mklotz (and Joel on HSM) are right. This is an especially good time to leave the chainsaw alone. Similarly, I had to clean our woodstove chimney last week, and instead of risking going up on the roof, I disassembled the stovepipe in the living room, taped a garbage bag to the pipe, and cleaned it just fine from below (I used a hand drill extension rod brush through the bag).
The triaging of medical resources in Italy is no longer a rumor. If you are elderly (~65+, regardless of your own definition), and/or have medical issues, your care may be de-prioritized at a hospital. Covid hospitalization rates are estimated to be around 15% now, and that figure spans roughly across age groups. Fresh CDC data on US hospitalization rates is here. Specialized care is a rarity now; for example, you may have to be intubated by a dermatologist. Covid is very infectious; that's why countries are building separate dedicated hospitals to treat patients. Funerals are being increasingly forbidden. Mostly to prevent gatherings, but also because we believe that corpses may shed the virus.
Social distancing is not being observed as well as we would like. Expect a clampdown on this, and punishments for those who break rules. You do not want to be put in a jail now, not even for an hour, not even if you're correct.
Some supply chain updates. The Big 3 automakers are suspending production. Bloomberg is reporting that some of them may switch to ventilator production. Comparisons to WWII are numerous, both in regard to increased production, and estimated death counts. Amazon Prime Pantry has been suspended.
Try to source essentials without going to the grocery store and risking exposure. Here's a new site that will help you search Amazon for bulk items, and then sort by unit price. Many orders are not arriving. Consider splitting your bulk orders between multiple sellers.
Everyone is angry at China's recent social media spin. I'm OK with them posting their treacly feel-good videos about how everything is great now in China, but they crossed the line recently when a spokesman for their Ministry of Foreign affairs tweeted that "It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan". China's unsanitary wet market practices and their penchant for consuming exotic animals has caused previous epidemic issues, and an epidemic caused by bat-eating practices was predicted in this paper. Relevant text below:
NYT did a good job (for once) analyzing China's social media campaign here. Tensions are rising between China and the world, and we can expect this to cause supply long-term chain issues.
On the homemade tool front, here's a clever dog-walking trick. Except for extremely rare cases (I've only seen 2 reported thus far), dogs can't get Covid, although they can carry coronavirus on their fur if people pet them.
And a nice urban vs. rural quarantine meme.
Bookmarks