Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Mar 17, 2020 11:33:09 GMT -8
Hi Fellow Smashwords Forum Members:
I hope everyone is being careful during the COVID19 pandemic.
I made a foolish choice to go on a Caribbean cruise on Mar 1 - Mar 8, just as COVID19 cases in Washington State were in the news. While I had been following the COVID19 issue, I thought I might have short window of opportunity to take the cruise. While on the cruise, I followed the news and realized that nobody knew how many people in the U.S. were infected and that a person could be asymptomatic and be infectious.
After interacting with people from all over the US and from other countries like Canada, when I got home, I choose to self-quarantine for 14 days. This is week 2. I am glad I made the decision. I did fight a "cold" during this time. I have no idea if it was a cold or COVID19. What the situation will be like on 3/23 may change my plans.
But, I am trying to use the time to write.
Take care.
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Post by djmills on Mar 21, 2020 10:24:09 GMT -8
Ria, you take care too. Know the symptoms. One nurse told me, "Neck up is cold, neck down is flu, both is covid19." I hope you sail through this week without any symptoms at all. :-)
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Mar 21, 2020 13:54:04 GMT -8
Ria, you take care too. Know the symptoms. One nurse told me, "Neck up is cold, neck down is flu, both is covid19." I hope you sail through this week without any symptoms at all. :-) Thanks, DJ:
Interesting description of COVID19.
It is confusing. Even if I did have COVID19, I read that immunity to re-infection is short or nonexistent. So, even when I leave the apartment on Tuesday, I could get reinfected.
Mexico is behind the U.S. in the spread of the infection. There are about 203 positive cases with 2 deaths. Population is following voluntary precautions including sheltering in place. So, the next three months will be interesting.
My tightwad tactic of going to the grocery store once a month and stocking up has worked well for me. When I came home, my pantry was full. So, food has not been a problem.
I hope during my window of opportunity to go out, I can get more groceries. I crave potato chips, cake, cookies, candy, ice cream and carbonated water. I need vegetables and bread. I am attempting to figure out how to stretch the supplies I have into the next three months.
At the moment, there is a cafe close by where I may ask for door-to-door delivery. May try for pizza delivery :-)
My heart goes out to all those dramatically affected by this pandemic.
Thankful for social media, I can keep in touch with family and friends.
My family in the states are sheltering-in-place and several are working from home.
My print addiction has gone full-blown, I am on Twitter constantly.
I am trying to support #MillionMaskMayday, a loose group of people make masks for hospitals etc.
Take care
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Mar 21, 2020 23:55:48 GMT -8
Dj and ria
Please take good care of yourselves. Ria, cruise ships even in early March, were risky. I had friends on a cruise around southeast asia in February who were almost permanently docked. No country would let off the boat. They ended up flying home early.
Bring things round to semantics: I am finding the different terms for 'staying home' interesting. Here in the UK, 'self-isolate' is favored. From what I have read in US publications, it's either that or 'self-quarantine.' Ria, your 'sheltering in place' is a new one on me. Is that a translation from Spanish? DJ, what popular usage in Australia?
As one who mostly works from home, this self-isolation stuff doesn't feel too different from everyday. I have to laugh at all the resources that are suddenly available for those working at home. I wonder when everyone goes back to offices, classes etc, will they spare a thought for those of us who work from home?
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jenniferrp
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Post by jenniferrp on Mar 22, 2020 11:58:23 GMT -8
Self-quarantine - You have been exposed and should stay inside with no exceptions for 14 days. Self-isolate - You are SICK with the virus and should stay inside with no exceptions for at least 14 days. Shelter-in-place - You are not sick or knowingly exposed but, due to widespread community spread should stay inside except for essential things (grocery shopping, exercise, doctors' appointment) indefinitely.
It's not semantics, they have specific meanings.
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chelsfield
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Post by chelsfield on Mar 22, 2020 22:29:09 GMT -8
Self-isolate is used in all three instances here in the UK. I have not seen or heard the other two used here at all...
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jenniferrp
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Post by jenniferrp on Mar 23, 2020 7:59:40 GMT -8
Ugh, that's...not clarity at all.
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Ria Stone
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Joined: Oct 30, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -8
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Post by Ria Stone on Mar 26, 2020 15:02:41 GMT -8
Dj and ria Please take good care of yourselves. Ria, cruise ships even in early March, were risky. I had friends on a cruise around southeast asia in February who were almost permanently docked. No country would let off the boat. They ended up flying home early. Bring things round to semantics: I am finding the different terms for 'staying home' interesting. Here in the UK, 'self-isolate' is favored. From what I have read in US publications, it's either that or 'self-quarantine.' Ria, your 'sheltering in place' is a new one on me. Is that a translation from Spanish? DJ, what popular usage in Australia? As one who mostly works from home, this self-isolation stuff doesn't feel too different from everyday. I have to laugh at all the resources that are suddenly available for those working at home. I wonder when everyone goes back to offices, classes etc, will they spare a thought for those of us who work from home? Hola Chelsfield: thank you for your kind words. I agree it was much riskier than I realized when I decided to go. I am enormously grateful at the moment that I can shelter in comfort when so many are suffering in so many ways.
About the terminology, I think self-quarantine was being used in America around the time I choose to self-quarantine. Quarantine means you are not leaving your home or seeing other people. Some family members are "self-quarantining" in their bedrooms. As my self-quarantine was "ending", Mexico and other countries seemed to be using the term "Shelter-in-place" meaning, you stay in your home with family and you only leave for essential services like groceries, medicines or banking, for example.
Also, self-quarantine is used when a person thinks they are infected and do not want to infect others, whereas Shelter-in-place means you are attempting to avoid getting infected.
As my self-quarantine is ending, I am moving to shelter-in-place. After today's outing, I may shift back to a 14-day self-quarantine because asymptomatic persons are highly infectious.
My main concern is not to infect others.
I do find all the articles and attention on working from home interesting. This crisis may increase employers acceptance of employees working from home, more readily in the future.
Our world has changed and will never be the same.
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Post by Julie Harris on Apr 11, 2020 14:57:58 GMT -8
Social distancing here in Queensland, Australia. Its almost like lockdown. My husband is an ICU/Cardiac registered nurse and wanted me to leave home when there were cases in our area, mainly because we’re both over 60 and he didn't want to infect me. For three weeks I’ve been living with my 81 year old Mum, even brought the dog and cat with me. So far so good. We need a good reason to be out of our suburb, so every two days I take the dog to his dad’s so they can go for a walk, i water my pot plants, feed my birds in their aviary, go to the local supermarket, collect dog and go back to Mums. All within guidelines, or else a $1300 fine... And this post is the most I’ve written in 3 weeks. Stay safe everyone.
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Ria Stone
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Post by Ria Stone on Apr 16, 2020 6:17:47 GMT -8
Social distancing here in Queensland, Australia. Its almost like lockdown. My husband is an ICU/Cardiac registered nurse and wanted me to leave home when there were cases in our area, mainly because we’re both over 60 and he didn't want to infect me. For three weeks I’ve been living with my 81 year old Mum, even brought the dog and cat with me. So far so good. We need a good reason to be out of our suburb, so every two days I take the dog to his dad’s so they can go for a walk, i water my pot plants, feed my birds in their aviary, go to the local supermarket, collect dog and go back to Mums. All within guidelines, or else a $1300 fine... And this post is the most I’ve written in 3 weeks. Stay safe everyone. OMG, smart idea. I do hope you and your family remain well.
Just an FYI, I am in my second or third quarantine, it depends on how you define the time.
Mexico has a Shelter-in-Place order and we can only leave our homes to get groceries or other essential tasks. So, I venture out about every two weeks, but when I return to my home, I wash up because every time I return home, I get the sniffles and my face itches. So while I wash my hands frequently, I also wash my face and eyes at the same time. I do think there is a virus around. Here in Merida, it is time for the Merida flu.
I open the windows to get air circulation. I find it helps. Even though it's in the 90-100 degrees here, I use my AC sparingly because I think the virus survives better at cooler temps.
I think I am embarrassing the water delivery personnel when I answer the door in my mask and my underwear (not quite, but).
Mexico is about to go into it's 3rd phase of virus containment. It is not clear to me what that entails. It takes me awhile to sort through all the news in Spanish. All I know is that police are enforcing limited public outings.
The government is preparing alternate hospital facilities in various locations. I am not good with numbers but I think I am finally getting the significance of the 1, 1.1, 1.2 infection rates.
Email, WhatsApp and Video calls are some of the ways I am keeping in touch with family and friends. So, far everyone is doing well. But, I have a niece who was supposed to graduate from physicians assistant college this year and I hear she will be recruited without graduating to work in local hospitals WITHOUT PPE. I am livid. The hospitals won't even accept PPE donations. That for-profit hospitals are willing to kill their doctors, nurses and medical staff is certifiably insane and genocidal.
The U.S. is in meltdown and things are only going to get worse.
While Mexicans are not happy with their government's response to COVID19, it appears to me that they are taking all the right precautions. Except they suffer many of the same problems like lack of personnel, lack of PPE and hospital beds.
There has been a draft guidance document prepared that says doctors can choose to help the young over the elderly.
I used to read science fiction but living in actual dystopic times is like living in a virtual reality game without an escape route.
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Ria Stone
SWF Writers
Posts: 1,055
Joined: Oct 30, 2013 14:12:26 GMT -8
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Post by Ria Stone on Apr 23, 2020 8:09:03 GMT -8
Hola everyone, hope you are doing well.
As a international group, we are each experiencing COVID19 in similar and dissimilar experiences.
I am on Twitter constantly.
following Canada.ca/coronavirus
using the app ncov2019.live for worldwide COVID19 stats
As we all know, the U.S. is in a meltdown, while most members of my family are safe, so many millions are in dire straits.
From my understanding, Mexico is behind the curve, meaning it's upsurge in COVID19 cases will come in the next few weeks.
as of 4/23/20
US 2,659,720 cases, 183,640 deaths, pop. 329,556,173 MX 10,544 cases, 970 deaths, pop. 128,649,565
CAN 41,664 cases, 2,077 deaths, pop. 37,680,672
AUS 6,661 cases, 75 deaths, pop. 25,499,884
While I understand that these numbers are just guides because so many different methods are being used to make these calculations.
Mexico is in phase 3 which does not change the #QuerateEnCasa orders but means Yucatan is preparing for the surge.
At any other time in my life, my life would have been turned topsy-turvy but as I am retired, I am now retired on steroids!
Stay home, stay safe, take care
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Post by unclegarf on Apr 23, 2020 12:53:31 GMT -8
I'm concerned as USA and others takes the brakes off, we shall go blindly into a second wave worse than the first one. I'm staying well out of it.
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Post by galatea on Apr 25, 2020 10:29:56 GMT -8
While I understand that these numbers are just guides because so many different methods are being used to make these calculations. Yes, the numbers don't say much. Some countries don't count cases outside the hospital, cases in homes for the elderly, cases where corona is the secondary death reason etc... Moreover every country is in a different stage which makes comparison difficult. I think excess mortality says more. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/21/world/coronavirus-missing-deaths.htmlArea PCT. above normal Excess deaths − Reported Covid-19 deaths = Difference Spain Mar. 9 - Apr. 5 66% 19,700 − 12,401 = 7,300 Ecuador Mar. 1 - Apr. 15 83% 7,600 − 503 = 7,100 France Mar. 9 - Apr. 5 32% 14,500 − 8,059 = 6,500 England & Wales Mar. 7 - Apr. 10 33% 16,700 − 10,335 = 6,300 New York City Mar. 11 - Apr. 22 300% 19,200 − 15,411 = 3,800 Netherlands Mar. 9 - Apr. 5 33% 4,000 − 2,166 = 1,900 Jakarta March 57% 1,600 − 84 = 1,500 Istanbul Mar. 9 - Apr. 12 29% 2,100 − 1,006 = 1,100 Switzerland Mar. 9 - Apr. 5 21% 1,000 − 712 = 300 Belgium Mar. 9 - Apr. 5 25% 2,300 − 2,373 = -30 Sweden Mar. 9 - Apr. 12 12% 1,100 − 1,160 = -50
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Post by djmills on Apr 26, 2020 12:31:38 GMT -8
We are coming into winter in Australia which brings the flu season. I would be happy to see our lock down continue as it is until Spring. But a lot of Australians are going crazy cooped up in their homes, so I expect to see the lock down slowly wind back in the next 4 weeks.
Some states here are now re opening the beaches, whether for exercise or sun baking, I am not sure. I don't go to the beach. Can't stand the sand, salt and sun, even if I love swimming in the waves. :-)
Australia has an app developed that can trace who we were close to while outside, so if they get Covid19 we will be alerted and can get tested, and go back into lock down to wait until symptoms show, etc. The Gov't needs 40% or more to sign up for it to work well. I expect more than that will sign up, so everything can go back to normal soon.
I hope to remain inside with my wood fire going, and writing 2-5K words each day during winter, along with creating more covers. :-)
Keep safe everyone.
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Post by ChrisLAdams on Apr 27, 2020 4:49:36 GMT -8
We are coming into winter in Australia which brings the flu season. I would be happy to see our lock down continue as it is until Spring. But a lot of Australians are going crazy cooped up in their homes, so I expect to see the lock down slowly wind back in the next 4 weeks. Some states here are now re opening the beaches, whether for exercise or sun baking, I am not sure. I don't go to the beach. Can't stand the sand, salt and sun, even if I love swimming in the waves. :-) Australia has an app developed that can trace who we were close to while outside, so if they get Covid19 we will be alerted and can get tested, and go back into lock down to wait until symptoms show, etc. The Gov't needs 40% or more to sign up for it to work well. I expect more than that will sign up, so everything can go back to normal soon. I hope to remain inside with my wood fire going, and writing 2-5K words each day during winter, along with creating more covers. :-) Keep safe everyone. I always forget the seasons are reversed there. It's just spring here now. Finally seeing some nice weather, but still chilly and rainy. 2-5k words a day! My goodness! I wish I was writing that much! Good job, DJ.
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