Corona Virus Pandemic Preparedness

[Harley PoMMom]

School are now closed for the remainder of the year here too. As of today, Pennsylvania has 21,719 confirmed cases, which according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering webpage, we are ranked 5th, this sh** is scary. Philadelphia County leads with the most number and they are only 2 hours away from me.

On a brighter note, my hands are covered in dye from painting eggs with my niece and her 5 year old girl, we had so much fun today and she is so excited to hunt eggs tomorrow!!!

[labblab]

Oh, that’s so sweet, Lori! It does my heart so much good to picture the three of you working on your eggs; one normal thing in a crazy world! I hope you all have a grand time tomorrow:-))))))).

Happy Easter!

[Budsters Mom]

Oh yes Lori, thank you so much for your egg story. I really needed a glimpse of normalcy in all of this!

California's strict stay at home orders/lockdown has started to pay off. It will be four weeks on Monday the 13th since our lockdown order went into effect. 4 weeks of being isolated at home has not been easy. Other than a weekly store run for essentials and taking walks, I haven't left the house. On the upside, it's working. The hospitals, although still swamped, have been able to keep up with the flow of new patients. Ventilators are plentiful, in fact, California has been loaning them out to other states in mass quantities. California has not hit it's apex as if yet, but growth has slowed down dramatically. That was the goal of the early lockdown. To slow the growth enough to help keep the hospitals/healthcare system from collapsing. I certainly hope that this is not all in vain by opening up too quickly. Yes, people need to get back to work, and I'm all for it, if it's done safely. Right now, the lockdown needs to continue because it is saving lives.

I will be working from home starting on the 13th. It will be very strange for everyone involved. That's the way it has to be right now. Stay smart to stay safe and post your updates when you can. I would love to hear how everyone is doing.

[Joan2517]

Well, beginning week seven working from home...I wouldn't mind if I was busy, but sitting in front of the computer all day with nothing to do but try to look busy is boring. I would rather be doing things around the house. The president of my company let everyone know that in the next couple of weeks, there will be salary reductions; reduced hours; title changes (I'm the lowest in the admin category so can't see that changing for me!); furloughs; lay-offs; voluntary terminations; and not so voluntary.

I hope they lay me off or furlough me. I could still get unemployment and they will continue to pay their share of my medical so that I can pay mine and not have to go on Cobra. If I could hold on until June of 2021, I could apply for Medicare and then either get my SS or get something part-time. If things pick up and I could still work from home, that would be great, but I've already made up my mind that I'm not going to commute to the city anymore.

On a brighter note, my hyacinths and daffodils that I bought from the Tipper and Squirt fundraiser have come up and are gorgeous! Thank you, Leslie. I love being home and looking out over the garden! I wish I could upload a picture of them, but still can't. I can't wait to see what the alliums do!

I have ventured out a couple of times with Sibbie. It's strange and at the same time comforting, to see everyone wearing masks and standing so far apart. Glen Cove seems to be adhering to the rules of social distancing. My husband goes out and does most of the food shopping. He must think we're going to starve to death! There is so much food in the freezer we could probable live for six months without shopping if we didn't need milk, eggs, toilet paper, and of course tonic for our gin and tonics!

I feel safe at home and hope you all do too. I'm happy to be home with my Sibbie, Gable, Cooper and Doree. Cooper is like my shadow now; I move he moves; I sit down, he's next to me. I know he feels safe with me here. Sibbie and I are so in tune with each other, she is getting quite good at reading my body language...not quite as much as Lena, but she's getting there. I know Gable feels better that I'm home. He doesn't have to worry about not being able to get out if he has to. And Doree is happy to have her dad here all the time. She only gets up when he does and then follows him around all day. Poor little thing is exhausted by 7:30 or 8:00 at night. She gets off his lap and climbs up her ramp to go to sleep in "her" chair with her heater blowing on her and sleeps a good 12 hours.

My sister did test positive for corona. She got the results back 4/8. So she's down in the basement for another two weeks. So far my mom, her husband and son have not shown any signs...unbelievable! She is lucky that she didn't have to go into the hospital, her lungs are finally opening up. She had every symptom and still wouldn't accept that it wasn't a sinus infection until they called her with the results.

So who knows how much longer this will go on. I think it will be a while until they come up with a vaccine. I never got the flu shot, but I will damn sure get this one when it's ready!

[labblab]

So glad to receive your report, Joan, and to hear that you, hubby, and the dogs have settled into a regular, safe routine. I feel pretty much the same way here. One day just kind of blends right into the next, but I’m so grateful that my husband is able to work from home. We’re still totally isolating aside from dog walks and grocery store runs, and will undoubtedly maintain this regimen for quite some time — the governor of our state notwithstanding. Imagine my surprise at learning that bowling, tattoos, massages, nail grooming, and big-screen movies are the core activities so critical to our well being that we’re to risk our communal health to allow them to be the first to rush to reopen. Wow. Hopefully the common man and woman have better sense and a stronger desire for self-preservation than that, including the owners of those businesses who want to better protect themselves and their employees.

Either way, *we’re* not going anywhere very soon. Luna loves having her dad home 24/7, and we all three are focused on making this our new normal for some time to come.

[Budsters Mom]

Yes, I had no idea how crucial certain services are in the state of Georgia! Who would've thought that tattoo parlors, hair and nail salons, movie theaters, and bowling were so important, as to risk so many lives. I sincerely hope that Georgians are taking it upon themselves to continue to stay at home until it is deemed safe by the scientists to emerge. That is a very surprising stage one plan for any state, particularly one that has not reached its peak yet.

I just lost a my lengthy CA update, as my Ipad froze. I am working from home, as all the schools are closed and I've been spending my days on devices, so I don't feel like typing it again right now. I will attempt again in the next day or so. Stay smart to stay safe.

[molly muffin]

Hi everyone, safe here in Toronto, Ontario.

Hubby and me are into week I don't know, 6(?) working from home. Our entire company went to work from home in about a week, all of our office across Canada are basically closed down.

This weekend we are springing my MIL from our retirement apartment and bringing her to live with us till this has past. We just think she will be safer here with us. We have basically everything delivered, and if not delivered then pickup with no contact. That seems to be working for us. We've opened the pool and once the weather is warm enough, she can enjoy the backyard, bbqs with me and hubby.

Most things are shut down here, except for essentials, like grocery, etc. Nothing frivolous is open. I have ordered clippers and will be grooming vanilla myself. First one was last weekend and she looks a bit ..um...well... cute of course, with a side of homelessness? LOL

Our family is all safe, but I've had nurse friends who have been tested (negative so far) another friend in California who they think had it in December and she is at home but still on oxygen. A friend of mine here in Canada has it, another friends FIL in a nursing home tested positive. People I work with know people who have passed away. It is scary and they learn more all the time about it. Like the blood clot issue. So I don't think it's going to be safe for awhile. I don't know what the new normal will look like, but if it is like the old normal, then it will be risky I think.

Anyway, we are doing good and just dealing with the new reality. Everyone stay safe! Love ya!!

[labblab]

Oh Sharlene, thanks so much for your update. I’m so relieved to know that you and Daniel are safely working from home, and I’ll bet Vanilla is loving having you around 24/7. I have to laugh hearing that you’ve bought clippers for her — I keep thinking I should arrange a video session with my hair stylist so she can coach hubby on giving me a haircut! So far, though, he says “Nah, I don’t think so.” We have a friend who’s taking her dog to a drive-through groomer. They come to the car all masked and gloved and take the dog inside while she waits, and then return it to the backseat the same way. If I could do the grooming at home, I’d prefer that, though, myself. I’m going over this morning to pick up Luna’s regular NSAID Rx from our vet, and they don’t want me to come inside even for that. I’m to call when I get there, and they’ll bring the bottle to the car.

I do understand about you bringing Daniel’s mom home. If my mom was still alive, I believe we’d be doing the same thing since she never needed any specialized care and would have done fine with us. It just would have been so hard on us all to have been separated during the quarantine. Her retirement complex has just registered its first positive case, and that would have made us so worried. These are such tough times, for sure.

Anyway, thanks so much for checking in and please continue to do so. We miss you very much!

Love, Marianne

[Joan2517]

Lol! My husband has been cutting my hair for the last couple of years and right now, I couldn't care less how it looks! After working in NYC since 2018 and seeing some of the styles, nothing he does could look worse! On the other hand, he butchered Sibbie's last year after our groomer decided she wasn't going to come to Glen Cove anymore. When I texted her the picture she wanted to know who weed-whacked her?? LOL!

[Budsters Mom]

So glad to see you Sharlene, and know that you'll doing well. At least as well as can be expected.

California is still on a stay at home order with very tight restrictions. Pretty much all we can do walk around our neighborhoods maintaining social distance, grocery shop, get gas ( though nobody is driving) and visit a drive thru restuarant. Restrictions are starting to ease in some parts of the state. Beaches and parks, in a few cities opened this past weekend, with many rules of course. They are still closed where I live, but are expected to be opening soon. We have been experiencing a heat wave, making the beach sound wonderful! Particularly since almost everything else is closed and people can't go into work. May as well go to the beach, yet we can't just yet.

Working from home feels weird. I'm sure my students are feeling the same way about distance leaning. We are making it work. It's a enormous change and challenge for all.
Take care everyone!