Coronavirus/COVID in the U. S. & Elsewhere

[Martin B]

Costco is enacting new rules to limit crowding in its stores. Starting Friday, April 3, "Costco will allow no more than two people to enter the warehouse with each membership card," the company said in a statement. Doesn't seem like much of an effort, but then I don't go to Costco, so maybe it is a bigger deal than I think.

 

Gas prices at some of the stations here in Las Vegas have gone down. The lowest price I've seen so far is $2.35 a gallon, which is what you would expect with the price of oil and lowered usage. However, I've seen three stations actually raise their prices by more than ten cents. Don't know if their trying to discourage business or what.

 

There has been a steady increase of people going for walks at the park where my wife and I go. There were ten besides us this morning. So my wife is now wanting to get up earlier and go when there will likely be fewer people. That's fine with me.

 

There's a huge park across the street from us and we live on a fairly busy street, I see a constant stream of people going in and out. Way more than normal. I've noticed that traffic has seemed to pick up a bit in the past week or so. A few days ago my wife and I went to pick up some masks from one of her Chinese friends and I was shocked how busy the highway was.

 

I fully agree with what Costco is doing. On my last booster run at my local supermarket there was a woman with what looked like her three teenage daughters. All of the them were wearing the 3M N95 masks and they were debating over store-brand vs name-brand Oreo's. What a waste of masks on top of bringing in more people than necessary into the store. When I was heading out of the store I saw one guy in a checkout line that was buying a single bottle of barbecue sauce!!! Pisses me off every time I see this s**t.

[tsap seui]

Shucks damn, .my lil' child bride and I both wear 3M N-95 masks when we go out into any sort of "public". And yes, I'll admit, I have worn my 3M N-95 mask into a drug store and only purchased a single box of condoms....and this was yesterday afternoon. There, I've said it...God Bless me, I have finally gotten this offa my damn chest and can stand tall and American proud once again.

 

Ya know, I don't rightly know what I was thinkin' when I put on that thar 3M N-95 mask for the first time......OH WAIT!!! I freakin' dang well DO know what I was thinkin' when I put on that mask......I was thinkin' of all the folks who carelessly sneeze huge chunks of visible particles in Wal-Marts, grocery stores...you know....the ones who blast you in the face with pretty particles of snot, strings of their DNA, and God knows whatever else....and don't even slow down. This is what I wuz thinkin' when I put on that precious mask, and my gloves and my face goggles and true blue Volunteer of America that I yam, I PROUDLY walked into that rural Wal-Fart Superstore as my mind repeated the phrase. "I WANT TO LIVE not to mention the fact that I had been ordered that if'n I ever wanted to have sex again with my wife I will faithfully wear my precious 3M N-95 everywhere I go."

 

I wear the mask, gloves, glasses...I'd even put on a dress and dance a gig in front of Marines if that's what it took to keep my lil' rabid rabbit in season...

 

hahaha...for what it's worth, my lil' rabbit wears 2 3M N-95 masks when she goes into a public place, like a grocery store. We neither one ever bought into the propaganda that "you don't need a mask if you aren't sick". And....heaven forgive me for this, but....sniff....sniff....back in late August of 2019 my wife got a QQ message from a friend in Chinartucky and next thing I know I went into our local yokel Ace hardware store and we cleaned them out of every single 3M N-95 mask that they had on display. Yessir....we took all 6 of them buggers and with the reptilian part of our brain seekin' "survival", we never looked back. Throw rocks if ya must.

 

 

In November 2019 a friend sent us 1,000 3M M-19 surgical masks from China. On March 27th, 2020 we put 250 masks in two separate boxes. I drove us to the two ambulance services closest to us and handed them to the first person who walked out of their doors. No one recognized me with my mask on and I didn't give a name, just said "good luck" and bounced back to the safety of the alcohol swabs in my pickem-up truck.

 

Good luck y'awl

 

Barfas, the loose skin (jowls) under my chin was shakin' all over as I read yore great post. I found the visuals hilarious as your words described the action. Let me add, I have to agree with you that the mother hen and her devine 3 daughters may well have been complete wastes of 3M N-95 masks. But me n' my lil' nubile nymph, the "Fushun rabbit" don't fit in those shoes. Know wudda mean, Vern? We are survivors of the worst the US State Department could give us.....at least we can huddle in the same hutch as we wait through this "current" virus.

[Randy W]

NYC cases by zip code - from the NY Times

 

 

[eseum]

Tsap - as long as you were hoarding them with no intent to sell, you're ok. I'm sure your donation was greatly appreciated. Unlike this tool:

 

A Brooklyn man named Baruch Feldheim was arrested for hoarding huge stockpiles of face masks and other medical supplies and for coughing on FBI agents after claiming he had the coronavirus. Feldheim, 43, was charged with assault and making false statements to law enforcement after the FBI raided his home amid reports that he was price-gouging. The Department of Justice said Feldman housed a massive stockpile of medical supplies at his Brooklyn home and at an auto repair shop in Irvington, New Jersey. The supplies included enough N95 respirator masks, hand sanitizers, Clorox wipes, chemical cleaning agents, and surgical supplies to outfit an entire hospital. “Feldheim allegedly sold certain designated materials — including N95 respirators — to doctors and nurses at inflated prices,” the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey explained in a statement.

 

The Feds ended up distributing the supplies to New York and New Jersey. I find it particularly upsetting when a person, who shall remain nameless, continues to make unsubstantiated accusations of hoarding against medical staff. Especially when I see the comments repeated by others on comment boards (not here) in relation to covid stories. I worked my way through college working in a hospital, and was previously married to a nurse, and am well aware of their hazards in the best of times. These are not the best of times and these people deserve our respect, and every effort that can be mustered to keep them and those they serve safe.

[Martin B]

Tsap - as long as you were hoarding them with no intent to sell, you're ok. I'm sure your donation was greatly appreciated. Unlike this tool:

 

A Brooklyn man named Baruch Feldheim was arrested for hoarding huge stockpiles of face masks and other medical supplies and for coughing on FBI agents after claiming he had the coronavirus. Feldheim, 43, was charged with assault and making false statements to law enforcement after the FBI raided his home amid reports that he was price-gouging. The Department of Justice said Feldman housed a massive stockpile of medical supplies at his Brooklyn home and at an auto repair shop in Irvington, New Jersey. The supplies included enough N95 respirator masks, hand sanitizers, Clorox wipes, chemical cleaning agents, and surgical supplies to outfit an entire hospital. “Feldheim allegedly sold certain designated materials — including N95 respirators — to doctors and nurses at inflated prices,” the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey explained in a statement.

 

The Feds ended up distributing the supplies to New York and New Jersey. I find it particularly upsetting when a person, who shall remain nameless, continues to make unsubstantiated accusations of hoarding against medical staff. Especially when I see the comments repeated by others on comment boards (not here) in relation to covid stories. I worked my way through college working in a hospital, and was previously married to a nurse, and am well aware of their hazards in the best of times. These are not the best of times and these people deserve our respect, and every effort that can be mustered to keep them and those they serve safe.

 

These kinds of actions should be "life in prison" offenses during these times.

 

This one in particular made my wife's blood boil: https://twitter.com/WBYeats1865/status/1244821557253255169 , it apparently got received incredibly negatively in China as well for further fanning the flames in such a difficult time. Between s**t like this, the growing hostility in China towards foreigners, and America's current attitudes towards China, we've started joking about moving to a third country at some point LOL, or at least having a plan ready.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Barfus (see edit history)

[Greg.D.]

Wow, she could be the next Bond villain.

 

Fresh off the boat mainland immigrants can be that way but after a month or so of seeing that people here don't take all the toilet paper out of the public rest room, etc they calm down and do the take what you need thing.

 

Anyone who walks around doing selfie videos (Gweilo?) extolling their accomplishments is already a hardcore narcissist so to do that with masks is just a little extra step.

[Martin B]

Wow, she could be the next Bond villain.

 

Fresh off the boat mainland immigrants can be that way but after a month or so of seeing that people here don't take all the toilet paper out of the public rest room, etc they calm down and do the take what you need thing.

 

Anyone who walks around doing selfie videos (Gweilo?) extolling their accomplishments is already a hardcore narcissist so to do that with masks is just a little extra step.

 

What really pissed me off most is that her American (if you can call him that) husband stood by and enabled her, WTF is wrong with that traitor. I'm not gonna post the info here but people figured out pretty quickly who she is, her address, family info etc. and they were reported to the FBI today. Apparently she was already arrested in 2018 for domestic violence. And her (now hidden) Facebook page had a huge cross on it LOL. You can't make this s**t up.

 

It was encouraging to see the Chinese social media replies to the video - they absolutely roasted her for making Chinese lose major face.

[Randy W]

from the NY Times

 

 

Turning the Tables, Russia Sends Virus Aid to U.S.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Russian military transport plane carrying medical equipment and supplies landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York on Wednesday.Credit...Stefan Jeremiah/Reuters

 

A giant An-124 Russian military transport plane landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York, bearing cartons of masks and ventilators from Russia for a pandemic-stricken metropolis.

 

See CFL topic

World's largest airplane Edited April 3, 2020 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Bert]

Costco is enacting new rules to limit crowding in its stores. Starting Friday, April 3, "Costco will allow no more than two people to enter the warehouse with each membership card," the company said in a statement. Doesn't seem like much of an effort, but then I don't go to Costco, so maybe it is a bigger deal than I think.

 

Gas prices at some of the stations here in Las Vegas have gone down. The lowest price I've seen so far is $2.35 a gallon, which is what you would expect with the price of oil and lowered usage. However, I've seen three stations actually raise their prices by more than ten cents. Don't know if their trying to discourage business or what.

 

There has been a steady increase of people going for walks at the park where my wife and I go. There were ten besides us this morning. So my wife is now wanting to get up earlier and go when there will likely be fewer people. That's fine with me.

I went to Costco this past Wednesday. My wife had pretty much banned me from shopping, but, despite her rules, she managed to acquire an infection over the weekend. She then past it along to our son. We use the Costco pharmacy. I was supposed to go Monday to pick up an antibiotic but with senior's day on Tuesday, she decided I could use the opportunity to pick up food with less risk. She threatened to go with me to ensure I complied with her rules. That meant our son would have to go. I finally convinced her that it would increase our risk and waste masks. Tuesday came and she refused to let me go. She later agreed to let me go Wednesday.

 

Wednesday came. I drew the line at wearing goggles or a full face mask or face shield. We finally compromised on safety glasses, gloves, and an N95 mask. I intended to be there about 15 minutes early. I was going out of the driveway and she calls and demands that I wear a hat. I had to come back inside and look for a hat. There was little traffic, but the lights were timed poorly. It took about ten minutes longer than it normally takes with traffic. I get there at about 08:10.

 

The first thing I see is a 35ish-year-old woman carrying only a pack of toilet paper grinning ear to ear. I suppose that she was disabled. I put on my PPE and exited the car. The line was wrapped around the store nearly to the end. I heard one senior say that she was there at 07:00. Everyone was spaced 6 feet apart. They let in 10 or 12 people at a time. It didn't take but twenty minutes or so. The first thing I noticed was the wall of toilet paper as I entered the store. There was a guy who asked every senior if they needed a pack and loaded it for them. I'd say about a third of the people had a mask and/or gloves. As best I could tell, I was the only one wearing an N95 mask. There were two old ladies shopping together. One was hunched over the shopping cart with no protection. Her mate was wearing a pair of red knit gloves. No doubt it gave her a false sense of protection. I mention her because she was pinging all over the place getting in my face the whole time I was shopping. She wouldn't maintain her distance.

 

The store was well-stock. It even had paper towels and Lysol. The refrigerated section smelled like rotten vegetables. I picked up a salad mix. It was partially brown with an expiration in two days. Another pack looked better, but the expiration was the same. I declined.

 

I picked up $401 dollars worth of stuff we likely will never use, including a bag of rice and spam. We're still working on the bag of rice I bought nearly 4 years ago. The store had most things but not everything. They even had seaweed back in stock. My wife has become a compulsive eater, dieting then snacking like the world will end tomorrow. She's gained about 15 pounds recently. Most of the checkouts were open. I had to wait for one person plus another finishing up and paying--about typical.

 

I exited the store a little after 09:00. There was no line, but I supposed that is because the store was closed to the general public and the senior hour was over. The parking lot had nearly emptied. I hate to see what the place is like when it opens to the general public.

 

There's a Bi-Lo grocery store about a half-mile down the road. She allows me to go there now by myself during the senior hour. She says I can't go out, then says she must have fresh food. Nobody shopped in Bi-Lo at the best of times. All the self-checkouts were closed. Probably a good thing. Before the senior hours, my wife went there and used the self-checkout. I was amazed that she could clean out the dried beans and bring home a cartload for only $17. She told me that she might have missed a few things. After looking at the receipt, I think she missed most things. It's happened before at Walmart. I took the barcodes back with me the next time I went shopping at Walmart. It was hard for me to make heads or tails out of the Bi-Lo receipt. I just said the heck with it.

 

My wife is really paranoid about this pandemic. She stays up most the night reading the news. She used to talk most of the night with her mother but she unfriended her again recently. Now her mother lectures me with her idiotic rules on how to prevent infection. I did a little yard work yesterday. I had to move the car out of the garage. I came inside briefly to get the keys. We replaced the deck a couple of weeks ago. My wife was afraid that there might be viruses in the grass. She sprayed two large cans of Lysol in the house and left the cans laying on their sides at the entrance (probably hoping I would step on them and fall). She did it more to punish me, I'm convinced.

[Greg.D.]

 

 

I was amazed that she could clean out the dried beans and bring home a cartload for only $17. She told me that she might have missed a few things. After looking at the receipt, I think she missed most things. It's happened before at Walmart. I took the barcodes back with me the next time I went shopping at Walmart. It was hard for me to make heads or tails out of the Bi-Lo receipt. I just said the heck with it.

Wasn’t sure what you meant on the first read. Has she also posted a video featuring herself at the store saying “I didn’t leave any beans for the Americans?”

 

Anyway, try to keep her on the good side. Good luck there.

 

We’re looking at a Costco trip any day now.

[Martin B]

 

Costco is enacting new rules to limit crowding in its stores. Starting Friday, April 3, "Costco will allow no more than two people to enter the warehouse with each membership card," the company said in a statement. Doesn't seem like much of an effort, but then I don't go to Costco, so maybe it is a bigger deal than I think.

 

Gas prices at some of the stations here in Las Vegas have gone down. The lowest price I've seen so far is $2.35 a gallon, which is what you would expect with the price of oil and lowered usage. However, I've seen three stations actually raise their prices by more than ten cents. Don't know if their trying to discourage business or what.

 

There has been a steady increase of people going for walks at the park where my wife and I go. There were ten besides us this morning. So my wife is now wanting to get up earlier and go when there will likely be fewer people. That's fine with me.

I went to Costco this past Wednesday. My wife had pretty much banned me from shopping, but, despite her rules, she managed to acquire an infection over the weekend. She then past it along to our son. We use the Costco pharmacy. I was supposed to go Monday to pick up an antibiotic but with senior's day on Tuesday, she decided I could use the opportunity to pick up food with less risk. She threatened to go with me to ensure I complied with her rules. That meant our son would have to go. I finally convinced her that it would increase our risk and waste masks. Tuesday came and she refused to let me go. She later agreed to let me go Wednesday.

 

Wednesday came. I drew the line at wearing goggles or a full face mask or face shield. We finally compromised on safety glasses, gloves, and an N95 mask. I intended to be there about 15 minutes early. I was going out of the driveway and she calls and demands that I wear a hat. I had to come back inside and look for a hat. There was little traffic, but the lights were timed poorly. It took about ten minutes longer than it normally takes with traffic. I get there at about 08:10.

 

The first thing I see is a 35ish-year-old woman carrying only a pack of toilet paper grinning ear to ear. I suppose that she was disabled. I put on my PPE and exited the car. The line was wrapped around the store nearly to the end. I heard one senior say that she was there at 07:00. Everyone was spaced 6 feet apart. They let in 10 or 12 people at a time. It didn't take but twenty minutes or so. The first thing I noticed was the wall of toilet paper as I entered the store. There was a guy who asked every senior if they needed a pack and loaded it for them. I'd say about a third of the people had a mask and/or gloves. As best I could tell, I was the only one wearing an N95 mask. There were two old ladies shopping together. One was hunched over the shopping cart with no protection. Her mate was wearing a pair of red knit gloves. No doubt it gave her a false sense of protection. I mention her because she was pinging all over the place getting in my face the whole time I was shopping. She wouldn't maintain her distance.

 

The store was well-stock. It even had paper towels and Lysol. The refrigerated section smelled like rotten vegetables. I picked up a salad mix. It was partially brown with an expiration in two days. Another pack looked better, but the expiration was the same. I declined.

 

I picked up $401 dollars worth of stuff we likely will never use, including a bag of rice and spam. We're still working on the bag of rice I bought nearly 4 years ago. The store had most things but not everything. They even had seaweed back in stock. My wife has become a compulsive eater, dieting then snacking like the world will end tomorrow. She's gained about 15 pounds recently. Most of the checkouts were open. I had to wait for one person plus another finishing up and paying--about typical.

 

I exited the store a little after 09:00. There was no line, but I supposed that is because the store was closed to the general public and the senior hour was over. The parking lot had nearly emptied. I hate to see what the place is like when it opens to the general public.

 

There's a Bi-Lo grocery store about a half-mile down the road. She allows me to go there now by myself during the senior hour. She says I can't go out, then says she must have fresh food. Nobody shopped in Bi-Lo at the best of times. All the self-checkouts were closed. Probably a good thing. Before the senior hours, my wife went there and used the self-checkout. I was amazed that she could clean out the dried beans and bring home a cartload for only $17. She told me that she might have missed a few things. After looking at the receipt, I think she missed most things. It's happened before at Walmart. I took the barcodes back with me the next time I went shopping at Walmart. It was hard for me to make heads or tails out of the Bi-Lo receipt. I just said the heck with it.

 

My wife is really paranoid about this pandemic. She stays up most the night reading the news. She used to talk most of the night with her mother but she unfriended her again recently. Now her mother lectures me with her idiotic rules on how to prevent infection. I did a little yard work yesterday. I had to move the car out of the garage. I came inside briefly to get the keys. We replaced the deck a couple of weeks ago. My wife was afraid that there might be viruses in the grass. She sprayed two large cans of Lysol in the house and left the cans laying on their sides at the entrance (probably hoping I would step on them and fall). She did it more to punish me, I'm convinced.

 

 

LOL are you sure your wife is Chinese? A 25lb bag of rice lasts like 5-6 weeks here with 2 adults, an 11-year-old, and a 1.5-year-old.

 

When we were stockpiling stuff in February we bought around 150 lbs of rice. If this runs out and we can't by more, the real disaster will begin...

[amberjack1234]

My wife said when she first came here that Chinese people can not live without rice and I had to buy a 25-pound bag of rice. Then she saw on some nutritional site how much starch and calories that rice had in it and she has never eaten a grain of it since. Gave the rest of the bag to a friend of mine. That was 20 years ago.

[Martin B]

My wife said when she first came here that Chinese people can not live without rice and I had to buy a 25-pound bag of rice. Then she saw on some nutritional site how much starch and calories that rice had in it and she has never eaten a grain of it since. Gave the rest of the bag to a friend of mine. That was 20 years ago.

You are one lucky man. I can barely look at the stuff anymore as we eat it so much.

Edited April 4, 2020 by Barfus (see edit history)

[Greg.D.]

Almost 40,000 people have traveled directly from China to the U.S. since Trump imposed travel restrictions.

On New Year’s Eve, Chinese officials disclosed the existence of a pneumonialike illness to international health experts. Since then, at least 430,000 people have arrived in the United States on direct flights from China, according to an analysis of data collected in both countries.

The bulk of the passengers, who were of multiple nationalities, arrived in January, at a time when American officials were beginning to grapple with the risks of an outbreak.

Nearly 40,000 of the people traveled directly from China to the U.S. in the two months since President Trump imposed travel restrictions. In total, 279 passenger flights have arrived from China since then, carrying Americans and others exempt from the restrictions. Even this past week, data shows, the flights have continued.

Mr. Trump has heralded the restrictions as one of his administration’s most important decisions in light of the outbreak. But the analysis of the flight and other data by The New York Times shows the travel measures, however effective, may have come too late, particularly in light of recent statements from officials that as many as 25 percent of infected people may never have symptoms.

And even with the restrictions, screening procedures have been uneven, interviews show.

“I was surprised at how lax the whole process was,” said Andrew Wu, 31, who landed at Los Angeles International Airport from Beijing on March 10. “The guy I spoke to read down a list of questions, and he didn’t seem interested in checking out anything.”

Edited April 4, 2020 by Greg.D. (see edit history)

[eseum]

My wife got up earlier yesterday so that we wouldn't run into as many people on our walk. As opposed to ten people on Thursday, we came across three. So this morning she got up even earlier and we started walking at about 5 a.m. We encountered one person riding a bike like they were being chased. It was a good thing they had a headlight or there would have been one heck of an accident. Don't know if she will get up even earlier tomorrow or not. I am usually up at 4 a.m. so I keep waiting to see if she will try that.

 

My wife is still enamored with rice though I gently try to persuade her otherwise. She is eating less of it, partly because I will either eat just a little, or not eat any at all. I have told her that it is just to hard for me to keep weight off if I eat rice. I don't have the same problem with potatoes, but I still don't eat a lot of them. She's been mixing more vegetables in with the rice, hoping that it will make me eat more.

 

So the governor of Georgia issued an executive order yesterday requiring beaches in Georgia to stay open. The order overrode any closure of beaches by local, city or county requirements. People are not supposed to get within six feet of each other, or bring chairs, umbrellas, etc. onto the beach. Of course everyone is sure to follow these requirements, yeah right. The problem is, now he is putting the rangers, police and other officials who have to police the beaches in a difficult and potentially dangerous situation. Then there is the governor of Florida who has made exceptions for churches, so that they can still hold in-house services. Not sure what the thought process was for either of these gentlemen.