Closing Campuses

Both of my college kids will be finishing their semesters on-line. They have closed the face to face classes for both of my college kids. My daughter wills till have access to the art building for he projects but all other classes will be on line. My son is a music education major and right now he takes mainly music classes so this should be interesting. In my son's case they are also requesting students leave campus if at all possible.

Is this virus really this bad? I am not one for conspiracy stuff but could all the media coverage all be hype with a political agenda ???

Pandemics are funny that way.

My school just gave us an extra week of spring break so that professors could prep to do online learning till at l;east April 3rd. I may finish my AS degree online which is gonna be interesting.

ThreeJsDad said:

Is this virus really this bad? I am not one for conspiracy stuff but could all the media coverage all be hype with a political agenda ???

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The answer to that question appears to be dependent on whether you're a Republican or a Democrat.

Looking at the data (my preferred method for making decisions), the mortality rate is ~3.4%, last I saw, but this is many times higher than the seasonal flu, which was reported at ~0.1% for the 2018-2019 season in the US. (link)

Of course, the mortality rate will vary by locality and access to health care and many other factors, but those with pre-existing conditions seem to be most impacted.

My advice? Don't panic, but take common-sense steps to prevent getting sick. Wash your hands, cover your cough, don't hang around with people who are obviously sick.

The info is like art. Some will take it one way, some will take it another. No clear winners. I'm doing mac and cheese and lobster. It's more important. I'm planning on living, not dying.

From an expert: Good move and it makes good Preventive Medicine sense. To all the internet experts -> Move along.

If this inconvenience saves a single life, it is worth it.

No panicking here. I'm saving my own life.

Just came over the TV that Tom Hanks and his wife has tested positive in Australia.

ThreeJsDad said:

Is this virus really this bad? I am not one for conspiracy stuff but could all the media coverage all be hype with a political agenda ???

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Well, it depends on whether you want to believe the scientists and medical professionals or politicians. If the latter, then you're choosing to believe that the scientists and medical professionals have a nefarious political agenda, but everyone else is telling the truth. Occam's Razor applies.

Yes, it is really that bad. Things are going to move extremely quickly in the next few weeks. Read reports on what's going on in Italy. By some estimates we're about one week behind them.

Be safe.

My niece lives in Milan. Talk to her almost daily. She can work from her home. They’ve been under lockdown a few weeks now. She says it’s not so bad but biggest problem is they are limiting the number of people who can get into grocery stores just to keep the exposure limited. They’re not hoarding toilet paper either.

No need to hoard - move along.

@timbucktoo I hope your niece continues to be ok. My brother-in-law is from near Milan.

neil_w said:

Well, it depends on whether you want to believe the scientists and medical professionals or politicians. If the latter, then you're choosing to believe that the scientists and medical professionals have a nefarious political agenda, but everyone else is telling the truth. Occam's Razor applies.

Yes, it is really that bad. Things are going to move extremely quickly in the next few weeks. Read reports on what's going on in Italy. By some estimates we're about one week behind them.

Be safe.

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I guess I had my head buried in balsa dust. I heard how bad it is in Italy. From what I understand UV kills it so Rocket Launches and Fly Fishing are good things to do.

ThreeJsDad said:

I guess I had my head buried in balsa dust. I heard how bad it is in Italy. From what I understand UV kills it so Rocket Launches and Fly Fishing are good things to do.

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Maybe.

I heard from a friend since my last post. She was an ER doc for years, so I tend to give weight to what she is saying.

Suffice to say, her message is sobering. If I understood correctly, Italy is at the point where they are having to triage who gets intubated and who doesn't. Who can get a bed in the ICU and who can't. ER beds are filling up with people who have the virus, which prevents treatment for others who might not, but have other emergent conditions (think heart attack, etc).

My takeaway is that it isn't so much about treatment of the virus, it is about capacity to treat all those who will require treatment at the same time.

Take it as you will.

-Erik

emckee said:

I heard from a friend since my last post. She was an ER doc for years, so I tend to give weight to what she is saying.

Suffice to say, her message is sobering. If I understood correctly, Italy is at the point where they are having to triage who gets intubated and who doesn't. Who can get a bed in the ICU and who can't. ER beds are filling up with people who have the virus, which prevents treatment for others who might not, but have other emergent conditions (think heart attack, etc).

My takeaway is that it isn't so much about treatment of the virus, it is about capacity to treat all those who will require treatment at the same time.

Take it as you will.

-Erik

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This fact gets lost or glossed over. Hospitals are already stressed and this does not help. There are only so many ventilators and other life support equipment. Many rural hospitals are not equipped to treat someone in respiratory failure beyond the time to transport them to a larger hospital. (The reason I have my job.) It has happened with SARS where people were weaned from vents because someone more likely to survive needs the machine.

With Covid-19, our medical director has instructed us that we may need to intubate patients on BiPAP if we are unable to get a solid seal on the mask to protect ourselves as we care for them. Of course, intubation is highly invasive, puts us as risk while we manage the airway and puts the patient at a much larger risk for pneumonia and other vent related complications, lengthening the ICU stay even longer. These aren't easy decisions to be making.

I seen this guy in Costco

wdbill said:

I seen this guy in Costco

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Probably with a truck load of TP.

College and high school educations may never be the same again.

cwbullet said:

College and high school educations may never be the same again.

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It may be a better discussion for a later day, but I am curious what the fallout from this will be. Like other world-scale events before, this virus will change the way we do things.

Education?
How healthcare attacks contagious disease?
DNR orders and end of life care discussions?
Tracking people while travelling?

The list goes on. Some changes will certainly be beneficial while others will chip away at our freedoms.

wdbill said:

I seen this guy in Costco

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Looks like a selfie.

Was that you?

You got me it was me. I didnt have too many people giving me strange looks.

wdbill said:

You got me it was me. I didnt have too many people giving me strange looks.

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Are you physically sick and trying to protect others?
Are working as a first responder in an at-risk environment and forgot to change?
Or just have a mental condition?

If 1 or 2 - good luck.
If 3 - donate the mask to someone who actually needs it, and stop spreading panic.

I think this infection might change our society. I think our education system is one piece. It was already shifting to more online but I think this will push if further faster. I think it will further conferences and large scale meetings. I think it will increase the move to telework and telemedicine. It is common in DC and large cities. I think all will be good changes.

afadeev said:

Are you physically sick and trying to protect others?
Are working as a first responder in an at-risk environment and forgot to change?
Or just have a mental condition?

If 1 or 2 - good luck.
If 3 - donate the mask to someone who actually needs it, and stop spreading panic.

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I live with someone that is at risk and don't want to chance getting them sick. So I'm taking extra precautions to protect them.

wdbill said:

I live with someone that is at risk and don't want to chance getting them sick. So I'm taking extra precautions to protect them.

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I also need it for work.

They just announced our college is out through the end of the semester and we are finishing online.

My children on doing the rest of their semester's online. There is no substitute for on campus learning. Online is not the wave of the future.

I think that this epidemic will seriously blunt the advance of online learning as people figure out how hard it is to do effectively.

boatgeek said:

I think that this epidemic will seriously blunt the advance of online learning as people figure out how hard it is to do effectively.

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Especially with elementary school kids. My wife is teaching from the living room. Here is the REAL issue though, the school district is NOT making the on line lessons she is posting mandatory. How are thee kids going to be ready for the next grade level. No end of the year testing and on line participation is optional.... How does this make any sense.

My youngest is ranked pretty high in her class and she will not even get to have a commencement. I would understand this and accept it if I had not seen SOOOO many people out shopping because they are bored from being home.... In many cases the people out shopping are those we have closed down the schools to protect. I am not talking about grocery stores or pharmacies, they are getting stuff for their gardens, and around the house projects.

If I was running back and forth playing real life Frogger on the high way and got hit by a truck it would be my fault. These folks at high risk are basically doing just that. Some of them may end up earning the Darwin Award they deserve.

ThreeJsDad said:

...the school district is NOT making the on line lessons she is posting mandatory.

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How can the districts make on-line lessons mandatory? Many poorer students simply do not have internet access and internet-capable devices away from home, and traditional alternate points of access (libraries, youth centers, shopping centers, churches, community centers) are currently shut down. For many kids, academic learning simply doesn't take place unless the school is open. We could change that as a society, but seem to lack the cojones to make it a priority.

We all run around with ubiquitous internet access 24/7 in our pockets, but that degree of technological equity simply isn't available across all demographics.