This article from the Washington Post was interesting, especially the part about the study in Japan following the earthquake in 2011, where people would buy “anything they could get their hands on.”
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Captain’s Log, Social Isolation Date 031421.1 - an attempt at levity in trying times
We have confined ourselves to the ship in order to limit exposure to the virus afflicting the system, with excursions authorized only for emergent purposes.
My co-commander bravely ventured to the hostile planet Shoprite and its lesser known yet somehow less well stocked and dirtier moon Stop n’ Shop. She returned physically unharmed yet I could tell the journey took its toll on her. She reports scarce resources and hostile life forms.
She also availed herself of the ship’s vodka rations mid-afternoon. I fear the journey may have scarred her more than she will admit. I’ll have to keep an eye on things. I don’t want the crew to judge, so I’ve joined in as well.
The junior crewmembers availed themselves of our science and art facilities this morning, but have now devolved into fisticuffs. The most junior member suffered a sentence of five minutes in the brig for her offense; her screams of protest ring through the ship.
I fear that while we may emerge from this unharmed, none will remain unscathed.
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I must say the populace’s efforts to endure are not helped by our government’s quite frankly unhinged plans.
It’s almost as if they have no ever loving idea wtf they’re doing…
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Update from Berkeley: The public libraries are closing as of tomorrow. For people with kids, this is a step too far.
We went out today and did (non-shopping) things and, delightfully, very few other people were out. Though it was also admittedly a little weird.
Going ahead with game night this evening, though I fear it could be the last one for a while : (
Heading to a game day tomorrow, so that will be somewhat normal.
My university has mandated that all current classes go online starting Monday, so campus is going to be pretty empty when I go to work on Monday.
In Australia here, working fly in fly out in the mines. Looks like we are imposing 14 day self isolation for anyone coming into the country (eliminates tourism I suppose). $63k fine if you don’t and can be arrested. Fun times.
I am 100% for the draconian overreaction. People don’t know what’s good for them.
Also, agree of Facebook comment. I have had a month off, came back, wish I hadn’t!
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I read Matt Hancock’s announcement of this, in which he managed to invoke WW2 and the Blitz, and had a moment of actual rage that this is now normal. Incompetence and wanky flag-waving, in lieu of actual ability. Hope Nadine Dorries, the most deserving case so far, french-kisses the lot of them.
Edit: on past form, my 75-year-old parents will interpret the rules as suits them, so I fully expect their self-isolation boundaries will include the village pub, church and restaurants.
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Yeah, my in-laws are treating this as a minor irritant.
They did both their weekly group breakfast yesterday, and later went to out a happening neighborhood bar.
They are 73 and 74.
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Survivor bias for those that have clocked up a number of years is alive and well.
“If I can’t live my life, it ain’t worth living”
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NYC just announce that public schools are closed until at least April 20th.
NJ also ordering all schools closed, unsure how long. Probably looking at a statewide curfew too
Nevada just closed schools until April 6.
Coincidentally, my work had earlier told us to stay out of the office until April 6.
Our governor announced today that NH public schools are closed at least until April 6, while the university at which I work moved the remainder of the semester online. So, it’s going to feel like I’m homeschooling my kids while remotely teaching my students …
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Like I said, my kids in IL are out of school until April 6, but I’m wondering what could possibly happen in the next three weeks that would make schools open again. The virus could be 100% eradicated tomorrow without our knowledge but at what point would they consider us safe? I have a feeling it will be much longer.
Without a vaccine, it is very unlikely we will establish herd immunity, and we’ll see successive waves of it. Not that it will be disastrous, but flu season will need to be taken seriously.
I am weary. I’m weary of planning and worrying, and worrying and planning. I’ve been on the phone all day with my bosses and subordinates trying to anticipate the unimaginable.
We are planning for the worst and I can’t stop thinking that it will not be enough. I fully believe this will be worse before it’s better, and as I told one of my younger officers, this will be the formative event of her generation.
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You make an interesting point. My wife mentioned that during her reading on it, the difference here is the mechanics of infliction.
Under normal flu virus, it creates the vulnerability for bacteria to attack lungs, causing pneumonia.
For cornavirus, it’s actually the virus that attacks the lungs. As there are no effective antivirals / vaccines, you need to wait out the infection with Mechanical medical support.
So, unless there is a change in paradigm or tech, this won’t go away!
(I don’t have a reference, but if this is total reread fake news BS, tell me and I will delete it - propaganda promise)
Farmerette and I were down in Phoenix, AZ to watch some baseball spring training, and aside from there being no toilet paper in any Costco it was life as usual down there. Heard things were going to be canceled so started heading home last week, and stopped at the Guinness Store in Las Vegas to get some supplies.
Wow. Vegas, or at least the Strip, was a ghost town. And the Costco there didn’t have TP either.
Continuing onwards, no paper products in the Costco at Cedar City, Helena or Medicine Hat either. Finally found some in Swift Current at a local grocery store so we at last have a starter supply now. In hindsight we should have been stealing it from the hotels we stayed at, but never though it would be such a widespread thing.
Virus-wise we don’t know of anyone that has it, nor are there any reported cases in Saskatchewan yet. Stock markets are crashing, the Canadian dollar is tanking, Alberta might as well just close up shop due to a barrel of oil being worth less than a bucket of KFC and there are fist fights in stores over hand sanitizer.
I weep for humanity.
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I am fortunate in that while I have a small team here in NYC working for me, our HQ is in Boston, and we are all used to being on Webex most of the day anyway. My team is 100% digital, so it makes no difference where we are.