1. And apparently it is "Epidemic Central".
Map of Affected Areas in NYC
I live in the area of 206 and 207. But I'm at the top end of it. So that's good at least. Also they kind of lumped Borough Park and East Flatbush in with me and I'm north of both by quite a few blocks.
2. Useful information from an ER Doctor who is working exclusively with COVID-19 in NYC - Cornell Weill right now. COVID-19 ER Doctor Answers Questions and Provides Information on COVID-19
This is a reliable source.
He does however point out that it is safe to take a walk outside. Just don't touch anything, including your face and wash your hands. And carry hand sanitizer with you. Basically become obsessive about what you do with your hands - which, uhm, I've been doing that since March 1. Actually before then. I wash my hands constantly. And easier said than done - but I'm obsessive about hand washing right now.
Edited Transcript of the Video
When do you go to the hospital?
The question that a lot of people are asking is, if I get COVID 19. and I feel short of breath, am I just going to go to a hospital and die?
This is where I'm probably the most qualified person in the country to come to comment on what it looks like when people are coming into the hospital and sick.
If you're feeling short of breath, come to the hospital. That is the rule. That is the clearest thing. It's not “I have a fever.” It's not “I think I have COVID 19.” It's not “I can't stop having this body aches.” It's “I feel short of breath when I get up to go to the bathroom”
What we're doing at Cornell is a lot of the people that come to the emergency room, we're sending home till about four or five days of their disease, so that they can feel better and we say oh, you look completely fine, go home.
But we're also seeing people that feel short of breath who come to the hospital. Some of them go onto the hospital floor and just are short of breath for five to six, seven days, and then they go home. Of the entire population of people who get COVID 19, about 10% need to go to the hospital because they get short of breath. Of the 10% coming to the hospital, about one to two to 3% of those require the admission to the ICU and to be put on a ventilator. What happens when people get put on ventilators, the vast majority of people come off the ventilator seven to 10 days later.
I think the important thing for you guys to know is going to the hospital is not a death sentence. It's a safe place for you to be. Go to the hospital when you're short of breath. Don't go to the hospital because you have a cold at night.
Should I get tested?
We're going to get this question a billion times over and I don't have a perfect answer for you at this point because it's different in every community. Should I get tested if I may have the disease if I'm a generic 35 year old? Someone who's sick? I think it depends on the availability of testing in your community.
The caveat is if your community, whether that's New York or Tennessee, is testing a lot, and you have clear access to testing, absolutely getting the test is a good idea. Because when it's negative, then in a day, when you're feeling better, you can have full interaction with your family.
So I think that's the key but if you live in a community where there's very rare testing going on at this point, do not try and jump the line to someone who's actually short of breath and really not doing well. Just to make yourself feel better, just take the precautions in your home that I said, and then just rest.
He says you can take a walk in the city, but use purell when you touch the elevator button, open the door, don't touch the door. He's encouraging wearing a mask - to keep yourself from touching your face. (There's just a huge shortage of masks - because everyone in NY sent them to Italy and China.) He said you can use a scraf or bandana.
Suggestions for Purell - because we're out. Any type of disinfectant. The virus is a wimp - any small drop will kill it. Disinfectant will.
Q: On the masks does it need to be the simple medical mask or, like, a bandana?
A bandana as a great idea because it keeps your hands off your face. These are not preventing you from getting the disease. This is only preventing you from touching your face.
Q: If you don't have Purell, any suggestions? Because a lot of places are out.
I'll get back to you on what people are using in the absence of Purell. Coronavirus is a wimp. It dies as soon as you disinfect it. So I can get back on the exact thing, but just generally any type of disinfectant and then if you're going out and you don't have Purell, press the elevator with your elbow. You know, open the door with your shoulder. You know that's not gonna, that's not gonna get you COVID.
Ideally, if you have Purell, all you need is a small drop, you're going to kill this thing. This thing doesn't violate the rules. There's not a mystery disease.
Q: Is a long car ride safe, say 10 hours.
If no one in that car has COVID, you can drive for 200 days. As long as the person driving is by yourself, it's completely fine. If you're driving with Michelle, as long as Michelle has been fine and is fine, drive forever.
Q: Is it necessary to wipe things like groceries down with disinfectant or bringing them into the house?
I think the general answer that is no. If you live in New York City, where there's a lot of contact with stuff that you're getting delivered. I think it's a reasonable idea to have the delivery person leave the food that they're delivering to you outside your door. You could probably pick it up with a glove and then just open the bag and all the inside contents are fine. That's an overabundance of caution. But I think is reasonable.
What you don't want to do is high five the delivery man, you don't want to shake the delivery man's hands. You don't want to pick up the plastic bag that you're getting from seamless and have a huge long interaction with that bag, because of course it's possible the delivery person has COVID but again, if you follow the rules, and everything you touch, you just clean your hands. you will not get it.
Continue to order food. But no, I don't think you have to have routine groceries wiped down.
Q: Is it irresponsible to go to the Starbucks drive through?
I think that's a complicated question. I think if the simple question is, can both the Starbucks barista and you safely interact through that transaction? I think the answer is yes. Is it important that Starbucks and people that work there continue to have jobs? Yes. My general sense given that we're all hunkered down is to make your coffee at home. If you're going to go to Starbucks drive through, phone, wash your hands, accept the coffee, wash your hands and then drink your coffee. And I what I mean is that a drop of Purell or something equivalent to that. So, if you can, make your coffee and stay at home, I would recommend staying home.
Q: What about your clothes when you come home? I guess it's beyond groceries but like, you go out and you come home, should you be putting your clothes in the laundry?
Absolutely not. Absolutely not. That is a recommendation for healthcare providers -- Like for me, who lives in rooms with COVID patientsfor 12 straight hours. For me, I will take off my clothes and wash them and I have a whole procedure for that. For people who are generally going out and following the rules, you can wear your clothes, no problem.
Q: Now if you live in an apartment building and run out of disinfectant wipes, is there a good alternative?
I'll get back to you on the alternative. Sure. The answer is yes.
Q: If you become sick, how long should you wait before you go to the doctor or hospital?
So I think we loosely addressed it, but I'll directly address it which is, don't go to the doctor. Don't go to the hospital. The only rule for going to the hospitals if you're short of breath. What is amazing now during the outbreak is the use of telehealth. And so by far, if you feel sick and you're a little nervous, we have Weill Cornell Connect. We have an army of doctors who are at home waiting to take your call, who will tell you know that you have nothing or that you have COVID 19 and you should stay home.
So do not go to the doctor, do not go to the hospital, I would encourage you to use telemedicine, which is completely rampant right now, because we have a ton of doctors who are at home and will take your call over the internet.
Q: Is there a clarity about the incubation period? If no signs?
I think the incubation period is probably dependent on exposure. And so people who are exposed to a lot of disease -- like an emergency room doctor who interacted with a patient for a long period of time without any protection -- could be anything from a couple days, to someone who has an interaction with someone with very mild symptoms, and it can be upwards to 14 days, which is where the CDC recommendation is for people to stay home for 14 days. And then there's been the rarest of reports of it being beyond that.
So I would say if you had a casual contact with someone, and you don't feel sick at all after 14 days, then you probably are not going to develop COVID.
Q: Is there an emerging understanding or hypothesis around contributing to why certain younger patients in the 30s and 50s have been having acute respiratory course compared to their peers? Are these patients truly healthy? Or do they have comorbidities?
Everyone, listen, please listen to what I'm going to say. This disease affects everyone who's not in the age group of zero to 14. So, 23 year olds, 35 year olds, 45 year olds with zero medical problems are getting this disease. People like that are coming to the hospital. People like that are going on ventilators. There is a very evil narrative early in this disease that said that this is only a disease of old people and people who have hypertension or people who have diabetes. That is not true.
I can tell you because all I do is take care of patients. It's the entire spectrum of ages. So that includes older people who do worse, we see a little bit more older people. We see a ton of 35 year olds. And we will understand that someday, but we don't understand that right now.
It’s not to scare you -- just follow the rules. You can get this disease from age 20 years old, maybe 16 years old, all the way up to age 105. And you can get sick and end up on mechanical ventilation on a ventilator.
The younger you are, the less likely that is to happen. The older you are, the more likely that is to happen. But we see young people who get really sick and we see people who do just fine.
I don't think we know exactly why young people are getting sick, but follow the rules. If everyone does it, you're going to be fine. You're not going to get the disease. If you get the disease, follow the rules. You can protect your family, most people will be fine. If you're short of breath, go to the hospital. So we're just trying to make it as simple as possible.
Q: What are the symptoms? What to do if you have them, and is it okay to use ibuprofen with fever?
I touched on what the symptoms are, the vast majority of people are going to feel body aches, they're going to have a sore throat, and they're going to develop a fever. Upwards of 90% of people are going to have fever. So I think that's what it looks like. Very interesting question about ibuprofen. We're not using it in the hospital anymore. There's really good data from Germany that there's worse outcomes in people who use ibuprofen so that's a simple answer, which is if you have a fever, take acetaminophen (Tylenol), don't use ibuprofen, use Tylenol. It's very simple.
Q: I'd like to hear a bit about what it's like treating these patients, a couple stories from the front lines on this.
It's actually fascinating because they all look exactly the same. Everybody has a cough, everybody has a fever. Most people come into the hospital, they sit on the floor, and they just have fevers. A lot will be nervous, which is completely understandable.
They look like anybody else.
What we see is people get sick as they get short of breath. And then over one to two to three days, they get more short of breath. And then they get so short of breath that they can't walk to the bathroom. And then we put them on a ventilator. And then our experience has been that these people usually settle out over the next one day and then between seven to 10 days. Later, if no complications, we're able to get these people off the ventilator. At Cornell, we're 14 days into this, our first patient was a 39 year old, who is now home. So he was a 39 year old who needed mechanical ventilation, and he is safely at home. Dealing with these patients is, for a doctor, incredibly simple- - they all have the same needs, they all get the same treatment for them.
Most of that is good news. What's unsettling is - the reliance on hand sanitizers and masks. Although one is coming to me, and I could use a bandana.
I haven't had any prolonged contact, also I haven't touched anyone. The last person I did touch - I used hand sanitizer immediately after and washed my hands, and that was two weeks ago. Also he didn't have it.
3. So, I'm still here. Outside of allergies and a slight dry cough - brought on by the radiator heat and dry air, I'm doing fine and dandy. If I were to put a face on my anxiety - I'd say it's a giant beast hanging out my window with claws and teeth, peeking in at me every once and a while with a glare.
I watched some tv. Making Salmon and veggies now. And probably had far too much chocolate, which explains the upswing in anxiety. It's a rainy day. So no need to venture outside.
I called my Dad after seeing the Map on FB and freaking out. Then I reminded myself that my area is lumped in with Flatbush and Borough Hall - which got hit bad. There's not a lot of places to get tested in Brooklyn or any hospital with a lot of beds. Our Borough President, Eric Adams, is yelling at the Governor and Mayor to provide something for Brooklyn. He's even given suggestions. I kind of wish I lived in Manhattan now - it gets the most attention out of the five boroughs. Always has, mainly because that's where the money is. The doctor in the podcast above is a Manhattan doctor.
Anyhow, my Dad got me to laugh a bit. And I reminded myself that I'm kind of a loner to begin with. I don't interact that much with my neighbors if at all. And barely see anyone in the apartment complex as it is. I can spry the elevator door with lysol and the laundry room washers and dryers with it. Also wear gloves. Should be fine.
I'm putting off for a while though. See if this flattens out a bit first.
Television watched? Legacies, Million Little Things (which had quite the cliff-hanger not to mention depressing ending), Grey's, and Stumptown. Gearing up for Rosewell, This is Us, and a few others.
Struggling to focus though. It's hard not to obsess about the damn virus. It seems to permeate every aspect of my life. Although, there is some good news, NY had less cases reported today...
[ETA: I joined Next Door Neighbor some time ago - it reports things happening in my neighborhood and then the COVID 19 Support Group on it. What they are doing warms my heart. There are people on it that are putting up homeless folks in hotels for the span of the virus. And feeding the homeless. Also NYC is delivering free food to city residents in need - you sign up and you can get white rice, garbanzo beans and veggies - if the non-meat option. One woman did and gets it within two days, then she disperses it among the homeless on Utica and Eastern Parkway. A woman posted, begging for an NV-9 Mask for her husband who is an ER doctor doing CPR's daily. And who has been reusing the same mask. They just need one more. And she's home with a baby. Someone immediately gave her one. These stories show people do care. It makes me feel bad that I can't do anything. I don't have masks. I can't sew. And I can't deliver food. I'm thinking of donating money though - just got to find a reliable place to do it - so it goes to actual people and isn't a scam.]
Map of Affected Areas in NYC
I live in the area of 206 and 207. But I'm at the top end of it. So that's good at least. Also they kind of lumped Borough Park and East Flatbush in with me and I'm north of both by quite a few blocks.
2. Useful information from an ER Doctor who is working exclusively with COVID-19 in NYC - Cornell Weill right now. COVID-19 ER Doctor Answers Questions and Provides Information on COVID-19
This is a reliable source.
He does however point out that it is safe to take a walk outside. Just don't touch anything, including your face and wash your hands. And carry hand sanitizer with you. Basically become obsessive about what you do with your hands - which, uhm, I've been doing that since March 1. Actually before then. I wash my hands constantly. And easier said than done - but I'm obsessive about hand washing right now.
Edited Transcript of the Video
When do you go to the hospital?
The question that a lot of people are asking is, if I get COVID 19. and I feel short of breath, am I just going to go to a hospital and die?
This is where I'm probably the most qualified person in the country to come to comment on what it looks like when people are coming into the hospital and sick.
If you're feeling short of breath, come to the hospital. That is the rule. That is the clearest thing. It's not “I have a fever.” It's not “I think I have COVID 19.” It's not “I can't stop having this body aches.” It's “I feel short of breath when I get up to go to the bathroom”
What we're doing at Cornell is a lot of the people that come to the emergency room, we're sending home till about four or five days of their disease, so that they can feel better and we say oh, you look completely fine, go home.
But we're also seeing people that feel short of breath who come to the hospital. Some of them go onto the hospital floor and just are short of breath for five to six, seven days, and then they go home. Of the entire population of people who get COVID 19, about 10% need to go to the hospital because they get short of breath. Of the 10% coming to the hospital, about one to two to 3% of those require the admission to the ICU and to be put on a ventilator. What happens when people get put on ventilators, the vast majority of people come off the ventilator seven to 10 days later.
I think the important thing for you guys to know is going to the hospital is not a death sentence. It's a safe place for you to be. Go to the hospital when you're short of breath. Don't go to the hospital because you have a cold at night.
Should I get tested?
We're going to get this question a billion times over and I don't have a perfect answer for you at this point because it's different in every community. Should I get tested if I may have the disease if I'm a generic 35 year old? Someone who's sick? I think it depends on the availability of testing in your community.
The caveat is if your community, whether that's New York or Tennessee, is testing a lot, and you have clear access to testing, absolutely getting the test is a good idea. Because when it's negative, then in a day, when you're feeling better, you can have full interaction with your family.
So I think that's the key but if you live in a community where there's very rare testing going on at this point, do not try and jump the line to someone who's actually short of breath and really not doing well. Just to make yourself feel better, just take the precautions in your home that I said, and then just rest.
He says you can take a walk in the city, but use purell when you touch the elevator button, open the door, don't touch the door. He's encouraging wearing a mask - to keep yourself from touching your face. (There's just a huge shortage of masks - because everyone in NY sent them to Italy and China.) He said you can use a scraf or bandana.
Suggestions for Purell - because we're out. Any type of disinfectant. The virus is a wimp - any small drop will kill it. Disinfectant will.
Q: On the masks does it need to be the simple medical mask or, like, a bandana?
A bandana as a great idea because it keeps your hands off your face. These are not preventing you from getting the disease. This is only preventing you from touching your face.
Q: If you don't have Purell, any suggestions? Because a lot of places are out.
I'll get back to you on what people are using in the absence of Purell. Coronavirus is a wimp. It dies as soon as you disinfect it. So I can get back on the exact thing, but just generally any type of disinfectant and then if you're going out and you don't have Purell, press the elevator with your elbow. You know, open the door with your shoulder. You know that's not gonna, that's not gonna get you COVID.
Ideally, if you have Purell, all you need is a small drop, you're going to kill this thing. This thing doesn't violate the rules. There's not a mystery disease.
Q: Is a long car ride safe, say 10 hours.
If no one in that car has COVID, you can drive for 200 days. As long as the person driving is by yourself, it's completely fine. If you're driving with Michelle, as long as Michelle has been fine and is fine, drive forever.
Q: Is it necessary to wipe things like groceries down with disinfectant or bringing them into the house?
I think the general answer that is no. If you live in New York City, where there's a lot of contact with stuff that you're getting delivered. I think it's a reasonable idea to have the delivery person leave the food that they're delivering to you outside your door. You could probably pick it up with a glove and then just open the bag and all the inside contents are fine. That's an overabundance of caution. But I think is reasonable.
What you don't want to do is high five the delivery man, you don't want to shake the delivery man's hands. You don't want to pick up the plastic bag that you're getting from seamless and have a huge long interaction with that bag, because of course it's possible the delivery person has COVID but again, if you follow the rules, and everything you touch, you just clean your hands. you will not get it.
Continue to order food. But no, I don't think you have to have routine groceries wiped down.
Q: Is it irresponsible to go to the Starbucks drive through?
I think that's a complicated question. I think if the simple question is, can both the Starbucks barista and you safely interact through that transaction? I think the answer is yes. Is it important that Starbucks and people that work there continue to have jobs? Yes. My general sense given that we're all hunkered down is to make your coffee at home. If you're going to go to Starbucks drive through, phone, wash your hands, accept the coffee, wash your hands and then drink your coffee. And I what I mean is that a drop of Purell or something equivalent to that. So, if you can, make your coffee and stay at home, I would recommend staying home.
Q: What about your clothes when you come home? I guess it's beyond groceries but like, you go out and you come home, should you be putting your clothes in the laundry?
Absolutely not. Absolutely not. That is a recommendation for healthcare providers -- Like for me, who lives in rooms with COVID patientsfor 12 straight hours. For me, I will take off my clothes and wash them and I have a whole procedure for that. For people who are generally going out and following the rules, you can wear your clothes, no problem.
Q: Now if you live in an apartment building and run out of disinfectant wipes, is there a good alternative?
I'll get back to you on the alternative. Sure. The answer is yes.
Q: If you become sick, how long should you wait before you go to the doctor or hospital?
So I think we loosely addressed it, but I'll directly address it which is, don't go to the doctor. Don't go to the hospital. The only rule for going to the hospitals if you're short of breath. What is amazing now during the outbreak is the use of telehealth. And so by far, if you feel sick and you're a little nervous, we have Weill Cornell Connect. We have an army of doctors who are at home waiting to take your call, who will tell you know that you have nothing or that you have COVID 19 and you should stay home.
So do not go to the doctor, do not go to the hospital, I would encourage you to use telemedicine, which is completely rampant right now, because we have a ton of doctors who are at home and will take your call over the internet.
Q: Is there a clarity about the incubation period? If no signs?
I think the incubation period is probably dependent on exposure. And so people who are exposed to a lot of disease -- like an emergency room doctor who interacted with a patient for a long period of time without any protection -- could be anything from a couple days, to someone who has an interaction with someone with very mild symptoms, and it can be upwards to 14 days, which is where the CDC recommendation is for people to stay home for 14 days. And then there's been the rarest of reports of it being beyond that.
So I would say if you had a casual contact with someone, and you don't feel sick at all after 14 days, then you probably are not going to develop COVID.
Q: Is there an emerging understanding or hypothesis around contributing to why certain younger patients in the 30s and 50s have been having acute respiratory course compared to their peers? Are these patients truly healthy? Or do they have comorbidities?
Everyone, listen, please listen to what I'm going to say. This disease affects everyone who's not in the age group of zero to 14. So, 23 year olds, 35 year olds, 45 year olds with zero medical problems are getting this disease. People like that are coming to the hospital. People like that are going on ventilators. There is a very evil narrative early in this disease that said that this is only a disease of old people and people who have hypertension or people who have diabetes. That is not true.
I can tell you because all I do is take care of patients. It's the entire spectrum of ages. So that includes older people who do worse, we see a little bit more older people. We see a ton of 35 year olds. And we will understand that someday, but we don't understand that right now.
It’s not to scare you -- just follow the rules. You can get this disease from age 20 years old, maybe 16 years old, all the way up to age 105. And you can get sick and end up on mechanical ventilation on a ventilator.
The younger you are, the less likely that is to happen. The older you are, the more likely that is to happen. But we see young people who get really sick and we see people who do just fine.
I don't think we know exactly why young people are getting sick, but follow the rules. If everyone does it, you're going to be fine. You're not going to get the disease. If you get the disease, follow the rules. You can protect your family, most people will be fine. If you're short of breath, go to the hospital. So we're just trying to make it as simple as possible.
Q: What are the symptoms? What to do if you have them, and is it okay to use ibuprofen with fever?
I touched on what the symptoms are, the vast majority of people are going to feel body aches, they're going to have a sore throat, and they're going to develop a fever. Upwards of 90% of people are going to have fever. So I think that's what it looks like. Very interesting question about ibuprofen. We're not using it in the hospital anymore. There's really good data from Germany that there's worse outcomes in people who use ibuprofen so that's a simple answer, which is if you have a fever, take acetaminophen (Tylenol), don't use ibuprofen, use Tylenol. It's very simple.
Q: I'd like to hear a bit about what it's like treating these patients, a couple stories from the front lines on this.
It's actually fascinating because they all look exactly the same. Everybody has a cough, everybody has a fever. Most people come into the hospital, they sit on the floor, and they just have fevers. A lot will be nervous, which is completely understandable.
They look like anybody else.
What we see is people get sick as they get short of breath. And then over one to two to three days, they get more short of breath. And then they get so short of breath that they can't walk to the bathroom. And then we put them on a ventilator. And then our experience has been that these people usually settle out over the next one day and then between seven to 10 days. Later, if no complications, we're able to get these people off the ventilator. At Cornell, we're 14 days into this, our first patient was a 39 year old, who is now home. So he was a 39 year old who needed mechanical ventilation, and he is safely at home. Dealing with these patients is, for a doctor, incredibly simple- - they all have the same needs, they all get the same treatment for them.
Most of that is good news. What's unsettling is - the reliance on hand sanitizers and masks. Although one is coming to me, and I could use a bandana.
I haven't had any prolonged contact, also I haven't touched anyone. The last person I did touch - I used hand sanitizer immediately after and washed my hands, and that was two weeks ago. Also he didn't have it.
3. So, I'm still here. Outside of allergies and a slight dry cough - brought on by the radiator heat and dry air, I'm doing fine and dandy. If I were to put a face on my anxiety - I'd say it's a giant beast hanging out my window with claws and teeth, peeking in at me every once and a while with a glare.
I watched some tv. Making Salmon and veggies now. And probably had far too much chocolate, which explains the upswing in anxiety. It's a rainy day. So no need to venture outside.
I called my Dad after seeing the Map on FB and freaking out. Then I reminded myself that my area is lumped in with Flatbush and Borough Hall - which got hit bad. There's not a lot of places to get tested in Brooklyn or any hospital with a lot of beds. Our Borough President, Eric Adams, is yelling at the Governor and Mayor to provide something for Brooklyn. He's even given suggestions. I kind of wish I lived in Manhattan now - it gets the most attention out of the five boroughs. Always has, mainly because that's where the money is. The doctor in the podcast above is a Manhattan doctor.
Anyhow, my Dad got me to laugh a bit. And I reminded myself that I'm kind of a loner to begin with. I don't interact that much with my neighbors if at all. And barely see anyone in the apartment complex as it is. I can spry the elevator door with lysol and the laundry room washers and dryers with it. Also wear gloves. Should be fine.
I'm putting off for a while though. See if this flattens out a bit first.
Television watched? Legacies, Million Little Things (which had quite the cliff-hanger not to mention depressing ending), Grey's, and Stumptown. Gearing up for Rosewell, This is Us, and a few others.
Struggling to focus though. It's hard not to obsess about the damn virus. It seems to permeate every aspect of my life. Although, there is some good news, NY had less cases reported today...
[ETA: I joined Next Door Neighbor some time ago - it reports things happening in my neighborhood and then the COVID 19 Support Group on it. What they are doing warms my heart. There are people on it that are putting up homeless folks in hotels for the span of the virus. And feeding the homeless. Also NYC is delivering free food to city residents in need - you sign up and you can get white rice, garbanzo beans and veggies - if the non-meat option. One woman did and gets it within two days, then she disperses it among the homeless on Utica and Eastern Parkway. A woman posted, begging for an NV-9 Mask for her husband who is an ER doctor doing CPR's daily. And who has been reusing the same mask. They just need one more. And she's home with a baby. Someone immediately gave her one. These stories show people do care. It makes me feel bad that I can't do anything. I don't have masks. I can't sew. And I can't deliver food. I'm thinking of donating money though - just got to find a reliable place to do it - so it goes to actual people and isn't a scam.]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 01:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 09:06 am (UTC)He says you can take a walk in the city, but use purell when you touch the elevator button, open the door, don't touch the door.
If you can push the elevator button with a stick or a pen (one that's designated for this only, not one you write with or absentmindely chew on) and open doors using a bit of paper towel or a cloth, that's better.
I'm thinking of donating money though - just got to find a reliable place to do it - so it goes to actual people and isn't a scam.
We donate monthly to city harvest, and I assume they're still doing stuff.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 10:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 02:09 pm (UTC)I'm thinking of donating to the health effort. I used to do city harvest and food bank every year, than switched to Southern Poverty Law Center and ACLU, then to Planned Parenthood, ACLU and Environmental Defense Fund. Last year it was to the Unitarian Church and their groups. I keep switching it up. I don't trust the Red Cross - I used to donate to them way back when, until I got information that they were putting the money towards their own salaries and administrative costs.
My concern right now is the hospitals and health care effort. I think the food effort is covered. NYC has very food services for the needy in operation right now.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-29 04:53 pm (UTC)