Snowbird parks and Coronavirus

BarbaraOK wrote:
It is the fear of something new that we have no experience with that has people sacred. Add to that the problem with senior citizens who have health issues (and most of us over 70 have some health issue) and it becomes a concern. Yes, a lot of it is ignorance on the part of most people. But my husband is having bypass surgery next Monday so you can be sure that we will be staying in this week just to make sure that he isn't exposed to ANYTHING (this is also a high flu season in Arizona) that would interfere with his recovery.

Best wishes for your husband, Barb. You need to be diligent. Last week I had to make a whirlwind trip back to Indiana as my mother was in the hospital. She had been in the week before for an infection. While she was there, my sister was outraged with one nurse who was visibly sick. Her nose was raw and red, she was coughing and had laryngitis. My sister told her she needed to wear a mask. She said she was fine and refused to don a mask. She got down right in Mom's face. They released Mom and later that night she developed wheeazing and other respiratory problems so my sister took her back to the ER. The surprised doctor asked if she had been around any sick people. Sis said YES, the one nurse. Mom ended up staying another week while they cleared all that up. A complaint was made to the "Joint Commission" by my niece who is a nurse practitioner. So the next day the CEO from the hospital showed up asking questions. My sister was home sick (imagine that) so I filled him in on all things related to this nurse, who happened to be working on the floor that day. I told him she was NOT to set foot in Mom's room. We considered her the source of Mom's secondary respiratory infection as well as my sister's. Interestingly, once that nurse was off shift, another nurse went to her work station and disinfected everything she had touched. As I told the CEO, all she had to do was wear a mask. I mean, she shouldn't have been there anyway, but if a patient's family thinks you should wear a mask, better do it.

Thankfully my 95-year old Mom recovered and is doing well at home now.

Hopefully nothing like that will happen in a cardiac unit, but we must be our own advocates.

Dale

^^ Thank you Dr. Doug for telling it like it is. :)

I saw two bluebirds in a tree and a dead frog this morning. These observations, while valid have as much significance on the potential spread and mortality of a new infectious disease, coronavirus as the number of people killed in auto accidents. None is a valid way to evaluate what's going on. If you are saying that the deaths we eventually have from corona are less somehow because the absolute numbers are less than the flu or auto accidents... well that's just cold.

Comparing flu to corona is just mildly more significant. We have a very large percent of the population protected from the flu from previous mild infections or vaccination. Every individual who is protected acts as a roadblock to the spread during flu season. Yet we still have 10s of thousands of deaths each year.

No one has protection from corona. There are no roadblocks. We have to slow the spread so that our health care system does not get overwhelmed. Each person has to act responsibly to mitigate the spread. Not everyone is going to be infected, obviously. But, the potential is a little frightening.

This isn't hype. It's just running the numbers. That's why businesses, cities, counties and countries are cancelling group activities and travel.

Until we get accurate numbers from wide spread testing, caution is the only way to responsibly proceed.

westernrvparkowner wrote:

TomG2 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
....snip.... COVID19 is responsible for about 4/1000th of 1% of the deaths in the US.

In case you haven't noticed, it just got here. That figure is about as meaningful as saying the death rate from automobiles was less than 4/1000th of 1% in 1901.

Approximately 38,800 people in the US were killed in traffic accidents in 2018. That is more than 1500 times the number of people in the US whose deaths are attributed to COVID19.

while I agree that the media has overhyped this; your comparison of 38,800 in 52 weeks is not reasonable since there has been deaths (22) in the USA to Coronavirus for just over 1 week and the first likely case of local transmission was just under 2 weeks ago. The exposure and deaths/week are not at a steady rate as is the case for automobile deaths.

It’s just getting started in the USA and we don’t really have a good sense of just how bad it will be.

TomG2 wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:
....snip.... COVID19 is responsible for about 4/1000th of 1% of the deaths in the US.

In case you haven't noticed, it just got here. That figure is about as meaningful as saying the death rate from automobiles was less than 4/1000th of 1% in 1901.

Approximately 38,800 people in the US were killed in traffic accidents in 2018. That is more than 1500 times the number of people in the US whose deaths are attributed to COVID19. Yet there is no reporting that automobiles are "carving a path of death" like the article quoted said was the case with the virus. This entire media frenzy reminds me of how the Weather Channel hypes every coastal thunderstorm. Despite their best efforts to convince us otherwise, most everyone will live to see the sun rise the day after COVID19 fades from the headlines.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
....snip.... COVID19 is responsible for about 4/1000th of 1% of the deaths in the US.

In case you haven't noticed, it just got here. That figure is about as meaningful as saying the death rate from automobiles was less than 4/1000th of 1% in 1901.

It is the fear of something new that we have no experience with that has people sacred. Add to that the problem with senior citizens who have health issues (and most of us over 70 have some health issue) and it becomes a concern. Yes, a lot of it is ignorance on the part of most people. But my husband is having bypass surgery next Monday so you can be sure that we will be staying in this week just to make sure that he isn't exposed to ANYTHING (this is also a high flu season in Arizona) that would interfere with his recovery.

Me Again wrote:
By Mike Carter , Nina Shapiro, Mary Hudetz and Paige Cornwell
Seattle Times staff reporters

The emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus in Washington and the world has exacted a steep toll in a very few weeks, carving a path of deaths, .

Talk about alarmist reporting. Since the first of the year approximately 500,000 people have died in the US (2,813,742 deaths in 2017, about 7700 per day per CDC) . Of that number 22 are attributed to Corona Virus. By comparison, an average of about 49 Americans are killed by lightning each year. Corona Virus currently is not exactly carving a path of deaths. But that statement sure sells more papers than stating that COVID19 is responsible for about 4/1000th of 1% of the deaths in the US.

By Mike Carter , Nina Shapiro, Mary Hudetz and Paige Cornwell
Seattle Times staff reporters

The emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus in Washington and the world has exacted a steep toll in a very few weeks, carving a path of deaths, illnesses and tense uncertainty as a global outbreak unfolds.

The virus’ relentless spiderweb has spread in the weeks since the first cases were recognized in Wuhan, China, in December, shaking world leaders and emptying streets from Shanghai to Milan to Kirkland, Washington, where residents have found themselves at the unlikely U.S. epicenter of a worldwide health crisis.

Scientists tracking the spread of the virus in Washington expect the number of cases in the state to spike over the next several weeks — just as they did in China — and warn that, while the cost we’ve paid is already steep, it’s likely going to get steeper. Already, in less than a month, society has contracted — events canceled, travel restricted, crowds avoided and downtown streets, while not empty, suddenly lack the bustle of America’s third fastest-growing metropolis.

In short, our lives have changed drastically — for some, irretrievably.

Hope you all watched Meet the Press this morning with Dr Anthony Fauci Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Slowly we are starting to hear from medical professional vs political hacks from the administration.

One of the things that concerns me is that people will buy a ticket to an event in their park, and then feel obligated to attend when not feel well. At this point parks should be saying if you do not feel well, DO NOT attend, and we will refund the cost of your ticket(s).