Covid-19 discussion and humor thread [Was: CDC says don't touch your face to avoid Covid19...Vets to the rescue!

[BillsFan4]

Felt like this was worth sharing. It’s a very simple cloth mask anyone can make with a couple hair ties and a few folds (no sewing required).

 

Instructions + pics:

 

http://blog.japanesecreations.com/no-sew-face-mask-with-handkerchief-and-hair-tie

 

Video:

 

 

I see people saying “assume you have it and act accordingly in public” (aka, try your best not to spread your germs) and I generally agree with that premise (obviously STAY HOME if you actually think you’re sick, or come into contact with someone w/covid). If making + wearing a simple cloth mask can help limit the spread even slightly, I feel like it would be helpful. And a mask like this wouldn’t take away any resources from our healthcare workers, so I felt ok sharing the video. 

Edited March 31, 2020 by BillsFan4

[ALF]

7 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

The problem with Instacart is that you have to have internet access (cellular internet included) and a computer or smartphone to use it.

A lot of elders, such as my mom, do not have this or do not know how to use it if the do.  (My mom has internet to support her Caption Call phone for hearing impaired, and we gave her a smartphone - she struggles to read and send texts or make phone calls, much less use an app)

 

That would also pretty much give Instacart a monopoly.  I do understand your point about order online/by phone pick up in store, but I'd like to see something like temperature checks at door/mask and glove use for employees and customers tried first.

 

 

Instacart could work by phone or with the help of social services for those who need help.

 

I saw a small store in NYC  on the news with a doorman with gloves to only let 3 people in at a time and keep the people lined up outside far enough apart.     just a thought for a worse case that should not happen

 

Social workers are there for your Mom , thank goodness  or a relative to place a order.

 

If I call my church or Salvation Army someone will help 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by ALF

[Saxum]

19 hours ago, SDS said:

If I allowed my ignorant self to speak out loud, I would test concentrating store employees packing the grocery lists themselves and then customers paying online and then picking up. You have to stop 1000 people going into the store and touching everything.

 

I tried to do that with a new computer for work-at-home by Micro Center cannot grasp concept.  I tell them what I want and they want me to come down to the store and talk to an associate.  They do not understand concept.  Even going to pick it up may be considered "non essential" unless I stop at McDonalds in parking lot and claim I was going for food.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Did I post this already... Can't remember:

 

[Saxum]

17 hours ago, Figster said:

You lucky dog

 

Not really.  Very bad there.  I have a friend in Hawaii who is vulnerable and on SSI with two housemates who will not take it seriously. Cannot not even correct SSI screwup because postal carriers are basically virus carriers.  He cannot move due to SSI screwup. He had several plans but all out window - he cannot travel to only relatives in California another place hit bad.  I told him to turn his room into isolation room and wear mask/gloves anytime he goes out of room.  I offered to mail him some masks and gloves in package double sealed and he said no use.  Told him to try United Way and church.  He basically is waiting to die. 

[Saxum]

6 hours ago, Jrb1979 said:

It does suck but Ontario just closed all parks, sports fields and all outdoor recreational facilities. Now they limited gatherings to 5 here so they had to do it. Too many people think this is nothing. 

From Virginia Governor's speech  [photos from in indicate more than 10 people there]

Quote

 

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) issued a stay-at-home order Monday as cases of the coronavirus rise nationwide.
Northam said people should only leave their homes to obtain food, supplies or medical care, or for exercise. All gatherings of more than 10 people are banned. [Some families have more than 10, who do they tell cannot go to family birthday party]  

 "I want to be clear: Do not go out unless you need to go out. This is very different than wanting to go out,” he said.
"This has been a suggestion to Virginians. Today, it’s an order," he added.

 

Northam said that the commonwealth's beaches and other recreational areas were “literally packed” this weekend and that people were putting themselves and others at risk.  He addressed those who gathered at these locations directly: "You are being very, very selfish because you are putting all of us, especially our health care providers, at risk."  Northam's executive order closed Virginia's beaches to everything but exercising and fishing. Campgrounds have also been closed. 

 

 

I had people working on road at my house today and one of them rather than walking just parked it in front of my driveway.

I do not care WHAT work you are doing - you can walk across local street where there is place to park.

I asked him to move and he said no.  He had letter stating he was essential. 

So essential means being an ####### I guess - he just was sitting in truck and did nothing.

We took phone and took pictures of truck, license plate, truck number and driver.

I told him I will call VDOT to see if it is essential for you to be blocking driveway of a household with handicapped child.

 

A minute or two later he left and did not return.  Evidently he was "essential" elsewhere.

 

 

[Saxum]

I went out to see what work they found necessary to block my driveway.

it was a pile of blacktop.

 

 

I was sure it was a pile of manure - his reason certainly sounded like one.

[Saxum]

4 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Well, you could put Sweet-n-Low packets and water in a spray bottle, and find out ?...procedure is linked above.  The simple fit-checks linked in the NY pub you linked are a good starting place.

 

If they're old, the weak point is the elastic, which may no longer be strong enough to hold the mask firmly enough in place.

 

For Sweet-n-Low allergies:

Common allergic reactions include breathing difficulties, headaches, skin irritation, and diarrhea. Anyone who is allergic to sulfa products should avoid Sweet N Low. Even consumers who don't regularly use artificial sweeteners encounter them on a regular basis.

 

I had a visitor react to my Stevie thinking it was sugar.  He is allergic to ragweed pollen.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

7 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

What about beards???

 

Beards are a no-no.  Can not fit a respirator of any sort over a beard.  Even stubble or sufficiently severre acne pitting can prevent a fit.

You would need a PAPR or something like that.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

8 hours ago, John in Jax said:

Thanks for that update Hapless. Only thing I can say is that for the MILLIONS of N95 "off the shelf" masks that they are getting from the construction industry/were made for the construction industry.....I am quite certain that THOSE masks will NOT be adjustable, and will NOT offer a impenetrable seal.

 

If they're actually OSHA-certified N95 masks, they need to be able to offer a seal.  None of the elastics are adjustable; the mask needs to be sized correctly so that the elastic will give you a seal.

 

8 hours ago, John in Jax said:

 

ETA: the OSHA passage you cited deals with the fitment of a "real" respirator mask, which I talked about in the post above. A PAPER/fiber mask cannot be truly "fit-tested", because it's impossible to get a good enough seal on your face.

 

ETA #2: From your 1st link: Fit testing is required for all users of respirators with tight-fitting facepieces, including filtering facepiece respirators. The fit test ensures that, when donned properly, the selected brand and size of respirator fits adequately to protect the wearer from excessive inward leakage of contaminant through the face seal. 
 

 

Um, John? From the first link I posted.  What's that on her face?  Why you think that's there if it's only applies to those big clunky neoprene-and-filter cartridge things? ?

 

8 hours ago, John in Jax said:

The bottom line is that your average person can figure out how to properly wear an N95 PAPER/fiber mask, and get it fitted as good as possible (by themselves), in about One minute....a NY minute, if you desire.

 

Well, you WERE the one telling me that an N95 mask doesn't seal to the face....so it sounds as though your experience doesn't support your statement, perhaps?

 

I know personally, I had to try a couple of brands of mask and sizes and get some tips on adjusting the nosepiece and the elastics properly to get a truly good seal.

 

I personally think given instructions as in the link @SDS posted and maybe a spray bottle of saccharine (if not allergic, thank you @Limeaid), you are correct that the average person with an average face shape could figure out how to get a good seal PDQ, and also figure out how to remove the mask for reuse without contaminating their face or anything except their hands.

But then, I'm the one who thinks that the average person can watch a video and figure out how to remove gloves safely without contaminating themselves or other surfaces, yet I've been emphatically told in this thread that I'm mistaken.......?‍♂️

[Hapless Bills Fan]

4 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Can I cut a hole in my mask so I can smoke?  Actually saw a guy at work do that!  What a badass!

 

Not the guy at work... But close:

 

This is a humor thread, right?

 

There are photos of Chernobyl cleanup workers doing this.

 

Couple years back, I was at a social gathering with a woman wearing a paper medical mask.  She had cut a hole in it so she could drink through a straw.

I asked her "Is that mask to protect you from us, or us from you?"   She answered "me from you", so I let it go.  The woman hosting the social event was a trained industrial hygienist, and if she didn't want to tackle explaining how wrong this was to her friend, Not My Beeswax.

 

If the answer was "you from me" I would have fled into the night clutching my kid.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

5 hours ago, BillsFan4 said:

Seems like a moot point at the moment, since we don’t even have enough masks for our healthcare workers, let alone the entire US population. But in general I do think it’s something we will probably see a lot more of moving forward (people in public wearing masks, like we see overseas). 

 

Very interesting article, Thanks! 

 

I'd just like to point out the mask paradox.  The less-expensive medical mask don't protect the wearer very well from stray particles others emit.  What they're good for is blocking the particles the WEARER emits.

 

"Hmmm, what's in it for me?" then, you say?  Well, if EVERYONE is wearing a mask...EVERYONE is protected from everybody else.

 

Quote

This sounds like a smart idea. It is something I’ve thought a lot about - How do you keep 1 member of a household from infecting the rest of the household, especially if there are family members in the higher risk category? Do you quarantine off a section of the house? What if there’s only 1 bathroom? (etc).

 

IMO this is something we have been doing wrong.  We have nurses and doctors, exposed to covid-19 patients all day, sometimes going to homes they share with high risk people.  If everyone maintains social distancing, the next infection clusters are going to emerge from this.

 

We need to be giving HCW:

1) donning partners and supervised un-donning stations

2) the option to stay elsewhere, in comfortable hotels say, to protect their families.

 

Here is a story about caring for a covid-19 patient at home while trying to keep a daughter healthy.  Poignant.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/magazine/coronavirus-family.html?searchResultPosition=2

[Sundancer]

The test tube experiment optimism should always be tempered with, “You know what else kills this in a test tube? Bleach!”

 

It hurts to let these run their course but we have little choice.
 

Tonight’s doom and gloom headlines bring nothing new. Nada. It would be good if they just said that instead of getting more eyeballs by trumpeting this report. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

40 minutes ago, Sundancer said:

The test tube experiment optimism should always be tempered with, “You know what else kills this in a test tube? Bleach!”

 

It hurts to let these run their course but we have little choice.
 

Tonight’s doom and gloom headlines bring nothing new. Nada. It would be good if they just said that instead of getting more eyeballs by trumpeting this report. 

 

With that information reiterated enough, someone would probably gargle with bleach, or swallow it.

[ExiledInIllinois]

[May Day 10]

Italy's new cases seem to be on a downturn.  Next step, hopefully more cured in a day than new cases.  After that, watch to see if they can get a handle on the situation.  

 

Social distancing appears to be working in the usa.  Even though it looks bleak, nyc case growth has slowed.  Other places like san Francisco look encouraging.

[Warcodered]

 

[ALF]

In rural America, cops are delivering groceries to vulnerable residents

 

New York (CNN Business)Major Bobby Reed of the Bourbon County, Kansas, sheriff's department had an idea when he saw that some stores were offering special hours just for elderly customers during the coronavirus crisis: He would start making grocery and prescription deliveries for at-risk residents himself.

 

"These people don't need to get out. They're in a vulnerable age group," the 10-year veteran of the department thought. So he posted on Facebook that he'd volunteer to deliver to elderly residents, shoppers with disabilities and veterans. His rural county, located five miles east of the Missouri border, has about 14,000 residents.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/01/business/grocery-delivery-coronavirus-police-sheriffs-office/index.html

[Sundancer]

The daily country watch. Italy is definitely leveling and I look forward to seeing how long it stays here and then drops. I will use China...even though I think their data is BS, to say that the drop happened pretty fast after the leveling. This makes sense since the effect of the quarantines take a little time to work through the system. It's like when you shut off the valve for your hose. Its flows for a few seconds like normal but it goes to zero pretty fast thereafter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big jumps in cases and deaths in the US yesterday...not sure if that reflects some underreporting from the day before or if that's right. There was a footnote on potential underreporting from the day before in this data. 

 

NYS alone added 2500 and 200 more cases and deaths respectively than the day before. So the big leaps are still happening in NYS. 

 

 

Oh and Spain continues to perhaps see leveling too. (I am having trouble pasting Spain but you can see it here.)

 

Edited April 1, 2020 by Sundancer

[Brit]

Who knows when the US will start levelling. With Florida and other states only now just starting to put in measures there may be some weeks ahead before any kind of slow down on a national level kicks in.