Coronavirus/Covid-19 Discussion Thread

[dragonflies]

 

[Taoboi]

@amybrickwallace @Juliajms and @OzFrog thank you for the well wishes. Today my sister feels like crap, but still ticking and feisty so feel a little better. 

 

Amy re: the pastor WOW. Stay safe.

 

It definitely feels like next week is going to be interesting, but good that the CDC is doing something.

[victoria foxton]

 

 

[Vee]

 

[~bl~]

I am surprised what is going on in PA hasn't made it into this thread yet as it was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Starting on Friday they want everyone who comes into the state (who isn't a commuter or an essential worker) to have a negative COVID test taken at maximum 72 hours prior to arrival, and if you decide to leave you should take a test before going and don't go if you are positive. The thing is in most of the commonwealth testing is not widespread and only available based on CDC guidelines meaning you have to be already ill, have a close contact who is positive, or work in healthcare.  If you live in PA and leave you are to quarantine for 14 days at home once getting back if you can't get tested and if you don't follow the rules you could be fined. So basically they have cancelled out-of-state travel for the foreseeable future due to lack of available testing, but trucking etc. won't be stopped. Before this was announced you could visit certain states without any testing or quarantine needed, which is what New York and New Jersey are still doing until it changes. There has been no information how PA is handling people coming into airports without a negative COVID test, will they be sent away, fined or will it be ignored and then this order hurt a lot of people's holiday season as they followed the rules with potentially no consequences for those who decided to break the rules.

 

The other thing that was announced was if you go anywhere outside your home you need to wear a mask even if you go to see a friend or a family member in their home. In public places the mask mandate has been a thing since the Spring though some people do not comply. The new mask rules are what I've seen the most complaints about, not the news that they were shutting down out-of-state travel messing up Thanksgiving plans for many people less than 10 days before the holiday.  

[victoria foxton]

 

   

 

  

[Juliajms]

People have been warned over and over again not to gather for Thanksgiving, so I have a hard time sympathizing. People just will not listen to reason of their own accord, so states with decent leaders end up with rules and mandates.  Those of us with bad leaders are hunkering down for the super seeder events that Thanksgiving, Christmas and NYE are going to become because people won't do the right thing and stay home.

[Faulkner]

 

[~bl~]

The PA government has not given any indication that this is temporary, or what needs to happen to lift the order, which they did back in March/April opening in May/June. All they have said is it is going to get worse with cases (even with this shutdown, which they refuse to call that - call it what it is don't act like you are giving people a choice with testing off the table to leave.) They need to be more transparent, as in NY with the clusters you know exactly why things are being closed in certain places. It is possible that things won't go back to normal until Spring or until there is a widely available vaccine which takes two doses over a month period, so maybe by April or May people can see their families if they aren't in the same state, but only if you live in PA, as the neighboring states don't have the restrictions at this time. Also since people are allowed to commute into PA, and/or people from PA can commute there as needed, the spread is not going to be fully stopped regardless, so it may help some spread, but not enough if people stay in the town they commute to and do things they cannot do in their home state over lunch. At this point, PA cannot go into a stay-at-home order due to the Trump appointed judge stating the last one was against the law. Due to the politicization of COVID-19, and the court cases and strife between the Democratic governor and the Republican lead PA assembly, I was expecting some sort of comments of reaction from the opposition, as they went off when the governor vetoed their bill to change the capacity of people allowed in certain places. 

 

There was a meeting this weekend with the governors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania who are said to be working together, but only PA has changed the rules for the entire state prior to Thanksgiving. They should have made this change together, and by not doing so, it adds more confusion as people going to PA may not hear about it until it is too late to do anything about it. The states surrounding NY had more positives than acceptable to New York for weeks, but they didn't shut their borders due to the interconnected nature of the states, which I expected to happen before PA did it. 

 

bl (who doesn't like sharing her real life issues, but I was supposed to be seeing relatives last week, but someone wasn't feeling well, and they could get a test, and they didn't have COVID, this was a relief, but now they are all upset with me for not wanting to travel in the middle of the pandemic as they were willing to travel here, BUT there was no restriction at that time, and we are dealing with financial issues when they come here, but if I go there it is for relaxation. Basically I said unless I can get easily tested, they won't see me until things change, as I cannot quarantine for 14 days, so I'm the one who has to be alone over this holiday and probably Christmas/New Years. You can be upset about me not being able to come, but not upset with me for wanting to do what is right, as I have to go into an office for an essential business that isn't healthcare on a regular basis. And unless there is an outbreak on my work's property or I get sick myself, I can't pass the CDC pre-screening process, and even get a test at a local pharmacy.)

[Taoboi]

Because this week was not bad enough for me.  

 

I knew it was going to come to this though. I just got into it earlier today because someone would rather refuse to answer whether he wants jalapanos on his sandwich to me because I told him to wear a mask.

 

 

[Faulkner]

 

[victoria foxton]

 

  

[victoria foxton]

 

 

[Faulkner]

 

[amybrickwallace]

 

I'm so sorry.

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