COVID impacts

[TarnishedPenny]

OK, so I needed to buy a new webcam over the weekend and hit the usual sites.

Remember toilet paper?

Out Of Stock - Out of Stock - Out of Stock.

At least this one makes sense.

 

[RejectReality]

My home state's tracking page started out pretty basic, but it's been steadily adding data/functionality, and today, they added a bunch of new things.

Started with a basic map and total numbers boxes, which was then upgraded to an interactive map where each county shows tested, positive, and deaths with a mouse hover. Then they added age and gender breakdown for deaths and positive cases, plus a graphed daily for tests, positives, and deaths.

Today, I looked to see they've added race/ethnicity breakdowns and a section for ICU beds and ventilators in use ( available, covid-19, and other )

The state's websites are usually pretty static and lame, but the team they've got working on this one is doing some laudable work. Makes my work state's tracking page look like crap by comparison

 

[gordo12]

Bored out of our minds we met some friends at the local fish and chip shop Saturday night. Got food and had an "old farts tailgate party." Parked six feet apart we sat and ate and talked for an hour and a half. Colder than hell BTW.

There is no official stay at home order here just a be smart which we've honoured for weeks now. People driving by to the takeout restaurants were funny. Many gave us filthy looks, probably because they didn't think of it themselves. Others gave us a thumbs up. Big smiles!

Acres of parking almost totally devoid of cars. Hundreds of thousands of square feet of shopping space. Many now abandoned, fixtures and stock gone. It's mind boggling!

Pic - my wife on the right.

 

[oggbashan]

My local county reports about 1700 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

But in my local small town I am aware of over 100. The two figures just don't match. If it is 1700 for the whole county we should have less than 15.

My eldest daughter is at 'severe risk' because of asthma. In her short street of 18 houses there are two separate cases of Covid-19. That worries her.

 

[KeithD]

My only scheduled outing for the month of April just was canceled. Fortunately, "hermit" and living in my imagination through writing are my natural habitats.

 

[TxRad]

Nine confirmed cases in my county since early March. One minor city and a bunch of rural communities. Not anywhere near anything called densely populated.

Of course, with the mickey mouse government we have here, the numbers probably don't mean much. No deaths, which I might believe but no recovered cases either. One hospital in the county should make reporting easy but....

 

[litfan10]

We are holding steady with 43 confirmed cases and two deaths.

 

[NotWise]

For those who haven't seen it yet, this Interactive map from Johns Hopkins provides near real-time data for the whole world. The form and content changes day to day, but there's a lot of information. So far, only the US is broken down to the county level.

In my county, we had 440 confirmed cases and 16 deaths as of 4:00PM yesterday.

 

[ElectricBlue]

For those who haven't seen it yet, this Interactive map from Johns Hopkins provides near real-time data for the whole world. The form and content changes day to day, but there's a lot of information. So far, only the US is broken down to the county level.

In my county, we had 440 confirmed cases and 16 deaths as of 4:00PM yesterday.

That link froze my browser.

Here's the "official" news version for Australia, updated at least twice daily by the national broadcaster. Shows state by state, some world comparisons, the various testing rates, and high level death/recovery data. We're down in the noise.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-03...ls-how-covid-19-spreads-in-australia/12060704

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Another site which I like is here: https://aatishb.com/covidtrends/. It stresses trends as opposed to raw numbers. For an explanation, there’s a Learn More icon top centre leading to a short video. The video also notes the limitations of both types of reporting.

It will, of you look for it, break down some countries by states and provinces.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

COVID maps

I like this one, it's got data from all over the world and it's easy to navigate:
Coronavirus Dashboard I think it uses the Johns Hopkins data.

If you like graphs, https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/ is good.

I have to admit that I'm a little obsessed with these.

~~~~~
On a side note: for maybe the second time since my governor issued the stay-at-home order, I drove from work on the interstate and then the spur interstate that goes downtown. I was on the road at about 5:30PM, which is pretty much the height of rush hour. The traffic looked more like mid-morning on a Sunda (you know, when everyone's still AT church). There were more tractor trailer than cars. It was pretty surreal.

 

[KeithD]

It's wonderful that the big trucks are still on the roads. I keep hoping the supply chain and power grid hold. I've been locked down when simply everything broke down and there was shooting in the streets.

 

[TxRad]

A note on the news under feeding the hungry was about farms having to plow crops under since there wasn't enough transportation to get them to market. Very sad.

 

[KeithD]

A note on the news under feeding the hungry was about farms having to plow crops under since there wasn't enough transportation to get them to market. Very sad.

Also that food is being lost because repackaging or redirected supply chains from restaurant supply to grocery store shelves doesn't happen quickly.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

A note on the news under feeding the hungry was about farms having to plow crops under since there wasn't enough transportation to get them to market. Very sad.

I thought so too. So many people could use it. But I guess the logistics of that kind of thing can't just change in a couple of weeks.

 

[NotWise]

A note on the news under feeding the hungry was about farms having to plow crops under since there wasn't enough transportation to get them to market. Very sad.

A lot of small-scale farmers are going to have problems because the farmer's markets they sold through are closed. We should have crowds at grower's markets in the parks, but those are shut down.

Our resource allocations right now are odd. I don't think there's a shortage of trucks or truckers, and the highways are pretty open. Maybe those truckers are all busy shipping bread, pasta, soup and toilet paper to replace what the hoarders took.

My neighbor across the back wall has two semi tractors that his son drives -- trailers too, but those are for gravel and waste. I was accustomed to seeing the kid there from time to time, but he's been gone for a while now. Too bad, 'cuz he was the only one in the household that spoke much English, and I need to talk to them about getting the wall fixed, and what the hell they're going to do with those barking dogs.

 

[litfan10]

Another death yesterday bringing my county up to three with 49 confirmed cases.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Another four weeks at home.

No cases for about 100 miles around us, but who knows what’s going to happen after the Easter holiday makers have left their mark. I’m a bit worried for our friends who work in retail, although each checkout in all three supermarkets now have sneeze guards around each register.

 

[RejectReality]

I'm wondering how long it's going to be before someone challenges the health screening in workplaces on HIPPA grounds. Those regulations are pretty strict, and I'm willing to bet those health screening procedures violate them.

It's a sensible precaution, but someone will undoubtedly decide to be a selfish ass before too much longer.

 

[gordo12]

I'm wondering how long it's going to be before someone challenges the health screening in workplaces on HIPPA grounds. Those regulations are pretty strict, and I'm willing to bet those health screening procedures violate them.

It's a sensible precaution, but someone will undoubtedly decide to be a selfish ass before too much longer.

HHS Waives HIPPA Privacy Rules On Data In Order To Speed Communication About Infected Patients

Some recognition of potential problems

 

[KeithD]

I'm wondering how long it's going to be before someone challenges the health screening in workplaces on HIPPA grounds. Those regulations are pretty strict, and I'm willing to bet those health screening procedures violate them.

It's a sensible precaution, but someone will undoubtedly decide to be a selfish ass before too much longer.

Couldn't this be obviated by an "If you want to work here . . ." waiver being required?

 

[RejectReality]

Couldn't this be obviated by an "If you want to work here . . ." waiver being required?

That's a pretty dicey thing for a company to pull. Either sign away the privacy rights outlined in federal regulations or you can't work here...

Not a good headline for the company to have show up on CNN.

You can bet any lawyer willing to go after something like this is going to be a grandstanding sleazeball who will get it in the press.

 

[JamesMiehoff]

They may be able to come up with the same sort of language they use for mandatory drug testing.

It wouldn't surprise me if they come up with a way of issuing Corona Antibody Positive or Negative cards.

James

 

[RejectReality]

They may be able to come up with the same sort of language they use for mandatory drug testing.

It wouldn't surprise me if they come up with a way of issuing Corona Antibody Positive or Negative cards.

James

The problem is that a lot of these screenings are probably taking place in a more or less public setting with other employees queuing at six foot intervals behind you. Hardly out of hearing distance. So they're forcing you to disclose private medical information to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who has the same start time as you.

They put up plastic sheets around the perimeter of one half of our breakroom as the queue for our screening. That means anybody sitting in the breakroom can hear everything being said, in addition to everyone coming in for the start of their shift.

I'm just playing devil's advocate here, by the way. I'm perfectly content to have them try to catch Typhoid Mary before they infect the other 300 people who are in the building every day.

 

[oggbashan]

As I am at severe risk I can't go to my bank to pay my credit card bill.

I tried doing it by phone. The automated system won't recognise my card number given by voice and timed me out trying to enter the 16 digits.

I tried to speak to a human. They told me it was a minimum of an hour's wait at quiet times...

They suggested registering online. It took me four attempts and even then wouldn't recognise my six-digit security number. In all, I had had to enter four different security stages with multiple digits. I must have made an error somewhere.

Eventually, after half an hour, I succeeded in paying the minimal total amount owing.

But they want my mobile number to send me texts. Although I have a mobile, it is switched on about four times a year to call the car recovery service and my daughters. All those numbers are on the menu but I have to hand the phone to someone else to use them. I can't see to read any text message and certainly can't send any.

Why don't I use an app? Because I can't fucking see it!

Because I am now registered online, they will no longer mail me statements. I do not want online statements.

Cue 'more in sorrow than anger' letter to my bank. "We respect our disabled customers," they say.

No - you bloody well don't!