sauromatian wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:
Poll: Which Collectibles Would You Sacrifice in a Toilet Paper Shortage?

A. Judges Guild's Field Guide to Encounters
B. Dragonlance novels
C. You choose - everyone has a favorite!

I'd just do what my cats do and drag my brown starfish across the kitchen floor with my paws extended in the front. And hope not to encounter any splinters.
You know why they do it? For the same reason they lick their privates: Because they can.

One thing is for sure: I'd be single.

I have a buddy in Milan, and I can say that they are getting hammered with the utmost certainty.  There are two obvious aspects of this pandemic - the illness itself and the people’s reaction to the possibility of exposure.  If the CDC is to be believed, this illness is on par with the flu - a few key differences being, ratios being reported are skewed due to lack of testing/proper diagnosis - and since there’s no preventative vaccine, the overall numbers may be higher than the flu even though ratios should remain the same.  In my opinion, the biggest problem we have is the population’s reaction.  The reaction could overload hospitals and create unsafe conditions/exacerbated health problems, it could/is cripple the global economy which will inevitably cause panic and stress, and it can create shortages.

Yesterday, a CDC medical professional told me that the best thing we can all do is proceed as if it’s flu season and you haven’t been vaccinated.  This means:  avoid obviously sick people, wash hands religiously, try to avoid enclosed spaces where you’re in very close proximity to others.  If you’re elderly or have preexisting conditions, then take special care.  The CDC believes this illness will reach its plateau in 2-3 months.

Stay Informed.

Do not be ruled by Fear.

Wash your hands.  

2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Summary | CDC

aia wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:There one answer only for such a situation: at home! Till yesterday i used to drive kids to grandma, the to the office. Back was the same. Since today i am allowed to work from home (!!!) So even less exposure to the outside!

Are you saying that avoiding sunlight, fresh air or exercise will increase our chances of surviving the pandemic? D&D players really are destined to rule the world!

ExTSR wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:Most public events are being (or have been) cancelled nationwide. Washington state is banning events of more than 250 people.

But GaryCon vows to run as scheduled so 3,000 can gather from all parts of the nation.

This could kill some of the older guests.

[Convention] Updated 3/13 -List of Changes to Events Due to COVID-19 – PopCultHQ

GaryCon is now officially cancelled.

I work with a pal who’s wife is a ward matron in the NHS. He says they’ve been told it’s serious but equally, it’s not a panic situation as the media would like you to believe.

Death rates of recorded CV19 cases are high, but it’s possible there are a number of unrecorded cases.

I’m trying to find numbers on how many people in the UK have died from influenza this year so far to try and compare, but it isn’t easy as Google highlights CV19 when you search influenza UK

As a postman, we were told yesterday to no longer deliver parcels to people at the door and they can no longer sign our PDAs to confirm receipt. Instead we have to knock, leave the packet or letter to be signed on the doorstep, step back 2 metres and when they take it in, we sign the PDA ourselves with CV19 to confirm it’s delivered but that the owner hasn’t signed for it personally.
On a negative side though, a guy was told Thursday he was selfish for coming in when feeling ill. That was by the depot manager, who then said, if you go ill with your recent record, you’ll be sacked! The guy called NHS after work that day and was told to self isolate but when he advised work, they confirmed he’d be sacked due to his previous sick levels in the last year...

Skullhammer wrote in Random Thoughts or OT Chit-Chat Thread:I have a buddy in Milan, and I can say that they are getting hammered with the utmost certainty.  There are two obvious aspects of this pandemic - the illness itself and the people’s reaction to the possibility of exposure.  If the CDC is to be believed, this illness is on par with the flu - a few key differences being, ratios being reported are skewed due to lack of testing/proper diagnosis - and since there’s no preventative vaccine, the overall numbers may be higher than the flu even though ratios should remain the same.  In my opinion, the biggest problem we have is the population’s reaction.  The reaction could overload hospitals and create unsafe conditions/exacerbated health problems, it could/is cripple the global economy which will inevitably cause panic and stress, and it can create shortages.

Yesterday, a CDC medical professional told me that the best thing we can all do is proceed as if it’s flu season and you haven’t been vaccinated.  This means:  avoid obviously sick people, wash hands religiously, try to avoid enclosed spaces where you’re in very close proximity to others.  If you’re elderly or have preexisting conditions, then take special care.  The CDC believes this illness will reach its plateau in 2-3 months.

He hit it dead in the nuts. The concern is that since there is no vaccine, EVERYONE is a potential carrier and patient. That is the same reason SARS and MERS (both corona) were even news. The problem is not getting the disease, it is the reaction worldwide to it. We have lived in a global economy for so long that to disrupt it to this level will be devastating. We'll be godawfully lucky not to have a worldwide depression; a recession is a given. The CDC is likely on target, but what they won't say is what their estimated projections of cases and red zones are. If they did, it would probably send the world into a full-blown panic.
I crunched some numbers, given all the data I had, and without preventative measures you'd be looking at the same problem that would exist if there were no flu vaccine. However, this appears to be much more tenuous than influenza outside the body, and has a long asymptomatic period. The governments aren't trying to eradicate it, that's impossible. They are trying to slow the spread so as not to overwhelm medical facilities. The hype about a vaccine is just that: when SARS hit everyone dropped everything to develop a vaccine, but when it petered out and there was no money in it, interest ended. I remember telling my older son several years later that a coronavirus would be the next pandemic. Sucks to be right.
The TP ovsession just has me in stitches. Wiping your ass is more important than food, fuel, batteries......... Here it's simple. If TP runs out, everyone gets their own dishrag and rinses it afterwards. We don't have the same "ewww" factor that most of the latter generations do. Worse is the obsession with antibacterials. All that will do is create superbacteria.
Closing schools, events, social gatherings, that is the problem. Who intends to pay workers for their missed time? What does a landlord do when 1/2 his tenants can't pay? This is gonna get very, very ugly.....

Not at all, because good health practices are just common sense. For instance, if you work in a warehouse filling orders, you can do your work from home by developing a really good throwing arm. If someone is breaking into your house & you call the police, they can telecommute by calling the criminals on the phone & giving them a stern talking-to. If you must go to work but your children's school has been closed, consider hiring a local wino to educate your little ones in the facts of life. The next few months will be a great adventure! That's months, not weeks or days. Months.