Well it’s official: I have the Coronavirus. I thought I did but I was hoping it was just a simple cold
I wrote the first story with the intention of trying to calm the masses, and try to help you wade through the sensationalism but we need so much more than we are getting for information
The problem is in “being first to report a story” – facts seem to get lost in the frenzy.
I had to turn off my notifications and my TV because I am contstantly being barraged with general stupid stories that are of no use.
I spent the better part of 6 hours watching YouTube videos’ from people currently or previously fighting this virus and some things became as clear as mud
The symptoms are different in every person and can vary from day to day
I thought this was just me, and the reason I didn’t take this very seriously is because I had different symptoms than what was being described. Turns out I have different symptoms every day, and they seem to change throughout the day as well.
Today is body aches, fatigue, sore throat, fever, and chest pains, yesterday it was a cough, fatigue, upset stomach, and headache. It’s like a crap shoot, you never know what it’s going to be from one hour to the next.
The virus is mutating at breakneck speed but slower than a common cold or flu
Italy is reporting that the virus seems to be attacking males with a higher mortality rate than any other population.
What some of us may have missed is that WHO reported the the same thing more than a month ago based on their own data. The fact is that men die more frequently than women from any respiratory disease, always have.
Now children are catching it, and we have yet to see what it does to them. There is an unverified report of a 12 yr old girl with no underlying health conditions being on a ventilator. Keeping in mind that even if this is true we don’t know if she had an undiagnosed health condition, or even Covid-19.
Because of the fact that we can’t trust China to be honest about anything we have no real stepping off point for data to be better able to understand the beginning origins of this disease.
I see them delivering supplies to us and other nations as if they are some kind of hero, nevermind the fact that they brought it to the world and created this pandemic by not being honest in the first place.
So yes it is mutating, up to 100 variants have been detected so far but it’s slower than what regular colds and flu’s mutate at. I don’t believe that this means it’s slowing down though.
The recovery time can be from 5 days to 6 or more weeks
As I said I have been sick for 7 days, but I have a low immune system, and COPD so it takes me up to 3 weeks to recover from anything.
The best way I can describe what this virus is doing now is this:
I call it “door knocking” like when those magazine salesman come through in their vans and dump loads of people off in a neighborhood to knock on each door to see if someone will let them in, then they take stock of what’s in the house, analyze how they can use it to their benefit, then begin to destroy it from within. Once they have all the good markers from one house, they can take it to the next house and get in better, quicker, faster, and take even more.
So why aren’t we testing everyone?
Well we don’t have the testing kits, supplies, or manpower to do it. Plain and simple. We are not prepared, and the very people who were supposed to handle emergencies like this were let go so each and every town, city, county, and state are on their own as to what they can come up with.
According to Snopes
Trump administration had ill-prepared the country for a pandemic even as one was looming on the horizon. Legum outlined a series of cost-cutting decisions made by the Trump administration in preceding years that had gutted the nation’s infectious disease defense infrastructure. The “pandemic response team” firing claim referred to news accounts from Spring 2018 reporting that White House officials tasked with directing a national response to a pandemic had been ousted. Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer abruptly departed from his post leading the global health security team on the National Security Council in May 2018 amid a reorganization of the council by then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, and Ziemer’s team was disbanded. Tom Bossert, whom the Washington Post reported “had called for a comprehensive biodefense strategy against pandemics and biological attacks,” had been fired one month prior. It’s thus true that the Trump administration axed the executive branch team responsible for coordinating a response to a pandemic and did not replace it, eliminating Ziemer’s position and reassigning others, although Bolton was the executive at the top of the National Security Council chain of command at the time.
Instead of the Federal Govt having a stockpile that they would automatically disperse to us they now have to go through miles of red tape to request things we already know we need.
So please keep that in mind before you run off to buy John Bolton’s book- he was directly responsible for gutting our safeguards.
Add to that that we have different states and agencies trying to fight for those resources and you’ve got nothing to look forward to in the way of progress.
Conspiracy theories are no help right now. The who, what, where, when, and how mean nothing. Stopping the spread of this virus is the only thing that matters at this point in time.
People are buying up toilet paper and hand sanitizers at a time when they should be buying lemons, and vitamins.
The best thing you can do for any sickness is to support your immune system, but no one can seem to agree on the best way to do that either.
The other disagreement between the medical community in general is when is too late for any supplements to be effective in boosting immune response.
I watch a man named Dr Campbell for daily updates, a proper British Gentleman, who does the research and relates the information very calmly and somewhat dryly. His method although a bit terse is very calming.
I would also suggest you watch his other videos, he gives tips and insights that are useful in every day life. The news media is trying to sell advertising, this man is trying to save lives.
So what in the heck do we do now?
Well if you have kids at home this is a chance to bond with them that you probably won’t get ever again.
Try to also keep them on schedule and out of the public – this is not a spring vacation, this is a global pandemic.
If you are lucky enough to be able to work from home then make sure to keep your actual schedule.
If you are laid off like myself then get online and start taking courses. There are plenty of free courses that can actually help you get a jump in the market, and give you additional skills to possibly get a better paying job
These are just a few of the online courses I take constantly. I think you may be able to get some funding from the employment security dept for some courses that aren’t free as well.
What about Unemployment?
Well if you’re a part time worker, you’re probably going to have to wait a while as the unemployment rules catch up to the various changes but apply anyway. Applying now guarantees a setback date so you’re more likely to get back benefits.
Calling right now is a test of your own personal sanity, and on most days you will lose. I would also suggest that once you’ve created an online account and application that any additional information you send that you also send it by snail mail because things are bound to get goofed up right now.
Minimizing chance of infections
I had assumed that this went without saying but in some cases it needs to be said
Just because you aren’t affected by this virus, don’t have symptoms or appear to be sick you can still carry it to whomever you are in contact with.
If you can wear a facemask and gloves while going outside. I have a garbage can by the door so I can dispose of them before bringing them in, and a box of gloves to take the bags and wipe down any products I may have bought, and I put all of my produce in the sink with a tablespoon of vinegar and cold water. I specifically throw away the bags in the outside can so I don’t cross contaminate anything. Keep in mind that dozens of people have probably touched whatever you’ve bought, and there is still no real clear data on how long this virus lasts on surfaces.
You can make your own face masks, and if you’re really crafty you can make extra for neighbors who may be at risk, or call local senior centers, or even small clinics to see if they could use some as well.
The most fascinating thing about this virus is how fragile it is, soap has more power to kill it than any other tool we have at our disposal. Wash your hands as often as possible, for as long as possible.
