What should we do now about Coronavirus?

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Does he not understand how to use Facetime, Skype, Zoom, or even just a regular old phone?
My kids are on Facetime with their friends for hours a day. Literally. They think it is better than school.
If he is missing his friends, he should Facetime them and see them.

My church is doing virtual coffee hour after the virtual service, so people can just hang out and talk to each other. They can't be the only group doing something like this. Have your brother start an online meetup for his group.

There are also tons of people out walking. I have noticed a few people sitting in lawn chairs in their driveway (more than 6' from the street) who will strike up conversations with the people out walking.

I'm more of an introvert, so it isn't really bothering me. Between my kids and a few phone calls, I get enough interaction.

I think your heart was in the right place when you made these suggestions and gave your experience what you've seen

I consider myself of sound mental health but even this lack of being able to play games with in-laws, hug my mom, celebrate birthdays in person, etc is saddening to me (they are outside my social circle and thus no close contact with them).

I know when my husband was on his field assignments talking to him on the phone, texting him, etc when I wouldn't get to see him for 2-3 weeks was great but no replacement to when he came home and I was able to hug and kiss him (sorry if that's TMI to people) and right now for that other poster's brother he can't get that close physical contact. Some people may be quite vunerable and sensitive to this and some of us may find ourselves in the coming days becoming vunerable and sensitive to this (basing on the comments I've seen of "it's just two weeks it's NBD..dunno where they are getting that information from).

I suspect a good decent portion of us with find ourselves with some effects to our mental and emotional wellbeing just on varying degrees. It's ok IMO to talk about how this is so hard for those people and can be hard for us all in general.

It's just a topic that is slowly becoming one to shine light on even though the situations have been there. Just 2 days ago my local police department put up a reminder a resource for the mental health co-responder program. It's a resource for those experiencing difficulties themselves but also you can call if you have a loved who is experiencing difficulties.

 

[L&Lfan]

What kind of society have become if we do not protect the most vulnerable? Barbarians?

Culture war politics prevents me from addressing this...

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

When news of the virus was first reported it seemed that the elderly and those with underlying health conditions were most of risk. Now, in Wales at least, young adults are dying. Oddly, I could cope with me being vulnerable but the thought of my young adult children being at risk sends a chill through my heart. I am lucky that they are at home with me. My student son returned from South America 7 days ago and PS games, Netflix etc have kept him busy in isolation but I can sense my usually very busy daughter beginning to become restless. I can feel overprotective parent syndrome setting in. Where is the bubble wrap?

 

[mousefan73]

My neighbor is an ER nurse and was told that if she tests positive and has no symptoms, or has super mild symptoms where she can work, she should continue to work. It has actually come down to this in our area, but if everyone who is suspected or tested positive were stay home two weeks there would be no healthcare workers left to treat anyone. So it’s basically a balance of measuring risks, the lessor of two evils. I believe they have that hospital quarantined into sections covid and non-covid. We are In Germany.

My company also just launched a mental health page on our Internet sites to help us all during home office or furloughed.. They are chat groups and yoga things like that. I don’t have any mental health issues yet LOL. But I find it very nice that at least our company recognizes this as an issue and Addreses it

 

[mousefan73]

We sure don't protect motorist on the highways. We let they die in the tens of thousands. No desire to save lives on our highways at all.

That is such a wrong analogy. There are thousands of laws, protective measures, protective gear such as helmets and seatbelts they have been developed over decades to actually save lives.. A pandemic is something completely different. There is only one method to save lives right now and that’s to stop or slow down the spread

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I am stunned that there are still people out there downplaying the severity of this disease. It boggles the mind.

 

[kdonnel]

I am stunned that there are still people out there downplaying the severity of this disease. It boggles the mind.

Not downplaying the severity all.

I have said in many threads that I expect 100,000,000 to die worldwide. Because I don’t think as a society we can isolate for 18 months until a vaccine is developed and administered to the world population.

In my mind it is better to accept the death now so the survivors can live.

 

[pryncess527]

Not downplaying the severity all.

I have said in many threads that I expect 100,000,000 to die worldwide. Because I don’t think as a society we can isolate for 18 months until a vaccine is developed and administered to the world population.

In my mind it is better to accept the death now so the survivors can live.

but these aren’t the two choices . . .

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Not downplaying the severity all.

I have said in many threads that I expect 100,000,000 to die worldwide. Because I don’t think as a society we can isolate for 18 months until a vaccine is developed and administered to the world population.

In my mind it is better to accept the death now so the survivors can live.

Then let me educate you - the country cannot survive when tens of millions of people are dying, much less the economy - not if the government just lets it happen.

Put together a plan in which we let Americans die by the millions to protect the wealth of the rich without a civil war. Because, let's be totally clear - if this was allowed to play out as you describe, the poor would be allowed to die while the rich are treated. When resources are scarce, those with money and power get first dibs. All of the vents would got to the rich. Without a vent, this is a death sentence to those hospitalized.

That's what you want? Anarchy? Bring out your dead?

 

[kdonnel]

but these aren’t the two choices . . .

Yes they are. We are being asked to isolate until a vaccine is developed in 2-3 week chunks.

We can’t be set free in the world and not expect it to flare up again without a vaccine. Take a look at China having to close their borders to try and allow some areas of near normalcy inside the country.

 

[pryncess527]

Yes they are. We are being asked to isolate until a vaccine is developed in 2-3 week chunks.

We can’t be set free in the world and not expect it to flare up again without a vaccine. Take a look at China having to close their borders to try and allow some areas of near normalcy inside the country.

Or you could look at South Korea who seems to have it control without a widespread shut down, just targeted quarantines based on testing. Or you could look at the research being done antibody tests which would certify what % if the population is safe for at least an undetermined time prior to a vaccine. There’s a lot going on, we are learning a ton and a there are a lot of different ways this could end. You have picked the most horrifying as an excuse as to why we should let people die, ignoring the fact the medical outcomes are significantly worse if we don’t spread this out. I’d rather have a 1% death rate over six months than 10% that we could face if we just decided to just let it all happen now

 

[choirfarm]

Not downplaying the severity all.

I have said in many threads that I expect 100,000,000 to die worldwide. Because I don’t think as a society we can isolate for 18 months until a vaccine is developed and administered to the world population.

In my mind it is better to accept the death now so the survivors can live.

Yeah, I guess my question is how would survivors live with the virus still active? If we had an antibody test that showed who had developed immunity that would help a bunch. But right now, very few of us know if we had it or not. I do not see mass gatherings at places like Disney, but even like our church could happen. I will not put my family at risk. So will we lock away the elderly? If so, how? That does not seem to be practical.

Ok, say at Easter they lift the restrictions. Not enough people are going to go on a cruise or to Disney or possibly even to local restaurants to make it profitable. But then there are some that go to Disney. After which, there is a spike in cases. Will Disney be open to lawsuit? Will they have to close again? People do not "accept death" very well, especially when it comes to someone they love. Human nature.

Yes, absolutely this is damaging our economy. I just do not see a way out of it until we have an anti-body test where people know if they've had it or everyone has the regular test ( but that is problematic because if they had it 2 months ago, will it register?) or there is a vaccine. If there is not a way people can see to manage the risk, it will be unacceptable to many. I know people die of car wrecks, drug overdoses, cancer, murder but in my mind (whether or not it is truly correct or not doesn't really matter, mindset of the general population does) I can mitigate those risks: I eat healthy. Don't go to the bad part of town at night. Drive defensively and stay off the roads past 10 when the drunks are there, etc.

This virus is also scary because of the amount of healthcare workers it kills. In Italy alone it has killed 46 docs so far.. I'm not sure how many other healthcare workers like nurses, techs, etc have died there. I'm biased because my husband is a doctor. But if you just keep throwing people with this virus at our healthcare system, eventually you will lose too many workers to be able to treat anyone, much less people with the virus.

The other thing is that people are not just going to have to "accept death" but accept the fact that if they get this virus and live, they may have severe lung damage. They will have so many medical bills for the weeks they were in the hospital. They lost their job anyway because they were sick and then disabled.

It isn't nearly as easy as you are portraying it. Yes, we will probably have to figure out how to live with the virus, but we need the tools to do so: antibody tests, more regular testing for all, and/or a vaccine.

 

[kdonnel]

Then let me educate you - the country cannot survive when tens of millions of people are dying, much less the economy - not if the government just lets it happen.

Put together a plan in which we let Americans die by the millions to protect the wealth of the rich without a civil war. Because, let's be totally clear - if this was allowed to play out as you describe, the poor would be allowed to die while the rich are treated. When resources are scarce, those with money and power get first dibs. All of the vents would got to the rich. Without a vent, this is a death sentence to those hospitalized.

That's what you want? Anarchy? Bring out your dead?

The worst case scenario for the US is 2.2 million dead and that scenario is being adjust downward as the models for unchecked infection are fine tuned.

I believe there is just as much risk for revolt by keeping people isolated in 2 week chunks as letting the virus run un checked through society.

 

[kdonnel]

If we had an antibody test that showed who had developed immunity that would help a bunch.

Don't count on that.

There are reports of reinfection in China.

At this point they are not sure if it is true reinfection or a high percentage of high false negatives during testing.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

The worst case scenario for the US is 2.2 million dead and that scenario is being adjust downward as the models for unchecked infection are fine tuned.

I believe there is just as much risk for revolt by keeping people isolated in 2 week chunks as letting the virus run un checked through society.

As long as the government is trying to support the people both through the health crisis and the economic crisis (and they are), there is ZERO risk of revolt. ZERO. The risk is in the government doing nothing.

 

[pryncess527]

Don't count on that.

There are reports of reinfection in China.

At this point they are not sure if it is true reinfection or a high percentage of high false negatives during testing.

yes, the rest of us are fully aware that there’s a lot that scientists need to learn. You’re the only one who seems to be absolutely positive that you know that this requires an 18 month shut down so we might as well all die instead. I’d rather wait for more conclusive data.

 

[choirfarm]

The worst case scenario for the US is 2.2 million dead and that scenario is being adjust downward as the models for unchecked infection are fine tuned.

Yeah, what about the healthcare workers who died during that time? Or have PTSD from choosing who will live and who will die? Healthcare is so stressed in the hotspots as it is right now. I cannot imagine the amount of healthcare workers we would lose by letting it run rampant. Then when it is all over, who cares for people?

What about the people with long-term damage from the disease?

I think there are a lot of things OTHER than death that need to be considered as well.

 

[iheartglaciers]

We sure don't protect motorist on the highways. We let they die in the tens of thousands. No desire to save lives on our highways at all.

Besides the fact that there are laws to protect people on highways, a key difference is that car accidents aren’t happening in great numbers at the same time, overwhelming the medical system.

My local hospitals are already strained, and we’re not at the peak yet. I feel for the people who aren’t getting adequate care because of the limited resources, and for the medical staff who are overburdened day after day, night after night. That alone is why we can’t just rip the band aid off.

I’m really hoping for some sort of herd immunity since the vaccine is so far off, but we have no insight yet into the type or degree of immunity people will get from exposure to the virus. How much immunity will it give them? For how long? I read exposure to some other coronaviruses last a few months, while others much longer.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Don't count on that.

There are reports of reinfection in China.

At this point they are not sure if it is true reinfection or a high percentage of high false negatives during testing.

No, there are reports of people who were not completely recovered having the virus reemerge in their system. The tests were very immature even a few weeks ago. Tons of false negatives. Tests today are better than 98% accurate.

You are spreading false information. Please stop.

 

[kdonnel]

Yeah, what about the healthcare workers who died during that time? Or have PTSD from choosing who will live and who will die? Healthcare is so stressed in the hotspots as it is right now. I cannot imagine the amount of healthcare workers we would lose by letting it run rampant. Then when it is all over, who cares for people?

What about the people with long-term damage from the disease?

I think there are a lot of things OTHER than death that need to be considered as well.

What about those that suffered mental health issues caused by the shutdown?

Lots of posts on here by people that do not sound like they are mentally handling the isolation very well at all. Months more of this and what state will they be in?

I know there are a lot of things OTHER than death that need to be considered as well.