Subj : Re: Covid-19 was: Miss.RvrDam To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Sat May 09 2020 01:10:38 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 03-May-2020 09:10 <=- NB>> Update... a couple days ago, the governor announced that he was NB>> keeping all the schools and colleges closed for the rest of this NB>> academic year... BM> I'm thinking we're keeping schools in Iowa closed until next academic BM> year also; to me makes more sense to have consistency. Yes, it does make sense... NB>>> Although we do seem to be coming on the downward side of the curve NB>>> now, there's no way to know whether it will be a quick drop or a NB>>> flatter/longer one... and the last thing we want is for things to NB>>> suddenly spike upwards again... BM>> The experts are mixed, though I think some are trying not to be BM>> Doomsday Prophets. I'm thinking the curve will be long in tapering off BM>> with multiple rises and falls as people 'are released' and forget the BM>> social distancing, cleanliness, etc., and so contract COVID-19. This BM>> reminds people and so they go back to protective measures (social BM>> distancing and cleanliness), and so back and forth. More people will BM>> have developed an immunity (probably to varying degrees) and so that BM>> will also help reduce the curve. NB>> I guess we'll just have to see how things actually play out.... BM> True. Us non-scientists are doing a lot of guessing, and IMO sometimes BM> acting illogically. News reporting pop-up areas of resistance to the BM> stay at home orders; Illinois has two lawsuits pending against the BM> Governor for overstepping his legal authority. OK, so people are BM> getting antsy and seeing nothing happening to them and immediate circles BM> of family and friends; doesn't mean the problem isn't still present. And they'd probably be the first to blame the governor for not keeping them safe, if they or their immediate circle got the virus... BM>>> The news has a chart of number of instances by county. Scott, Clinton BM>>> and Muscatine counties (me, north of here, south of here) are the BM>>> highest -- yeah, we're also the most populous (in this part of Iowa) BM>>> -- of course we're going to have the most COVID-19 cases! To me would BM>>> make more sense if also showed percentage. NB>>> That could be a useful tool... especially for an informed comparison... BM>> IMO yes. Lots of little factors not being presented, or maybe better BM>> to say overlooked. Italy had a very high death rate; later reported BM>> because they have an older population, not something 'Italian'. BM>> Though is helpful to know the virus is harder on an older population. BM>> One the opposite end was I think Zambia had no reported cases: they BM>> also had no test kits so unable to report. Had sort of something BM>> similar here: Louisa County (IA) had a sudden spike: they get a bunch BM>> of test kits and so they were able to do more tests and so all of a BM>> sudden a landslide of new cases. Louisa County is in Iowa, so that BM>> cased the Iowa report to have an increase, not as much of a spike BM>> because the other 98 counties' reporting format was constant. And BM>> probably also caused a mild bump in the U.S. reporting. NB>> The ability or inability to test widely does seem to have a major NB>> impact on what the statistics and such end up being.... BM> Oddly yes. :) And maybe not so oddly... ;) BM>> ...Not that I'm scooping out these details, just are there and I'll BM>> sometimes do a quick alternative analysis. NB>> I'm not searching out stuff, but I do listen to the news blurbs on NB>> my classical radio station... sometimes not really because I want to NB>> but because it's there... so I do get somewhat of an overview on NB>> things... Richard has been going on the state website to hear our NB>> governor's daily updates, to get directly what the various executive NB>> orders are.... BM> Locally one of our TV stations has been carrying the Iowa Governor's BM> daily news conferences on one of its subchannels (Ch. 6.3). BM> Personally I would find it boring and the highlights on the news is BM> sufficent. OTOH I don't have a need to go out in the world and so know BM> where not to go to keep safe, etc. Sometimes it's useful to know what really was said, versus what the various interpretations of it end up being... BM>>>> Nothing's been said but I wonder about what's going on with upcoming BM>>>> freshman college classes: the colleges and universities are closed. NB>>>> Maybe the colleges just don't know what to plan for the fall... NB>>>> it's so much a wait-and-see now.... BM>>> That and the summer sessions! As you indicated, too early to tell. NB>>> And just last night, when I was talking on the phone with a friend, NB>>> she looked up what the status of colleges opening in the fall in our NB>>> area was... generally they all were still in the wait and see mode... BM>> Which at this point makes sense. BM>> Currently just about all schools are shut down and no one knows for BM>> sure when able to open. Hard to make plans. At this point I'm BM>> guessing plan to continue with the on-line learning, and if things get BM>> cleared go back to in-person learning, though the on-line will probably BM>> continue as a popular alternative. NB>> There's benefits and drawbacks to each kind of learning... and some NB>> majors are much more dependent on in-person types of activities than NB>> others... A lot of classes already have been being done mostly if NB>> not totally online, even before this.... BM> True. A friend of mine in college did much better learning from BM> reading the texts than from the lecture. He was not a bookworm by any BM> means, pretty much the opposite of that stereotype. All different learning styles, as we've discussed before... :) BM> My learning was pretty much old style: in person, in class, though a BM> lot of the electronics is self-taught. Mixed results on that: done as BM> a hobby and not as a career. Working on 'stuff' it is sometimes easier BM> to follow along with a printout and/or I'll make notes of problems BM> noted. And sometimes those notes go in work copy and all done BM> on-screen. And since you are just doing it for yourself, there's no pressure to have to learn anything other than what you need, though you might pick up all sorts of other info along the way... :) BM>> There's also a percentage of students who will take off the semester BM>> or maybe even year -- always have been some but I'm thinking even more BM>> than usual. Combination of protective measure and building up some BM>> finances. NB>> Time will tell if more decide it's safer to stay home... for some, NB>> returning to school might be better than staying in a locality that NB>> might be earlier in the curve than where their college is... BM> Right: a lot of variables depending on where. Might be 'safer' BM> (relative term) to live in a dorm than an apartment complex: dorm BM> might have daily temperature checking, spraying of common areas, etc., BM> whereas the apartment building probably would have nothing like that. And on the other hand, there's less crowding (potentially) in an apartment setup than in a dorm.... and one can do their own protective measures.... ;) NB>>> No one-way aisles here, at least not yet... just the one-way in and NB>>> out of the store.... and a lot of the "stuff in the aisles" to catch NB>>> your attention has been moved out of the aisles to make them wider... NB>>> They expect the carts to help maintain the distancing... BM>> "Come near me and I'll crash my cart into you!!" The one-way BM>> aisles might be more of a psychological thing: it is a lot easier to BM>> stay six feet from the other customer wandering down the aisle but when BM>> they stop to get or contemplate an item one still has to pass them. NB>> There's less chance of spreading contagion if one isn't meeting face NB>> on, I suppose... We still don't have one-way aisles at Wegmans, but NB>> BJ's did put them in for the narrower cross aisles... BM> Again a lot of variables: Wegmans might have ten foot aisles, which BM> would give the 6' spacing. BJ's narrower aisles might be eight feet BM> and so the perception by the customer is too close. Guesses, of BM> course. Dunno... BJ's carts are much bigger, so they tend to crowd aisles anyway... BM>> I did skip going to Hy-Vee yesterday: nothing advertised I really BM>> needed. I remember was two items but not recalling what they were. BM>> Definitely not worth a special trip. NB>> We are just doing our usual once-a-week shopping... only special NB>> trips are if something important is running out... like milk or the NB>> cats' kibble.... BM> I did go last Thursday - ah! People! :) All of the Hy-Vee BM> associates are required to wear masks -- one in Produce was kidding BM> with me as he kind of liked it as hid if he was sticking out his tongue BM> at a mean customer. Now that could be a definite advantage... BM>>> ...Another thing to add a bit of confusion to my shopping while the BM>>> store is remodelling! Now I need to go down the Baby Food and Pet Food BM>>> aisles!! (Um, that's plural: they're two distinct areas!) NB>>> I'd think so... At least the baby food/baby items has a NB>>> separate section of the store here that I can just ignore... ;) BM>> And helps you can 'legally' skip as no one-way aisle routing! NB>> And even if there were one-way routing, that's in a part that can be NB>> avoided anyway.... :) BM> Hy-Vee still has the long aisles with no mid-aisle cut-through so for BM> now I just walk quickly up the aisle I would normally skip -- less BM> confusing than skipping the aisle I don't want, go past an aisle I do BM> want but is the wrong direction, up the next one (correct direction), BM> then take a left to go down the aisle I had to skip, now skip the BM> aisle I was in previously...... We all make our accomodations to make the complications less confusing in our own minds... ;) ttyl neb .... I'm out of bed and dressed, what more do you want? --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .