That said, nuance is not exactly well received nor well communicated given the current atmosphere. Within hours of the WHO announcement yesterday, there were headlines abound that read "Asymptomatic spread of virus is 'very rare,' WHO says". For a society that just reads headlines and takes them as gospel, yeah, that's a dangerous headline.
I thought of this passage last night, as I was getting ready to park my car and a DJ on a local FM station said, "The WHO announced that asymptomatic people are not likely to spread coronavirus. Read more about it on our website."
For those like me who are sitting in a car, we're not going to run to their website. Heck, by the time we are in a setting where we can adequately visit and read said website, we've probably already forgotten to take such an action, and all that might stick with us is what that guy said.
And by the way, who doesn't go to a FM radio station website for all their COVID-19 news? Amirite?
And, Arkansas just says F it and moves in to Phase II despite another 300ish cases today. Not sure what exactly that means other than restaurant capacity goes from 1/3 to 2/3. But, it cracks me up that they're just like, meh, national guidelines? Nah, not gonna worry about it. Pretty sure we don't even meet the criteria to get into Phase I, but whatever. I've said before, and I continue to believe, that they don't really care about much of anything other than hospital capacity and there's plenty of that. So, full bore ahead.
We're keeping our employees at home, or at least giving them the option to stay at home which most are opting to do. Glad we're able to do that.
But I don’t know that the broad public is actually all that responsive to single headlines either. For all the focus on jerks, people overwhelmingly seem to be trying to do their part, even when painful, and generally support the need for public health measures even while being doused by irresponsible media and politicians.
That's probably true, overall. But there are no shortage of people with their heels dug in. And, they continue to load their argument with half-truths and misleading statements such as this one. And, these are the people that think wearing masks is a sin against manhood, social distancing is an assault on freedom, etc. Maybe your faith in humanity is more than mine, or maybe I'm just exposed to more of these people than you and that shapes my views differently. Regardless, they are numerous around here.
For sure.
I don't know that I have any more faith in humanity, but I guess I just think turning this more into a culture war issue than it already is would be awful, and to that end I think it's good to see the big picture of people mostly trying to do their part and not being completely dug in and looking for excuses. To be honest, I did find it embarrassing wearing a mask at work at first, like it would make me appear to be some kind of weenie. Obviously, that is itself a kind of a weenie attitude, but it's real, and it's easy for people to dig in on this sort of stuff. I really want to treat people as generously as possible to avoid that. I feel like wearing a mask and acting like it's normal helps others see this as the thing to do and feel comfortable about it. My wife and I have also been sewing and giving away masks for co-workers, and that seems to help as well.
So Florida, Texas, and Arizona are all seeing increasing new cases lately. Has there been any discussion about whether this goes against the idea that warm weather decreases the risk, or is it just that they hadn't really take their turn yet and it would have been worse than this with cooler weather?
Have no idea why, although I thought being indoors with central AC, etc. was a riskier proposition than being outside regardless of the temp. In which case the high temps in FL, TX, and AZ contribute to people being indoors more in AC. I'm sure the virus doesn't survive long in high heat, especially dry heat, but it's carriers indoors do.
So Florida, Texas, and Arizona are all seeing increasing new cases lately. Has there been any discussion about whether this goes against the idea that warm weather decreases the risk, or is it just that they hadn't really take their turn yet and it would have been worse than this with cooler weather?
Have no idea why, although I thought being indoors with central AC, etc. was a riskier proposition than being outside regardless of the temp. In which case the high temps in FL, TX, and AZ contribute to people being indoors more in AC. I'm sure the virus doesn't survive long in high heat, especially dry heat, but it's carriers indoors do.
I wouldn't read into the heat thing as much as I would the behavior of people reemerging with very little discipline or care about COVID. It's very hit or miss here in Orlando, in terms of businesses and people staying vigilant. Some businesses are still closed. Some are open with conscious restrictions. Many are packing maskless people in like sardines and the people are more than happy to be packed in.
It's pretty clear that social distancing isn't just the most effective way to slow the spread, it's also the most effective way to prevent irresponsible behavior, because it's really, really easy to feel like everything is fine and normal again. I think the spike in cases has more to do with those states reopening irresponsibly than any conclusion we can draw about warm weather.
But I don’t know that the broad public is actually all that responsive to single headlines either. For all the focus on jerks, people overwhelmingly seem to be trying to do their part, even when painful, and generally support the need for public health measures even while being doused by irresponsible media and politicians.
That's probably true, overall. But there are no shortage of people with their heels dug in. And, they continue to load their argument with half-truths and misleading statements such as this one. And, these are the people that think wearing masks is a sin against manhood, social distancing is an assault on freedom, etc. Maybe your faith in humanity is more than mine, or maybe I'm just exposed to more of these people than you and that shapes my views differently. Regardless, they are numerous around here.
For sure.
I don't know that I have any more faith in humanity, but I guess I just think turning this more into a culture war issue than it already is would be awful, and to that end I think it's good to see the big picture of people mostly trying to do their part and not being completely dug in and looking for excuses. To be honest, I did find it embarrassing wearing a mask at work at first, like it would make me appear to be some kind of weenie. Obviously, that is itself a kind of a weenie attitude, but it's real, and it's easy for people to dig in on this sort of stuff. I really want to treat people as generously as possible to avoid that. I feel like wearing a mask and acting like it's normal helps others see this as the thing to do and feel comfortable about it. My wife and I have also been sewing and giving away masks for co-workers, and that seems to help as well.
Very nice gesture, AD. I'm glad people have been making masks because 1) they look pretty cool and 2) obviously helps alleviate stress on the PPE shortage.
I can agree wholeheartedly feeling like a wimp wearing a mask at first. I've been going to the gym lately and wearing one full time while lifting. A week or two ago, seemed like the gym was mostly empty and most everyone was wearing one. Recently, there have been more and more people and less and less masks. But, once you get used to it, it's not so bad. And, the feeling goes away pretty quickly. We had a baseball practice for little AW last night and while the kids aren't required to wear them, the coaches/parents are. Many coaches you could tell weren't used to wearing a face covering and they kept falling off. Eventually, they just left them off but a league rep was there enforcing the rules which was nice even if it seems unnecessary while distancing in an outdoor and breezy area. Hopefully, being forced to do it will help people get over it and expand their use even outside the baseball practice. **knock on wood**
Here in England lockdown is pretty much over despite us still having the highest rate per population in Europe.
The government handling of this whole situation has been a shambles from the start. The prime ministers advisor broke the lockdown rules, was found out, but is still in his job and since that point it is pretty much a free for all.
As for myself, towards the end of March I found that the medication I was on reduces my immune system. I showed the documentation from our NHS website that I was at high risk and probably shouldn't be at work.
I initially self isolated and was eventually furloughed. Then 3 weeks ago they rang and laid me off. I rang our unemployment service that day and have heard nothing since.
At the end of April, I went to a store to get essentials (as per the government instructions) and I collapsed outside the store twice and once inside an ambulance once it arrived. I stayed in hospital overnight and was diagnosed with pneumonia. I was released the next day and given anti-biotics. I am as normal as can be but I am still waiting to hear about some tests etc they want to do.
My anxiety/depression is through the roof and I split with my partner last week (it had only been 6 months and we hadn't seen each other for 3 of those).
It's been an eventful lockdown!
I was due to be arriving in London about now to watch the London Series, ah well!
