Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[The AD]

I know this is a stretch, but maybe one possible upside to this pandemic (once we get through it) is that people will actually believe in science and what experts are telling them? Again...I said it was a stretch.

[BobMc]

If they push through a quarantine of non essential workers it will work and then afterwards the stupid will wonder why we went through all of that and further doubt later. We’re fucked either way, if only the virus only effected the morons in our society.

[2bjenny]

Thank god Trump has Tremendous control over the virus

I made my regular grocery run today since I had to pick up my suitcase at the airport from my failed BBI Euro attempt. Lots of fresh produce, shelves were picked over, but not bare. It’s amazing what people are buying. No tp, Kleenex or cleaning supplies. Saw peeps with lots of bottled water. Why? No bread except buns in the bread aisle, but sliced brioche in the bakery. Who doesn’t like brioche?

[KQ]

I suppose I could do some Swedish death cleaning. Seems appropriate.

[skipowpow]

I know this is a stretch, but maybe one possible upside to this pandemic (once we get through it) is that people will actually believe in science and what experts are telling them? Again...I said it was a stretch.

If actions taken are successful, people will say it was all blown out of proportion. If not, it won’t matter.

On the bright side my dog is happy that the family is home.

[Kevo]

https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdp...49s6qe2z0Qk59Y

"CDPHE strongly advises all visitors and residents of Eagle, Summit, Pitkin, and Gunnison counties to minimize social contact.

Anyone who has been in Eagle, Summit, Pitkin, or Gunnison counties in the past week should minimize all contact with other people, whether or not they are experiencing symptoms."

[PowderHorse]

A King Soopers (Kroger chain) employee has tested positive in Colorado, they haven't announced which one yet.

They are also hiring on the spot and have reduced hours to give employees some more time and for restocking.

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[KQ]

[PowderHorse]

Hey KQ, I've been thinking about you and the ponies. Totally normal to have mini breakdowns, I feel it too! I placed another chewy order early and have not received any shipping status yet. Hang in there and hug those horses!!

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[Beaver]

Still pretty normal here in the sticks. Daughter's will be finishing the university semester online. Gatherings limited to 250 peeps. Apparently Vangroovy is pretty quiet. They closed the local hill today for a week for now. Fat biking was good today. E bike shop is dead AF, I'll probably use covid19 as an excuse to stop going to work. I've got a cush engineering gig that I do from home as well. A lot of people not making any money

Or govt is recommending canajians flock home while they can get home. I've got an 18yo daughter in Sao Paulo on a Rotary exchange, not due home for 4 months. She figures the Brazilian govt will keep it super low key and fake news the extent, meanwhile, because well, Brazil, they'll get slammed. Daughter is not sure what she wants to do yet.

[rideit]

Hopefully you will have more free time to post in the NSFW thread again.

[KQ]

Hey KQ, I've been thinking about you and the ponies. Totally normal to have mini breakdowns, I feel it too! I placed another chewy order early and have not received any shipping status yet. Hang in there and hug those horses!!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Aren't you kind! Thanks for the thoughts - right back at you!

I did stock up on horse meds and supplements though I could use some more bedding. May head to the feed store on Monday for that. Got 10 tons of hay so I'm good there. I did decide to start cutting back ever so slightly on grain.

I placed yet another Chewy order this morning (too many cats eating different food!). Not in desperate need but wanted to know it would eventually be on it's way.

[sb]

Made some corona chili, it’s spicery.



You want some?

[iceman]

When everybody's freezers and shelves and counters are full this should all normalize and considering grocery sales were like 2x normal that won't take long. Meat, milk, produce, etc. should be back to normal soon. It will take longer for canned and shelf-stable but that will get there before too long. People need to calm the fuck down, their anxiety is creating the problems, not the virus.

[4matic]

People need to calm the fuck down, their anxiety is creating the problems, not the virus.

Ok boomer. What does this mean to you?

"Dr. Anthony Fauci says people should ‘hunker down’

[Diamond Joe]

Fire/EMS update #2-
Our crews are continuing to respond to an increase in Covid19 patients. For now, the majority of them are symptomatic, but not confirmed positive. We had to restructure our response configurations to lessen the numbers of our members that respond to these calls (i.e 2 instead of 4), to both halve the exposure rate and lessen the burn rate of PPE. Which, BTW, is something that is going to become a HUGE issue in the very near future, as we were told on Friday by one of our vendors that there is no hand sanitizer available nationwide. As I said earlier, please do NOT call 911 or self-report to the ED with flu-like symptoms. Stay at home and self-monitor. If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (shortness of breath, cyanosis, tightness in the chest), then activate 911.
We are currently staging with law enforcement at certain big box stores, as there has been an uptick in brawls over supplies. Unbelievable.
If at all possible, please, stay at home. If you have to go out, the one thing I would have with me is a pair of nitrile gloves. I am way more concerned about picking this up from contaminated surfaces. Avoid crowded areas. Six feet spacing. Or, stay the fuck home. And for the BGnights of the world, you are 100% contributing to the severity of this pandemic, and should be fucking ashamed of yourself.
As far as big picture stuff, Powder Goat's friend may be on to something. I sat thru a briefing on Friday and left feeling like two things are coming down in the next week: Some sort of interstate travel ban, and a nationwide shutdown of "non-essential" businesses. So yeah, martial law (or close to it), in our lifetimes. Incredible.
Finally, if any of you know a first responder or a healthcare worker, send them air hugs and vibes. We are stressing TF out over our communities, loved ones, and ourselves. I will keep you all updated. Stay safe. Stay home.

Fire/EMS update from the East Coast (~15 miles outside Boston):

We have seen a few suspected corona virus cases, but as of right now, they've been fairly rare. Expectation is that will change soon. The calls we have seen, we're treating differently as well, only sending one responder into the residence, and the same person riding in the back of the bus with the patient, to minimize our exposure. People are stupid and you'd be shocked at the reasons why people call 911, but to this point, we have not seen a huge increase in 911 calls for "flu-like symptoms". Both grocery stores in town (Market Basket and Whole Foods) have been cleared out but have re stocked, and currently have plenty of food, meat, produce, dry goods, etc. No fights over anything that we've seen. (Why would you guys be staging for "brawls"?? Not really a FD issue, breaking up fights?) In my estimation, people ARE staying home, as I'm seeing a lot less road traffic, a lot less people in stores/gas stations/etc and our call volume has actually dropped in the past week or so. Thats good, stay home as much as you can. Agree with Seano there. The less people out and about and interacting, the lower the chances are of spreading this thing. Flatten the fucking curve.

[iceman]

@4M: I read a lot more from Dr. Fauci than your sound bite. Do you know why he said it?

Go back to your freaking out

[grskier]

I know this is a stretch, but maybe one possible upside to this pandemic (once we get through it) is that people will actually believe in science and what experts are telling them? Again...I said it was a stretch.

You should check out Trumpish twitter.... it's still an overreaction to the great dem hoax.

[seano732]

When everybody's freezers and shelves and counters are full this should all normalize and considering grocery sales were like 2x normal that won't take long. Meat, milk, produce, etc. should be back to normal soon. It will take longer for canned and shelf-stable but that will get there before too long. People need to calm the fuck down, their anxiety is creating the problems, not the virus.

Easier said than done. My work phone pings every time one of our members reports a possible COVID19 exposure. It’s pinged 14 times today. Today. So what do we do? Automatic 14 day quarantine? Sounds good, but then you won’t have a fire department in three weeks...I get the sentiment, but I’m fucking anxious.....

[seano732]

Fire/EMS update from the East Coast (~15 miles outside Boston):

We have seen a few suspected corona virus cases, but as of right now, they've been fairly rare. Expectation is that will change soon. The calls we have seen, we're treating differently as well, only sending one responder into the residence, and the same person riding in the back of the bus with the patient, to minimize our exposure. People are stupid and you'd be shocked at the reasons why people call 911, but to this point, we have not seen a huge increase in 911 calls for "flu-like symptoms". Both grocery stores in town (Market Basket and Whole Foods) have been cleared out but have re stocked, and currently have plenty of food, meat, produce, dry goods, etc. No fights over anything that we've seen. (Why would you guys be staging for "brawls"?? Not really a FD issue, breaking up fights?) In my estimation, people ARE staying home, as I'm seeing a lot less road traffic, a lot less people in stores/gas stations/etc and our call volume has actually dropped in the past week or so. Thats good, stay home as much as you can. Agree with Seano there. The less people out and about and interacting, the lower the chances are of spreading this thing. Flatten the fucking curve.

Thanks Joe. As for the staging thing, we went round and round with City Admin over that one.....They want an “ increased Public Safety presence”......Junk. Show. Stay safe brother.

[4matic]

@4M: I read a lot more from Dr. Fauci than your sound bite. Do you know why he said it?

Go back to your freaking out

You don't have family to worry about. Elder parents in care. Sit in your fancy house and tell people to calm down when they have been busy working and not up with every detail.

[DaveTV]

I predict an pandemic of new babies named "Corona" this December.

[iceman]

spit flying from 4m's lips.

[4matic]

spit flying from 4m's lips.

Beats shit out my mouth.

What does this mean in practical terms? Fauci from today's interview:

Americans "should be prepared that they're going to have to hunker down significantly more than we as a country are doing" to fight the growing COVID-19 outbreak, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press."

Asked whether the U.S. should consider a 14-day national shutdown similar to those in Europe, he said: "I would prefer as much as we possibly could. I think we should really be overly aggressive and get criticized for overreacting."

[iceman]

He's speaking from an epidemiological perspective, not from a freak-the-fuck-out-we're -gonna-die perspective. Social distancing. Stop standing in line at Costco with 1000 other people thinking you're doing the smart thing. Go home and stay there as much as you can. Hunker the fuck down, calm down, play scrabble. Send 1 person to the store when you need things. Make sure they wash their hands when they come back. Wash your own hands after you handle the food they bring back. Come on man, you got this.