Re the Coronavirus

[HunnieBunnie]

A 43 year old man in a contiguous county passed last night. Now, whilst 43 is not technically young, it is hardly "old." He must have had underlying health problems. Poor man; may he rest in peace.

I have not noticed any change in spam/scam calls since I set my mobile to send all unknown calls straight to voicemail. I think, but I am not positive, that a man in California was arrested yesterday for trying to sell a drug of some sort that he claimed would prevent and/or cure the virus. There are always a few people out there who will try to dupe the innocent, the frightened, and the gullible.

Poor Mr. Johnson. He is only 55 years old, but in light of the death of a 43 year old here yesterday, I would not say Mr. Johnson will be okay. Who can be sure?

 

[HunnieBunnie]

I just read that mild cases take two weeks to resolve. More severe cases take 3-6 weeks to resolve if they are going to resolve. That is a very long time to feel ill.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

I came across this article today. I was thinking about this at least a week ago now. Some of the most vulnerable people are homeless people. I have a feeling the virus is going decimate the homeless populations in all cities.

Governments Are Telling Americans to Stay at Home. But Thousands of People Don’t Have One. — ProPublica

 

[HunnieBunnie]

This is unbelievable..... I noticed that several garden centres around town are open for business, so I contacted two of them and asked why are they open. What makes them an "essential business?" The reply:

"We sell seeds which can be grown into plants which can produce food. Food is essential."

This is as lame of an excuse as the fabric shop's claim that fabric can be sewn to make masks, so the fabric shop is therefore an essential business. Good grief, it takes weeks for seeds to sprout and then grow into mature plants which may or may not actually produce fruit or veggies. None of our markets is short on any food items other than bottled water. If market food shelves were half empty or if markets closed because there was no food to be bought, I could accept the seeds answer, but this is ridiculous! Shops such as these that angle to remain open whilst other non-essential shops close defeats the whole purpose of asking any shop to close temporarily.

I sent a message to the newspaper to voice my opinion on this. I was unable to reach the mayor's office. I could not even leave a voicemail for the mayor's office.

If we are to get control over this pandemic, then our lamebrain politicians cannot allow these sorts of exemptions to mandatory, temporary closings of businesses. I have begun to wonder what will it take to convince everyone that we are in a very serious crisis and have to pull together for the good of all. What will it take? Do these people have to have someone in their family or someone who works for them die from the virus before they take this seriously??

ETA: I do not believe it! I just received an email from one of the liquor stores to let customers know that they are still open regular hours. Why??? What is essential about liquor stores?? I guess we all need to be able to buy wine to cook the food our seeds produce once they grow into plants and are harvested.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

Earlier this week, the fire marshal personally closed down two shops here, Spencer Gifts and Michaels. The latter is a crafts supply store. A friend just told me that Michaels has already reopened under the premise that they are an essential store because they sell items educators need.

Bloody hell! The kids are not even in school now due to the virus. Even if they were in school, are we to believe they cannot do without craft supplies for a couple of weeks?! This shows a total disregard for everyone!

Then, I received another communication from a dear friend in another state. The district courts there have now lengthened their self-imposed closure. They will not reopen until May 15th! We can do without courts until May 15th, but by golly we cannot do without crape paper and glue for two weeks.

 

[scifan57]

Those two shops are setting themselves up for some big time fines.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

I certainly hope so, scifan57! I sympathise with all businesses at this time, but we are at war fighting a deadly enemy, and some of our corporate citizens are aiding and abetting the enemy! They are traitors, putting profits before people. I composed a fairly long email about all of it tonight and sent it on to my city representative and to the head of Code as Code is responsible for enforcing some of this.

This is totally unfair to the businesses that either voluntarily closed before the ruling was issued or just after the ruling was issued. It is unfair to all citizens, too, none of whom want to see either friends and family members perish from this virus, or indeed themselves. A 43 year old man in a contiguous county died from the virus yesterday. He may have left behind a wife and children. He may have had elderly parents he helped to support. If so, what will become of them now? I do not think Michaels will provide for their physical needs, and they cannot provide for their emotional needs, unless they think crepe paper and glue will do the trick.

 

[scifan57]

If any person or company is fined for non compliance during the pandemic the amount of the fine should be used to help pay for costs associated with responding to the coronavirus threat.

 

[scifan57]

My carrier has replaced its name with an appropriate message in Control Panel.

 

[ro861]

Mine did the same

 

[HunnieBunnie]

I totally agree with you, scifan57. Perhaps the fine could go toward costs to develop a vaccine or provide beds for homeless and sick.

I am sure these stores are open all across the U.S., ro861. It is a disgrace on them in my opinion.

 

[J. A.]

My carrier has replaced its name with an appropriate message in Control Panel.
View attachment 49187

Mine shows “#stayhome” in German.

 

[HunnieBunnie]

I have two mobiles. My iPhone is my main mobile, and my Android phone is my back up mobile which has only a few minutes per month on it. I mainly keep it to use for business calls and anyone with whom I would rather not share my main phone number. The carrier for the Android mobile sent everyone an extra 6 GB of data this month and next month. It is of no real use to me, but it is the thought that counts.

 

[NSquirrel]

Back to panic buying. Andrew Neil, a well known broadcaster and journalist in the UK, tweeted the following:
—-
Once again the Official Monster Raving Loony Party is the voice of common sense: the panic buying could have been averted by giving shoppers a basket each and no trolleys! Genius.
—-
(and yes, we do have a political party called the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, but no MPs)

 

[HunnieBunnie]

So far, the panic buying is in full swing here still. Hindsight is always 20/20, but as soon as grocery store managers and cashiers witnessed the frenzied beginning of panic buying disinfectants, loo rolls, bottled water, etc., they should have stopped it then and there by some means. Right now they have "Limit 1" signs for several items, but that does not help much at this point since the shelves are either mostly bare or totally bare. They should have done that right away. After all, we have seen how people behaved once a hurricane or other natural disaster cames into being. It is not as though we could not predict what people were likely to do. Giving shoppers one hand held basket would have helped, too, I am sure.

Markets near me still do not have disinfectants and loo rolls back in stock, and frankly, I am worried. I have a few loo rolls on hand, but it is not enough to get me through a few weeks of this, much less several months. Staying at home all day means they are used up faster than they otherwise might be, too. I am not best pleased with my city's government, either. The mayor waited far too long to order closing of non-essential shops, and now so many of them are being allowed such lame excuses for remaining open that the whole purpose of non-essential shop closings has been defeated if you ask me. I see no end in sight here, and I am in agreement with everyone who has warned that this pandemic is going to become much worse before it gets any better.