Social Distancing

[GetAwesome]

Our numbers in Iowa alone are low only because we haven't been testing (we don't have the tests to test). The reported numbers are a joke at best. The actual cases are indeed higher, and to add to that the best analysis to date puts the asymptomatic rate between 17-20%. Translation: 20% of us can carry it, pass it along, spread the virus exponentially without ever experiencing a symptom. Therefore social distancing and voluntary quarantining will re-open our bars and restaurants and sporting events the soonest.

We're keeping our family on complete lockdown for at least another week or two - one of us does grocery runs as needed, and we do get out and walk/run the trails as weather permits. My spouse is also a healthcare provider so who knows who she's coming into contact with every day. By all means have your kids go play outside, but kids can also handle a week or two of not socializing for the greater good.

Edit: And this is not fear-mongering, this is just me anxious to get sports back in my life and willing to sacrifice a bit to make sure we all come out on the right side of this ordeal!

 

[3TrueFans]

Forgive me for being direct, but if you answered “yes” to this question, you have clearly missed the point so far. This thing is about to explode, and I don’t care where you are, what your age is, or how many “confirmed” cases there are in your area. Plus, there are a lot of 20-44 year olds being hospitalized, so no adult is completely safe from its effects.

My wife works at a large hospital locally and they are hosting daily doomsday calls. This pandemic is no joke. Practice true social distancing for a few weeks or more, or risk being forced to for several months, or worse.

The problem is people are still like oh social distancing is hard, or it's not fun, it's inconvenient, I'm/they're not sick, we'll only be together for a short time. Time to face the current reality, you stay home unless you actually have to leave for some reason, to get supplies, to work, etc.

 

[HFCS]

If you told me I could play video games and watch star wars for a month when I was a kid I'd have been fine with no friends.

Just FYI.

Although it is important to get exercise somehow.

Kids who play online videogames and hooked on social networking might be hanging out with their friends anyway.

 

[Cybirdy]

I have 4 kids and they are all staying home. It has also been the perfect time to stop playing with the annoying neighbors. “Sorry, we are practicing social distancing.” Yes, it may not be fun but is is something we can do. The Italians did the same thing where they sent their teens/kids out, and are now wishing they didn’t.

https://www.insider.com/coronavirus-italian-mom-and-these-are-the-mistakes-we-made-2020-3

 

[Stewo]

My husband is a doctor, and this is the first time in our lives together I've seen him truly scared, with constant anxiety. Just last night he was saying "I didn't sign up to go to war, but it's what it feels like right now." He's really scared that they are going to run out of PPE, personal protective equipment. This article was just in the NY Times today about a 40-something attorney currently in the ICU in Louisiana, fighting for his life, with Covid-19: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/us/politics/coronavirus-heaven-frilot-mark-frilot.html.

Keep your ******* kids at home. It's not good enough if you let them play with the neighbors in a park. If those kids have played with other kids, and then they play with yours, you're forming a chain that can result in dozens or even hundreds being infected. Here's a story about a single family that has lost their matriarch, and three of her children (all in their 40s and 50s) to the disease: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...rsey-family-kills-3-4-more-hospitals-n1163696. None of us are as young as we think we are. Keep your ******* kids at home.

I ask this out of pure curiosity, but was he a doctor during the H1N1 outbreak? If so, how do the two compare?

 

[HFCS]

Forgive me for being direct, but if you answered “yes” to this question, you have clearly missed the point so far. This thing is about to explode, and I don’t care where you are, what your age is, or how many “confirmed” cases there are in your area. Plus, there are a lot of 20-44 year olds being hospitalized, so no adult is completely safe from its effects.

My wife works at a large hospital locally and they are hosting daily doomsday calls. This pandemic is no joke. Practice true social distancing for a few weeks or more, or risk being forced to for several months, or worse.

Hard to blame people when national leadership falsely claims it's contained every other day.

*Edit: Yesterday falsely claimed we have a cure with a doctor standing next to him correcting for the truth that there is not a cure.

Listen to your state governor. Listen to doctors. Listen to scientific studies. That's the work around.

 

[BCClone]

Our numbers in Iowa alone are low only because we haven't been testing (we don't have the tests to test). The reported numbers are a joke at best. The actual cases are indeed higher, and to add to that the best analysis to date puts the asymptomatic rate between 17-20%. Translation: 20% of us can carry it, pass it along, spread the virus exponentially without ever experiencing a symptom. Therefore social distancing and voluntary quarantining will re-open our bars and restaurants and sporting events the soonest.

We're keeping our family on complete lockdown for at least another week or two - one of us does grocery runs as needed, and we do get out and walk/run the trails as weather permits. My spouse is also a healthcare provider so who knows who she's coming into contact with every day. By all means have your kids go play outside, but kids can also handle a week or two of not socializing for the greater good.

I talked to a nurse in a small rural clinic and they have had the tests to send in, less than 24 hours to get results, to test. Stop spreading the we don't have the kits to test BS, please.

 

[Angie]

We are getting outside to play, exercising regularly during our schedule, ridden bikes, doing lots of movement stuff indoors and outdoors. Our kids had a "picnic" with my daughter's best friend on Wednesday night... in lawn chairs across the street from each other, not getting any closer than that. They've also FaceTimed, etc. We may have some friends come out in their van and we pull up alongside them this weekend, at least 6 feet away.

This really isn't this hard, it's about mitigating exposure for the immunocompromised. The hospitals cannot handle a huge influx simultaneously, and it's just not that difficult to stay a safe distance away.

 

[ISULibrarian]

I ask this out of pure curiosity, but was he a doctor during the H1N1 outbreak? If so, how do the two compare?

No, he's actually a resident currently, so he wasn't practicing then. Still, he's talked about how it's not really comparable, as H1N1 was at least a type of flu, which OK, we have therapeutic treatments and other things that we can do for flu. This, there's nothing to do for people who get really sick, other than give them oxygen and hope that they get better. Yes, some people might be approved for compassionate use of different drugs approved for different things, but he's not counting on them being able to access those things with regularity or in the quantities that they might need. He's in the ICU next month, and there's just this pervasive dread hanging over our house.

 

[GetAwesome]

I talked to a nurse in a small rural clinic and they have had the tests to send in, less than 24 hours to get results, to test. Stop spreading the we don't have the kits to test BS, please.

Good, so one person you talked to has a few tests. They are heavily rationing the tests that are available and I've spoken to 3 people just in my neighborhood over the past 48 hours that have been denied tests while experiencing fevers and dry coughs for several days now (and have tested negative for strep and influenza). So yes, the availability to get tested is extremely low. I have a personal friend across state lines who is pregnant and an OB herself, with all of the symptoms, and is being denied testing. The few cases of denial of testing speak much more loudly than a few personal stories of who successfully got tested.

You can't know how widespread a virus is and its mortality rates when the denominator in that equation is a gigantic question mark.

I'm personally optimistic that this is not nearly as severe as many will have you fear, but we just can't know that until we mitigate the spread and test, test, test.

 

[Stewo]

No, he's actually a resident currently, so he wasn't practicing then. Still, he's talked about how it's not really comparable, as H1N1 was at least a type of flu, which OK, we have therapeutic treatments and other things that we can do for flu. This, there's nothing to do for people who get really sick, other than give them oxygen and hope that they get better. Yes, some people might be approved for compassionate use of different drugs approved for different things, but he's not counting on them being able to access those things with regularity or in the quantities that they might need. He's in the ICU next month, and there's just this pervasive dread hanging over our house.

Appreciate the response. I don't mean to say the two are comparable as I understand they are two different things. It'll be interesting to see what the final numbers are of infected people in the US after all is said and done.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Forgive me for being direct, but if you answered “yes” to this question, you have clearly missed the point so far. This thing is about to explode, and I don’t care where you are, what your age is, or how many “confirmed” cases there are in your area. Plus, there are a lot of 20-44 year olds being hospitalized, so no adult is completely safe from its effects.

My wife works at a large hospital locally and they are hosting daily doomsday calls. This pandemic is no joke. Practice true social distancing for a few weeks or more, or risk being forced to for several months, or worse.

Only people over 60 "get sick" is still the mantra. Just because you aren't 60 doesn't mean you couldn't end up on a ventilator. It does mean you have a better chance of surviving that, somebody older on a ventilator isn't looking at a good outcome. This idea that only peeps with some sort of underlying condition get really sick is a probability thing, not a fact. Low risk seems to be no risk to some including a few of my friends. What does seem true is kids look to be pretty good at riding out the virus but if they give it to their parents that more of a gamble.

 

[NorthCyd]

If you told me I could play video games and watch star wars for a month when I was a kid I'd have been fine with no friends.

Just FYI.

Although it is important to get exercise somehow.

Kids who play online videogames and hooked on social networking might be hanging out with their friends anyway.

This times 1000! I was a child of the eighties and spent a lot of time running around outside in the woods, but if my parents had told me I could sit in front of the tv and play Nintendo all day I would have been ready to isolate for months, and I had a fraction of the digital content kids have access to these days.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Good, so one person you talked to has a few tests. They are heavily rationing the tests that are available and I've spoken to 3 people just in my neighborhood over the past 48 hours that have been denied tests while experiencing fevers and dry coughs for several days now (and have tested negative for strep and influenza). So yes, the availability to get tested is extremely low. I have a personal friend across state lines who is pregnant and an OB herself, with all of the symptoms, and is being denied testing. The few cases of denial of testing speak much more loudly than a few personal stories of who successfully got tested.

You can't know how widespread a virus is and its mortality rates when the denominator in that equation is a gigantic question mark.

Tests are absolute being rationed here in Minnesota. If you are aren't a medical staffer or hospitalized you are getting tested. That's from the Hennepin County Medical Center management and true today unless they magically got gobs of test kits and chemicals since yesterday.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Talked with a nurse friend of mine last night that really really isn't doing the social distancing at all after work, when I checked in with her she was at a friends house. Was pretty shocking to hear her say "Well, I am not in a risk group like you." JFC, she's 55 or so and working in a hospital and likely exposed (she's had co-workers tested because of exposure). It think the gov here in MN is going to have to mandate shutdown as peeps are not cooperating. Much .

 

[adjl]

Talked with a nurse friend of mine last night that really really isn't doing the social distancing at all after work, when I checked in with her she was at a friends house. Was pretty shocking to hear her say "Well, I am not in a risk group like me." JFC, she's 55 or so and working in a hospital and likely exposed (she's had co-workers tested because of exposure). It think the gov here in MN is going to have to mandate shutdown as peeps are not cooperating. Much .

Wow, this isn't going away anytime soon.

 

[GetAwesome]

I have 4 kids and they are all staying home. It has also been the perfect time to stop playing with the annoying neighbors. “Sorry, we are practicing social distancing.” Yes, it may not be fun but is is something we can do. The Italians did the same thing where they sent their teens/kids out, and are now wishing they didn’t.

https://www.insider.com/coronavirus-italian-mom-and-these-are-the-mistakes-we-made-2020-3

Whew, glad to hear we're not the only ones leveraging the full weight of voluntary quarantining to keep the annoying neighbor kids out of our house

 

[Angie]

I talked to a nurse in a small rural clinic and they have had the tests to send in, less than 24 hours to get results, to test. Stop spreading the we don't have the kits to test BS, please.

I work for a big clinic, and there are almost no tests currently. It's really, really hard to qualify to get tested. And those aren't a clinic-by-clinic guideline, it's the state guidelines for the state lab.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/s...vid-19-kim-reynolds-public-health/5069436002/

There are a few private companies that are opening up testing, which hopefully should open up some more opportunities, but I do not believe that they meet the "free testing" criteria, from what I have seen in news articles.

 

[madguy30]

We are getting outside to play, exercising regularly during our schedule, ridden bikes, doing lots of movement stuff indoors and outdoors. Our kids had a "picnic" with my daughter's best friend on Wednesday night... in lawn chairs across the street from each other, not getting any closer than that. They've also FaceTimed, etc. We may have some friends come out in their van and we pull up alongside them this weekend, at least 6 feet away.

This really isn't this hard, it's about mitigating exposure for the immunocompromised. The hospitals cannot handle a huge influx simultaneously, and it's just not that difficult to stay a safe distance away.

For many, it really isn't that hard. And the concept theoretically isn't that difficult.

But think about how weird it is for the segment of population that is essentially addicted to the attention they get for all of their posts about where they are and who they're with in high-stimulation areas like bars, concerts etc.

Those are people I'm concerned with...not their health so much, but their need to fulfill that addiction by ignoring the guidelines.

 

[Cycsk]

There is something missing from the calls for social distancing, namely, how long? It seems that most experts are saying it is just a matter of time until most of us are exposed and the virus works its way through just about everyone. Is there an orderly way to "expose" people and get them on the other side of the vulnerability?

And I don't ask this as a parent who just wants his kids to go outside and play.

My wife has Stage IV lung cancer, so I view everything I touch and everyone I meet as touching and breathing on her. I'll stay on lock-down for years if necessary. However, I'm thinking seriously about who we know who is likely to be exposed (friends in the medical profession, go on cruises, etc.), who might get the virus early, and then be available to help with her care once the virus has worked through them. Right now we are keeping almost everyone away from her, including lots of people who care deeply for her and "get it" when it comes to providing support.

If all she has is me 24/7, she will soon have a case of Cycskavirus that could be life-threatening for me!

At some point, we will talk with her oncologist about it, but for now I'm just wondering about the plan beyond the immediate panic and isolation. Getting Coronavirus under control must mean more than preventing its spread. It must also address management of its spread as it works its way through society.

P.S. She is doing well, not great, but okay. And she is blowing away all the horrible stats that go along with her diagnosis. 2-1/2 years and going strong thanks to "integrative oncology" that supports overall health, not just attacks cancer.