Coronavirus

I no longer trust the government with anything that has to do with me.

 

I wouldn't think that'd be a good idea.

One of the morning news anchors said she buys a roll of toilet paper for her car. Yesterday she wasn't able to get it.

 

This post should be moved to the Politics & Religion section.

This post is a bunch of crap. First. Trump got out in front of the virus (much to the chagrin of the fake news) by placing limits on travel to China long before the fake news media had decided to try to make this flu virus into Trump's "Hurricane Katrina." Didn't work, of course, and that is why you are not hearing much on this issue from the fake news.

Second, I had not heard of Shen Yun, until my wife and daughter attended a performance, recently. These folks are freedom fighters trying to practice their craft and maintain their traditions while being banned by the Communist dictators in China who fear their message. They are brave (and very talented) folks who cannot return to their homeland due to their traditional messages that contradict the lies and evil that the current leaders of China enforce.

Not sure who Falun Dafa is, but I have not heard of any magic wands that will cure coronavirus, so this part of the post is also ridiculous. and finally, regarding the last line of your post: Ordinary human beings do not walk around with masks, unless they have been duped by the fake news.

 

https://video-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v...=f8701481772b364b5442f37bcd308694&oe=5E67ABA4

 

Note that my version has a toilet paper roller on top for quick changes in the mask. I will accept trade-ins for those poor customers who bought this obviously inferior product. Also, their version would not work for baking potatoes, like my design allows.

 

I have to visit a friend in the hospital tomorrow as she is there recovering from a surgery she had. Next week I need to visit my doctor at the clinic in order to get a prescription renewal. I plan on wearing some thin leather gloves when I go to both places. I'll take them off as soon as I get back into my vehicle.

Hospitals and medical clinics are breeding grounds for germs and viruses. If you are going to catch them, those are among the places to go.

I am hoping that the gloves will prevent any viruses that I my pick up from getting on my hands. I of course will wash my hands when I get home and be sure to not touch my face as I am driving home. I do not want to go overboard on this, but one ought to at least try to avoid getting sick.

 

Keep in mind that hospitals and doctors offices are one of the most dangerous places you can go from the infection perspective. And, there are much worse things than coronavirus lurking in those places, as well. So, you are smart to limit your exposure, within reason.

Just got back from a military supplier conference that was still being held just outside of Boston. It was a "full business dress" event with the military types in their full dress uniforms and the businesspeople in suits. They had posters saying to fist bump, instead of shaking hands. It was absolutely hilarious to watch a bunch of old men dressed in suits fist bumping and elbow bumping.

I heard from a friend attending the Modex trade show in Atlanta today that they are doing the "Wuhan Shake" which apparently is touching toes with your shoes instead of fist bumping. Bet a bunch of videos go viral (pun intended) on this one.

 

The virus is spreading at an alarming rate...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

 

In a grocery store a couple days ago I noticed an older lady walking around with a mask hanging at her neck. I watched and every time she approached another person she put the mask over her nose and mouth. Soon as they passed by each other she pulled the mask back down.

It was a struggle not to burst out laughing.

 

It has been amusing to see which humans are the most gullible as I travel around. These are the same people, most likely, that Jeff Foxworthy would give a "Stupid" sign to hang on their forehead, so it is good that they are self-identifying.

Well, they just cancelled Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade this Sunday. No way a virus could survive all of the alcohol flowing during that event, anyway, but the politicians need to look like they are doing something.

 

There are reports of cancellations all over the place today. I've been wondering about casinos and if they'll start closing. Haven't seen anything yet.

 

I always thought a mask is for you not to spread your viruses and bacteria around, not the other way around. People seem to be wearing them to protect themselves from getting sick. I don't believe they are that effective. A full hazmat suit is needed for that.

 

Yes, I have heard that masks offer little to no protection for the wearer. Many years ago, my wife and I were inadvertently exposed to a rare strain of tuberculosis and were instructed to wear face masks if we were to enter a hospital (we had a relative in the hospital at the time) so we wore masks while at the hospital, but it was to protect others from us. Turned out we did not have TB ourselves, but we wore the masks a few times for a couple of weeks or so.

 

The worst part is that, at some point, it will start to have an impact on the overall economy. I would not want to be selling anything to the airlines, cruise lines, hotels, etc., right now, as it is. Right now, in my day job, my company sells high tech services to manufacturers of electronic equipment, for the most part, and we are seeing a very strong and growing market with no slowdown, as of yet. Stay tuned, of course.

That said, some pundit was discussing the last time a pandemic caused economic problems and that was a few years ago with the Ebola outbreak. He said that the economy and stock markets took a big hit but after a few months when people realized it was not going be the Bubonic Plague, they came back and went higher than ever.

 

There is some good news to report. The World Health Organization has reported that so far 64,000 people around the world have made a complete recovery from the Corona (Covid-19) virus. Also China's numbers of newly infected have been coming down. They feel that they finally have a handle on it.

 

I read the NYT article on this. It appears that there were legitimate patient privacy and/or ethics issues involved with changing the testing they were originally sanctioned for versus Covid-19. There also seems to have been an issue with the researchers, themselves, in terms of their capabilities or certifications for that type of testing or something like that. This issue of the FDA or CDC or any other regulatory agency following the rules or breaking them during an emergency has been going on for a long time now. Patients dying of Stage 4 cancer in a matter of weeks are ready and willing to try drugs that have not been fully vetted. Yet, even the new FDA "fast track" program put in place under Trump still takes close to a year to get an experimental drug offered to sick people.

I have mixed feelings on this. The thalidomide nightmare of the 1950's (new drug given to pregnant women who then gave birth to children with horrible deformities) caused the U.S. to become super strict with rigorous FDA procedures for drugs, tests, and medical equipment. Congress wrote many laws in the ensuing years that caused the FDA to go much more slowly in approving all new things medical. And, I am sure that the CDC has to follow FDA regulations when administering tests, drugs, etc. I tend to favor action rather than inaction (e.g., give the dying cancer patient the potentially fatal drug or take the test despite patient privacy/ethics concerns) but am not absolute on it because we have seen great damage come from rushing things.

 

Of course, we have to keep in mind that the "current situation" is that over 99% of people who catch Covid-19 will recover completely. It is mostly a mild flu that is only killing people who are older and weakened by other diseases (one foot out the door, already.) Had the media not been looking to sell their fake news and, here in the U.S., pin this on Trump, we would be going about our normal business, as usual, instead of going into bunkers, wearing hazmat suits to the store, and looking for someone to blame for this "crisis." If this is "big" then what is the regular old flu which is killing orders of magnitude more people, right now, than the dreaded Covid-19?

You know, there is a bit of an unholy alliance between the media and the public health professionals, much like we see with the media and weather forecasters. Here in New England, at the first possibility of a major Nor-Easter snowstorm, the weather forecasters put on their super hero pajama's and go into full crisis mode which is breathlessly reported on by the media. The weather people live for those times and make dramatic predictions while offering past tales of woe. Of course, this has gone on so long and they have been wrong so many times, that the public is jaded and barely pays attention to these cries of panic any more. This is can become a problem when, in fact, a real storm does materialize and people were not prepared for it because the weather people and the press overplayed supposed crises so many times.

This could very well happen with the public health people and the press. The public health people are in their full glory right now with the media breathlessly hanging onto their every word. And, of course, the low-information citizenry are running around in face masks (that actually do not protect them from anything) in tribute to the public health pronouncements of doom. However, if this turns out to be much ado about nothing because it is, in fact, a mostly mild flu, the public will recognize that and remember it in a few months. Should there be a real pandemic crisis in the future, a lot of people will roll their eyes and ignore these very same officials because of what is going on right now. But, the press will have sold their clicks/newspapers/ads and public health officials will have had their day in the sun.