Mostly Apolitical Thread for Discussing/Venting our Rational/Irrational COVID-19 Fears and Experiences in 2020

I'm surprised, if not exactly shocked, that I know at least a couple of families doing a whole house quarantine for 14 days in advance of Thanksgiving, with whoever they plan to be with supposedly doing the same. My family has never been particularly sentimental, and Thanksgiving in particular has never been a big deal. I like the food a lot, but at the end of the day ... it's just another day. And yet even acknowledging that not everyone feels the same, given the circumstances I'm not sure why anyone would risk a bigger family gathering just for the sake of tradition. I do appreciate that they are being as safe as they can, but what does it even mean these days? You'd think that anyone aware and cautious enough to quarantine for 14 days would also be aware of the inherant risk regardless of precautions. Like, why not just plan a feast to end all feasts when this thing has run its course, rather than risk putting someone in the dinner party in danger?

My house and another are in a 14 day quarantine right now as we will be traveling to stay with in Chicago later this week. Nothing traditional about this to us as we’ve never hung out with these friends for any holidays but we trust them (more than our families) plus our sons birthdays are a day apart this coming weekend and we want to give them something at least sort of fun. Especially because our kid is an only and desperately needs to interact with others.

xp Hope they're willing to at quarantine 14 days after Thanksgiving as well

We did a similar lockdown with the same crew this summer at a beach house in Michigan and it was so absolutely worth it but it is going to be harder being totally house bound with no lake or woods access.

But Binnys delivers so there is that

If every person attending does in fact quarantine for 14 days before gathering and is symptom-free, that does seem pretty low-risk though? It's probably less risky than them all going to the grocery store themselves and having a Zoom Thanksgiving.

I mean, the 14-day quarantine thing seems like a way to mitigate risk, but as pointed out, only if everyone does it AFTER the event as well. But even if I wanted to do that, I can never guarantee even a 7-day quarantine for myself with my work responsibilities. I work from home 95% of the time, as I have since March, but at least once every two weeks I have to go into work to visit a project in progress or to address some of the COVID signage/renovations for campus.

It’s easier for us because all four adults are able to work 100% from home and have been since March. Our friends in Chicago straight up didn’t leave their house at all for three months this spring. Not trying to be hyperbolic here but we are all trusting each other with our lives.

Honestly didn't leave their house for three months? I mean, good for them if they're that strong, but that just seems so implausible to me. Not even a walk around the block? No trip to a store? Gas station? Didn't walk the dog?

No dog, no walks around the block, no gas station (cause no driving), grocery delivery only, etc. They live in a house with a backyard and one of them has really serious anxiety so staying put was preferable.

Mad respect, I wish I could pull that off.

Wow, I'm impressed!

But Western Nebraska? Wyoming? the Dakotas? Beautiful.

you start to live out here long enough though and it becomes very apparent what over a century of overgrazing has done to 90% of the land, on top of extraction and recreation and a hundred other things. the 'humans have fucked this place over' element is not as obvious to people from cities but it's just as prevalent imo.

Big work conference call today - someone in the office tested positive for covid. They were last in the office on Friday, on floors 6, 7, and 8.

Who was exposed? They can't(/won't) say.
Should we quarantine? The health department will contact people who were exposed over the next week or more. They dont know/wont say who was exposed or what 'counts' as an exposure.
Until then, so that they can deepclean floors 6, 7, and 8, everyone who works on those floors spread out to other occupied floors and find desks and cubicles to share and keep working.

Seems pretty foolproof, I think we got this!

That sounds like the answer to the Jeopardy question: How can we appear to respond vigorously to this potential health threat to our employees while in fact doing nothing that will effectively protect them or disrupt work flow beyond the minimum necessary?

I understand the privacy issues, but yeah, having been on a contact list and quarantined it's kind of maddening sometimes when they won't give you those details.

Re testing: My wife and I were able to schedule an appointment for a PCR test the same day with results expected in 2 days.

map, I've lived in the mountain west and some other places, so I know that the land has been fucked in places like Wyoming, etc.

But I mean, I live in Philadelphia. I'd rather have a disused overgrown logging road and second growth ponderosa than the bullshit I live in, but up until recently, I couldn't make a living in the former environment.

Goddammit an old friend of mine just posted on FB that his wife (also an old friend of mine) is in the hospital with COVID, which has caused pneumonia and other complications. He says she is "having a difficult time." He's tested positive too, with minor symptoms. Their 8th-grade son is fine. But I am just furious all over again at all the selfish assholes in our idiot deep-red county who have spent the last 8 months screaming and yelling about FREEDOM and have helped propel us to total out-of-control community spread. We're at our highest hospitalization rate yet, 86 people — and now I know who one of them is.

I'm sorry to hear that tipsy, sending good thoughts your way.

If it helps at all, our very blue state and area is an absolute shitshow now and the scenes from the airport are not inspiring any hope at all.

Many thanks. Yeah, I know it's bad pretty much everywhere. Just so infuriating to have people STILL peppering local social media about how it's all a hoax etc.

Yeah, sorry, no intention of dismissing your concerns. I'm just kinda surprised at the rate with which the "hoax, hoax" and "masks don't work" talk has been ramping up even here.

I know the fatigue is getting to everyone. I just don't understand how people can't read the math.

Vietnam War: approx. 57,000 American dead across more than ten years. Visiting the memorial in DC and viewing all their names is considered a powerful and sobering experience, reflecting a national tragedy.

Covid-19: approx. 250,000 American dead across less than ten months. Seeing the numbers continue to mount by more than 1,000 a day is considered "a hoax" and "no worse than the flu".

I mean, the US killed 100,000+ Iraqis and destroyed a country over a terrorist attack with 3500 or so casualties that was perpetrated by an unassociated group of radical sectarian Islamists.

The lack of care for the lives of those elsewhere has been inverted, probably for the foreseeable future. Lauren Berlant said in a talk yesterday, "'why should you be spared?' is the new national anthem."

I think there's something about numbers that big that just breaks people's brains, and they can't wrap their heads around the idea that so many people exist in the first place.

Note that I don't think people deserve Covid. Far from it. But the lack of care and empathy has become much more pronounced in the US. There's been a wholesale rejection of the notion of Christian Love that used to guide some element of a national meta-morality.

Lily Dale, you're certainly correct. But it doesn't remain disappointing, frustrating, and demoralizing.

Sorry, obviously I meant that you're correct, but that doesn't make it any less....etc.

Oh yes, definitely. Even if we struggle to internalize numbers that big, we should still be able to understand intellectually that we're talking about actual human beings, and the fact that people can't bring themselves to think about it for a moment is terribly depressing.

It's getting harder and harder for me to frame it as "can't bring themselves to think about it" to cover all of the denialism. While that is undoubtedly a sizable percentage of it, I can't help but look at the last five to ten years (probably even longer) of American history and think that it isn't as much not thinking about it as absolutely thinking about it and coming to the conclusion, "fuck 'em, it's not me, I got mine and I'm gonna get to do exactly what I want".

I mean, I think that's always been a strain of WASP American exceptionalism — it was always understood that the benefits of America were not for everyone. They didn't used to have to defend it quite so brazenly because their dominance wasn't seriously challenged by those they were excluding.

One of the many anti-mask COVID deniers I've been forced to listen to while covering public meetings in the last few months put it pretty nakedly. She said, "They keep telling us we're all in this together. NO WE'RE NOT!" A lot of Americans just fundamentally don't see themselves as belonging to something larger than themselves and their immediate circles.

I blame homeownership

That's a really weird take.

I have a reputation to keep up

i blame ownership

That's a really weird take.

nah

the very concept of owning shelter, and it being a personal asset that increases massively in value, inherently bends people's brains away from the idea of a collective society.

this would be a significant but not drastic condition in a world where everyone is assured of personal accomodation* but have the option to own a house instead; under a system that does not include home ownership as a richy-rich add-on option, it's the entire collective brain that gets bent, and more sharply.

* imi, publicly-owned housing would provide everyone with one spare bedroom, so they have the at-will ability to provide shelter to travelling family members, overseas internet friends, or acquaintances escaping abusive domestic situations.

the other thing to blame, as always, is the nuclear family

and disney

it’s all agriculture’s fault

Not unlikely.

I kinda trace the Housing Act 1980 aka the "right to buy act" as Thatcher's biggest victory over socialism/society/unions/collectivism so I agree that property ownership has bent the world out of shape.

The UK has half of its TV schedule devoted to buying fixing selling renting repossessing protecting decorating renovating etc etc our little castles with a side order of social housing asbo schemie poverty porn.

nb that my system which allows for personal home ownership as an add-on will ensure a permanent surplus of housing in every residential centre, thus allowing for anyone to move to any city or moderate-sized town at any time. this further enrichens and strengthens a collective society and undermines most base-level xenophobia.

I blame blame.

xps

That's a really weird take.

― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, November 20, 2020 6:43 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I have a reputation to keep up

― is right unfortunately (silby), Friday, November 20, 2020 6:44 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

I'm always here for the sic & silby show, and I mean that in utter, utter seriousness.

Hello. I'm trying to work out the "right" responses in the following scenario but "right" might mean different things, including safe or legal or decent.

Scenario: 80-something bloke. Lives by himself. Has just been in hospital and probably needs some support in the home. He has four adult age children, all with partners, some with children of various ages.

Person 1: has partner, probably not up for staying any length of time.
Person 2: lives nearby, has partner and children (who are plausibly in risky jobs) but could move him in (to their home).
Person 3: lives over an hour away, has partner, but could work from his property.
Person 4: lives nearby but works in healthcare - probably not keen to be involved.

Assuming no-one wants to do permanent care, is there a safe way of managing this? (Eg. stay for two weeks/get tested between switches of households).

without knowing any of these people it seems like person 3 should suck it up

person 4 is obviously out, person 2 is most likely out. person 1 would be the ideal choice but being begrudging about it may make things worse. hence, 3

Could all the people chip in to have a professional home health aide do the needful?

That might (imo) be better than an emotionally charged debate over who has it worse vs. who has it better, whose risk is greatest, whose loved ones are more expendable etc.

Neighbours are back after two weeks away somewhere and I think they've brought people back with them because there's loud conversation going on and it's 3am. This during a time of house visits being banned.

Also, the bloke who does the yearly gas check phoned on Friday and insisted on coming around on Monday (he wanted Saturday but...). I would be surprised if he wears a mask when he does. I'll wipe all the surfaces and open the windows before he comes (although part of the test needs the windows closed, to make sure there's adequate ventilation), but short of shutting myself in the bathroom he'll be hard to avoid because it's all one room.

(More concerned about him catching something off me than me catching it off him tbh, he looks like he's retirement age)