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Mar. 5th, 2020 09:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Spoke to mother, she heard back from her doctor and was informed that it would be better if her niece not come down to visit right now. Both my parents have impaired immune systems. My mother is anemic (they don't know why - they've done every test on the planet), and my father...well. In other words, both are susceptible to mono and getting it could make them seriously ill. And, my brother realized that it's probably not a great idea for my niece to travel with it. He's considering just coming down himself. But flying anywhere right now is a bit dicey. They are canceling flights right and left.
Mother also told me that they've been cancelling events at her community. Anything that has large gatherings of people. Also the Sunday Brunch and Holiday Buffets will now have the servers serving you. You don't serve yourself. And no shared finger foods.
There's a piano competition that people were going to see - and they cancelled the bus to that. Also cancelled taking folks to church services, and cancelled taking them to World Affairs.
Apparently there's a case of coronavirus on the island, so they are being extra careful.
2. Coronavirus fears spark 'panic buying' of toilet paper, water, hand sanitizer. Here's why we all need to calm down
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified the outbreak of coronavirus as a pandemic.
It would probably help if the media didn't feel the need to scare everyone to death.
I think the reports from Wuhan, China are scaring us all.
Keep calm and stop hoarding. The spread of coronavirus in the U.S. won't wipe out our toilet paper supply. Or supplies of hand sanitizer, bottled water and ramen.
That is, unless the frenzied stampedes for hand sanitizer and bottled water continue at their current pace.
Anticipating a potential quarantine, shoppers ran out this weekend to buy food, water and other staples so they could avoid exposing themselves and their families. Others, alarmed by the rising death count and number of confirmed cases in the U.S., went on impulsive buying binges, stripping store shelves of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Soon, hand sanitizer was nearly impossible to find in some places.
Online stores were hit hard, too, and not just Amazon.com. At the top of the Kroger app Monday was an alert limiting the number of sanitization and cold and flu-related products to five of each per order. The Costco and Target websites listed all kinds of staples including Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and all-purpose cleaner as "out of stock."
Honestly you can't make this stuff up. Or you could and no one would believe you. All the bad 1980s and 1990s pandemic horror flicks never talked about the fear of running out of toilet paper. As diabolical as Stephen King is, it never occurred to him that people would hoard toilet paper, disinfectant and hand sanitizers.
(I'm not immune. Being prone to anxiety and compulsive behavior -- I have to work to stop myself from doing it too. I had to buy hand sanitizer from a third party seller on Amazon, and for $7.99, which normally cost $1.99. Amazon is sold out. So too are all the stores around me. It's insane. Toilet paper on the other hand is not a problem, still available. Thank god. I can't really stock up too much, I've no space. It's times like this that I wish I lived way out in the country, and wrote for a living.)
As an aside, there's about 22 cases now in NYC, 3 in Manhattan, most are upstate. And most are connected to the guy in West Chester. About 9 deaths. They've told everyone not to panic. Pat Foyle of the MTA came on NY1 and explained that they are sanitizing the subways, trains, stations, buses across the board with EPA and CDC approved cleansers and reaching out to other public transportation agencies across the country and worldwide to do the same. The reporter asked the same question everyone asks which is "why weren't you already doing this.." I mean honestly how do you answer that? It's pretty obvious why. Hello, public agency, funded with tax-payer dollars and costs of taking it are kept relatively low -- so they can't really afford to sanitize it every 72 hours 24/7 year round. Consider how much that would cost? And the MTA is already in a 1 Billion dollar deficit. Money folks.
But hey, the subways are clean. People at work were skeptical. I told them -- no, no, they really are. I entered the G train this morning, which normally is kind of disgusting and I'm always hunting a seat that looks clean with nothing hiding under it. But this morning? It was clean. Smelled clean. I was impressed. And on the way home? Also clean - the G train. This is the old yellow and orange bucket seat trains, folks. It doesn't go into Manhattan. It has only six cars. And it was clean!
So too were the stations -- these are in Brooklyn not Manhattan.
It was oddly comforting. Also no one is coughing or sneezing or sniffling on the trains. It is the little things...
3. Work
I finally get around to washing my tea mug, and the fire alarm goes off. With mug in hand, I go to see what is going on.
Fire Safety Inspector: This is your fire safety inspector informing you that the alarm went off because the Port Authority advised us of a potential problem in the building. We are investigating, please stay at your desks until further notice.
I go back to cleaning out mug.
Fire Safety Inspector: Attention. Attention. This is your fire safety inspector informing you that there is nothing to worry about, the situation has been taken care of.
Me: And yet you won't inform us on what it was.
Co-workers: Somebody probably burned their toast.
I put down mug and proceed to go to the bathroom, and almost run into Administrative Assistant crankily coming to me, with coat, gloves, hat, and purse on.
Me: Uhm, I thought I saw you already here -
Admin Assistant: When I see a fire alarm go off, I leave the building. Why would you stay? Do you know how long it took me just to make it to the exit and down the steps? If there was a problem - I'd be dead.
Me: Uhm. Okaaay. (Except if you don't know where it is or what it is, you could be walking right into it...but hey do what you want. Also, apparently you don't care about your co-workers all that much. Good to know.)
I'm the sort who would wait and make sure others got out too.
I'm glad I'm taking a four day weekend. My shoulders and hands need a break. My hands are burning from all of the excessive hand washing at work. Of course, will most likely have to do it tomorrow too - because of the chest x-ray.
Mother also told me that they've been cancelling events at her community. Anything that has large gatherings of people. Also the Sunday Brunch and Holiday Buffets will now have the servers serving you. You don't serve yourself. And no shared finger foods.
There's a piano competition that people were going to see - and they cancelled the bus to that. Also cancelled taking folks to church services, and cancelled taking them to World Affairs.
Apparently there's a case of coronavirus on the island, so they are being extra careful.
2. Coronavirus fears spark 'panic buying' of toilet paper, water, hand sanitizer. Here's why we all need to calm down
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified the outbreak of coronavirus as a pandemic.
It would probably help if the media didn't feel the need to scare everyone to death.
I think the reports from Wuhan, China are scaring us all.
Keep calm and stop hoarding. The spread of coronavirus in the U.S. won't wipe out our toilet paper supply. Or supplies of hand sanitizer, bottled water and ramen.
That is, unless the frenzied stampedes for hand sanitizer and bottled water continue at their current pace.
Anticipating a potential quarantine, shoppers ran out this weekend to buy food, water and other staples so they could avoid exposing themselves and their families. Others, alarmed by the rising death count and number of confirmed cases in the U.S., went on impulsive buying binges, stripping store shelves of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Soon, hand sanitizer was nearly impossible to find in some places.
Online stores were hit hard, too, and not just Amazon.com. At the top of the Kroger app Monday was an alert limiting the number of sanitization and cold and flu-related products to five of each per order. The Costco and Target websites listed all kinds of staples including Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and all-purpose cleaner as "out of stock."
Honestly you can't make this stuff up. Or you could and no one would believe you. All the bad 1980s and 1990s pandemic horror flicks never talked about the fear of running out of toilet paper. As diabolical as Stephen King is, it never occurred to him that people would hoard toilet paper, disinfectant and hand sanitizers.
(I'm not immune. Being prone to anxiety and compulsive behavior -- I have to work to stop myself from doing it too. I had to buy hand sanitizer from a third party seller on Amazon, and for $7.99, which normally cost $1.99. Amazon is sold out. So too are all the stores around me. It's insane. Toilet paper on the other hand is not a problem, still available. Thank god. I can't really stock up too much, I've no space. It's times like this that I wish I lived way out in the country, and wrote for a living.)
As an aside, there's about 22 cases now in NYC, 3 in Manhattan, most are upstate. And most are connected to the guy in West Chester. About 9 deaths. They've told everyone not to panic. Pat Foyle of the MTA came on NY1 and explained that they are sanitizing the subways, trains, stations, buses across the board with EPA and CDC approved cleansers and reaching out to other public transportation agencies across the country and worldwide to do the same. The reporter asked the same question everyone asks which is "why weren't you already doing this.." I mean honestly how do you answer that? It's pretty obvious why. Hello, public agency, funded with tax-payer dollars and costs of taking it are kept relatively low -- so they can't really afford to sanitize it every 72 hours 24/7 year round. Consider how much that would cost? And the MTA is already in a 1 Billion dollar deficit. Money folks.
But hey, the subways are clean. People at work were skeptical. I told them -- no, no, they really are. I entered the G train this morning, which normally is kind of disgusting and I'm always hunting a seat that looks clean with nothing hiding under it. But this morning? It was clean. Smelled clean. I was impressed. And on the way home? Also clean - the G train. This is the old yellow and orange bucket seat trains, folks. It doesn't go into Manhattan. It has only six cars. And it was clean!
So too were the stations -- these are in Brooklyn not Manhattan.
It was oddly comforting. Also no one is coughing or sneezing or sniffling on the trains. It is the little things...
3. Work
I finally get around to washing my tea mug, and the fire alarm goes off. With mug in hand, I go to see what is going on.
Fire Safety Inspector: This is your fire safety inspector informing you that the alarm went off because the Port Authority advised us of a potential problem in the building. We are investigating, please stay at your desks until further notice.
I go back to cleaning out mug.
Fire Safety Inspector: Attention. Attention. This is your fire safety inspector informing you that there is nothing to worry about, the situation has been taken care of.
Me: And yet you won't inform us on what it was.
Co-workers: Somebody probably burned their toast.
I put down mug and proceed to go to the bathroom, and almost run into Administrative Assistant crankily coming to me, with coat, gloves, hat, and purse on.
Me: Uhm, I thought I saw you already here -
Admin Assistant: When I see a fire alarm go off, I leave the building. Why would you stay? Do you know how long it took me just to make it to the exit and down the steps? If there was a problem - I'd be dead.
Me: Uhm. Okaaay. (Except if you don't know where it is or what it is, you could be walking right into it...but hey do what you want. Also, apparently you don't care about your co-workers all that much. Good to know.)
I'm the sort who would wait and make sure others got out too.
I'm glad I'm taking a four day weekend. My shoulders and hands need a break. My hands are burning from all of the excessive hand washing at work. Of course, will most likely have to do it tomorrow too - because of the chest x-ray.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 04:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 04:01 am (UTC)I admit I washed my hands carefully after coming home from the store today. No hoarding at my house, but I think I've got plenty of everything in case I'd have to stay in place for a while. Plenty of the essentials: TP, hot sauce and ramen. ;o)
I suspect your transit ramped up cleaning in anticipation of getting some extra funding from the bill that passed in Congress.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 04:37 am (UTC)Yeah that explains the masks, hand sanitizer, and bottled water -- but toilet paper? I think there's a wild rumor going around that toilet paper is produced in China (it's not).
I have to have the sanitizer and soap because I live in NYC. I can't step outside my apartment without running into other people's germs. I'm not a germ-a-phobe though. (The fact they ran out of it - panicked me a bit. It's kind of reassuring to read that they are still making it.)
no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 07:22 am (UTC)We've decided to do what we've been talking about for a while and are ordering a bidet seat.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-06 08:06 pm (UTC)