[Important] Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Csar]

I'm headed for a complicated situation this week. My Uncle just passed away over the weekend and funeral is set for Thursday. He turned 89 on Saturday and died on his birthday. It was unfortunate cause he was a really important figure within my family, but an absolute blessing because of his laundry list of health problems. It's an understatement when I say it was amazing he had made it this far. He didn't die from COVID-19 (or at least that I'm aware of), it was just finally his time.

An unexpected issue that arose, is the funeral on Thursday could potentially include several senior aged relatives. Some which live in California, and one that lives in Florida, so that means air travel (to Illinois). My Aunt (now widowed) is a sharp lady and I would assume she told everyone out of state to stay home. But each of these people out of state had a close relationship with my Uncle at one time.

More importantly though, nobody knows if they are incubating the virus or not. It's been expressed you can have Corona and show no symptoms while being a vessel for said virus. Every single one of these senior members of my family have had a bout with some type of health issue within the last 5 years. Nowhere near as bad as my Uncle who just passed, but notable nonetheless.

So yeah, that is the potential catastrophe I'm headed for this week. And I feel just horrible for my cousins and Aunt that are stuck in this predicament.

Bosco, this is horrible news. I am so so sorry for your loss, my deepest condolences. Sometimes you wonder why so many bad things converge at the wrong time. I've been caring for my granny who, after a stroke, has been living in a nursing home for 7 years and is turning 93 this year. Usually I visit her every week 1 or 2 times but refrained so in the last couple of weeks because of all this frenzy going on and to keep her safe because she's very frail at this point.

I believe your aunt is right about staying home regarding friends and relatives for the sake of everyone. When all of this calms down to a degree where gatherings are safer again, would it be an option to meet for a private family memorial ceremony later in the year?

Sending you strength and love in these dire moments.

[sandelic]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Bosco.
Please accept my most sincere condolences.
My thoughts are with you and your family.

[ThePumisher]

So yeah, that is the potential catastrophe I'm headed for this week. And I feel just horrible for my cousins and Aunt that are stuck in this predicament.

Thats sad Bosco.
And i thought i had a bad week in front of me - i was in switzerland for one week* coming back yesterday, my father is turning 80 later this week and my doctor told me to just don't show up there because this all could turn into something bad.







*german government is saying that switzerland is one the countrys where you should definitely stay at for home for 2 weeks when you've been there and just closed borders this morning

[inchemwetrust]

Lots of food and paper product hoarding in Orange County, California.

We live with my 80 year old mom. We are keeping her at home, and using common sense when the hubs and I go and return home (hand washing and sanitizing the door knobs and things that touched a lot). This whole thing is surreal and everyone seems on the edge of panic. It is like we are waiting for the tide to come in now, and see what happens.

Im watching my parents as well for the time being (they live in another city near me), and they're a little behind on things because the markets that they go to are out of the water, TP,food,etc! It took a day or two to get them caught up but my mom was crying during this crazy time we live in because of the empty shelves in stores. I told mom and dad repeatedly I work in the damn store (details soon) before all this stuff was happening but for some reason they forgot or just dont bother to ask for help. smh!

You see, I work in one of these Club/Warehouse/Membership stores as a supervisor, and I can tell you its insane to see people to come in and panic and binge shop almost half the store. Members coming into my face about complaints, customer service issues, and my favorite question that I get alot was "when will you have 'INSERT ITEM NAME HERE' back in stock?"  Last Friday was chaotic! Even though we put limits on what you can buy (one TP per member,etc) all the meat, bakery, frozen food, milk, diary, drinks (other than soda and energy drink) were sold out. Very sad from a distance at night when the store closed to take a peek into these empty refrigerators. We had extra stockers later that same night to come in early to get the pallets off the trucks and replenish the store. Then Saturday comes up and starts off with a fight out in the parking lot over some stupid shit. But now, members were scraping the bucket....Cereal, fruit and vegis, paper towels, desserts, alcohol (Hennessy,Grey goose) and Marlboro lights were wiped out clean. I walked the club when we closed that night and I could see the empty steel beams that once held rice, beans, and other food. Yesterday was much weird but more calmer. California issues a 250 person capacity for our club, but we got it down to 150. I open the store, get all of us workers get into a huddle, and kind of brief them was going to happen today. There's already a line forming this morning (some members got in line outside as early as 4am! Its now 7am, and I tell everyone waiting outside that we are taking in several members at a time in the club, so, I let maybe 50 people come in ,close the front door, then wait for the exit door workers to let some members out, then let some more members in at a time again, etc! Next thing you know, fists are flying! 2 grown ass men fighting in line (from what I heard someone cut the other in line) and so I call the police, and they came in like 10 minutes and stayed there for a few hours just to see things were under control. After that incident, the club ran smooth the whole day! Less complaints, customers were chatty, and really put some ease into my workday. I pretty much stayed till 10pm because the club was still in bad shape. I have a great crew and I made sure they got rewarded for their hard work, especially the ones who work overnight (our heroes)

Im off today and tommorrow thank god. But I try not to look into the news. I'm currently trying to find any store that has ground beef or any meat to fill my fridge.

But before you judge the ignorant drunkards above, I also plan to be going back to the rejoin the 70mm film festival that I had previously been participating, tomorrow. They're capping attendance at 250 people inside of a 700 person theatre but enforcing heightened sanitizing measures along with encouraging patrons to practice "social distancing" in their spacious theatre.

Bring a hazmat suit! Hope you get free concessions for your 'Contagion' cosplay!

On a personal note Bosco, I am sorry for the passing of your uncle. I hope you and your family/relatives find peace and solace when all of you meet.

I would guess people are still remembering lack of stuff during the war and react like this.
It's a strange thing. Then there was no stuff to buy and people where much calmer about it.
Now they stack unnecessary amount of stuff just to feel safe, I guess.
Funny thing is, as much as people claim they are worried about this virus, cafe bars and shopping malls are stacked with people, where you can't enforce 1m rule. It's crazy.

We had people try to sneak up to the register to buy 2 packs of TP, but we told them(and they know this) that its limit one per person. Even if we scanned it twice, the screen will prompt the cashier 'limit one per member' I personally just buy what I need, but im less of a paper goods type of guy and do my shopping around every three weeks.

As for the malls, there's one that's next to me that is losing money anyway,so they need to stay afloat because they'll be damned if they they close the whole place down. Its a very busy mall where I do my only shopping for clothes and kicks. I'm not going there anytime soon, and I can sacrifice my weekly Cinnabon.

Look at this chump  justice served
https://www.today.com/news/brothers-who-hoarded-17-700-bottles-hand-sanitizer-forced-donate-t176028

[whirlygirl]

Damn Bosco, I'm sorry to hear of your loss.

[MadPooter]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Bosco. I hope you and your family are able to help carry each other through this period.

I also hope everyone doesn't get caught up in panic. Sounds like some people are freaking out.

I know we will get through this--this too, shall pass.

[Bosco]

I appreciate all the condolences guys. But I was really just sharing another angle on how complicated things get with "normal" functions amidst this pandemic.

As for an update, the funeral/mass has been privatized and a larger tribute/gathering will occur at a later date. It's strictly his kids (6) and their spouses, my Aunt (the widow) and My Mom and Dad, who will partake in the funeral this Thursday. All of his grandchildren (12) and nieces and nephews (10+, me included) are not allowed. And from what I gathered everyone out of state was told to stay home, too.

So yeah, the crowd has been reduce by a lot, which I'm happy to hear.



Inchemwetrust, thanks for putting in the hard work at the warehouse stores. I got family that are working the local grocery chains here in Illinois and they're having to deal with the pandemonium too, let alone being at high risk of exposure.

Keep that cash flow coming, and stay healthy. Salute, brotha!

[Enjoyed]

How is everyone doing? It's been an unusually quiet day on the forum today.

My wife and I had to make the very tough decision to close our community ceramics studio today. We've been back and forth trying to figure out what to do with the current situation and were kind of waiting for some kind of enforcement from our state Governor, but, with everything that we're seeing, and what looks like the trajectory we are headed - we decided to try and make a responsible decision and start preparing for people being stuck at home and unable to work in our space.
It's scary - the majority of our income is made up of monthly memberships and classes, all of which we are having to be suspended, basically until further notice.

On the one hand, I could really do with a forced break from the studio, some time to grind a few video games, watch some movies, maybe start writing some music again?
On the other hand, I'm seeing this country continuing to try and go about its day as if everything is OK, which scares me for the people who aren't going to be able to just hunker down and chill at home. Portland has a very strong community of small businesses and it's truly heart warming to see all of the support that is being shared around in an effort to help each other out. But I know there's only so much people are able to help. And there are businesses that I don't even know exist that are going to be hit hugely by all of this - their families as a result of that - and it's difficult to try to find the right ways to give back - and also whether to when you're in a situation that doesn't allow you. I don't need to tell you how all of this begins to gradually impact everyone on some level. It's a sad situation that I can only hope continues to bring out the best in all of us.

My personal plan for the coming weeks is to make list of the things that are important to me, and that I would be devastated to see go at the end of all of this, and then figure out what and how much I can give to try and support those places.

Interestingly I received an email from The Cat Empire today - not a band I still listen to a whole bunch, but one I have definitely enjoyed a lot over the years - their email encouraged people in self quarantine to stream as much of their favourite artists as possible to try and help bands who have had to cancel tours, festivals, whole months of planning and expected revenue. Those kinds of responses to this situation are things I'm really excited to see more of, and I hope we can all take stock of what it really important to us and try to support those things in whatever way we can.

Obviously none of this comes even close to the severity of the disease itself, and the potential risk on the population. I was being a sad sack and using this time to focus on another hugely depressing aspect of the whole outbreak... for some reason.

Anywho. I'm grateful for this place to be able to talk, share, laugh and think, and my thoughts go out to all of you.
Please stay safe, call and check in with people that are important to you, and let's keep our heads up.

[Bosco]

Thanks for sharing Enjoyed. I absolutely hate hearing small business having to make tough decisions like this. Maybe you can multipurpose your turntable into a temporary pottery wheel, and then continue to conduct lessons online.

A homemade kiln on the other hand, no bueno.

But seriously, best of luck to you guys. I'm hoping this blows over so you can open the doors and get back to business as soon as possible.

[whirlygirl]

That is a tough break, Enjoyed. I'm glad you and your wife have each other. I also like what you've said about streaming artists.

To be honest the feelings I'm having over this whole pandemic - the uncertainty and grimness of it all and how it has affected our ways of life on a personal scale to our community to the world at large - have been so extremely difficult for me to process.

I just hope you all are OK and I'm glad you're here to check in.

[Enjoyed]

Completely agree. For me personally, it's the not knowing that I'm finding the hardest to deal with. The administration should have just locked everything down for a month and then everything would have been hit at the same time and we all could have dealt with the situation together. Instead, we have this limbo of staggered closings - will I be forced to stay home? Can I go buy coffee to go? Will I be able to work next week. A decision needs to be made, and stuck to, and then we can focus on how to get things back to normal afterwards.

A little update on the supporting music side of things - Bandcamp is waiving their revenue share for all sales made from midnight to midnight tomorrow (Friday, March 20th), in case anyone was interested in finding some musicians they want to support and purchasing some music directly from the artist.
More information is here.

[Ben_j]

Some advices to help stop the virus from spreading:
- Stay at home, as much as you can. Even if you feel good, you might have the virus and you can pass it to others, that might not be as lucky as you
- Only go out if you absolutely have to: for first necessity grocery shopping, going to the pharmacy, to the doctor, etc
- If you do go out, go to the closest place from your home. And stick to that place for the rest of the lockdown. This will limit the number of people you will come across. The probability of people in your vicinity being the same state as you (infected of not infected) is much higher, so don't go spreading the virus (or catching the virus) in the neighbour town.
- Make everyone understand the importance of these rules. The more people stay at home, the better it will work and the shorter it will last.
- Of course, always follow the basic hygiene rules stated in the first post. Limit direct contact with other people, keep your distance, wash your hands when you come back from outside

[WhiteNoise]

At the start of this year I landed my first remote web development contract, and turned it into a continued position / extended contract with the company in early February. It's difficult, I feel out of my depth all of the time, but every day it's hitting me harder just how unbelievably lucky I am to have gotten this job when I did. Remote work turned from a luxury to a necessity in the space of a week. Half of everyone I know is losing their jobs in the service & entertainment industries and looking at being only a few weeks away from missing bills. I'm scared how much this is going to damage the (already fragile) economy here stateside. On the other hand, one of my other good friends is a nurse - no shortage of work, but she's already starting to lose her sanity, and she's not in a place that's been hard hit yet. Trying to come up with some sort of care package for her.

Bosco, I don't even know what to say. Earlier I was lamenting the loss of the last few concerts I'd been planning on campus for this spring and your story put that in perspective... and it's difficult to think of just how many people are watching loved ones pass, will watch loved ones pass, without the traditional chance to grieve. Over 600 dead today in Italy alone.

InChem, keep up the good work. Hope you get more chances to see the best of humanity and not the worst.

Enjoyed, that's unbelievably rough, to not just lose your source of income but to have to voluntarily shut down something I know brings you and Alexa a lot of joy. I'm buying some of your Shoes Off releases tonight - didn't you have an EP of tracks you made exclusively from samples of Wicked? Gonna miss the deadline on that, but searching.

This is all really, really surreal.

[MIKL]

Hope everyone is OK. Just the fact that this could go on for a while too is a real downer. The way people are behaving over this does not help at all and makes it worse. The same thing is happening in OZ. Empty supermarkets and theres even restrictions now in pharmacies.Theres an incentive by major supermarkets to allow the elderly and disabled to only shop in the supermarkets for the first hour of opening every day now so they get a chance to get whatever bare necessities they can get on the day.

Australia has closed off international entry now to non citizens but we are not in full lockdown yet.... Some restaurants, cafes, and venues etc. have voluntarily closed and offering delivery service instead to survive. (Due to the no more than 100 people inside rule). Theres still some rules and allowance that contradict each other by the Government like still having gyms open and some sport. I'm considering freezing or just cancelling my membership its too risky. I tried working from home but its just too busy and insane and have to be on site. which means getting a tram through the CBD which is not ideal. If you're lucky to still have a job you're probably experiencing a crazy workload or struggling in some sort of capacity because of the ripple effect of this.

[Conn6orsuper117]

Well its official. Me working in a hotel environment it was bound to happen at some point. No, neither me or my family have the virus thank god, but in our county just 4 days ago, our first case has hit, and as of now, 3 deaths have occured.

this morning, the boss broke the news that on monday, we'll be packing up and shutting down until as early as late april. we recieved a letter from the higher up on payday last friday giving us the memo about standard safety precautions (washing hands, wearing gloves and mask, ETC) and its ok to be concerned but don't be scared. they specifically mentioned about shutting down as a last resort, and today they had no choice but to turn the key and announce shut down.

Boss suggested filing for unemployment money to keep up on rent, and our current pay will be given to us on the 3rd. She also gave us her personal phone for further questions.

On the bright side, it'll give me enough time to take care of important stuff that I haven't even started yet. (Deep clean my entire house, stock up on food incase of quarentine, build a new PC, Family business)

[sandelic]

We here are in complete lockdown, and on top of that, we just had 5.3 earthquake, not hour ago, some 10km from where I live...
I've never jumped out of bed faster in my life, I don't mind telling you!

[Wolkenkrabber]

We here are in complete lockdown,

Does that mean all the shops are shut, so you can't buy food?

and on top of that, we just had 5.3 earthquake, not hour ago, some 10km from where I live...
I've never jumped out of bed faster in my life, I don't mind telling you!

Shit, that's too much. I would say "stay safe" but that expression is starting to sound a bit empty, I fear.

[whirlygirl]

We here are in complete lockdown, and on top of that, we just had 5.3 earthquake, not hour ago, some 10km from where I live...
I've never jumped out of bed faster in my life, I don't mind telling you!

Holy shit! How terrifying! I am glad you are all right. I would imagine you are having aftershocks and hopefully they are not too severe. Stay safe x ❤️

[Csar]

Damn, this is horrible. I am just reading that the aftershock was almost as severe. Lots of damage to old artifacts and buildings and at least one fatality of a young teenager. Stay safe overthere!

[sandelic]

Does that mean all the shops are shut, so you can't buy food?

Shops selling food are still open, and are working from 08h-17h.
Traveling between cities (using public transport) is in completely shut down, and in city you can travel only if you work in essential businesses, everyone else must stay at home.

Many hospitals are barely working because damage done by earthquake is pretty substantial. People are on the streets despite corona-virus, for fear of another earthquake and many are not sure if they can even return to their flats, because it seems that many buildings are damaged so much they are deemed unsafe to live in.
Last earthquake this big was 140 years ago. We simply don't have that many quakes in this part of the world.
First one was 5.5 and lasted for 10 second, second only 30 min later was just as bad, if shorter. Many followed after.
I've never felt earthquake until today.
What a truly unnerving experience.

Csar, fortunately, no one was killed in this quake; one 15-year old girl was critically wounded and is still fighting for her life. Amazingly, only she was injured. Most attribute this to corona lock-down, early hours of this event and fact that it's Sunday, when most people are in their homes.
If it were later in the day, when people walk around for one reason or the other, I'm afraid there would be many more injured, if not killed. In this mess, it's hard to fight against spreading of coronavirus, and that alone is frighting thought.