Elmer, you'll retain your sanity and reduce your frustration by just scrolling on by. Covid has been going on for months now, and the same deniers are still denying. I don't know what will enlighten them, but I know that continuing trying to educate them with science based information is exhausting.

Maybe “herd immunity“ means once enough of us have experienced a loss, common sense will prevail among the masses.

Mdln I just now read that you had Covid, I hope you recover completely and I'm sorry you had to read some of the idiotic irresponsible covid posts presented on this forum.

This is a serious thread, more people every day are dying of Covid.

I don't even bother participating in these Covid discussions any more. The same deniers are still denying, downplaying it, and insulting others who have had a personal experience or loss. Until those few individuals experience a personal loss themselves, they'll continue denying the seriousness. It's an exercise in futility to continue discussing it.

Maybe you are right, Sephia.

Okay

Thanks Lucille. Wildchild likes to mock others - calling face masks muzzles, and other derogatory comments.

"People who post multiple times on a thread of a type they claim to SOB on. Priceless."

My first comment on this thread was three hours ago. This thread has been active since last Thursday. I can read a thread - but I've decided to SOB posting any comments on any Covid-type thread anymore.

foodonastump

Maybe “herd immunity“ means once enough of us have experienced a loss, common sense will prevail among the masses.

I'm afraid that even then some will deny it.

Sure, if I had nothing better to do I'd go back through everything you've written the past several months. Many people have called you out for your inflammatory comments.

Who are you calling a liar? That's a pretty aggressive allegation to make.

I decided to unfriend a friend I've had since the 70's when this summer she said to me that Covid was fake news and a hoax and she knew no one who had it. I replied that my dear friend just died of it and hung up the phone.

what I can't stand are people who say they have had it and tell everyone it's no big deal. just like a certain soon to be ex-president. SO dangerous and completely disrespectful for those who haven't been so lucky.

No one in our immediate neighborhood has caught COVID-19, but it has invaded two families of our acquaintances. One family is a husband, wife, and a couple of college age offspring. Both Mom and Pop were taken to the hospital; She came home after 3 days, but he is still there after a week. The other family is a Mom, Dad, and college age son. Both Mom and Dad are holed up at home recuperating. He is a male nurse at Waukesha, WI Hospital. Most likely, that's where he was exposed.

Wisconsin's infections are out of control. It worsened after un-masked political rallies last week and a couple of big college parties. Some tavern owners are clamoring for higher density. They say there is no point in opening under the 6 ft distancing rule. At that spacing, they can't make money and in many cases lose money. Many small bars are not large enough to accommodate distancing.

In the last 2 months, it has invaded Wisconsin's Native American culture and their death rate is rising above the State's average.

Just checked the Covid rates at the nearest large (population >20,000 on campus) college that I've been watching. Their rates have dropped all semester and include students, faculty and staff. Their current level is less that 0.2 percent. They started at 0.5 percent.

Embothrium, like you, I try to steer clear of people who don't wear masks. And it's a drag wearing one whenever I have to go out, but that's life. But I'm especially surprised at that jerk you saw going into a public restroom. If ever there was a place I'd want to wear a mask...!

My niece and her husband and four sons have it right now. They are all in separate rooms trying to get through it. The parents are age 50, sons are 18,16, 15 and 8, all of them are struggling. They are 8 days into it and not much improvement, actually they are getting worse. The hardest part is eating, they are not hungry but the Mom puts the food out and they try to eat some of it. We have a food plan delivery to them every day which is left outdoors. The Dad brings it to the kitchen and their Mom and Dad take turns delivering them to the children. They were told by the CDC not to interact with each other. It's horrific for this family as one son had a brain tumor and the other two have a disease. We are all praying.

If they all have it, why can’t they be together?

Yayagal what a nightmare, and even worse that they don't get the comfort of being together through this. the healthy mother probably having to bear the burden of care -- stress and exhaustion is not great for the immune system. I'm so sorry! I hope they have a full recovery.

Yayagal I’m sending prayers.

bpath

If they all have it, why can’t they be together?

I was wondering that too.

Well, I read wildchild's post several times, and I really don't see where she say said, or even inferred, that CoVid-19 was no big deal.

I wish we all could be a little nicer to each other. We're all going through this together, and people shouldn't be attacked for saying it wasn't a big deal for someone they knew, or they may have had before we knew how serious this disease was, but don't know for sure.

We're all under a lot of stress right now, some of us more than others, and I think we can do without adding more.

lily316

I decided to unfriend a friend I've had since the 70's when this summer she said to me that Covid was fake news and a hoax and she knew no one who had it. I replied that my dear friend just died of it and hung up the phone.

Good for you!

I'm so sorry about the loss of your friend. 😥

I was ill in February into mid March with fever, cough, congestion, etc. Two rounds of steroids with no improvement. I finally developed pneumonia so I was prescribed steroids with an antibiotic and eventually improved. It took six weeks to feel human again and I still tire more easily. I did not get tested for Covid at the time.

Right now I have several friends who have tested positive:

My best friend's husband who is 66, diabetic and has respiratory issues, their son and daughter in law, and the husband's sister.

Also a 42 year old friend who is obese and diabetic.

I am very worried about all of them.

In early October, my grandson developed croup and gave everyone in the household a nasty head cold. The good news is we are negative but still have a slight lingering cough. As for me I have laryngitis which is something I get every time I get a cold. I pretty much stay to myself but you should see the looks and hear the comments when I venture to the grocery store. People are not nice.

Moosemac, I'm sorry people are not nice. Like Woodrose said, everyone is under stress right now. I read of so many people who venture out into public even when they've tested positive! It floors me how stupid and selfish some people can be! So I can understand if someone hears you talking in a hoarse voice, yeah, they worry -- but that's no excuse for being mean.

Yayagal, prayers for your niece and her family. Are they supposed to stay apart in order to not reinfect and add to each other's virus burden? Thank goodness ya'll have a food plan for them, that must be a huge help.

I'm sorry you're ill and I hope better days are coming soon for you. In the meantime, you should understand that for many exposure to someone sick with covid-19 can be a life or death matter. If you have a lingering cough, for no matter what reason, you should stay away from public places as much as possible. Have someone else do your shopping.

I understand your feelings but I also understand reactions a coughing person in an inside public place will trigger from others. You should too.

If they all have it, why can’t they be together?

I was wondering that too.

my guess is that it's something to do with the viral load. I do know that if you're exposed to a larger amount of the virus then your case could be more severe. (which is why masks and distancing are important. it cuts down on the load.) therefore, maybe this also applies to people while they're in the middle of it. if one has it really bad and the others have a light case, maybe it could possibly get worse for them if they're exposed more ..... if I'm making sense at all. just a guess.

Healing thoughts for your family Yayagal.

I think that makes sense, Mod.

A former in-law thinks it's a hoax but is using it as an excuse to keep her ex from their daughter, because he's not especially careful and goes to the nearby state with a high positivity rate.

Well, I can answer the question at the top of the thread: No! My test result is finally back. I still have to quarantine 2 more days anyway. Finishing my binge-show lol

We have no covid-19 cases in our family and friends so far.

Very glad you got the all clear bpath!

Very sad for anyone who is dealing with this virus.

Just went out and bought all new double masks with new filters because I feel like we're going to need them for quite a while longer.

We are not allowed to have even our safe six to visit here at home just household family members and will abide by those rules. Also no close or far travel as well . It is very rough on my disabled sisters but they are coping right now. If anybody becomes suicidal I will have to once again see them but I'm allowed to do so under those circumstances. We take it day by day.

Unfortunately DH DN and I still have to go to work as do many. We're doing our very best to keep ourselves and others safe in this topsy-turvy world with distancing masks and self cleaning.

I have made it a habit of changing my mask every time I get into the car. I take off my old mask face wash and hand sanitize then I wash down any surface I touched and put a new mask around my neck. It really does help so I don't forget my mask and I don't forget to hand and face sanitize.

Even if I have no personal connection with the virus I have no trouble seeing that it exists. It is real and I have a part in keeping it from spreading.

I hope everyone stays safe and those who can please isolate.

A former in-law thinks it's a hoax...

That's quite a hoax...over 10 million Americans have the disease, more than any other nation in the world, and nearly 250,000 have died from it, 1.2 million dead globally.

Our state was up to almost 5000 new cases today. Scary times and the weather has been hot so people are outdoors more. What will happen when it cools off and the holiday brings traveling families?

The last time something like this happened was 102 years ago, So anybody still alive today who was old enough at the time to have anywhere near adult level recollections of the pandemic now would have to be something like 109. Or older.

So for all practical purposes nobody not yet having been hit by COVID either themselves or within their circle has a complete grasp of what can be involved. That to ignore the recommended precautions is to risk death or disability - at the very least an episode of illness that is often very uncomfortable.

We don’t even have the highly contagious illnesses like measles, which back in my grandparents and even parents day would have meant the entire household was quarantined. Even not that long ago, with SARS, a family friend, I can’t remember if she had it or if she was exposed, but she had to quarantine at home and not visit her DH in the care home. She had to have deliveries to her front stoop, then open the door after the delivery person, usually her son, left.

There was a flu pandemic in 2009, not too long ago.

2019 Measles outbreak from CDC: "Measles cases in 2019 From January 1 to December 31, 2019, 1,282* individual cases of measles were confirmed in 31 states. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992."

I remember being in grade school when as many as a quarter of the kids would be out with measles on any given day. It’s incredibly contagious. This was in the 1960s. In some subjects like math we didn’t do much, maybe watch a movie or the teacher would read a Story to us, because so many kids were gone that moving forward would leave them behind, and you’d never have the whole class on the same page (as it were) by the end of the year. Teachers still taught because, of course, THEY had had it themselves already. Because of the domino effect, we might not have a full classroom for months at a time.

The next school year it would start all over again, with the kids who hadn’t gotten it the year before. Of course, everyone was still susceptible to mumps, chicken pox, strep, etc. But measles was the most contagious.

Yes, and the Dodgers won the World Series, not too long ago.

Apparently the over 1,000 in the US is now averaging in deaths daily should be congratulating themselves because they died from a hoax. Things are about ready to become much worse and that 3,352 so far who have died in the last three days will be a low figure.

Occasional 59 year old lurker here: As an essential worker, I know dozens of people who've had it at my job, including myself. One of my co-workers was hospitalized for two nights on oxygen, but the rest of us had relatively mild cases. My first symptom was loss of smell (that was what caused me to get tested) and physical exhaustion. I never had a fever, shortness-of-breath, or congestion, but did have a slight headache at times, loose BMs, and loss of appetite. And I have had anxiety ever since (June) but have tested "healthy". We had one co-worker who doesn't work in my area pass away, along with her mother. We believe the original carrier (who was the one hospitalized) brought it from Mardi Gras. The good news is we've only had three cases at work since Aug. because most wear masks and social distance.

My mom's cousin who is bed ridden in a nursing home has it now with no symptoms last I heard. My dad's 88 year old cousin (healthy and vibrant) and her 95 year old husband had it in July. She had symptoms similar to mine but still has a low blood oxygen level at times. Her husband, who was in the hospital with pneumonia for six weeks in Jan., never showed a symptom.

As I said, my case was mild, but it certainly took a toll on my mental health and my ability to sleep. I am taking a sleeping med for the first time in my life, have lost 25 lbs (from a size 12 to a size 8 and I am 5'9"), walk a lot, and eat very healthy when I can work up an appetite. I am also taking some supplements including a probiotic, D3, C, and zinc. I think the anxiety comes from over thinking how it might affect my future health.

I think I picked it up from a loaner car when I had to put my car in the shop for a week. No one who was in my office the week I tested positive got it (just time off for quarantine).

maifleur03 - no one has said it's a hoax. We have said that unintended consequences should be considered in choosing how to proceed. Also that we have very short memories about this kind of thing. Most people have already completely forgotten the measles outbreak of last year and the campaigns to get people to vaccinate their children.

Too many in this country must have very short attention spans or limited intellect for failing to be able to discern fact from propaganda. I think the cause for many is both. That's one of the biggest problems we're facing. That's an unintended consequence that without firmer government action we all suffer and some die from.

Embothrium

While I wasn't alive 102 years ago, my father was though he isnow deceased. My father talked about the 1918 epidemic and his stories left an indelible mark in my memory. My grandmother, Dad's mom died in the 1918 epidemic. In addition to the shock of lossing his mother, my father recounted that everyone in the family got sick and the family was subjected to months of home quarantine. He recounted the lingering fear from those outside the family. Long after the epidemic was over, folks still avoided my father's family. He remembered going to church with his family and no one would sit near them. People would cross the street so as not to have to pass them on the sidewalk.

My mother's family went through two epidemics and resulting quaratines, one for TB and the other for polio. My mother had polio and my uncvle had TB. Their experiences were very similar to my father's family. The folks in the community avoided the family for several months after their quarantine was over.

Needless to say, I am accutely aware of the physical and emotional trauma associated with an epidemic. I am saddened by the extremes on boths sides of the issue. There is a problem and if everyone had just used common sense, we would not be in the situation we are in. I fear nothing will slow this epidemic until we have all been infected.

I fear nothing will slow this epidemic until we have all been infected.

thanks to Pfizer and other international companies, we have some vaccines on the horizon, so hopefully we can avoid that. we just need to continue being very careful until then. my next fear will be the anti-vaxxers.

Anti maskers now, anti vaxxers later. The virus doesn't care, it's not even a living thing - just stuff that is relentlessly working it's way through the population, like somebody had let loose a huge lingering poison gas cloud that increases in size over time.

Vaccines are great - if you have access to them. It would take years to vaccinate everyone in this county. Another issue is the vaccines that are now in testing require storage at temperatures that the average physicians office doesn't have the ability to do.

janmo_nc, thanks for de-lurking to share your first hand experience. I wish you many days of health and sincerely hope your anxiety will decrease as time goes by. Good progress is being made on vaccines ... it will be a while before this pandemic is behind us, but not forever. Stay strong :-)

Vaccines are great - if you have access to them.

I worked as a traveling nurse for the state for a while, assessing ill/handicapped children for a state paid assistance program. There was only a tiny per cent of my caseload that I could not find, usually because the family had moved and not informed their caseworker, and sometimes I had to drive for hours to find my clients.

I have no doubt that refrigerated mobile vaccine clinics will be made available. I have no doubt that incentives of various kinds will be made available to help those who need help accessing the vaccine.

After all, it seems like it would be to the government's advantage to help get everyone vaccinated, so that the people can return to work and thereby fund tax bills that pays for government. Billions have been spent on research and development, I would think distribution costs and aggravations will be surmountable.

I fear nothing will slow this epidemic until we have all been infected.

No proof at all that having had Covid confers long term immunity. So that wouldn't stop it.

While not a lot is known scientifically about what it was over the centuries there has been something or things called sweating disease. It came and went as it pleased striking one area but leaving an adjoining area completely free of disease. One of the interesting things was that some people would be the only person in a household or even village to live but would later succumb perhaps in the next wave or even much later waves. For me it is easy to visualize people having a disease over and over while having no long term immunity.

I now know several who have had it including DS, 43, and DDIL, 39 (DS had a mild case and DDIL is prone to exaggeration when it comes to her health so am unable to accurately gauge the extent of her case, but expect she will recover without complications.). Two friends of my kids, early 40's, have had lingering issues and one will be participating in a major COVID study. I know of a veterinarian (40's) who did not survive, a dentist (50's) whose only symptoms were loss of taste and smell. I suspect this winter will bring much higher numbers, thus cancellation of the holidays for this family (and more decluttering in our future!).

Nickel_kg Thank you! I am feeling better every day!

janmo, interesting...my cousin went through something similar, but it wasn't from covid. She found out she had a-fib and had to go on medication for it. She suffered anxiety, couldn't eat, lost weight, couldn't sleep. I talked to her about it and suggested that, on some level, we all have an innate trust in our bodies. When hit with a potentially serious illness, that trust gets destroyed and it affects our psyche. She ended up going for counseling and found EMDR very helpful. She's pretty much back to normal and has found a way to deal with her episodes of a-fib.