This article is exactly what I am seeing in my area/social circle. Lots of collage age kids getting it, not heard of a single one ill enough to need to visit a doctor or hospital. The kids are staying at school for the most part...so they aren’t spreading it around their home communities.

https://apple.news/A48Be0t3LT2qzcV5nozW2OA

My DBIL died today (non-COVID related). I am pleasantly surprised that the family is going to have a private interment of his ashes in several weeks. The obit isn’t even going in the paper until after the service.

My husband and I had a mild case, not fun but mild. I was mostly worried about my husband as he has had heart issues but his case was fairly mild. It’s really inconvenient though because my husband needed two negatives before he could go back to work. The first was a negative but it dragged to four more tests before he got the 2nd. For over a month and a half you can go nowhere. I’m still not sure of the chances of getting it a second time. I have only heard of one case mentioned.

The scare down here is our high number of elderly people. Saying that though, it’s not necessarily a death sentence. I just want this over. I’ve had enough and want to plan a European vacation and start going out to dinner again.

Sometimes I wonder what the point is with me being so carful. I still got it. Tonight I walked the dogs down the road past two big house parties. Everyone else seems to be having a good ole time.

Vacation and going out to dinner - I second that!!

The virus is not being spread by weddings, funerals and informal get togethers. It is being spread by stupidity. This is our Darwinian moment, a test if you will, and we are failing.

A 1% death rate for a highly contagious illness is not insignificant! If 50% of the US population gets it that means 1.65 million deaths!

Or, think about it this way - you have 100 friends and relatives - which one dies?

And the long term heart, lung, circulatory, etc effects people are presenting months after having, and seemingly recovering from, the illness.

Jinx, I’ve heard that but don’t know of anyone experiencing long term effects. As of now I know several who have had the virus. However, that’s not to say there are none. I wonder what that percentage is or if it’s usually an unknown underlying Illness.

justerrilyn, I’ve read a lot about it, but ... still no “whys” on who is experiencing long-term complications vs those who aren’t. Especially when there are no underlying conditions involved. I hope they can find that out, but I know it takes time.

So glad you and your DH are ok!

I just don’t think that. . Around here, and goodness knows we are backward, yet most everybody wears a mask indoors. Pretty careful for hillbillies! I seriously think it just does not matter how careful we are, as I have said before.....and been blasted before. We get it, or we don’t, mask or no mask. We will build immunity, get a vaccine, our attention will move to the next big thing. Pray it is not worse than this.

justterrilyn, same thing here. My little rural area went for quite some time with very few cases. Then BAM! we had several weeks where we knew of several who came down with Covid. Most all were less severe cases, although we do have friends, a couple who are in good health, no underlying conditions, etc. 60-65ish and the husband had a really hard time, although he was never hospitalized. It just went on for several weeks to the point we worries he was getting depressed. Also a former neighbor who is in his 70's and has heart problems, he did have a pretty bad case, later got pneumonia but never hospitalized. Took him several weeks to get over it too, but all are well now. I think that we are going to have to start living at some point, although very cautiously. I still have not been in any type store for shopping other than grocery/drug. Nor back to church, sadly. I sure miss our church family. The church is taking precautions, marking off every other pew, etc. but still - it's a group and that is one thing we will definitely stay away from.

Tina, I really think the reason we had a somewhat mild case is all to do with my husband. At the very start of the cough and heavy chest feeling my husband got gel tabs and an inhaler from the doctor. I took the gel tabs as well and they worked great. I’m horrible at nipping things in the bud, health wise. You can’t ignore the cough/chest thing because it gains momentum extremely fast. I’m the sort who would try to ride it out. Luckily husband is not.

I live in Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. People here, including tourists, have been very compliant with mask-wearing. I had an in-person annual physical with my PCP about 4 weeks ago. I know her well. I queried her about her well-being and family and friends. She told me that 2 cardiologists and a nurse-practioner that she knows had the virus. Not hospitalized, but very ill for 2 months and all of them lost over 25 lbs.

I have a dear friend who must now regularly see a cardiologist after a frightening bout with Covid. She is one who absolutely experienced long term effects, and she's only 40 with no previously underlying conditions. It's horribly unpredictable.

I hope she recovers fully, Ida. How scary. 😔

My daughter -in-law was hospitalized with it in April and is still unable to.return full time to her job as a nurse. She was rehospitalized overnight two weeks.ago because she.still cannot breath well and has intermittent chest pains. She has no stamina and experiences brain fog.

My son had it at the same time but he was not nearly as sick as his wife was and has fully recovered. He said he.has never seen anyone as sick as his wife was.

This is an awful disease for many, and fatal for far too many. I don't understand why some people are so cavalier about it. I don't know what it will take for some to realize just how.dangerous it can be.

MN has just gotten around to mass testing. Inflated numbers need to alarm or frighten. Remember 99.7% of those who contract this virus will survive. Fear mongering is getting us no where healthy!!

I live in a fairly isolated, low

population province and I’ve never been so glad for it. We have mandatory two week quarantine and several university students were slapped with $1000+ fines for not quarantining after travelling in. It seems to have worked and we have had few or no cases for months.

we still have mandatory masks in indoor places and now that I see cases spiking in other provinces I’m happy to keep wearing the mask for a few months yet. it feels great to be able to see friends and family without too much fear.

Robo, keep me updated on the job outlook! I will need to look a the university websites again.

I’m still in shock that DeSantis basically opened Florida without restrictions. WTH?? I live in a pretty small town on the northeast coast of FL. A social club here had a karaoke night the first part of September with about 100 people. Then about a week ago a huge spike in our Covid numbers. 3 deaths, a few hospitalizations with 2 of those now in hospice care. Every one of those cases were traced back to karaoke night and look how fast this virus has infected us. And of course, the same event now has been traced back to many of the school cases. Ugh ...... will people never learn? Very frustrated.

I am just glad that I have never been a social butterfly, don’t really care about eating out or mingling with the general public and I’m retired so I guess I will just continue to stay at home honing my “loner” skills. 😊

Edited to add: our city and county has mask mandates, but our governor’s mandate as of last Friday overrules all that making masking optional. arghhh

"At the very start of the cough and heavy chest feeling my husband got gel tabs and an inhaler from the doctor. I took the gel tabs"

Justerrilyn, I'm curious, what kind of gel tabs are you referring to? Asking for me not for a friend...our housecleaner tested positive on Friday morning after cleaning for us on Thursday. Although she wore a mask while here and I tried to as well whenever she was in the room with me (husband didn't mask up) we both went immediately to urgent care to be tested. The dr told us it's unlikely we are infected, but of course we won't know till test results come back.

Meanwhile we will quarantine more strictly of course. I asked my sister to take my father for a medical appt tomorrow, and I won't be able to go have lunch with my MIL on Wednesday. I just got trained as an essential caregiver and had an outdoor picnic lunch with her last week so that's a real shame.

As for the overall situation, I'm feeling depressed and anxious about the months to come. As noted our benighted FL governor suddenly abandoned basically all COVID restrictions on Friday. Clearly it's a political gambit; Trump desperately needs to win our state's electoral votes and I'm sure he asked/demanded and DeSantis said of course boss. So now there is absolutely no reason anyone who doesn't want to wear a mask will have to do so. Especially in our vacation area I have no doubt things will get bad fast.

Also spoke with my daughter yesterday and we will probably be cancelling her planned wedding down here which was to take place in March. We have to decide by December to avoid losing even more money. As it stands we will already lose 50% of total cost as a penalty because we won't be rebooking. But it's looking more and more unlikely that we can in good conscience ask people to come for a gathering like that. My future SIL's family and friends all have to travel a long distance, if they feel safe enough to do that which is of course a huge question mark. Even if people come, what is a wedding going to look like when the guests won't be able to get close enough to talk, dance, even have dinner together? Ethically speaking unless things take a dramatic upswing, it's just not right to ask people to expose themselves or have to say no to an invitation. And although we have resources, it makes absolutely no sense to throw away money on an event that shouldn't take place and is likely to be sparsely attended if it does.

I'm also increasingly pessimistic about being able to see her any time soon anyway She and her fiancee just bought a new townhouse but I am very nervous about flying and also about a 4-day driving ordeal up and back by myself to visit, as husband adamantly refuses to go anywhere. What am I saying, right now I'm sitting around waiting to find out if I have a disease that has no cure and potential deadly side effects and which is severely contagious!

Heck I'm depressing myself just writing this so I'll stop now.

I am wondering if the many Canadian “snowbirds” will be able to travel to Florida this year? There are still travel restrictions through late October, I think?

@robo (z6a) don’t your relatives come this way every year? Will they this winter?

They were talking earlier about chartering a plane down. IMO it’s foolish. I mean apart from increased risk of covid what of the practicalities if they get ill? do you even want to get mortally ill in the US as a non-citizen? Would our international health insurance cover non essential travel? Idk.

I think they should find some Caribbean island with a strict quarantine and a few golf courses and rent a villa there for the winter.

Yes, Justerrilyn, please tell us more about the gel tabs.

Runninginplace, my new word for the day is benighted. Thank you!

adjective

adjective: benighted

1. 1.

   in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity.

   "they saw themselves as bringers of culture to poor benighted peoples"

1. Opposite: enlightened

2. 2.

   overtaken by darkness.

   "a storm developed and we were forced to wait benighted near the summit"

Running I’m so sorry for you. Hoping for the best. I’m on the other side of Florida in Marco Island so know too well about the influx of tourists. I’m not too worried about getting sick but it’s worrisome when visitors overrun our doctors offices etc. It can be difficult in season to get an appointment with my family doctor due to seasonal visitors. I don’t know if restaurants around here will impose their own restrictions but I doubt it. September is nice and quiet but come February all bets are off.

Florida averages 918 pneumonia deaths a year. As of June of this year they've had 5,185. We now know where DeSantis is hiding his covid death numbers. Floridians have been lied to about their covid death rate. Now is not the time to relax the rules of social engagement. If we don’t commit to a cohesive, rational, national strategy there may be pockets of Covid deaths for years to come. A vaccine won’t save the Americans too dumb or too “proud” to take it.

Editing to add that republicans have cried foul over these numbers and asked for clarification from the CDC with respect to the statistics. Politifact took on this controversy and said, in part:

“If the death certificate mentions both COVID-19 and pneumonia, both codes are included in CDC data for the current year, and the death will be allocated to both categories in the CDC’s provisional surveillance system, which keeps a rough running tally of deaths in a given year.”

Two takeaways from this—first that it’s is “too soon” to say whether the numbers in the claim are true. Second, notice that the sentence starts with IF. I happen to know as a matter of fact that most doctors do not list multiple causes of death on a death certificate. They list a single cause and it is often pneumonia, sepsis or congestive heart failure, as those are conditions that essentially kill a person who entered the hospital for other reasons. So, the explanation of how the CDC will tabulate these deaths at the end of the year may make no difference to the undercounting of Covid 19 as the leading cause of death in the US in 2020.

Runninginplace, my teenage son had COVID this summer. Thankfully he was completely asymptomatic and despite sharing a bedroom with my other teenage son and driving back and forth to work multiple times together in the week leading up to when he was tested, my other son did not get it. We only even knew to have my older son tested after learning that one of his friends tested positive (then his entire friend group also tested positive; my son was the only one who was completely asymptomatic and the others only had mild symptoms). Fortunately my husband, daughter and I were at our beach house at the time so we remained there to quarantine/stay away from him. Anyway, long winded way of saying....we called our doctor to see if we should get tested (he said we didn‘t need to if we had no symptoms and could quarantine so we did). He did tell us that we, as well as my sons, should take Vit D and zinc daily. When the contact tracer who was also a nurse, contacted my son, she told him the same thing. I’ve since heard from others they had the same advice.

@runninginplace I’m curious. Did the urgent care tell you that you might have been tested too soon after exposure to get an accurate result? We were told to wait 3-5 days after exposure to a positive person unless we started having symptoms.

For those that were asking about Canadian snowbirds I am one and have been going to Florida for three months for the last 10 years. I rent in a complex that also has about 9 other Canadian rentals and 22 American rentals. Everyone of the Canadians has opted out of going to a Florida for this coming winter. I think so far most of the Americans will be going other than maybe 3 that will also opt out.

it makes no sense for us to go because of the risks and also looking at the health care.

i sure hope we will be able to go next winter, I have not experienced fridgit temps for the last 10 years and I am sure not looking forward to it. But I must put health before good times.

Running, I hate to hear all you are going through and I pray you and your husband do not get the virus. I, too, am curious about the gel tabs. I had read an article from a mother who nursed her son through Covid and things she suggested stocking up on. Mucinex and cough syrup (I can't remember which one she recommended right now) were two things she listed. As one with allergies, I always have mucinex on hand. I also have an inhaler, two actually as one is a rescue inhaler. I am thankful to have them with Covid going on! I do not have asthma, but I have a nasty mold allergy which sometimes presents respiratory symptoms. Keep us posted as to your test results!

Oh, just saw the request for gel tab name. I can’t remember but do think I took a photo of the container on the counter. I‘ll look through my photo‘s and get back.

Thanks, Justerrilynn.

For those of you directing comments at Arcy, you must know by now that her postings are like drive-by shootings. She makes her statement and moves on. She is not coming back to discuss anything with you.

And that is a good thing graywings - who needs an argument especially about this troubling topic.

I like this particular map as it shows the 14 day average of cases on a per capita basis. Scroll down to see the color coded map of the US, and see the rural areas and midwest are the most recently affected.

https://covid19.biglocalnews.org/county-maps/index.html#/county/27053

I was at the store on Friday, where I overheard a customer make a statement to a clerk about the needs for mask, expecting commiseration with the inconvenience. Instead the clerk patiently explained (perhaps this was company policy) that he was in contact with many more numbers of people each day and that to reduce risk, the mask policy was for the employee's benefit.

Similar to KSWL's post, I have been following overall deaths to try to get a read on the true impact of covid. NJ has a good graph about it. The overall death rate in NJ has been virtually steady over the previous years. Check out the numbers starting 3/2020. Imagine this happening in other states as well.

I found the name of the geltab and non-steroid inhaler we used when we had a mild case of Covid. Geltab for cough/ heavy chest - Tessalon (Benzonatate) and inhaler - Albuterol. We both felt so much better on day three after getting the cough under control. Keep in mind though that besides horrible fatigue, cough and lungy feeling all our other vitals remained in normal range. We had no temp and no loss of taste/smell. I checked both our vitals a few times a day and kept a log.

I guess Benzontate / Tessalon is fairly common. it’s used to treat cough, pneumonia, bronchitis , asthma etc...It works really well! We only needed the inhaler a few times.

Where I live Tessalon and albuterol are both prescription only

Yes, here as well.

Poor and uninsured would go to free or low cost Federally qualified health clinics for treatment or prescriptions FL)

On reflection, I deleted my posts in response to a certain individual. I think she enjoys the negative attention and I'm going to endeavor not to play such a stupid game. Real people are suffering real outcomes of this deadly, unpredictable disease and that should remain the focus. I absolutely hope that those among us who are dealing with their own issues because of the pandemic find comfort and complete healing, as well as a tremendous outpouring of compassion.

Well said, Ida, I’ll do the same.

Good move Ida - sometimes people and their commentary are best not dignified with a response. Similarly sometimes a misbehaving child should be ignored lest they continue with the same behavior that gets them attention. 😼

It strikes me as eerily similar to the communication style of a certain figurehead, and it is most definitely best ignored.

Carry on. 🙂❤

I don't know if this will help, but my doctor who had Covid in March along with her kids and husband told me not to worry too much, wear a mask and social distance. If I do get Covid or any symptoms (I have pulmonary issues, including asthma) she would immediately have me start with Albuterol (through my nebulizer), steroids, high dose Vitamin C, a decongestant, and something else I can't remember. One of her specialties is Geriatrics, and she only lost two very elderly out of dozens of sick patients. She is very pro-active and doesn't wait for the Covid test to come back. She medicates immediately and will stop if you come back negative.

I don't know if this article will help anyone. I found it very interesting. The data is showing those who take statins get a milder case of Covid. I read it a few days ago and don't remember all the details. I will reread it when I have time.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200923164603.htm

Hcbm, sounds like you have a great doctor. I think the trick is to immediately get care and nip it in the bud. Don‘t wait. Even with milder cases you know you have it so don’t try an ride it out. It might just start with your head feeling sort of staticky, be a bit more body achy than usual and have really bad fatigue. Once the cough comes you are on the verge of waiting too long but not to long if you act right away.

I don't know if this will help, but my doctor who had Covid in March along with her kids and husband told me not to worry too much, wear a mask and social distance.

If only we could convince everyone to do that, because distancing and masks are the only tools we have right now to slow the spread.

I feel quite safe as long as I wear a mask, keep my distance and don’t do anything with a crowd. That does rule out a lot of fun activities but so be it.

Thanks, hcbm, I had thought of that I as I had recently started a statin.

Hcbm, for some reason I didn’t see the statin post before my last post. I’m on a statin, my husband is on a statin. Maybe that is why we had a milder case? Although, my husband say‘s he had it worse than me .

justerrilynn, I probably was typing as you posted. I have been on a statin reluctantly for 20 years. I'm glad I have it now.