Cowgirl

From CNN: 10 min ago US sees deadliest day with 160 deaths There are at least 52,976 cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States and 704 people have died, according to CNN Health’s tally of US cases that are detected and tested in the US through public health systems. There have already been 163 deaths reported today, according to a tally by CNN, making this the deadliest day in the US since the coronavirus pandemic began. The total includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as all repatriated cases.

As the COVID-19 cases mount, my employer finally realized that making us all come in every day to work was unsafe. We will now rotate staff, with only a couple of people in the office each day. I feel some relief, as some of our staff have major commutes, coming some distance from areas that are virus hot spots. Not being on top of each other all day long gives us a better chance of coming through this.

It is quite clear that the number of confirmed cases does NOT count all cases. For example, guidelines for nursing homes are that if there is ONE positive case, there is no need to test other residents or staff. The rest are dealt with by symptoms. Thus, we will likely never know the full number of cases, or deaths from this pandemic.

The cases in Illinois mount daily. In the last 3 days there have been 700 new cases. Public Health Officials Announce 236 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease 23rd Mar, 2020 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 236 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including three deaths in Cook County; two men in their 80s and a man in his 90s. Monroe is now also reporting a case. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,285 cases in 31 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to 99 years. Cases by county can be found on the IDPH website, as well as a list of local health departments who will have the most up-to-date information. For all personal protective equipment (PPE) donations, email PPE.donations@... Read more >> Public Health Officials Announce 296 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease 22nd Mar, 2020 SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 296 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an infant. IDPH also announced three deaths. The deaths included a Cook County man in his 80s, a Chicago man in his 80s, and a McLean County woman in her 70s. Jo Daviess, Livingston, Rock Island, and Stephenson counties are now also reporting cases. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 1,049 cases in 30 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to 99 years. Health officials are still learning about this new virus and information and guidance is rapidly evolving. At this time, it is still unknown if a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can pass the virus to her fetus or baby during pregnancy or delivery. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no infants born to mothers with... Read more >> Public Health Officials Announce 168 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease 21st Mar, 2020 SPRINGFIELD– The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced 168 new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including another death; a Cook County man in his 70s. DeKalb County is now also reporting a case. Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 753 cases in 26 counties in Illinois (percentage of case by county below). Cases have occurred in ages 3 to 99. ..

I like GFS too, Jeepers. I go to one in a nearby (50 miles away) city usually twice per year for stocking up. I buy all my spices there. They also have good deals on things like pecans, dried cherries, etc. They will also do orders, and sometimes if the store hasn’t had an item in stock, I have had them order it for me. And they are normally not very crowded, which is nice too.

DH has been a semi-invalid since last September. We have been to so many different doctors and surgeons with the various referrals that I have now lost count. We were recently referred to an out-of-network surgeon (I hate for-profit “insurance”) in a large city some distance from us who couldn’t even have the initial consult until summer. I insisted we go back to the primary care doctor for another local referral. And today DH had his initial consult with this local surgeon via telephone, due to the pandemic. This surgeon was NOT scared of DH’s condition and is willing to do the surgery, having reviewed all of his x-rays and MRI. He said it looks completely consistent with gout and he does not believe there is any infection. The surgery won’t happen until after the pandemic dies down. But it sounds like IT WILL HAPPEN. There is a light at the end of this tunnel!!! Though the current situation continues to be trying, and though DH continues to suffer so much pain, there is hope on the horizon.

Cell phone surveillance without a warrant?!?!? Time to renew my ACLU membership!! If it is individualized in ANY WAY I think it is unconstitutional.

The good news about early morning granny hours is that very, very few criminal types are awake at 7 or 8 am.

1049 people in Illinois diagnosed with COVID-19; 9 have died

We asked for something to show we are essential, to show police if we get stopped, going to and from work. We weren’t given anything. Our employer is so .... NOT together.

TheCG, If this coronavirus is remotely like its cousin, the common cold, it also may be mutating...

Miki, I hear you. What scares me more than anything else is that I could bring the virus home to DH. I MUST keep working if we want to keep the roof over our heads, and social distancing at work is impossible, unfortunately. TPTB insist that we come in to work. So, I wash my hands before I leave work AND again when I come home. And I pray.

In an effort to feel “normal” I am making a full Sunday dinner for tonight. We will have salmon, rice pilaf, broccoli, rolls, and we’ll finish it off with a cherry pie. The pie is cooling off now. Cooking de-stresses me, so I have been doing a bit of it today!

This is not “just” a disease that endangers the elderly. From CNN: 12-year-old girl with coronavirus is on a ventilator and fighting for her life Relative says the girl has no pre-existing conditions and has not traveled to any hot spot.

I just saw this. Sad news. I was just thinking about them recently. Lori is welcome to come back - hope she does.

Pondering what to do about our pack of dogs and their need for ongoing heart worm preventive... vet’s office is closed. Weather is warming. We have a few months of treatments left. I may order some Ivomec sheep drench as a back up. Our old bottle of it is expired. Way too expired to use. Other than that, we are ok. I never figured on and starting into it with DH as an invalid and me as a caretaker on top of everything else. That scenario was too scary to contemplate, but here I am. Many older people are in the same boat, or worse. Way worse. At least we have food, water, and shelter, so I am trying to get back to a positive outlook. 💜

Hope you are able to get the treatment you need. Welcome back and stay well. 💜

I have been prepping for the zombie apocalypse for years. It is a good way to explain it to others. Zombie preppers don’t actually believe in zombies. But as they say, if you are ready for the zombie apocalypse, you are ready for anything. 🙃

Isn’t it an awesome avatar?

From CNN: FEMA head can't give exact number of masks going to hospitals as doctors say they don't have enough supplies https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/22/politics/fema-administrator-gaynor-masks-coronavirus-number/index.html

I hear you. I have been scrambling to re-prep for months, as my Spidey senses were going off big time. Saving $$ while also trying to re-stock supplies. I don’t feel super READY, although we are better situated than the majority of people. So I keep wondering — what NEED have I left unmet?

For those who wonder why we have mandatory stay at home orders: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/us/coronavirus-missouri-isolation/index.html The father of a COVID-19 patient in Missouri defied doctor orders to self-quarantine. He went to a school function with another daughter. Perhaps not coincidentally, now St. Louis is going into a mandatory stay at home order. People are not just stupid about their own safety, they recklessly endanger others.

Prepping lessons passed to 3 of our 4 kids. Sometimes kids view us as wise and want to emulate us. Sometimes they think we’re weird and try to be different. I just pray that he comes around to the wisdom of prepping before it is too late.

My understanding of the emergency approval guidelines is there is very limited testing. So, yeah, one has to wonder how effective it is. False positives or negatives could be very bad.

CNN reports: FDA approves new "point of care" coronavirus test that promises rapid results Report indicated that the new test provides results in only 45 minutes. It was approved under emergency guidelines.