Have you tried shea butter on your hands? I've had really good luck with that soothing the dryness.

Yes, I and think so too. My hands are so dry and raw from constant washing/hand sanitiser (despite hand cream), and I'm watching all of this carefully. I was 'jesting' in my post about getting Covid19 (I really don't want it- Have lupus and asthma, so not great for this), but I was thinking about the timing really.

If your hand-wash has glycerin in it, that can help keep it from drying them out. I've been using a CBD balm from Charlotte's Web on my hands at night and it's been helping. Has a lovely cinnamon scent that doesn't make me sick and covers the cannabis odor, so that's nice too. (I tried the original alternative brand first and while it worked well it smelled so strongly of it that I couldn't in good conscience leave the house after using it. ) It's slightly reduced the amount of pain I have from tendinitis too.

Husband has reconsidered because his dad is at the very top of the high risk class. I should be able to drive again in a week or two, putting off the visit while self isolating as much as possible seems smart. (we have a garden and do go grocery shopping etc, and maybe go visit one of the national trust parks if there's a nice day this weekend since they rent wheelchairs) I have to visit the hospital's fracture clinic on Monday and will be taking every precaution!

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Honestly, Margo, the hospital is the last place I'd go right now, if it wasn't absolutely life or death.

Honestly, Margo, the hospital is the last place I'd go right now, if it wasn't absolutely life or death.

I don't have a choice, I have a likely broken bone that isn't getting better. I wear a mask anyways and will change etc the minute I get home!

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It's worth mentioning that because the government hasn't issued official advice on working remotely, companies aren't. The European offices for mine are all on mandatory wfh because that is what their government mandates, that is not the case here and I have immunocompromised friends being forced to commute into London daily. You can only self isolate if your employer lets you, and until the government response is stronger employers aren't doing the right thing.

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Some are. I work in TV production, and two of the places I work (I'm freelance) are letting everyone who can work from home do so. Those of us who have to go in are the ones who operate equipment (cameras, master control, edit suites, on camera talent), and many places are trying to figure out ways to do a lot of that (editing, for example) from home, too.

Some are. I work in TV production, and two of the places I work (I'm freelance) are letting everyone who can work from home do so. Those of us who have to go in are the ones who operate equipment (cameras, master control, edit suites, on camera talent), and many places are trying to figure out ways to do a lot of that (editing, for example) from home, too.

I know that some are, but it relies on the company to care enough based on what's happening elsewhere. The issue is that because it hasn't been official government guidance yet the ones that can aren't *all* doing it, further contributing to its spread at an important time in the "delay" phase.

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I suspect the government is trying to delay a lockdown until the school’s Easter holidays for minimal disruption.  Companies already forecast a lot of leave in April and it makes sense. If they can delay I think it makes sense.

Ok, Happy Upbeat Movie on TV. (Guardians of the Galaxy.) That's good. It takes people's minds off of "things."

Waiting for the radio stations to start playing a lot of Coldplay and that ilk, and nothing that references diseases or epidemics.

(Reference: 9/11.)

Ok, Happy Upbeat Movie on TV. (Guardians of the Galaxy.) That's good. It takes people's minds off of "things."

Waiting for the radio stations to start playing a lot of Coldplay and that ilk, and nothing that references diseases or epidemics.

(Reference: 9/11.)

We watched The Truman Show. I love that soundtrack. Remember playing it when I was younger and in concert bands. My asthma has gotten bad enough I will probably have no choice but to call 111 tomorrow, so just trying to stay calm til then. Being sick right now isn't fun.

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Good luck getting through.

One of our upstairs neighbors seems to be ill. Daughter heard him sneezing loudly out in the close. I heard him here in the back of the house. What is it about some guys, they have to sneeze as loud as a foghorn so the whole world knows they have sneezed? A charging bull elephant makes less noise than that guy does when he sneezes. 

Note to self - wear gloves when I have to take the trash out, and then wash them when I get back in. He probably infected the elevator buttons and door handles.

My husband sneezes, and it's not the sneeze that's loud but the "sorry" that he always says while sneezing that makes me jump.

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NHS 111 was very good. I'm seeing an out of hours GP and they advised they would be fully gowned in case the new virus is behind the asthma flare. They said it is super prevalent where I live right now. Thanks Boris for not testing appropriately and also not implementing any social distancing.

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