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shadowkatSo what day are you all on?
It's beautiful outside my window. Grumble. Grumble. The sky is a clear mottled robin's egg blue, with the mere hint of clouds somewhere out in the horizon as a kind of transparent white backdrop. The leaves of the trees outside my window are dappled with sunlight, varying shades of green as a result. What I wouldn't do for a terrace - but terraces come at a premium in Brooklyn. So alas, no.
Decided not to do a walk after yesterday's frustratingly stressful human being obstacle course. That and my allergies are in overdrive - the tree pollan folks, and the hayfever. I'm feeling it in my apartment and I have two air purifiers with ultra violet going on at the same time. All day long.
And, I was considering laundry this evening - but I don't really have to do it, and the internet tempted me with other options - apparently Urban Wash (which I've used in the past is fine) as is a Wash & Dry service using Ozone - both have contactless delivery options. And it's been suggested to just leave the laundry untouched for 72 hours. Eh, I don't know - I figure doing it in the basement is just as safe as anywhere else - they keep the basement clean and it has a working sink. I reminded myself that I was doing laundry in the basement up to and including the week of March 19, and I did it in April. I'm still symptom free.
Also, I may try on Saturday during lunch or Monday. It's hard to know when the best time is, exactly. Going to the cemetery these next few days is probably not a good idea - since well, it's Memorial Day Weekend and that's pretty much the time of year when everyone visits cemeteries, including those who tend to stay clear - and they do it en mass. Two most popular times to visit Greenwood Cemetery - Halloween and Memorial Day Weekend. Painful - because I really like walking around that cemetery. I suppose I could get up early in the morning and do 8-10? Or maybe just do 5-7?
Yes, I'm feeling guilty for not walking more and getting more exercise during a pandemic, when I'd most likely be better off not leaving the apartment. That amuses me to no end. Regarding the laundry issue? Apparently I'm not alone in fretting over this. Someone posted to the Kensington FB page about it - and got a wide range of responses. There are people with a family of four who are doing laundry in their tubs, and hanging it, because they are afraid of the laundromats. I'm doing bits and pieces in my sink. Some idiotic post on the internet states you shouldn't wear the same clothes every day - the virus could stick to them. Really? I'm alone. I'm not interacting with anyone. I haven't gotten closer than six feet to anyone, even those with masks - outside of a small handful of delivery guys - who wear gloves, masks, and stand back six feet. Also no one around me has sneezed, spit, or done any of that. I think I'm safe.
The internet is trying to scare me. Not happening. Fuck off internet. I reminded myself that I was going in and out of the Air Train building on a daily basis up until March 17. If I haven't gotten it traveling to the Air Train building and working in it, I'm not going to get it - via deliveries, taking walks in Greenwood Cemetery, or doing laundry.
There are a lot of bored opinionated asshole journalists with nothing better to do on the internet but scare the bejeesus out of the rest of us.
I'm guessing they are competing with Stephen King? Note to journalists, you are not Stephen King.
Crazy Ass Work Place
Coworkers are apparently as bored as I am. Today Lando provided us with his top secret Face Down Sangria Recipe, which he suggests using in lieu of Lysol to disinfect yourself.
Face Down Sangria
28oz of Red (or white) sweet wine (red sweet wine works best….nothing dry…has to be sweet)
2oz of Triple-Sec
2oz of DeKuyper Peach Schnaps
3-5oz of Christian Bros brandy (*careful here….no more than 3-5oz!!!)
6oz of Orange juice
8oz of club soda
6oz of Guava juice/nectar
6oz of Mango juice/nectar
1 can of fruit cocktail (w/syrup)
Fruit cut up (apples, bananas, melon, watermelon, grapes, blueberries)
The response to this was mixed. Bright Young Manager suggested a Coconut Martini that she'd created - it was supposed to be a Coconut Margarita but it turned into a Martini instead. I wanted that - it looked good. So Chidi and I nominated her as team bartender, since Lando's recipe looked too dangerous not to mention expensive to contemplate. She was amused.
Seriously my co-workers have far more extensive bars than I do. A lot of them don't drink though. I don't drink that much. And I'm not doing hard alcohol for two reasons - it tends to give me headaches, and I have to mix it with stuff so the alcohol content is high.
I think we've become somewhat slap happy at work though. What was allegedly going to be two weeks has become three months and counting...with no true end in sight. Also, we kind of miss each other, and kind of don't, at the same time. Working remotely from home during a pandemic is an odd thing.
Family Matters and FB
Well, another family member thinks they have COVID. They tested negative. However, they have all the symptoms and their doctor is convinced they do have it. Spoke to mother and she thinks they probably have it as well. Also, they are in Illinois - and Illinois has a high "false" negative test rate. The FDA Informs Publica About Possible Accuracy Concens Abbott - ID- Now -Point Test. So Texas and Illinois have a 40% chance of false negatives.
Okay, I now have about five or six extended family members who had all the symptoms of COVID-19 but test negative. That's insane. Five of them are in Texas. One is Illinois. Also have my sisinlaw in upstate NY who thinks she had it in February but was never tested.
And, I've friends who say they know people or have family members with the same experience. The numbers aren't inflated, folks, if anything its the opposite. More people have probably had this thing or have it than are being counted by the CDC.
Lovely.
As Midnight Jane stated on FB, there's so much we don't know about this thing and will most likely find out about the hard way. So...what are they doing? Infecting Volunteers with COVID-19 in the Name of Research. I've seen this done in too many sci-fi horror novels and non-fiction virus studies to see it as necessarily a good idea. The latest was The Passage - where a bunch of prisoners were infected with a disease and turned into vampires.
On the other hand, I get the temptation, and yes, we've done it before. Although not always with volunteers. History does not smile or look positively on the human race.
Niece on the other hand is okay, as are brother and sisinlaw.
Niece: I'm much better. I tested positive for the antibodies.
Me: Wait? I thought you tested positive for mono not COVID?
Niece: No, no, the antibodies for mono. Sorry.
Me: Whew! Don't scare your Aunt like that. LOL!
Niece was amused.
Brother pointed out that it weakened niece's immune system. So they were staying in upstate for the duration. Their Fire Island residence was rented out for the entire summer and they weren't going down there at all. Staying far far away.
Mother is fine. She doesn't sanitize everything that enters her place, but she also gets it from the staff of the retirement community. So is safe. In my place, everyone tends to leave their packages downstairs for a few days then picks them up. I've got mail, including an absentee ballot to mail in - which was promised by the Governor. I'm letting it sit there until Sat. Why? Because I'm running out of disinfectant.
Oh, said family member stated in their post that they were worried people would defriend them or treat them as a pariah, because apparently people are doing that? Really? This thing is starting to remind me a bit of the AIDS crisis. Some people do not handle fear and anxiety well.
Mother talked to her sister in Michigan today. Her sister is a life-long Republican who despises Trump. Really hates him. And is upset she can't help. (She can't - she had intestinal surgery last year due to blockage and a rupture in her stomach. And is still recuperating. Also her husband is going in for hip replacement surgery next week. And she's in her 70s.) Mother and Aunt both assured me that Aunt and her family are nowhere near the flooding in Michigan. (I only have one family member who supports Trump and that's the dumb Catholic Priest in Florida, who we all tolerate.)
According to Aunt, the Doofus (see icon) is visiting Michigan's Ford plant tomorrow - the rule is everyone has to wear a mask to enter the plant. But it's up in the air whether the Doofus will do so, because he has the emotional maturity level of a toddler and finds it uncomfortable.
Pop Culture News
Hmmm...Ruby Rose is leaving the role of Batwoman after this year, it will be recast. Wow. She was the best thing in it. I admittedly haven't watched any episodes past the first five. I have a lot on my DVR.
I kind of burned out on the DC Superhero Television Series a while back.
Learned two people from the soap I watch contracted COVID, one is Emma Samms, in the UK, she played Holly on the soap back in the day, and was slated to return - but may not, now that she has contracted the disease.
No one else got it.
New York vs. the Corona Virus
New York's Governor keeps getting flack for not shutting down sooner. New data has arisen from the New York Times that if he shut down at the beginning of March or as quickly as San Francisco and Washington State did, they'd have saved more lives.
Journalists have short memories and are really good at twisting facts for stories. I was blogging about this at the time and I re-read my blog posts.
New York couldn't test and they wanted to - desperately. But the CDC wouldn't let them - so they developed their own test and tested, but they couldn't admit to it until the FDA approved it - and their first case was NOT from China. It was a woman who visited Iran. At that time - the CDC was only taking serious cases linked to China. San Francisco and Washington shut down - because they had cases linked to China - in part due to the cruise ships. The CDC and the White House weren't taking NY seriously. NY1 was commenting on it each morning, my agency was, as was the New York Times.
I resisted the urge to blast a former church friend who posted a link to a UK Guardian article about it. Honestly they don't know what they are talking about. Don't get me wrong - I was a harsh critic of Cuomo up until March 25.
He surprised me. And looking back - I can't honestly say I would have acted differently than he did in regards to this virus. It's so easy to second guess people - I look at what they are doing day to day.
New York didn't know what to do - they had 1 case on March 1 and it was contained. Then 9 on March 8, and then it ballooned and they began to shut down as fast as possible. The case that ballooned was NOT the woman who came back from Iran, but a man in New Rochelle who hadn't had ANY contact with any one from overseas. They have no idea how he got it. Which meant it was in the US long before that point.
The only person to blame for what happened in the US is Trump. And the people to blame for Trump are the people who got him into office. Those deaths are their hands. End.
The above is important to remember - because the Governor of New York, unlike our President and other leaders, learned from his mistakes. New York didn't shut down fast enough because it couldn't test to see if anyone had the virus. If it could have gotten that information sooner - they could have shut down in January or Feb and saved lives. So that's NOT going to happen again. They are going to have a testing system in place and a disinfectant system in place, plus enough PPE to cover everyone, if it kills them. Along with a stockpile of venitlators. And they are going to manufacture their own tests, their own PPE, and not rely on other countries or our idiotic Federal Government.
New York has NOT forgiven the CDC and the White House for what happened in February and March. I'm not sure they ever will. But it is the reason they are obsessed with testing. And honestly who can blame them.
[I hid the guy's post on FB. It wasn't worth responding to.]
Anyhow...latest email from New York Governor...
New York's Contact Tracing Program is the most ambitious in the country.
Here's how it works: If you test positive, a COVID Contact Tracer will connect you with the support and resources you may need to quarantine, such as help getting medical care, child care, groceries or household supplies. The Tracer will work with you to identify anyone you've been in contact with over the past 14 days to trace and contain the spread of the virus. Those contacts will in turn hear from a Tracer via phone and text.
People who have come in close contact with someone who is positive are asked to stay home and limit their contact with others. By staying home during this time, IF you become sick yourself, you won't have infected other people. That's how we stop the spread. In the meantime, testing, medical and quarantine support will be arranged.
Privacy is a top priority of the Contact Tracing Program. We will not release your name to anyone. Your information is strictly confidential and will be treated as a private medical record. A contact tracer will never ask for your Social Security Number, bank or credit card numbers or any other financial information.
Note that if you get a call from a Tracer, your caller ID will in most cases say "NYS Contact Tracing." If you get a call, PLEASE answer the phone. Answering the phone will keep your loved ones and community safe and allows us to keep NY moving forward. [ See, New York is "test happy" or obsessed with testing.]
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. Summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. The state will make a determination on the fall semester and issue guidelines in June.
2. An update on the COVID-related illness affecting children. We are currently investigating 157 reported cases in New York of children who are experiencing a serious inflammatory illness (known as MIS-C). To date, 13 countries and 25 other states have reported cases of this COVID-related illness in children. Learn more about symptoms and what to look out for here.
3. The number of total COVID hospitalizations continues to fall. Total hospitalizations fell to 5,187, from 5,570 the day before. The number of new COVID hospitalizations fell to 246, from 295 the day before. Tragically, we lost 105 New Yorkers to the virus yesterday.
4. Due to Coronavirus, there is a shortage of blood and blood donations are desperately needed. New York State is working with blood banks to ensure safe social distancing protocols are being followed. Learn how and where you can donate at http://ny.gov/donateblood. [Belly Dancer friend reported on FB that she went to donate blood and showed that the line was around the block and it took her an hour to get to a chair - the turn out was that high. No I didn't do it - it's no where near me.]
5. Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The state is again permitting elective outpatient treatments in countries and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 51 counties now can offer elective surgeries.
6. Uninsured New Yorkers can get a free diagnostic COVID-19 test at any CityMD urgent care facility. All CityMD locations are offering nasal swab tests seven days a week, and walk-ins are accepted. Also a reminder that New York health insurers have been directed to waive all costs associated with COVID-19 testing. If you believe you have COVID symptoms, don't wait — get tested.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": Captain Tom Moore, the British WWII veteran who raised more than $39 million to support health workers, recently celebrated his 100th birthday and will be awarded a knighthood by the Queen for his service to his country and for inspiring not just the United Kingdom, but the world. Capt. Moore took laps around his garden as part of a wildly successful fundraising campaign that far surpassed his original goal of raising $1,250.
It's beautiful outside my window. Grumble. Grumble. The sky is a clear mottled robin's egg blue, with the mere hint of clouds somewhere out in the horizon as a kind of transparent white backdrop. The leaves of the trees outside my window are dappled with sunlight, varying shades of green as a result. What I wouldn't do for a terrace - but terraces come at a premium in Brooklyn. So alas, no.
Decided not to do a walk after yesterday's frustratingly stressful human being obstacle course. That and my allergies are in overdrive - the tree pollan folks, and the hayfever. I'm feeling it in my apartment and I have two air purifiers with ultra violet going on at the same time. All day long.
And, I was considering laundry this evening - but I don't really have to do it, and the internet tempted me with other options - apparently Urban Wash (which I've used in the past is fine) as is a Wash & Dry service using Ozone - both have contactless delivery options. And it's been suggested to just leave the laundry untouched for 72 hours. Eh, I don't know - I figure doing it in the basement is just as safe as anywhere else - they keep the basement clean and it has a working sink. I reminded myself that I was doing laundry in the basement up to and including the week of March 19, and I did it in April. I'm still symptom free.
Also, I may try on Saturday during lunch or Monday. It's hard to know when the best time is, exactly. Going to the cemetery these next few days is probably not a good idea - since well, it's Memorial Day Weekend and that's pretty much the time of year when everyone visits cemeteries, including those who tend to stay clear - and they do it en mass. Two most popular times to visit Greenwood Cemetery - Halloween and Memorial Day Weekend. Painful - because I really like walking around that cemetery. I suppose I could get up early in the morning and do 8-10? Or maybe just do 5-7?
Yes, I'm feeling guilty for not walking more and getting more exercise during a pandemic, when I'd most likely be better off not leaving the apartment. That amuses me to no end. Regarding the laundry issue? Apparently I'm not alone in fretting over this. Someone posted to the Kensington FB page about it - and got a wide range of responses. There are people with a family of four who are doing laundry in their tubs, and hanging it, because they are afraid of the laundromats. I'm doing bits and pieces in my sink. Some idiotic post on the internet states you shouldn't wear the same clothes every day - the virus could stick to them. Really? I'm alone. I'm not interacting with anyone. I haven't gotten closer than six feet to anyone, even those with masks - outside of a small handful of delivery guys - who wear gloves, masks, and stand back six feet. Also no one around me has sneezed, spit, or done any of that. I think I'm safe.
The internet is trying to scare me. Not happening. Fuck off internet. I reminded myself that I was going in and out of the Air Train building on a daily basis up until March 17. If I haven't gotten it traveling to the Air Train building and working in it, I'm not going to get it - via deliveries, taking walks in Greenwood Cemetery, or doing laundry.
There are a lot of bored opinionated asshole journalists with nothing better to do on the internet but scare the bejeesus out of the rest of us.
I'm guessing they are competing with Stephen King? Note to journalists, you are not Stephen King.
Crazy Ass Work Place
Coworkers are apparently as bored as I am. Today Lando provided us with his top secret Face Down Sangria Recipe, which he suggests using in lieu of Lysol to disinfect yourself.
Face Down Sangria
28oz of Red (or white) sweet wine (red sweet wine works best….nothing dry…has to be sweet)
2oz of Triple-Sec
2oz of DeKuyper Peach Schnaps
3-5oz of Christian Bros brandy (*careful here….no more than 3-5oz!!!)
6oz of Orange juice
8oz of club soda
6oz of Guava juice/nectar
6oz of Mango juice/nectar
1 can of fruit cocktail (w/syrup)
Fruit cut up (apples, bananas, melon, watermelon, grapes, blueberries)
The response to this was mixed. Bright Young Manager suggested a Coconut Martini that she'd created - it was supposed to be a Coconut Margarita but it turned into a Martini instead. I wanted that - it looked good. So Chidi and I nominated her as team bartender, since Lando's recipe looked too dangerous not to mention expensive to contemplate. She was amused.
Seriously my co-workers have far more extensive bars than I do. A lot of them don't drink though. I don't drink that much. And I'm not doing hard alcohol for two reasons - it tends to give me headaches, and I have to mix it with stuff so the alcohol content is high.
I think we've become somewhat slap happy at work though. What was allegedly going to be two weeks has become three months and counting...with no true end in sight. Also, we kind of miss each other, and kind of don't, at the same time. Working remotely from home during a pandemic is an odd thing.
Family Matters and FB
Well, another family member thinks they have COVID. They tested negative. However, they have all the symptoms and their doctor is convinced they do have it. Spoke to mother and she thinks they probably have it as well. Also, they are in Illinois - and Illinois has a high "false" negative test rate. The FDA Informs Publica About Possible Accuracy Concens Abbott - ID- Now -Point Test. So Texas and Illinois have a 40% chance of false negatives.
Okay, I now have about five or six extended family members who had all the symptoms of COVID-19 but test negative. That's insane. Five of them are in Texas. One is Illinois. Also have my sisinlaw in upstate NY who thinks she had it in February but was never tested.
And, I've friends who say they know people or have family members with the same experience. The numbers aren't inflated, folks, if anything its the opposite. More people have probably had this thing or have it than are being counted by the CDC.
Lovely.
As Midnight Jane stated on FB, there's so much we don't know about this thing and will most likely find out about the hard way. So...what are they doing? Infecting Volunteers with COVID-19 in the Name of Research. I've seen this done in too many sci-fi horror novels and non-fiction virus studies to see it as necessarily a good idea. The latest was The Passage - where a bunch of prisoners were infected with a disease and turned into vampires.
On the other hand, I get the temptation, and yes, we've done it before. Although not always with volunteers. History does not smile or look positively on the human race.
Niece on the other hand is okay, as are brother and sisinlaw.
Niece: I'm much better. I tested positive for the antibodies.
Me: Wait? I thought you tested positive for mono not COVID?
Niece: No, no, the antibodies for mono. Sorry.
Me: Whew! Don't scare your Aunt like that. LOL!
Niece was amused.
Brother pointed out that it weakened niece's immune system. So they were staying in upstate for the duration. Their Fire Island residence was rented out for the entire summer and they weren't going down there at all. Staying far far away.
Mother is fine. She doesn't sanitize everything that enters her place, but she also gets it from the staff of the retirement community. So is safe. In my place, everyone tends to leave their packages downstairs for a few days then picks them up. I've got mail, including an absentee ballot to mail in - which was promised by the Governor. I'm letting it sit there until Sat. Why? Because I'm running out of disinfectant.
Oh, said family member stated in their post that they were worried people would defriend them or treat them as a pariah, because apparently people are doing that? Really? This thing is starting to remind me a bit of the AIDS crisis. Some people do not handle fear and anxiety well.
Mother talked to her sister in Michigan today. Her sister is a life-long Republican who despises Trump. Really hates him. And is upset she can't help. (She can't - she had intestinal surgery last year due to blockage and a rupture in her stomach. And is still recuperating. Also her husband is going in for hip replacement surgery next week. And she's in her 70s.) Mother and Aunt both assured me that Aunt and her family are nowhere near the flooding in Michigan. (I only have one family member who supports Trump and that's the dumb Catholic Priest in Florida, who we all tolerate.)
According to Aunt, the Doofus (see icon) is visiting Michigan's Ford plant tomorrow - the rule is everyone has to wear a mask to enter the plant. But it's up in the air whether the Doofus will do so, because he has the emotional maturity level of a toddler and finds it uncomfortable.
Pop Culture News
Hmmm...Ruby Rose is leaving the role of Batwoman after this year, it will be recast. Wow. She was the best thing in it. I admittedly haven't watched any episodes past the first five. I have a lot on my DVR.
I kind of burned out on the DC Superhero Television Series a while back.
Learned two people from the soap I watch contracted COVID, one is Emma Samms, in the UK, she played Holly on the soap back in the day, and was slated to return - but may not, now that she has contracted the disease.
No one else got it.
New York vs. the Corona Virus
New York's Governor keeps getting flack for not shutting down sooner. New data has arisen from the New York Times that if he shut down at the beginning of March or as quickly as San Francisco and Washington State did, they'd have saved more lives.
Journalists have short memories and are really good at twisting facts for stories. I was blogging about this at the time and I re-read my blog posts.
New York couldn't test and they wanted to - desperately. But the CDC wouldn't let them - so they developed their own test and tested, but they couldn't admit to it until the FDA approved it - and their first case was NOT from China. It was a woman who visited Iran. At that time - the CDC was only taking serious cases linked to China. San Francisco and Washington shut down - because they had cases linked to China - in part due to the cruise ships. The CDC and the White House weren't taking NY seriously. NY1 was commenting on it each morning, my agency was, as was the New York Times.
I resisted the urge to blast a former church friend who posted a link to a UK Guardian article about it. Honestly they don't know what they are talking about. Don't get me wrong - I was a harsh critic of Cuomo up until March 25.
He surprised me. And looking back - I can't honestly say I would have acted differently than he did in regards to this virus. It's so easy to second guess people - I look at what they are doing day to day.
New York didn't know what to do - they had 1 case on March 1 and it was contained. Then 9 on March 8, and then it ballooned and they began to shut down as fast as possible. The case that ballooned was NOT the woman who came back from Iran, but a man in New Rochelle who hadn't had ANY contact with any one from overseas. They have no idea how he got it. Which meant it was in the US long before that point.
The only person to blame for what happened in the US is Trump. And the people to blame for Trump are the people who got him into office. Those deaths are their hands. End.
The above is important to remember - because the Governor of New York, unlike our President and other leaders, learned from his mistakes. New York didn't shut down fast enough because it couldn't test to see if anyone had the virus. If it could have gotten that information sooner - they could have shut down in January or Feb and saved lives. So that's NOT going to happen again. They are going to have a testing system in place and a disinfectant system in place, plus enough PPE to cover everyone, if it kills them. Along with a stockpile of venitlators. And they are going to manufacture their own tests, their own PPE, and not rely on other countries or our idiotic Federal Government.
New York has NOT forgiven the CDC and the White House for what happened in February and March. I'm not sure they ever will. But it is the reason they are obsessed with testing. And honestly who can blame them.
[I hid the guy's post on FB. It wasn't worth responding to.]
Anyhow...latest email from New York Governor...
New York's Contact Tracing Program is the most ambitious in the country.
Here's how it works: If you test positive, a COVID Contact Tracer will connect you with the support and resources you may need to quarantine, such as help getting medical care, child care, groceries or household supplies. The Tracer will work with you to identify anyone you've been in contact with over the past 14 days to trace and contain the spread of the virus. Those contacts will in turn hear from a Tracer via phone and text.
People who have come in close contact with someone who is positive are asked to stay home and limit their contact with others. By staying home during this time, IF you become sick yourself, you won't have infected other people. That's how we stop the spread. In the meantime, testing, medical and quarantine support will be arranged.
Privacy is a top priority of the Contact Tracing Program. We will not release your name to anyone. Your information is strictly confidential and will be treated as a private medical record. A contact tracer will never ask for your Social Security Number, bank or credit card numbers or any other financial information.
Note that if you get a call from a Tracer, your caller ID will in most cases say "NYS Contact Tracing." If you get a call, PLEASE answer the phone. Answering the phone will keep your loved ones and community safe and allows us to keep NY moving forward. [ See, New York is "test happy" or obsessed with testing.]
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
1. Summer school will be conducted through distance learning this year to help reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus. Meal programs and child care services for essential employees will continue. The state will make a determination on the fall semester and issue guidelines in June.
2. An update on the COVID-related illness affecting children. We are currently investigating 157 reported cases in New York of children who are experiencing a serious inflammatory illness (known as MIS-C). To date, 13 countries and 25 other states have reported cases of this COVID-related illness in children. Learn more about symptoms and what to look out for here.
3. The number of total COVID hospitalizations continues to fall. Total hospitalizations fell to 5,187, from 5,570 the day before. The number of new COVID hospitalizations fell to 246, from 295 the day before. Tragically, we lost 105 New Yorkers to the virus yesterday.
4. Due to Coronavirus, there is a shortage of blood and blood donations are desperately needed. New York State is working with blood banks to ensure safe social distancing protocols are being followed. Learn how and where you can donate at http://ny.gov/donateblood. [Belly Dancer friend reported on FB that she went to donate blood and showed that the line was around the block and it took her an hour to get to a chair - the turn out was that high. No I didn't do it - it's no where near me.]
5. Rockland County is now eligible to resume elective surgeries and ambulatory care. The state is again permitting elective outpatient treatments in countries and hospitals without significant risk of COVID-19 surge in the near term, and a total of 51 counties now can offer elective surgeries.
6. Uninsured New Yorkers can get a free diagnostic COVID-19 test at any CityMD urgent care facility. All CityMD locations are offering nasal swab tests seven days a week, and walk-ins are accepted. Also a reminder that New York health insurers have been directed to waive all costs associated with COVID-19 testing. If you believe you have COVID symptoms, don't wait — get tested.
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": Captain Tom Moore, the British WWII veteran who raised more than $39 million to support health workers, recently celebrated his 100th birthday and will be awarded a knighthood by the Queen for his service to his country and for inspiring not just the United Kingdom, but the world. Capt. Moore took laps around his garden as part of a wildly successful fundraising campaign that far surpassed his original goal of raising $1,250.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 01:20 am (UTC)They are saying now that the symptoms, between the two diseases are similar though, of course, one is caused by virus and the other by a fungus.
I've had Valley Fever (years ago now) and it ain't no fun. It probably doesn't hang around as long as mono, but it seems like forever to get over it. It would certainly be dangerous to have Valley Fever, and CV-19 at the same time. I can't imagine having both mono and CV-19 would be any better. I wish for the best for your niece and hope she can stay away from CV-19!
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 02:02 am (UTC)I've heard of Valley Fever...makes sense that they are telling folks to get tested for both.
For me, I have allergies. And that respiratory infection I had in November that never really got tested could have been anything. Won't know. And may not even know if I get the antibody/Covid test. It's not that accurate - although I think NY may have the most accurate testing at the moment. NY went a bit nuts in that department. And did not go through the Federal Government - we got burned badly by our Federal Government. Really badly.
So badly, that we hate the Federal Government at the moment.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 01:49 am (UTC)I'm very, very fortunate that I have my own washing machine and dryer. For decades Pat and I went to the laundromat, but when we moved into this little house, we bought a used washer/dryer. Then a decade or so later, we were given a newer used washer/dryer by is brother. (He'd bought a house that came with them, and he didn't want them. He had his own.) It's a luxury I will never take for granted.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 02:03 am (UTC)Also there's always trade offs. With my luck - if I had a washer/dryer - they'd break down on me and getting one repaired during a pandemic...
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 06:16 am (UTC)The flooding situation is really the biggest potential problem you could have. When I was in the appliance business, the solution was to have a metal pan installed underneath the washer, with a drain in the middle. Retrofitting that might be tricky to impossible in your situation, but-- you could always asked your maintenance dept or building super.
A clothes washer pulls about as much power as a medium sized air conditioner-- about 10 to 12 amperes. You might just run only one at a time. If you have an electric stove, that's about the same as an electric dryer, or even more if you use the top burners and oven at the same time. If you have a gas stove, you get a gas dryer. The motor in a dryer pulls less current than the one in a washing machine-- the bulk of the energy, gas or electric, goes to the heat.
In the last few years I was in the business, it had become increasingly popular to place laundry pairs on the second floor of a house, the reasoning being they would be closer to where people handle clothing. True, but... we'd usually try to gently convince the folks not to do this, but if they did, we'd always recc the pan idea.
"But-- how often does the washer flood?" was often asked. "It only has to do it once, and..." was the answer.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 12:44 pm (UTC)It's just not possible in my apartment and particularly not during a pandemic. I'm afraid of a light bulb burning out at the moment - because there's no way I'm going to convince the super to replace it. (No, can't do it myself, I have very high ceilings and no ladder - and I'm six feet tall. I'd kill myself.)
Safer to just do the laundry in the basement, not to mention cheaper.
no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 11:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-05-22 12:45 pm (UTC)