Mophstymeo

Anyone who is interested should check out Texas's and Arizona's respective dashboards. They're very good tools to track hospitalization metrics, etc., as the positive tests continue to climb. Florida's dashboard is . . .well . . . lacking, and we'll just leave it at that; it's been down -- at least parts of it -- for several hours already and it doesn't have as much info as TX or AZ. Arizona: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/covid-19/dashboards/index.php Texas: https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/0d8bdf9be927459d9cb11b9eaef6101f Florida: https://floridahealthcovid19.gov/

I have a serious yet seriously stupid question: Why are the numbers in Florida so high? Are people coming in for testing because they're presenting with symptoms? Are people just showing up for testing because they're curious/concerned? Are these test results from people being hospitalized across the state? Is it a combination of all of the above?

When I'm out-of-doors for the sake of exercise, I don't wear a mask. If I'm going to a store or I know I'll be interacting with people within 6-feet I wear my mask the moment I leave my house to limit the number of times I bring my hands to my face. I've gotten used to leaving my kids home alone for 10-minute stretches because I don't want them to go into stores with me; I'm more concerned about my kids touching things and spreading THEIR germs than I am about their picking up somebody else's. My wife has been going into work since this whole thing started; she was deemed essential by her hospital. Her office is now seeing patients, with mask and gown protocols in place. We've seen immediate family starting three weeks ago -- and this is where the wheels came off the wagon. We tried to do things ONLY outside, but invariably things got brought indoors. My mom and sisters have the antibodies, so here's hoping they have immunity -- or even limited immunity. My MiL goes from being terrified to devil-may-care in 5-seconds flat. It's all a jumble. I'm taking my kids away for a few days, but I've chosen to stay within NYS because this state has responded so differently from many of the others. We're going to spend most of the time out-of-doors, hiking and the like. But I'm bringing cleaning fluids and tons of paper towels, and if we need to go inside a store we're all wearing masks. I've noticed that where I am people have been good -- and I'm using that word instead of great or excellent -- with mask-wearing and social distancing. But I know from the FB groups I'm in that people are getting itchy and antsy. They want the library opened. They want to go into a store without being reminded to put on a mask. They want their sleep-away camps open. A dude at a local car mechanic's just told me this morning that "the whole thing is BS anyway!" I'm Jewish and a saying sprang up in March: I hope we didn't sacrifice Passover so we could have Purim. (And that's kind of what did happen. People didn't take it seriously in early March and then BAM we couldn't get together for Passover in April). And now there's a new saying going around: I hope we didn't sacrifice school in the fall for camp/vacation/freedom in the summer.

But too many of our compatriots believe that mask-wearing infringes on their freedom. And too many think that this virus is a Blue-State or Big-City disease. It might take a new wave in "unlikely" places to disabuse people of the notions they have.

I'm afraid there are too many people among the established elite and the average citizenry in those states who are incapable of serious self-reflection. I hope the projections are wrong and I hope my general cynicism is wrong, but I've seen too many people be downright dismissive -- in the face of all that's happened so far -- of the seriousness of what we're dealing with.

Huh. It's like they hired someone from Florida to keep and update their records for them.

That -- and fatigue. You can only obsess over something for so long before you crash. I'm COVID19ed out. Doesn't mean I take the threat any less seriously; I just can't consume as much info about it as I was.

Well, it's official -- or as official as these things go. My mom's and my sisters' antibody tests came back positive. Their symptoms began with a cough and a low-grade fever on March 24; about 7 days in, they lost their appetite and became lethargic to the point that my mom could barely get off the couch. Thankfully, none had the respiratory distress that so many have had. What scared me at the time is that all three have one comorbidity -- hbp -- and my mom has three: age, diabetes, and hypertension. Keeping my fingers crossed for immunity. I do wonder if there is something to that early Chinese study that raised questions about blood type playing some kind of factor in how people fight off the virus. My mom is O- and all of us siblings are O+. And a thank you to everyone here; this forum kept me mildly sane throughout.

I drove on a highway for the first time in 10 weeks. I've gotta say, it was disconcerting to see the electronic DOT sign on the SSP telling us to wash hands with soap and keep faces covered.

It's different because their are too many people who can't see the irony and/or hypocrisy of their positions -- starting with Mitch McConnell and going right on down through many of the rank-and-file.

It conflicts with that state's narrative.

I get it totally: It's fuel for the fire for those who see this virus as a NY-thing or a Blue State thing. We, here, know that there's no such thing as a Blue-State virus, but there are too many people out there who think that because their local hospitals aren't being overrun and taxed to the extreme, that the Coronavirus and its import have been completely overblown. In the end, he will likely back down, but I'm sure his comments have played well on Talk Radio and with so-called conservatives in deep red, rural areas. I've stopped following the conservatives I used to because I couldn't stand the inanity, but I've been reading articles online -- and the most dangerous and infuriating place to be on the Internet is the comments section of any news article.

I hope the governors sue the Federal government for malfeasance. I know, it'll never happen -- and would likely have no legal shot anyway -- but a boy can dream.

I believe late 60s. The wife died first; the husband followed 10 days later. Edit: The wife was 66. Not sure about the husband.

Thanks. This is why I have the knee-jerk reaction of wanting to throat-punch people who minimize what's happening. As a society, we've become so apathetic and aloof; if we can't see it, if we don't experience first-hand, if someone we directly know -- and it has to be someone almost exactly like us -- hasn't felt it, it can't possibly be true. Must be fake news. It's all a conspiracy. It started before 2016, but it's only gotten worse.