COVID Dashboard: "The Virus and How it's Wrecking my Life".

Medicaidmaze,

I am so very sorry for the loss of your sister. Also very sorry that your parents caught COVID from
the housekeeper.

It’s been a rough year, for sure.

Take care. Stay safe.

Medicaid,
I am so sorry about your sister. What a horrible year for you all. Sending hugs and prayers for you tonight.
Colleen

my 95 year old parents got covid from the housekeeper just before thanksgiving. Mom got pretty sick-call dr. for something for coughing etc. dr. suggest get covid test-mom refuses. both had dr. appointment a few weeks later-front desk asks have you been around anyone.....yes. refuse to let them in insist on testing. Both are positive. I was in their house around exposure time also one day when housekeeper was there. I test negative but stay in quarantine away from my son with cancer diagnosis and from my parents. 2 weeks later resume appointment for dad with home caregiver assistance. CG gets tested that day for job to make sure she is not positive due to caring for parents-she is positive. Me in quarantine again for 2 weeks until CG is tested 2 times negative with no covid. Mean while sister in nursing home becomes very ill with UTI. Hospice is going to her facility to keep an extra eye on things. I call every couple days to see how sis is coming along with UTI antibiotics-not good i am told. One day, this entire thing with sis overwhelms me-talk to staff nurse about sis condition and tell her covid has stolen 275 days (at that point) from me and my sister-I may never get that time back. I have done as many window visits and phone calls as I could with limited help from the staff to coordinate with sis. Mounting cases at facility i am afraid is a matter of time before sis also gets covid. Unfortunately after multiple UTI for sis this year, she had no strength left in her body to fight off the infection this time. Sis late stage Lewy Body lost a lot of weight no interest in food for months. Sis passed on 12-27. She was transferred from hospital to inpatient hospice where i spent every single day. We skiped family christmas so i could be with sis. Her funeral was today. I want answers from the staff and Hospice about what they saw the two weeks before she passed, but no one is talking to me now. I will never forget this year ever-I am sure I am not alone in this feeling of loss, time missing our family not able to hold their hand bring them treats and some love. I miss my sister so much. I heard her take her last breath. I hope she is at peace in a heavenly place. I dont have much else to say anymore on any of this. I wear double mask any time i need to go to the store. Signing off.

Moody, I am not attending my church right now either.

Absolutely too risky. My husband is in the middle of his cancer treatments.

I have asthma. No way am I going to church during this pandemic.

Call it what it really is, a PANDEMIC, it is not the ordinary flu.

Bab,
I’m sorry about all the fighting. Big hugs to you.

MS,
Such a godly example your church is. Loving your neighbors! I’m glad for you guys!

NeedHelp,
I’m not attending church. Too risky! It makes me so sad.

There should be coverage on how many marriages covid has wrecked, we haven’t had it. Husband wants to live in precovid state. I am retired medical lab tech... meaning we are on opposite sides of the spectrum. In summary of my marriage for 2020 , we fought all year...

MS,

Hooray for your church! They are being responsible, intelligent, loving and caring! They are behaving in a Godly manner.

Nice to hear of people doing things the right way and setting good examples.

NHWM - I agree some of the churches have behaved badly for sure. On the bright side, ours has had masking requirements, no choir performances, social distancing in the sanctuary and overflow room, reservations required for each service, no lingering after church, no meals served, and I believe they are not passing the collection plate from person to person. We had one or two covid cases early on, but nothing since then! And I don't think those few cases were linked back to the church at all. Even with all this, for a variety of reasons, I've been to church only twice since March. To accommodate those of us making this choice, we've had live streamed services, online educational/discussion groups, drive through communion. There is another church in my area which was already doing drive through prayer for years prior to covid. Definitely some good things happening in the midst of this mess we're in.

Colleen,

I am so sorry that people aren’t following the mask protocols for your area.

Some people are very foolish. My niece is that way. She got Covid from not wearing a mask or social distancing.

Thank God, my niece is okay but it could have been a different story if she had serious issues with Covid. She could have died!

My niece recently texted me and says, “It’s no worse than the flu!”

I was shocked by her reaction. I texted her back and said, “Well, I am truly happy that you have a mild case.”

I desperately wanted to tell her about the number of people that are suffering horribly or that have died but I refrained because I didn’t want to upset her, cause fear for her or hear a stupid remark back about it not being so bad!

People are dying for crying out loud!

She is one who hasn’t looked at it as a medical issue.

She sees it as a political issue which is absurd!

Covid has nothing to do with a politics or religion!

Your church should be respectful of the congregation’s health needs.

I just want to scream, ‘WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE WHO DON’T TAKE COVID SERIOUSLY?’

I respect your feelings about wishing to attend religious services but honestly I wouldn’t go right now.

NPR recently had a doctor on saying that Covid spreads quickly through churches for various reasons, no masks worn, prayers recited, loud singing, and so on.

There is a church here in my state that the pastor was horribly defiant. He made national news!

Our governor issued regulations and this pastor completely ignored them.

The pastor went as far as sending buses to pick people up in the community to attend church, prayers with ‘laying on of hands’ without masks worn in services.

No social distancing! How foolish is that of this church? It’s ridiculous that the pastor of this particular non denominational church said that government was taking away the church’s right to pray! The governor had to arrest the pastor for ignoring stipulations in our area.

Churches that care about their congregation have online or televised services! People can participate from home!!! How is it Godly to spread a deadly disease?

So, I relate to your feelings about feeling betrayed by your church. The same goes for your hair salon!

Foolish, foolish people! Selfish people! Ignorant people! Defiant people!

We have a mask protocol in my county in Florida.

I have numerous health issues, and always wear a mask outside my home.

I am so hurt by my church, whose pastor and others refuse to wear a mask. Covid has run rampant through the congregation.

Two weeks ago, at my hair salon, the owner refused to request that the mask mandate be followed. Even after my diabetic stylist requested that the owner do so.

Once again, I am forced to lose something/someone I care deeply for over someone else’s refusal to treat me as worthy of a simple gift. First, my church family. Now, my stylist.

I am sad and angry.

Colleen

Oh I just looked up Dawn Wells 😥😥😥.

I so loved Mary Ann. Well I loved them all, but I identified with Mary Ann the most. (And I wanted to marry the Professor).

Beatty: The Novel Coronavirus.

Freqflyer, that Spanish Flu doco sounds really interesting. Thankyou.

I actually thought 'bat flu' might take off as the name for this but Covid it is. (My spellchecker still tries to correct Covod - I have typed it zillions of times how can it not know this word already??!!)

Some call it 'The Rona' here. What nicknames are around in other places?

Need: Yes, that was sad about Dawn Wells.

It has been mask protocol here. I even went under a procedure and two eye surgeries while wearing a mask. Hair cuts and styles, too, all mask on protocol.

The other night CNN had an excellent document program about the 1918 pandemic. I've seen this once before, and it is so interesting I didn't mind watching again. Oh my gosh, here it is 2020 and we haven't learn anything from the 1918 pandemic.

People in 1819-1820 were refusing to wear masks. There were super spreader events, mainly war bond parades. Unfortunately antibiotics had not been developed, thus people were dying within 24 hours of getting sick. Masks were made of gauze, and noses were not covered at first. So many parallels to what is happening today. That pandemic lasted until 1821 with 675,000 deaths. The program said 1/3rd of the world's population had died from the virus.

The 1918 virus started in Kansas with military troops, apparently it was animal related flu that passed to humans. The reason it was called the Spanish Flu was because the King of Spain had died from the virus once the U.S. troops had landed in Europe and the virus had spread.

President Woodrow Wilson at the time, and he wouldn't wear a mask. Sure enough he came down with the virus. He recovered but people who knew him said he just wasn't himself, his thinking wasn't clearly as pre-pandemic. He didn't make good choices after that.

If you get a chance look for this show, it's with Anderson Cooper. It's a 2-hour special which probably will be repeated again. Check weekend listings.

Cali, thanks for that information about the nurse-patient ratio. I researched it and looks like mid december Newsome did a temporary thing on nurse patient ratio only for those caring for covid and only in an ICU department, so they are up from 2 to three patients each. Probably doable with patients on a vent because so many others are doing crucial care on them, but my fear with changing this around is that they will lose nurses. Apparently that is already happening and I feared it would as we head into second year soon enough. As to other states with NO limits, well I knew long ago why all the Traveling nurses came to Cali and it wasn't only about the money. It was the staffing ratios. So glad we had them all these years.Saved my life.

Dawn Wells died in Los Angeles from Covid. She was MaryAnn from Gilligan’s Island. She was 82.

GA,

We have to wear masks in our stores. If a person tries to enter some stores will hand out disposable masks.

My niece got Covid because she never wore a mask. She’s in Georgia. Thankfully she is improving.

Answering questions in Alva's opening post, 2 members of my cousin's family had it, a daughter and her SO.   One member who has to work and go to different homes as part of his job has been exposed and quarantined twice but hasn't gotten the virus.

None of my friends have gotten it.   My niece, who was significantly exposed on the front lines, hasn't gotten it, nor has anyone in her family.

I don't know about my neighbors; one is a floor nurse but has had some exposure.   The other is a young couple, neither of whom mask.  Nor do their visitors.  Nor do the young children.   I stay away from them!

I think the worst exposure I've had is in stores when others won't mask.   Last time I shopped a young woman with her apparent mother became aggressive, pushing to get through the checkout line, then pulling out in an apparent attempt to get ahead of me in the distance behind the shopper ahead of me.

Fortunately, her daughter had some sense and stopped her.  But the mother couldn't seem to comprehend that the distancing was for a good reason.   Maybe she thought I was standing back just so I could admire the plants in the little garden section next to the checkout line. 

Later I wished I had just told the mother to back off, but I don't want to get into squabbles with people who refuse to socially distance.

FF and CWillie, I too have "fog" problems but it was worse before I got my broken close-up glasses fixed and wore those itty bitty glasses that only cover a portion of the eye.    That left a vulnerable portion to fog up, which was annoying.   

I was able to control it, slightly, by wearing shop glasses over the itty bitty glasses, but they're old and the plastic wasn't clear, so neither was my vision.

I think another issue is that FF and I both have glasses that have blue light protection (and I have anti-glare protection) and that makes the glasses harder to clean.     I don't know if that makes them more susceptible to fogging, but keeping them clean drives me crazy; just wiping them with a little bit of "steam" doesn't work.  

And given the cost, I'm not sure it's worth it.   I found buried in the small print a sort of disclaimer that the blue light only provides about 20% protection, which to me is kind of insulting.    OTOH, more protection might make them so susceptible to fog that they're rendered useless.

Alva, in case you missed it, California doesn’t currently have the patient-staffing ratio laws in effect. Emperor Newsom waived those laws months ago. Nurses in my city held a protest over it 2 weeks ago.

Here on the home front, nurses are working through their dinner times and lunches, with hardly time to eat.

There have been requests for individually wrapped snacks, like granola bars. Our community was happy to respond to this need.

It is such a small gesture, but shows support and love.

We have that variant here too. Someone who was in contact with a person who had been in the UK. I am sure there are undiagnosed cases of it.

I am staying isolated thus as safe as possible. Case numbers are decreasing here due to the lock down Schools are supposed to open again Jan 11. Any increase due to Christmas and New Years celebrations should be mostly over by then - hopefully. If it were up to me, which it isn't, I would keep schools closed for another week.

It was always a given that the variant was here. The case diagnosed now is in a man who did not travel at all, so he caught it from someone who did, and that means, given this variant is more virulent, that it is here. We can have known that it has been a while; they seldom check for this variant. There are now more than 17 mutations of the virus. This particular variant is more concerning because it's changed behavior occurs where it "docks" in transmission, meaning it is EASIER to transmit this one. However, it is no more lethal that the others.
California hospitals now have from 10% to 28% of hospital ICU beds, smaller numbers in certain areas where there are few ICU beds overall. More concerning right now is the lack of personnel as we have laws in California (ONLY State in the Union with them) regarding how many patients a nurse can take care of at one time. The Feds are therefore sending in the "Forces" with nursing staff to three hospitals in Central Valley and one in San Bernardino Country.
January is going to be bad. With surge on surge we knew that was the case. Still and all we are no where near what the 1918 flu did. The interesting thing about it was it did its WORST at the END of it, last several weeks, when people just got "tired" of the masking. In San Francisco particularly you heard in 1918 the exact SAME stuff you hear now about "civil rights" and so on.
For my own part, I am OK personally with keeping MYSELF safe, and letting those who choose to ignore safety measures get the virus. I am not going to be taking up an ICU bed at my age. Consider it an "easier" death than many I am familiar with. And on we go. Each will do as they choose; seems the American Way. I hope you all stay safe. I ask that you mask up. Hand wash. Stay isolated as you are able. But I can't force it. And just know that Jan. won't be easy.

A congressman elect has died in my state of Louisiana. He had no underlying health issues. He was only 41. He died just before taking office. So sad and frightening.

I sincerely hope that the vaccine will help us in this trying situation.

Stay safe everyone.

Variant of Covid found about 100 miles from here. First in the U.S.. Very strange 20 something male, no travel, and tiny town of 600 some.

And now a second positive, same small town.

In and Out burgers? Never had one. Two in this state, one with 60 positive tests, the other 12. And another 30 presumed positive.

New on the news front is that there is now a scam out there saying you have to register for your vacc injection for Covid-19; then asks for all your private information. One more fraud scam aimed at our elders especially. Another claims to be registering for your next stimulus.

FF are you pinching the nose band tight? My mask comes up high on the bridge of my nose and I wear my glasses lower on my nose over that so any air blowing up tends to go far enough behind the lenses that they don't fog (much). Washing them with dish soap and leaving a bit if a soap film can help, or there are anti fog lens cleaners. One other solution is to divert that air in another direction - out the sides or down below your chin. Of course that defeats the purpose of masking but if it's blowing out the top anyway then IMO there's really no difference.