Covid-19 pandemic

I'm surprised there hasn't been a lot of talk online (not just here) about the fact that some churches blindly decide to hold services this morning. Props to the ones who decided to go online only. I don't care how many precautions are taken or how deep one's faith is--these gatherings needn't and shouldn't take place.

Yeah I talked to my 86 year old mother in Florida yesterday and she was planning to go to church today just like she does every week.  She can't drive so there are people who pick her up every week and as of yesterday they hadn't called to say services were canceled.  I was surprised; especially in her part of Florida where the average age of the church congregation is probably at least 70.  Granted it's a pretty small church but when you've got a gathering of that age group it doesn't really matter how many there are.

Our church has service but they sent out an email that said no communion, no offering, no hand shaking and encouraged people to watch the service online. We skipped. Taking no chances right now because our youngest daughter is diabetic and has a weakened immune system. So we stayed put but I did go to the store. Everything there looked normal with the exception of the paper goods.

A few of the Catholic churches near me have suspended service as the congregation is mostly older folks anyway who are most at risk for the virus. My local usually suspends the hand shaking during the winter flu season anyway.

Same thing here in STL; most of the Catholic churches and many of the Protestant ones have completely canceled services or told members to use the internet to attend "virtual services". 

I think that's just the smart way to handle this if you care about your church members.

I was glad to see that Shepherd of the Hills, a massive megachurch (one of the few I admire!) from Thousand Oaks down south, shut down physical services and offer online only. And I've heard quite a few have done the same. Shockingly, our largest church here in town has resumed services, the same day the City of Fresno declared a state of emergency. Way to go, numbnuts.

My family and I have sworn to social distancing. We had to cancel with friends last night, and tomorrow my boys will be taking an extended break from their behavioral therapy. I'll still be working thanks to being self-employed, and my wife is still getting paid, so other than being broke, almost out of TP, and unable to pay either our health insurance premium or our bloated PG&E bill, we're in a pretty good place with a lot of hope.

California needs to stop setting everything on Hard Mode.

At my church yesterday a message was read out from the presiding bishop which discouraged people from shaking hands and hugging as well as laid out guidelines for communion - things like no shared cups, even going for single use ones if possible.

But then in the evening the government announced measures to combat the spread, one of which is that public gatherings of more than 100 people are now prohibited. So presumably that means that churches are going to be closing their doors. I don't know whether my church quite has 100 people in any of its services, but I would imagine they're not going to play the numbers game and will just cancel.

Check this out, updated daily on the number of people infected:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries

That's the site I've been following since the outbreak began.

The entire country is on lockdown. People have been strongly advised not to go out.

I did work from home today. Also enjoyed some Ps4 video games with my son. But i am starting to feel bored. And it's only my first day at home.

Police have warned people to abstain from outdoor activities, including jogging. That's terrible.

I've worked from home full time for about 5 years now and I live by myself with just the two cats for company.  So for me this isn't much of a change from "my normal" except that some stuff like TP is impossible to get.  But I find it sort of strange that now the rest of the world has to live the lifestyle I prefer and they're upset by it.  I mean, I get it, most people like to socialize and go out but since I never have been like that it just seems sort of odd to me that people are so upset about these restrictions. I mean I've been "social distancing" for about 35 years.



But the TP and general hoarding thing is pissing me off...

Gilbert wrote:

Police have warned people to abstain from outdoor activities, including jogging. That's terrible.

Why can't you go for a jog? I healthy thing that doesn't involve contact with other people.

Amazon now stopping shipment of music (vinyl and CD's).

Although probably no one will begrudge Amazon prioritizing essential goods and services during a pandemic, the company’s decision to put a temporary halt to incoming shipments of physical media is subjecting record labels — particularly independent imprints that do a good deal of business in vinyl and CDs — to yet another blow.
Amazon has announced that its warehouses has “temporarily disabled shipment creation” for discretionary items through at least April 5. That doesn’t have to do with the outflow of product from Amazon, but inflow. Amazon is declaring an immediate emphasis on the kind of household and medical supplies that have been quick to sell out, and which customers are having a hard time finding in person. Their message to record labels and distributors: Please stop sending us anything, until further notice.
That doesn’t mean that products already sitting in Amazon warehouses won’t still be up for sale to consumers. But replenishing stock, or stocking new music releases, is something that will have to wait for weeks — or, some fear, months.

“Considering Amazon is the biggest record retailer in the world, I have to imagine that all record labels will take a hit,” says Cheryl Pawelski, the Grammy-winning co-founder of Omnivore Records, adding that with “brick and mortar retail under duress at this time as well, I can’t say that the outlook is good.”

Sorry, but Amazon can kiss my ass! I looked there to see if they were sold out of tp. They were. Then couple days later I see some in stock. Problem was, they listed under their Amazon fresh store, which is supposed to be food products. In order to buy from their fresh store, you have to be a prime member. So they care nothing for anyone, unless you're a prime member. In the mean time, they supposedly look down on price gouging, but that's just another way to price gouge people.

Interesting site here if your looking to track this thing.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

mikeinfla wrote:

Amazon now stopping shipment of music (vinyl and CD's).

Although probably no one will begrudge Amazon prioritizing essential goods and services during a pandemic, the company’s decision to put a temporary halt to incoming shipments of physical media is subjecting record labels — particularly independent imprints that do a good deal of business in vinyl and CDs — to yet another blow.
Amazon has announced that its warehouses has “temporarily disabled shipment creation” for discretionary items through at least April 5. That doesn’t have to do with the outflow of product from Amazon, but inflow. Amazon is declaring an immediate emphasis on the kind of household and medical supplies that have been quick to sell out, and which customers are having a hard time finding in person. Their message to record labels and distributors: Please stop sending us anything, until further notice.
That doesn’t mean that products already sitting in Amazon warehouses won’t still be up for sale to consumers. But replenishing stock, or stocking new music releases, is something that will have to wait for weeks — or, some fear, months.

“Considering Amazon is the biggest record retailer in the world, I have to imagine that all record labels will take a hit,” says Cheryl Pawelski, the Grammy-winning co-founder of Omnivore Records, adding that with “brick and mortar retail under duress at this time as well, I can’t say that the outlook is good.”

I read that article on my phone at lunch today. It makes it look like they are heroes shipping nothing but the "essential life saving items" and not frivolous things like music and books. The cynical in me thought it's all about money and looking good to the world and the realist was thinking the prioritizing concept might be good for them.

Imagine people back in the 50's and 60's imagining what life will be like in the year 2020:

https://twitter.com/gjarjour/status/1240773952722489344

Well, there it is. The year 2020 in one short, 7 second video.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/24/doctor-warns-innocent-people-will-die-coronavirus-challenge__trashed-12450472/

Who's up for some fun and games? Let's see who can lick the dirtiest surface! 

... and my mom has it. 

She is 64, not exactly in the risk group. But that's pretty rough. She has fever, and is told to stay home for ten days.

I haven't seen her since 1st March, when she was last over. Our twins turned two so it was a big party. Her cousin was here too and she also has the covid now. 

I'm thinking, that's too far back though. Finland had zero cases back then. My mom's a daycare teacher so she must have caught it at work, after the party, like last week.

But, damn, that thing is spreading.

Best wishes for her Lari.

Wow, sorry to hear Lari, hope she feels better soon.

Lari wrote:

... and my mom has it. 

She is 64, not exactly in the risk group. But that's pretty rough. She has fever, and is told to stay home for ten days.

I haven't seen her since 1st March, when she was last over. Our twins turned two so it was a big party. Her cousin was here too and she also has the covid now. 

I'm thinking, that's too far back though. Finland had zero cases back then. My mom's a daycare teacher so she must have caught it at work, after the party, like last week.

But, damn, that thing is spreading.

I hope your mom and her cousin get better soon.

Lari wrote:

Imagine people back in the 50's and 60's imagining what life will be like in the year 2020:

https://twitter.com/gjarjour/status/1240773952722489344

Well, there it is. The year 2020 in one short, 7 second video.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/24/doctor-warns-innocent-people-will-die-coronavirus-challenge__trashed-12450472/

Who's up for some fun and games? Let's see who can lick the dirtiest surface! 

from what I read, the kid in the first pic (bottom link) licking the toilet won the challenge -- he now has the virus.

Lari wrote:

... and my mom has it. 

She is 64, not exactly in the risk group. But that's pretty rough. She has fever, and is told to stay home for ten days.

I haven't seen her since 1st March, when she was last over. Our twins turned two so it was a big party. Her cousin was here too and she also has the covid now. 

I'm thinking, that's too far back though. Finland had zero cases back then. My mom's a daycare teacher so she must have caught it at work, after the party, like last week.

But, damn, that thing is spreading.

That sucks man. I was talking to my doctor today about how close to home this all is now, I know people who have been diagnosed and she was friends with the doctor who died in our town.

It does still seem quite mild most of the time so fingers crossed for your family members