Turned from a local sports radio station during ad break to seek another station and found one where adult-sounding males were griping about government harassment in wanting everyone to wear masks when out and about. One guy then called in to say you can tell them it's against your religion or your have a medical condition that your doctor suggests wearing a mask is bad for. So due to privacy laws, no need to disclose what that medical condition is. I turned the radio off! Wish they could all get cited and fined hefty amounts for conspiring to spread a pandemic disease or at least for depraved indifference to its contagious nature! It's especially frustrating when I'd just tried to order some basics am running low on online and the large company was either out of stock or limiting purchases to one!

That disgusts me too. I heard on our local news that one KY state representative encouraged protesters to take off their masks at a anti whatever rally. So selfish and hope she gets voted out.

The President did order meat processing plants to remain open under the Defense Production Act last Tuesday. Heard that the initial plants closing supplied 16% of meat production in the US. Problems here in Maryland on the chicken farms with the virus causing problems in production.

My thoughts on testing: I think too much money, importance and resources are being wasted as Covid19 testing can only determine if one has the virus at the exact time the test is done. After a test, one could contract the virus leaving the doctor’s office or could be in very early stage of infection not detected by the test. This test is useful for more actively sick people to determine and plan treatment protocols for the individual. Asymptomatic people won’t be rushing to be tested because they don’t know they are carrying/spreading the virus.

Test, treat, contact tracing is only effective in the very beginning to prevent the spread of any contagious disease. I think we are way past that point. Might be good only for areas with extremely low numbers of infection, but that is assuming no one travels into or out of those areas.

I was involved in a situation back in the 1970’s. An ambulance and the police pulled into our workplace and made anyone who had been within 3 feet of a specific individual was put in the ambulance and taken directly to the hospital, blood drawn and waited for results. They told us nothing. I was released, so assume I was negative and allowed to go home. Very scary. Never heard anything else about it, so again assume disaster was averted.

The antibody test is better as it can identify individuals whose blood can be used to treat those who are actively ill with the disease.

I see this ending with a protocol similar to tuberculosis or flu, where we get tested when we go to the doctor as a routine health screening, and a vaccine when needed and available. Until then, I will be taking any preventative measures I can.

And as for me, I am willing to temporarily give up my civil rights guaranteed by our constitution, to help protect our population until this threat is under control.

Agree with everything you've said. Testing protocols & kit design was argued over by CDC for weeks as to type of test they would sanction, then manufacturers had to order supplies and workers to churn them out, ship them, the test is likely quite costly for government's limited funds, takes licensed labs and technicians to process, time taken to formally notify ordering doctor/patient of the result and only captures that testing moment in the disease in that person. In a huge country like this, testing for 340+ million people sounds like a bonafide pipe dream for this present wave.

Time for every active adult and teen not at work producing goods & services to run our economy to stop Tweeting/Instagramming about & actually show some social responsibility and, when off work, stay apart, not gather for private parties or study, school, fill open beaches, pack lines for goods or protest, vote, religious services, whatever.

The only successful way to stop a contagious but not that fatal disease is to stay apart, wearing protective masks, gloves when around others, until and if we find better ways to diagnose/treat/hopefully vaccinate against Covid 19 and stop the infection cycle. Or our society can learn to live with it, complications, deaths and all, donate where we can, eat less meat and popular foods when supplies are short, and stay as fit as we can. Hard medicine for most Americans, used to behaving pretty much as we'd like when we'd like!

Natures way of thinning us out ��

True. This disease seems to "thin" more of the riskier, weaker or less healthy among us as so many diseases have done before . A global society of today can be ready bait for a novel virus first wave. Wonder how many new drugs, labwork and protocols for triage, treatments, etc. will be accidentally/purposefully created and new uses for existing diagnostics, medicines and health care facilities discovered during the worldwide process of working on a Covid 19 vaccine, treatments, etc.? Possibly quicker, more effective treatments for the flu, common cold, pneumonia maybe. Factories, businesses might be safer in the long run for workers.

After taking my mom to many rounds of cancer treatment, I sure hope they find a cure for that while they’re finding a cure for the virus

Wouldn't that be off-the-charts wonderful?!?! A wonderful miracle. We can hope. You sound like a very good son!

Omg!
 

News tonight: New mutant corona virus strain found on the east coast even more contagious and causing worst symptoms than the original strain. God help us!

Training dogs to sniff out the virus, like dogs that can sniff out cancer and blood sugar changes. Is this really a good idea with a virus that has already jumped species?

That's scary.

Like the flu virus, viruses and bacteria mutate all of the time and medical research labs have to keep adjusting/developing the vaccines, antibiotics according. Hundreds of all strains of virus usually develop over time, like the flu. Some years it kills hundreds of thousands and some years under a hundred thousand. Each usually dies out in time as we develop, slow or fast to that particular strain, immunity and/or effective drug and/or vaccine are created. Still, this virus seems relatively ineffective on healthy people and at its worst its death rate still under 33%, even over age 85, which most patients have more than vital health-risk they are managing, if nothing more than inactivity.

Even lethal viral mutations change, weaken, mix with others as they evolve and become ineffective against the host's immunity or drugs/vaccines kill them or render them much less effective, such as HIV, which began as a certain death virus in its initial forms.

We can all return to dining out now.

*lol*

Too funny. I think I'll wait for a bit.

They are slowly opening my county today. All restaurants in Pennsylvania will now be allowed to use out door seating which our governor feels is safer then indoors. Me however lol, will remain on lock down, there will be no eating foods that have not been made by MOI in my home. There is no need for me to enter stores that have a lot of ppl in them. I use instarcart to order and deliver my groceries, anything I may want to buy I buy on line. These feet are not entering any store or restaurant until this virus is out of the US. Unfortunately there are times I do need to venture out in my car, but I have my mask for public places. If it means changing my life style and mask wearing becomes a must, this is what I am ready to do. I want my fur baby to live out his life with me, not with a new mom, or living forever in a kennel because he will be considered a senior and not many ppl want them.