I just heard Jacob Ward* on CNN say a few interesting things. 1. That with the case of the woman patient in Northern California, 36 nurses had to be quarantined! That’s a lot of staff missing from duty. 2. That the travel ban is misdirected. (Could you guess that xemophobe Stephen Miller wrote Trump’s speech? “Foreign” Disease.” The Covid-19 virus is here in the US and elsewhere already already. (not sure if rest is from Jake Ward or another good guest) 3. TESTING TESTING TESTING (and no backlogs, please)! Testing allows epidemiologists to learn where our own hotspots are. We need to be able to plan & allocate resources. A few days ago, some expert said that one thing large scale testing for the Covid-19 virus does, is allow pretty good zeroing in on who’s got the virus, where they are. They (epidemiological detectives) can interview patients and use various paper, mobile phones and electronic tracking to help them figure out common trail and sources. (Cue up Forensic File music.) 4. One of the expert guests suggested, depending on how “hot” your area seems to be or likely will be, to postpone elective surgery to free up hospital beds. I guess my surgery is elective ;-/ but I am in significant discomfort/pain. I think it is a go home that day, but light general anesthesia or just put me in a coma. Small joint surgery. Alisande, Isn’t that laparoscopic gb surgery pretty much go home the next day? See what your docs advise. 5. The US has tested only a few hundred and there is a backlog on getting the tests processed. South Korea has tested a few thousand individuals, and weeks ago. The US has handled this situation so very poorly. The virus has exploded in such a short while. Maybe someone has accolades for the CDC leadership (Reddington (spelling), a nodding bobble head. Top leadership has been abysmal. Don’t hold out for a vaccine, even in 18 months. This is a tremendously difficult thing to achieve with a coronavirus. We can attempt to slow the spread, to flatten the curve, but this disease is going to sweep over us. “Social distancing” is one way to help slow things down. It is too late to stomp it out (on this planet anyway). Gird you’re loins, folks. Seniors congregated close together in nursing homes is a perfect set up for lots of very ill and dying citizens. It’s not going to be nice. ”We’re fighting an enemy and we don’t even know where it is,” says Ron Klain, former Obama Ebola czar, speaking of the incredible lack of testing. He also said that when you look at the Johns Hopkins virus map and see no red dots or blobs in an area (day Maine or Gondwanaland), it cannot be interpreted as meaning no Covid-19 there. Rather, it indicates that there has been no testing there. (Returning my tix to Gondwanaland.) * Jacob Ward is excellent. Smart, calm, trained, experienced.

I just remembered a conversation some of the parents had a pickup on the last day before our school closed. It was about difficulty finding toilet paper. One person who was there was making the case for Toto washlet type toilet seats to avoid the scramble for toilet paper. I predict that those will rise in popularity, especially if the toilet paper scarcity continues. Similarly, I think people may start to return to cloth napkins, dishcloths, rags, dish towels, etc.. They may be forced into it by supply shortages, but then they'll realize how much better it actually is for many thing. I agree that the Toto washlet would be very nice right now with TP being in short supply; however, I don't think most people are aware of its existence. While I personally try to avoid filling landfills with single-use items (including cleaning items), I don't think turning to cloth in case of another pandemic is a realistic solution. Why? Because whatever our next crisis is, the details will vary. Our next crisis might have to do with electricity, and we might lack the ability to wash cloth items. That's the hard thing about preparedness: you prepare without knowing for certain what will happen. I missed the comment about brick and mortar schools. I’m also a teacher and believe that if learning was left up to all students and it was strictly online the retention would be poor. There have been many studies showing that. Yes, and that mirrors my personal experience. I fully accept that right now we have to do what we can for our students -- but as a long-term solution, this isn't a great choice. I don’t think anyone liked the feeling of not being able to buy whatever we wanted whenever and wherever we wanted. Yes, we are very spoiled today -- popping into the grocery store to pick up whatever convenience product and out-of-season fruit -- and we don't even stop to think about it. If there's a silver lining to this thing, perhaps that's it: it forces us to be grateful for just how much we have. In terms of creature comforts, the poorest American lives a pretty cushy life compared to all the generations who've come before us. I think if people would just do their normal shopping and stop hoarding there would be stuff on the shelves. Absolutely true, but I do understand the fear: I may not be able to leave the house to get more. We may be sick, and I need to be prepared to take care of my family's basic needs.

This question made me crazy early in the NYC infection, especially after I read the article in the nyt about the author's husband's battle with covid19. To get a test, she had to walk her husband to a testing venue, even though he was very sick; no subway, taxi, Uber was possible. I kept picturing my dd getting sick and knew there was nothing anyone could do to help her and that if she got very sick, she might not even be able to get an emt there in a timely manner. When I finally heard about the importance of testing a covid-positive patient's oxygen, I immediately ordered an oximeter for her and felt a lot better when she received it. I figured she could at least monitor that level if she did become sick, and know when to try to get an emt or walk to a hospital, if it came to that. In the early days, people couldn't tell when they were in trouble because they didn't feel like their oxygen levels were low until it was almost too late. Maybe I simplified things, but it brought me a little relief from the worry.

Alternative Reality, denialist thinking still much in evidence - and not just on this forum. On the way to the bank I had to pee so I ducked into the green grocery I like. Shoppers everywhere (as in too many to maintain adequate distance) even though they had a roped entrance with an employee sitting there, supposedly limiting and regulating the number of people in the store at any one time. After hitting the restroom thought I would grab a few items while I was there. Nope, checking the deli section I saw a tallish man leaning on the bussing station looking at his phone with his mask off his nose - this put him in a position where he was exhaling out into the main walkway through that part of the store. And so on - I soon fled without doing any shopping. Walking back to my car I saw three people standing and talking at close quarters not far from where people coming from all over the lot converged to enter the store. No sign of masks on the talkers, I got the impression they might not have been wearing them the whole time since the pandemic started - there actually are people around that still refuse to wear them at any time. And the body language of these three projected an attendant attitude, as though they had gone there intending to walk in without masks only to encounter the mask required signage and the woman in the chair.