Coronavirus Tales

We got word today that, for now, it's life as usual at the office for us, but we can work from home if we want. For me, that's not very practical yet since I don't have access to much if I'm not at the office, but I'm hoping things will change in the next few weeks. For one thing, that would save me 2 hours of commute everyday.

That is about what we have. No 'you have to work from home' but a 'you can if you want to'

Better than nothing I guess.

Rainsmercy wrote:
LouZiffer wrote:
Rainsmercy wrote:

They will be letting us know at 2:30 pm CDT if we are wfh the next 2 weeks or not in an all hands webinar.

I wonder who would host an all-hands to say nothing's going to happen. That would be pretty funny.

We don't always fully do what Parent company says. We are in the trucking industries, Trucking companies are our customers who will most like not be reducing loads too much right now. So it might be wfh if you, but its optional. I feel more productive in the office, but not going to jeopardize reducing social contact in order to be more productive.

The CEO of our division just sent out an email saying those that can will be required to wfh the next 2 weeks starting Monday. The Webinar will just be additional info. So sleeping an extra hour in the morning, wearing pajamas and not shaving for 2 weeks, gotcha.

Area churches are canceling services this Sunday here in my corner of VA. Mine hasn't made the call yet. We're small, smaller than most of the gathering bans would apply to, but like most churches a lot of our members are old enough to be at a higher risk.

Whether we're open or not, I'm working on getting our service up on Facebook so folks can still participate if they don't want to come in person.

I'm trying to convince my octogenarian parents who are devout Catholics that maybe they should start skipping the weekday service at the local senior center that's attached to a nursing home.

SA schools have extended Spring Break a 2nd week. Every tournament for volleyball in the surrounding area (Austin, Houston, etc...) has been cancelled except for the SA/Buda/Seguin ones... I expect in 2 weeks to see a nice big bloom on central Texas in an outbreak map.

We just canceled the rest of our in-person work meetings for the next week, and we're doing them by Skype and Zoom.

DSGamer wrote:

Oh boy. My wife has a cough and a fever. She's not home yet. She's just back from business travel and we're trying to figure out where she should go.

Someone asked about my wife and I just realized I didn't give an update here.

Last night my wife was returning from the airport after days of air travel across the country. She called me from the car on the way home saying she had a fever. When she got to the house I (safely) took her a thermometer and some supplies and she took her temperature. She had a fever so we decided she'd isolate away from me for the night.

Last night she went to a local clinic and got tested for flu and strep. Both were negative. Instead they determined that she had an ear infection and that was the cause of her fever. They also told her that based on symptoms she didn't appear to be a candidate for coronavirus testing. They gave her antibiotics and she went back to the hotel.

She felt better by morning and she's in the house today. So assuming the doctors were correct we escaped a little scare. Now we're both working from home like many other people.

Glad to hear it DS

Volleyball got cancelled. My work still expects us to go to office. We were joking that their pandemic plan in business continuity was we come to work and die at our desks.

So far Hawaii has only 2 confirmed cases (though I assume this is mostly because we're following the mainland policy of 'you can't test positive if you don't get tested', not because the virus has somehow failed to get here), and both (I believe) are people who tested positive after returning from a trip to an area where the outbreak was well established.

Other than people buying all the toilet paper and ice cream (?!), stuff is pretty much business as usual around here. Some large gatherings have been postponed or cancelled -- people flipped out about the cancellation of the yearly hula festival -- but that's about it. Personally, I think people are treating the risk too casually, especially given how many people around here are a) older and b) in really poor health.

There are confirmed cases two hours north and two hours south on the interstate. I can do that math.

That said, I’m still going to brunch this morning. Church is still happening, though we have called off our planned breakfast. I’m on session and we have a scheduled meeting, so we’re going to hold a brief service for those of us who show and then plan our strategy moving forward. Fortunately our sanctuary is a flexible space with chairs rather than a traditional sanctuary with fixed pews. The EMT that rents my basement seems to think we’ll be fine if we spread the chairs out and skip the parts of the service where we pass the offering plate around and shake each other’s hands.

I’ve managed to get a video signal from my little camcorder to OBS, so I’m set to take our services to Facebook if that’s the way we decide to go. Given the number of our older folks who have difficulty getting to church, this is probably something we should be doing anyway...

This is probably the first time I've ever been really grateful to work in one of the worlds most isolated cities. It's allowed us to observe and make plans based on those observations while things haven't got too bad. Well, except for the selfish arsehole panic-buyers ruining it for everyone.

My mum works for one of our major supermarket chains. Sometimes she works the checkout, sometimes on self-serve. She's been getting verbal abuse on a daily basis for a while now. Two days ago she had someone throw a can of drink at her. Fortunately it missed, unfortunately it hit a customer. What got them so riled up? Toilet paper. f*cking toilet paper.

As for work, I can't really say too much about my workplace on a public forum, suffice to say the client is pretty important at the best of times, least of all times like these. We're still at a "stay home if you've had direct contact or have flu-like symptoms, otherwise business as usual".

They're currently trying to allow remote access for all staff, but it takes time. There's also a fair amount of uncertainty over whether our network can handle that many people accessing it remotely at once. Our network guys are working very hard to determine this and come up with contingency plans.

So that was fast.

Here in Greece, all schools closed as of last Wednesay.
Everything else closed as of now....apart from supermarkets, pharmacies, and health care places.
Everything.

I was in the hospital this week, from last Saturday to Wednesday night. I had some non-Covid19 virus. No healthcare workers would come in my room. They left water bottles for me by the door. Seriously. Until I tested negative. So for 24 hours I sat in a hospital bed going, "Huh." Then they gave me all the other tests possible. Did not figure out what virus was causing all my neuro symptoms. Offered me a lumbar puncture to get CSF. And f*ck that, I went home. Still kind of out of it.

So, my poor wife is now on her third supermarket run of the day. We're stocking up to stay in our house the next four weeks basically.

The private school I work at is scrambling to assign homework and find ways to offer classes online, so the parents will keep paying, and so the kids won't have to repeat the year. I also teach IB, and those kids have big exams in May to get ready for...if we have them.

Stay tuned...

I'm going to brave a trip to the local comic book store pray for me. I hope people don't try to use comics as a substitute for toilet paper. Might do some damage at the local liqueur store. I have to do my duty and support my local businesses. I'm kind of curious to see if people have been hording beer and wine.

Stay safe DSGamer!

I hope your wife just has a cold.
Keep us updated when you can.

My wife is an intern pastor, and I work for the seminary where she's a student. We're in a small city about an hour and a half outside Houston.

Yesterday, the seminary (which is located in another state) announced that all classes will be online-only, all events on campus cancelled, and all work-related travel strongly discouraged for at least the next month.

I already work remotely, but the staff who are on campus are to keep working on campus. Most of the students were already distributed learners, so that transition should go about as smoothly as possible for the faculty and other students.

Yesterday also I went on a grocery run. People have been panic-buying fresh meat and shelf-stable staples. I had never seen so many empty shelves in a grocery store, and I overheard store staff talking about how it's normally almost impossible to get overtime but there will be plenty of it to be had this weekend.

Today, ms bravado is trying to get the church council together to decide whether and how tomorrow's service should happen. The congregation is small and has a lot of elderly people with various health issues, and she's been hearing from a lot of the most anxious of them.

Virus or no, I still work in the news industry, so I hopped on the bus to Manhattan today to go to work, and I was struck by a few things.

First off, my bus had a grand total of SIX passengers. Honestly, even though it'd make my life more complicated, if it's like this during weekdays, they should really consider shutting the buses down purely for environmental reasons, that's just a total waste of gas.

Second, the last time I saw Manhattan as quiet and empty as it has been today was on Thanksgiving. It's not eerie (yet), but it is super-duper noticeable. Less traffic, less pedestrians, hell, Times Square has been given a serious scrubbing and is cleaner than I've ever seen it.

I went to the grocery store yesterday to get my parents some stuff, and I don't know about where you are, but here in the Hudson Valley, there's apparently been a run on eggs? Plenty of meat, but almost all the damn eggs were gone.

Coincidentally, the nearest Target has been been remodeling while open for weeks. Rolling empty aisles the norm. Despite the signage, multiple customers taking "omg" pics of 100% empty frozen sections, failing to do a 180 and spot

the 100% stocked, new frozen section.

Stupid? Trying to get some cheap twitter attention? Por que no dos?

I've been waffling on getting a cat since the last pet-sitting stint. Seems like =]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]777777 now is the time.

This post edited by newly adopted kitty-copywriter.

Today, ms bravado is

Shouldn't that be ms placed bravado?

Danjo Olivaw wrote:

Coincidentally, the nearest Target has been been remodeling while open for weeks. Rolling empty aisles the norm. Despite the signage, multiple customers taking "omg" pics of 100% empty frozen sections, failing to do a 180 and spot

the 100% stocked, new frozen section.

Stupid? Trying to get some cheap twitter attention? Por que no dos?

I've been waffling on getting a cat since the last pet-sitting stint. Seems like =]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]777777 now is the time.

This post edited by newly adopted kitty-copywriter.

I had a thought like this a couple nights ago while struggling with insomnia. That if I didn’t already have cats I would adopt one immediately. Partly for the companionship and partly because it breaks my heart to think of cats going un-adopted right now when shelters might start having staffing issues.

Ok as dumb as it is I get the no toilet paper/paper towels/Kleenex/napkins in any stores. Who was raiding the meat section? That can be frozen but otherwise has a limited shelf life.

WTH people. I guess I am making soft tacos and cheese crisps then eating out?

Nothing really impacted us so far aside from shelves being empty when all you want to buy is normal everyday amount of something. The death toll here in the UK doubled overnight which is....concerning.

In general, we have a really stupid mentality in this country where people are almost afraid of overreacting and looking worried, 'nah we're not scared, it's no worse than the flu mate etc', and 'we're British, we'll fight it hand and fist'. How tough you gonna look with tubes us your nose, hooked up to life support? I hate the British attitude to things like this. It's ok to admit you're concerned and it's ok to take necessary precautions. People scoff and sneer at the empty shelves, and I am as guilty as anyone at mocking the panic buyers, but who's going to be laughing if we end up locked in our houses without food and basic medication - not me.

I think the most realistic worry is you might not end up lucky enough to get tubes up your nose. You might end up on a cot in parking garage.

Alex79uk wrote:

'we're British, we'll fight it hand and fist'

If they'd only known in 1918, the solution was to simply punch the virus.

i mean who'd have thought that UK GOV's solution to rely on Herd Immunity for something that DOESN'T HAVE A VACCINE WHICH IS HOW HERD IMMUNITY WORKS YOU IDIOTS would be ineffective.

Did Johnson consult Trump on his response? I thought they didn't get along...

Stealthpizza wrote:

Ok as dumb as it is I get the no toilet paper/paper towels/Kleenex/napkins in any stores. Who was raiding the meat section? That can be frozen but otherwise has a limited shelf life.

My, umm, brother's brother-in-law manages a Home Depot. They have sold out of freezers, except for a floor model. Yesterday he had a man come in looking to buy one and insisted that they sell him that last one. They explained that they usually don't sell floor models and would have to sell it to him at full price. The man said that was fine, since he had just bought a bunch of food and needed the freezer asap to store it all in.

But I'm getting sidetracked. I came here to share the comedy of how my company is responding to the virus.

Two weeks ago they sent out a memo to let us all know that no one in the company has the virus. You know, because you can't have it if you don't get tested, right?

Last week they decided to install hand sanitizer dispensers at practically every door at our facility. They even made sure to refill all the soap dispensers, even the ones that have been empty for months because there don't work. They didn't fix or replace them, mind you, just refilled them.

This week our CEO sent out a memo telling us that anyone comes to work sick, they are to be sent home and can't return until they get clearance from a doctor. This show an amazing amount of ignorance about how his own company operates. Almost no one is paid well, and the branch office staff are often dependent on their year end bonuses, which are, in turn, based on how profitable the branch is. Which means they do everything they can to avoid overtime. Hourly employees are constantly threatened and bullied into not calling sick or taking time off (request for which are almost always refused). If our manager starts sending people home due to illness, it probably wouldn't be long until heads start rolling.

Yesterday they decided we all have to wear medical gloves at all time. For a respiratory virus. I pointed out that the gloves will do nothing unless we are only wearing them when necessary to touch something and changing them constantly. They gave us a box of 200 gloves for three days. Approximately three pairs of gloves per shift.

Thank goodness our local news is still assuring us there are no confirmed cases in my county. Even though there are outbreaks in [a]all[/a] of our neighboring counties.

Went to the comic shop, can't say if they are doing well or not. Probably go back and buy some toys. The cashier was coughing his head off but it didn't bother anyone.

I walked pass the weed store which had a long line to get in that went part way around the block. I wanted to take a picture but thought it might be rude.

Went to a drug store that actually had some stuff the big stores were out of. No TP or rubbing alcohol but they had milk. It was busier but not chaotic.

I'm considering hitting a mexican joint for take out. One of the popular places switched to delivery and take out only. People have been saying to order takeout to support the local places. I'm not sure if they meant to do that even if they are still serving people.

I work in mental health/patient care. They were already pushing telemedicine from our offices to patients’ homes on a limited basis. I’ve found it to be a poor substitute for in person appointments, even when it’s working. And that’s not even taking into account how often the server is down, or how each update tends to break things, or how I’ve had to use precious minutes walking patients through getting their microphones and cameras working right, usually without success.

I expect any day now they’ll tell us to work from home and shift all our appointments online. Being at home, on our personal equipment, will just result in even more technical issues and I can’t imagine IT help will be readily available. Hell, I don’t even have a webcam, much less the ID card reader that’s required to put in orders and access records. Of course there’s gonna be patients without equipment as well. Are they just out of luck for a while? So many unanswered questions.

There’s a lot more I could type, but the gist is that it’s going to be a disaster. Without a sufficient run up time to work out all the kinks, we’d be better off saving patients the frustration and just cancel and reschedule their appointments. Obviously that would suck pretty bad though since we’re booked out 2-3 months already. The powers that be aren’t going to go for that idea since they’re already in trouble for inadequate access.

Of course these concerns will pale next to people developing serious health problems and even dying, so I have to keep it in perspective. If a close family member or myself gets sick, it’s a moot point anyway.