*

*
Yosemite under Orion's gaze

Saturday, March 21, 2020

Stay safe

protect the hive
Leslie had a Facebook friend mention something important; watch out for gas pump handles as a potential viral transmission point. She is right.

My "go to" gas stations are the two across the street from each other in Escondido on Centre City and Fifth. They are always the cheapest around.

The one on the south side is owned by a Korean couple. She gives out a disposable plastic glove now when you get gas. Smart. I now have a box of my own gloves under my own car seat.

It's here. I think by last count we had five coronavirus cases in Fallbrook, all connected with North County Fire. I believe that there are two in Temecula right now. So what have those people touched, post office boxes, door handles, gas pump handles, etc.?

I have a friend in the food industry whose plant is running at top speed, being an essential service. But my friend has to ask his employees to think about and possibly curtail their social interactions, because they now threaten the entire hive.

This caution will only add to a heightened paranoia and fragmentation of friendships. Every potential meeting with anybody will have to be analyzed, scrutinized and a cost/benefit analysis applied. Who have you met, have you been to church lately? Is meeting with you physically going to endanger me or my family? Could I be a non symptomatic carrier myself, and who am I endangering?

I have had a door or two shut in my face and I have probably shut a door or two, the emotional shrapnel from this thing is going to be enormous. By the way, this is very scant and un-scientific but I am noticing a real gender breakdown in statistics, at least locally. Males are contracting near two to one in San Diego County.

One hundred thirty one cases, eighty five male, forty five female, one unknown. Italy fatality numbers are also heavily skewed male. Epidemiologists aren't sure if the gender split is behavioral or biological in nature.

Read a guy yesterday who says that proper masks do help, he says that is one of the reasons Asia has been able to get ahold of the virus. Must find a mask...

*
I don't think the "how" of the virus is so very important right now, its etymology, who is responsible, etc.. People in the future can debate that, assuming there is one. While Nature Magazine has refuted a Chinese lab grown, man made origin for the virus, this person begs to differ and it is an interesting read. Another refutation on engineered origin from study author from Scripps. I have been on record as hating genetic engineering for ever, not trusting humans to do much of anything properly. Wouldn't really surprise me.

*
Martial law, anybody?

9 comments:

Scrota Voce said...

Seeing stats about infected individuals is meaningless if not told the correlative
size of infections from other strains, i.e. colds and flu, in the same time frame.
Like getting a ticket for speeding when there is no posted speed limit. If 100 individuals are affected, but 1000 got the flu, so what.

The next thought will be, if we can shut down society for an pending pandemic that
has no history of mass casualties, why not shut it down for colds and flu that annually kill up to 56,000?

Remember, the only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage.

Brendon Urie

Blue Heron said...

How many more died in Italy yesterday, 765. That's a pandemic, son. Pull your head out...

Sanoguy said...

i suspect that the fire guys got the virus from patients they had contact with before we really knew what was going on with the virus. They are in close, direct contact with their patients when treating them. If that is the case, those patients had the virus and who knows how many other people were infected??

Usual Suspect said...

Another source of potential cross-contamination to consider is your mailbox. Your mail “carrier” touches every mailbox latch on their route, which in turn has been touched by each of the box owners when they opened their mail box.


The covid-19 biological weapon narrative is unsubstantiated fear-mongering by those seeking to sow seeds of chaos among an already panicking populous. Check out this interview with award-winning US scientist, professor, and virus researcher, Linda Saif. Her explanation as to why covid-19 could not have come from a lab is quite convincing, and based on science, not conspiracy. Originally broadcast in the US on CGTN. Interviewer is Tian Wei. Even Chinese television came to a US expert to dispel the “engineered virus” rumors.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n27rmu-TPxA&list=PLt-M8o1W_GdQ3OMoqak-V6k1ED3eOjEEy&index=29&t=0s


.

Jon Harwood said...

There doesn't seem to be a plan to it, in the sense of A, B, C, however, I think nature is thinning us out as there are too many of us. Having too many humans creates problems like the proposed origin of the virus. That is we encroach on wild critters territory and the viruses in them take an opportunity to move to a new host-us. It boggles our mind that everyone accepts that humanity can just grow in population forever. It is probably accepted because capitalist economies need to grow to function well. Figuring out ways for a capitalist economy to function without eternal growth would be a good idea as would figuring out ways to limit population. If we don't realize that and take action, natural totally unplanned events like the "surprise" coronavirus may well do it for us.

Blue Heron said...

Jon, you always have something thoughtful and well considered to add. Thank you.

Mandomadness said...

https://www.longecity.org/forum/topic/108639-covid-19-or-coronavirus/#entry887926

^^Some potential preventive measures as far as supplementation and food consumption. Obviously take everything with a grain of salt and do your own research. -Armand

Sandra Kinsler said...

Watch out for keypads. You encounter these in the market, ATM machine, gas station, bank, etc. They are not being cleaned. Carry tissues with you if you don't have gloves.

And to make you more crazy, gloves don't help if you don't remove them properly, or if you don't change them constantly. It keeps germs off your hands, but if you scratch or rub your eyes with them on, you're SOL. And, those wearing them in stores are still spreading germs because they don't change or disinfect them. Wash before going somewhere. Wash after going somewhere. Use tissues, discard them and then wash.

Blue Heron said...

Good points.