Help the Fight Against COVID-19

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No way can I observe the slightest fart of fever so I can claim to stay at home and enjoy playing guitar. And there are 2 confirmed cases and a lot of quarantined in my office.
I guess I’m not social enough...
 
I don't really understand the testing thing. I get that for political reasons, they might not want people to know how many are sick, which is bullshit enough, but how do they screw up getting the tests made? I mean, Korea and other countries seem to be able to test at will. Korea had freakin drive through testing sites. Shouldn't it be as simple as asking them, "hey, how did you do that?"

It must look strange to other countries that we've basically done zero so far. I guess we'll see if the shit hits the fan in a week or two.
 
As long as Sweetwater is still shipping, and UPS is still delivering, I guess I'm fine staying home a few weeks.

Or, if everyone else at my work stays home, I'm happy going in to the office. The way it is now, I've got co-workers that are having to travel for work, and are in and out constantly. Our headquarters is requiring offsite quarantine for anyone traveling, but as we're in another state, it's just business as usual.
 
That saying/curse, "May you live in interesting times" has really been stuck in my head for the last six months or so.

While my entire team and most of my office are WFH now, it is no vacation. We are working as much as we always have. That's a thing that takes a day or two to wrap your head around; you need to be at home, but work-productive. Can be hard for some. My team is taking notes on the whole thing and we'll do a mid-point retrospective in a week to see how we're all feeling about productivity, check to see if there's any team-wide behavior we need to alter to be better at this. It's been a great forcing function for getting better at communication asynchronously with each other.
 
That saying/curse, "May you live in interesting times" has really been stuck in my head for the last six months or so.

While my entire team and most of my office are WFH now, it is no vacation. We are working as much as we always have. That's a thing that takes a day or two to wrap your head around; you need to be at home, but work-productive. Can be hard for some. My team is taking notes on the whole thing and we'll do a mid-point retrospective in a week to see how we're all feeling about productivity, check to see if there's any team-wide behavior we need to alter to be better at this. It's been a great forcing function for getting better at communication asynchronously with each other.

My wife is WFH, and yeah it's a challenge. Especially with little ones around. All they see is "hey, this is new, Mommy is home all the time! Let's play!!!"
 
My wife is WFH, and yeah it's a challenge. Especially with little ones around. All they see is "hey, this is new, Mommy is home all the time! Let's play!!!"
Yea, my kids are old enough to be reasoned with thankfully so I can tell them when the door is closed I'm working and don't come unless something is on fire. I have had to remind them that Eminem on 10 in their rooms next to my workspace when they get home from school has to be curbed for now.
 
WFH is the way to go.

Maybe schools should only be open, in a limited way, for children of medical/emergency personnel, to avoid the problem of forcing nurses to stay home? Everyone else has to keep their kids home, but doctors' and nurses' kids get a certain number of classrooms kept open (and regularly fumigated)?

At first, that sounds like a bad idea: It seems to put together, in one place, the kids whose family are most likely to have been exposed. So at a quick glance, that seems like a great way to ensure that all our medical personnel and their families come down with Wuhan Flu as fast as possible.

But actually I think that's wrong. It doesn't increase the odds of kid-to-kid transmission passing the virus to other families of medical personnel. It just removes the chances of kid-to-kid transmission passing the virus to families without medical personnel.

So it helps keep the medical staff at work, AND, it helps reduce the number of cases they have to deal with.

I think that's right, unless I've missed something.

Can anybody think of a reason why that wouldn't be a good policy? I'm just spitballin', here.

UPDATE (in response to the post below from iaresee): I should clarify that I'm thinking about keeping schools open solely for children of medical/emergency personnel as an alternative to shutting them down entirely. In the Atlanta area, Fulton County schools are now shut down. I'm proposing they'd be better off keeping one set of classrooms open (and heavily sanitized) for kids of medical personnel.

Actually, right now it probably makes little difference. But once we get to the part of this epidemic where the medical staff are feeling strained, I think it could matter a lot.
 
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Maybe schools should only be open, in a limited way, for children of medical/emergency personnel, to avoid the problem of forcing nurses to stay home? Everyone else has to keep their kids home?
My kids are still required to be at school. And I understand why closing schools, especially in the Bay Area, is super tricky. School isn't just a place for kids to learn. It's free day care for two-income families here who live pay check to pay check. Take that away and suddenly you have people not meeting rent or paying mortgages because one of the two adults in the home had to stop work to handle child care or they had to shift their kids into very expensive sitting/day care.

One thing that I've learned, time and again, living here for the past 7 years is it's never simple. American life is super complex and nuanced. And when you look across the really vast geography of America it's crazy diverse on any axis you look at.

The fragilities of the modern American way of life are being exposed by all of this, that's for certain.
 
When pressed for an answer Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said:
“I can’t give you a number,” he said. “I can’t give you a realistic number until we put into the factor of how we respond. If we’re complacent and don’t do really aggressive containment and mitigation, the number could go way up and be involved in many, many millions.”
 
iaresee:

My kids are still required to be at school.

Yeah, sorry, I should have specified: In areas where governments are planning to shut down the school district, maybe....

And I understand why closing schools, especially in the Bay Area, is super tricky.
Not sure why "especially in the Bay Area" should be true, but I confess general ignorance about the population there. I mean, my sister and her husband live there, and they can both work remotely when needed, but I'm sure they're the exception.

School isn't just a place for kids to learn. It's free day care for two-income families here who live pay check to pay check.
Certainly, although I hate that fact.

One thing that I've learned, time and again, living here for the past 7 years is it's never simple. American life is super complex and nuanced. And when you look across the really vast geography of America it's crazy diverse on any axis you look at.
Absolutely. No disagreement from me.

So, really, my idea should only be considered, not as an alternative to keeping the schools open in a normal fashion, but as an alternative to closing them entirely.

Fair 'nuff?
 
Not sure why "especially in the Bay Area" should be true, but I confess general ignorance about the population there. I mean, my sister and her husband live there, and they can both work remotely when needed, but I'm sure they're the exception.
Super high cost of living areas tend to stretch household budgets. That's all really. I don't know many people who can be jobless for more than a month or two here before they also become homeless. :( Whether that's the case across America, I'm not sure. I only know The Bay. Could be true across the entire country?

Working from home doesn't mean you can also look after kids from home. As I mentioned above, my team is WFH, but we're working. And my day job doesn't allow me to look after the kids as well. The only upside is I cut some commute time out of my day so I'm available for a little later in the AM and sooner in the PM to help out. Maybe your family can balance it? My suspicion is most cannot.

Certainly, although I hate that fact.
You and me both.

So, really, my idea should only be considered, not as an alternative to keeping the schools open in a normal fashion, but as an alternative to closing them entirely.

Fair 'nuff?
Absolutely! Something is better than nothing and maintaining status quo here, for certain.
 
My kids are still required to be at school. And I understand why closing schools, especially in the Bay Area, is super tricky. School isn't just a place for kids to learn. It's free day care for two-income families here who live pay check to pay check. Take that away and suddenly you have people not meeting rent or paying mortgages because one of the two adults in the home had to stop work to handle child care or they had to shift their kids into very expensive sitting/day care.


One thing I read about yesterday, that I wouldn't have given any thought to, was that a lot of kids only get to eat because of school programs. Many low income kids get both breakfast and lunch at school. I doubt anyone is going to step up just because those kids are at home now.
 
Super high cost of living areas tend to stretch household budgets. That's all really. I don't know many people who can be jobless for more than a month or two here before they also become homeless. :( Whether that's the case across America, I'm not sure. I only know The Bay. Could be true across the entire country?

Working from home doesn't mean you can also look after kids from home. As I mentioned above, my team is WFH, but we're working. And my day job doesn't allow me to look after the kids as well. The only upside is I cut some commute time out of my day so I'm available for a little later in the AM and sooner in the PM to help out. Maybe your family can balance it? My suspicion is most cannot.


You and me both.


Absolutely! Something is better than nothing and maintaining status quo here, for certain.
Bay area here, I'm finding out from my little self-quarantine that I wouldn't be able to WFH. We live in a dinky one bed apartment (that's $2500/month rent) and there's nowhere for me to hide from our baby. Wife goes to school at night so it's just daddying all day which actually has been great, feels like another paternity leave. Just have enough phone time to check the news and keep up with forums :p

I didn't know you weren't American, where are you from?
 
One thing I read about yesterday, that I wouldn't have given any thought to, was that a lot of kids only get to eat because of school programs. Many low income kids get both breakfast and lunch at school. I doubt anyone is going to step up just because those kids are at home now.
Yup. Complex problem, for certain. OUSD here has something like a 40% participation rate in CEP. That's a lot of kids without meals if schools close down.
 
When pressed for an answer Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said:
“I can’t give you a number,” he said. “I can’t give you a realistic number until we put into the factor of how we respond. If we’re complacent and don’t do really aggressive containment and mitigation, the number could go way up and be involved in many, many millions.”

Disneyland is open and crowded today.
 
Bay area here, I'm finding out from my little self-quarantine that I wouldn't be able to WFH. We live in a dinky one bed apartment (that's $2500/month rent) and there's nowhere for me to hide from our baby. Wife goes to school at night so it's just daddying all day which actually has been great, feels like another paternity leave. Just have enough phone time to check the news and keep up with forums :p
Yea, WFH sounds great until you remember the first word in the phrase is "work" and suddenly the realities of your office life and home life colliding are maybe less than pleasant. Your situation is pretty common for the area. Certainly most of my team have a near identical home setup to you -- it's optimized for home, not work.

I didn't know you weren't American, where are you from?
I hide it well, I guess? I try not to end my sentences on the forum with "eh". :D I'm Canadian. Relocated here 7 years ago.
 
Just from today:
First 2 cases reported here in Michigan this morning.
Michigan State University has suspended all in-person classes until further notice.
The company I work for (which had previously suspended all travel globally) has now banned all visitors until further notice.
Ford Motor Company will be implementing WFH for office employees as soon as next week - not sure of how many, etc.
 
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