Covid 19

[Cliff Ruggles]

This virus is a game changer for sure.  Ohio is now pretty much locked down, most businesses are now closed, some will not make it and never re-open.  Tough economy right to start with and many local mom and pop businesses, especially bars and restaurants will not survive this.

It will also be very tough on many families as very few have much money in reserve these days at it is a very expensive time in our society to keep a home together and raise a family.

I am in agreement on the Governors decision here.  Although the measures being taken seem harsh and even drastic this is a very deadly disease.  Without modern technology many more thousands would perish.

Folks are just looking at the raw numbers and only seeing 2-3 percent or so for death rate among infected persons.  It could and would be much higher if this came along 100 years ago.

Take a look at the link below.  It's scary as to how lethal the Spanish Flu virus was back in 1918.  Most died to secondary infections that moved in once the virus ravaged their immune systems.  Also note that a high percentage of deaths were in the 20-40 year old range, clearly showing that these viruses can be very deadly to younger folks with healthy immune systems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_flu

Make sure to read down to the sections on the "Deadly Second Wave", and the sections on "Devastating Communities".

What they are doing makes sense, it's going to save lives.  Hopefully everyone reading this will look back on the Pandemic in 6 months and be glad that we took steps to protect ourselves from this virus.......Cliff

[ykf7b0]

Very good write up Cliff and I do agree with you on every point!

[Cliff Ruggles]

Thanks.  We are hoping folks take this seriously.  It's a social disease and this one is highly contagious.  If you stay home like we've been ordered to do here it will run it's course then disappear like the viruses before it. 

Hopefully it will also be an eye-opener for folks who don't plan ahead.  There has been significant "hoarding" in our area, started with food, then guns and ammunition.  You can't even find a box of 9mm ammo anywhere in my area.  Made a last trip to our local Rural King a few days before the lockdown to stock up on chicken and rabbit feed, and there were only a few boxes of ammo left, some 22 WMR, two boxes of 243, and two boxes of 308.  I couldn't get anywhere near the gun counter and didn't want to anyhow, folks were lined up to get whatever was left and it didn't appear like it was too much from where I was standing.

Hoarding shows desperation and lack of being prepared.  It can lead to looting and I'm sure we'll see some of that before this is over.  With everything closed up and law enforcement stretched pretty thin I'm sure the chit-hooks will take full advantage of it.  Our area has a LOT of drug users, and pretty high theft rates right to start with.  With everyone arming themselves and having to stay at home it may actually deter some of the B & E's we've been seeing in recent months, at least as far as homes go.  I'm sure they'll choose "softer" targets instead.  Problem right now is that the value of the stolen goods may not be all that much unless it's guns, ammunition or food.......Cliff

[Mudsport96]

We are also in a stay at home unless your job is vital situation. And since my company has a government contract we are still churning 70 hours a week. But Illinois has a disproportionate infection rate to land mass.
I looked a few hours ago at the interactive map we have and of the 2500 cases 2400 and change were within a 45 minute drive of Chicago. 30 were around the St. Louis area. That leave roughly 70 cases over 58,000 square miles. But Illinois is so corrupt the legislature runs the entire state by Chicago rules.

[Cliff Ruggles]

The statistics are highly flawed for several reasons.  Some Counties, like mine aren't even testing so don't contribute to the totals.

The reported infection rate compared to how many are hospitalized in ICU is alarming.  The reported death rate is still relatively low, but I think it would be much higher without the ability to treat those that have become critically ill.

No doubt the Govt would trend to "downplay" the stats some to prevent panic, hoarding, looting, etc.  The reality is that it's going to kill a lot of people and the only way to lower the numbers is to follow the rules, stay at home and no contact with others. 

There is also some concern about indirect transmission as it appears the virus can live outside the body for up to 72 hours.  This means disinfecting anything coming in from outside your isolation zone, like packages, mail, food you purchase if you go to the store, etc.

We have basically self-quarantined here, not going anywhere for any reason and using preventative measures to clean anything brought here from outside our "zone".  So basically we're weathering out the storm.  Some reports say it may not "peak" till mid-May, which means we might be doing this for a while.

Be safe my friends.......Cliff

[StillLearning]

Cliff's thoughts are spot on. My wife and I had the virus last month. It was a bitch but we got medical help and survived it. Never were we tested. The statistics are skewed, in my opinion toward very conservative numbers. Please be aware and careful. I don't want to lose any of my Quad-head friends!

[Cliff Ruggles]

Good news.  To date I don't know anyone who has had it. 

We suspect my brothers son-in-law may have had a bout with it, he's in his early 30's and in good health.  He came down with flu symptoms and trouble breathing.  He missed a week of work which is rare for him to miss any work at all or get sick.  He recovered but was never tested.

We're still at home and not going anyplace.  So far only 4 confirmed cases in my County and pretty sure all of them traveled here to work and lived in adjacent Counties.  No deaths from it reported here to date but the death toll in Ohio is climbing daily.

It woln't surprise me if the Governor takes further steps to keep folks from spreading it.......Cliff

[WideTrack]

Just to add some "close to home", perspective:  I'm in the Detroit area and am a police officer.  My wife is a nurse and works at Henry Ford Hospital downtown.  She was able to work from home for a while for her job, but then got "redeployed" to the ICU, which is exclusively Covid patients.  We have an out-of-town nurse staying with us who is working at Detroit's Sinai Grace hospital, another "ground zero" hospital that is getting hammered.  She came home crying after her shift yesterday.  Here's what she said below.  She posted it on social media so there are no worries about it being "public" here. 

At my job today, being the first nice day of spring, the park was full of people jogging, shoulder to shoulder, huffing and puffing riding bikes...no masks...spewing their germy aerosol breath into the air.  They just don't get it.  Below text is from someone who is living at our house so between that and the info. I get from my wife, I can vouch for its veracity.  Be careful, wash your hands and mask-up if you're going to be out and about. 

We also just learned that one of our retired cops went from being "OK" yesterday to on a ventilator today.

[WideTrack]

Aimee DeLine at Detroit Medical Center Sinai Grace Hosp. 
Last night at work was by far the worst night I have ever had as a Nurse. People...PLEASE (I'M BEGGING YOU) follow the quarantine instructions!!! Don't think of yourselves being "STUCK" at home. Instead think of it as being "SAFE" AT HOME!!! It may help change your attitude, to help you tolerate being home.

Last night in the ER, there were 6 patients that passed away, who won't be going back home to their love ones. Of those 6 patients, 3 of them were mine...2 of the 3, I had just gone into their rooms, took vitals, they were good, nothing about their vital signs gave me the impression that they were about to crash.

One patient had even thrown their shoe 👞at the closed glass door to get our attention. This person wanted to make sure the oxygen mask was on right & to let us know they had dropped the call light on the floor. I picked up the call light, gave it back & reassessed their vitals, they denied having any pain, were comfortable & just waiting for a bed assignment.

Less than 30 minutes later, the monitor started alarming, I along with another RN and the RRT (Respiratory Therapist) ran into the room...the doc arrived a few seconds later...this patient had coded & there was nothing we could do to bring this person back to life.

I'm still having a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that my patient was TALKING to me and LESS THAN 30 minutes later this patient was DEAD!!!

As the doc was pronouncing the time of death, we had to quickly run into another room, because my co-worker's patient suddenly took a turn for the worse as well. Fortunately, we were able to stabilize that patient...but for how long?

As quickly as these patients are taking a turn for the worst, it's not giving us much time to save them. We are treating ALL PATIENTS (here in Detroit) as positive for the Coronavirus/COVID-19.

The ER is overcrowded with patients...last night I was in the ICU section of the ER with 2 other nurses. Each of us had anywhere from 6 - 9 patients at a time...with most of them on ventilators. As soon as one patient either got admitted & went upstairs or expired, EVS was in there cleaning and within 15 minutes a new patient would come rolling in, sicker than the patient before them.

Last night, nearly broke me...I struggled internally to compartmentalize the fact that I LOST 3 PATIENTS WITHIN THE FIRST 8 HOURS OF MY 12 HOUR SHIFT!!!

My heart aches 💔 for my patients and their families. More so, since no visitors are allowed, & their family members are calling to check up on them & were telling them how their treatments are going, their vital are stable, that their love ones are doing okay, & were just waiting for a bed assignment. Only to call them back a couple hours later (or less) and tell them that their family member has died. The worst part is not being able to give them a reason as to what happened, and why so quickly!

So...if you're still reading my long post...PLEASE TAKE THIS QUARANTINE SERIOUSLY!!! On the #frontlines I cannot stress enough how bad it has gotten & it's only gonna get worse before it gets better.

I work the next 2 nights in Detroit at DMC-Sinai Grace and I am struggling mentally to pull it together. I know I need to put my big girl panties on, pull 'em up & suck it up...however it's not as easy this time.

[Pav8427]

First case close to us is 30 miles away. 'Closer' to home is my brother-in-law came down with it about 3 weeks ago. (His wife brought it back from Spain) They actually both got it. He spent 2+ weeks at home in  Hell. High fever,constant coughing, sleeping most of the time. Ended up going into ER. Pneumonia in all lobes of lungs. He went home yesterday. Was told 6-8 weeks of spikes of fever yet and HEAVY sweats at night. He is 54 and pretty decent health otherwise. He said from here on out its "one day battle" at a time.
Her in central Mn, most everybody is stickin at home, but there are those 'Citiots' that are driving from the Twin Cities up to their cabins 3 hours to get something done on the 'vacation'

[WideTrack]

Wow.  I have a place "up north" but wouldn't go up there unless I were willing to stay in the house.  The locals definitely don't want us up there! However, the constitutionality of restricting intrastate travel is questionable to me.  It concerns me that so many are willing to pass such selective and restrictive legislation based on a crisis.  If we pass laws or "orders" we should be willing to enforce them across the board.  If not, it's a bad law.  Or "order". 

[Cliff Ruggles]

Your brother-in-laws experience does sound like Hell, hope he makes a full recovery.

I don't know anyone to date that has it aside for possibly a distant family member as mentioned above but he never got tested.....