COVID-19: Episode 1 -- Household notes and links so far

[mdlbear]

So I've been doing a lot of reading, about COVID-19 among other things. Here's a household status report, and the current collection of linkspam.

The household has been making some prepararations. At this point we can, I think, handle being isolated at least two weeks easily, just on what's in the fridge, and four weeks without too much trouble. We haven't gone into full prepper mode, and hopefully we won't have to. We can handle more than that as long as we can get dry goods from Amazon and the power doesn't go out.

Things will get difficult if one of us gets sick. Everyone here at the North End is "At Higher Risk" except maybe S; L and Colleen both have underlying health problems that put them at risk, and Colleen and I are both over 65 -- 12 years over in my case. It says something that the healthiest person in the house is a 73-year-old with a bad back. I do what I can.

It's looking unlikely that I'll be able to go to Consonance. That's in just two weeks, and involves two shuttle rides and a plane ride each way and a hotel at the other end of it. If it was just me I'd be tempted to miss it, but I really don't want to bring con crud home to Colleen.

Santa Clara County Public Health Department is recommending that persons at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from crowded social gatherings of people as much as possible such as parades, conferences, sporting events, and concerts where large numbers of people are within arm’s length of one another.

-- note that other sources define "large numbers" as 10 or more.

Here are the links -- they're all either from last week's Done Since post or will be in this week's, but I wanted to get them all in one place. I don't guarantee that they're in any order that makes sense.

TL;DR: if you read nothing else, take a look at @siderea's series of posts tagged coronavirus2020, the CDC's Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pages, and for comic relief, this Joy of Tech comic.

Notes & links:

  @ How to Prepare for Coronavirus - The New York Times
  @ 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Situation Summary | CDC
    Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) | CDC
  @ Preventing 2019-nCoV from Spreading to Others | CDC 
    Interim Guidance: Home Care for 2019-nCoV | CDC (via Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators: COVID-19 | CDC)

  @ @siderea's coronavirus2020 series is a must-read, as mentioned above
  @ siderea | Preparing for the Pandemic: Stage 0 [coronavirus2020, Patreon]
  @ PARENTS & CAREGIVERS & FAMILY/IMMUNOCOMPROMISED: Prep/Pandemic: Facet 𝒫
    IT PROFESSIONALS: Prep/Pandemic: Facet 𝒯 [coronavirus2020, tech, Patreon]
  @ So Much Cooking [coronavirus2020, sff]
    So Much Cooking, by Naomi Kritzer, in Clarkesworld -- fiction, so far
    Quarantine Cooking: Finding Relief from Coronavirus Anxiety in the Kitchen, by
    Krish Raghav, in The New Yorker
  @ siderea | Preparing for the Pandemic: Stage 1, Pt A: Timeline & Pt B: Food
    How Long Does Rice Last? Shelf Life, Storage, Expiration Date brown, 6-8 months
    How Long Do Beans Last? dried beans and lentils, indefinite; canned 1y

  @ Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) - King County
    What happens if the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreads here? A conversation with
    our health officer. – PUBLIC HEALTH INSIDER
  @ Local health officials announce new recommendations to reduce risk of spread of
    COVID-19 - King County
    Re: Kurt DelBene’s March 4 guidance to King County employees (microsoft)
    Advice is to WFH if possible, at least until 3/25

  @ Build A Kit | Ready.gov
  @ Coronavirus Incubation Period (COVID-19) - Worldometer
  @ EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products for Use Against Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2,
    the Cause of COVID-19  ingredients and other label info.

  @ The Best 1 Year Emergency Food Supply for Families (4 people)
    plus links and lots of other good info
    The Prepared Pantry: 3 Month Food Supply | PreparednessMama
    Complete Guide to Mylar Bags for Food Storage
    Family Food Storage Plan For 3 Months | Emergency Preparedness
    -> make a 1-week menu and multiply
  @ Create a 72 Hour Emergency Kit; FREE DOWNLOADABLE CHECKLIST
  @ Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
  @ Who is vulnerable to coronavirus? So far children appear safe from COVID-19
  @ Cryptic transmission of novel coronavirus revealed by genomic epidemiology
    Some ways to implement non-pharmaceutical interventions include:
      Practicing social distancing, such as limiting attendance at events with large
        groups of people
      Working from home, if your job and employer allows it
      Staying home if you are feeling ill
      Take your temperature daily, if you develop a fever, self-isolate and call your
        doctor
      Implementing good hand washing practices - it is extremely important to wash hands
        regularly
      Covering coughs and sneezes in your elbow or tissue
      Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands
      Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs
      Beginning some preparations in anticipation of social distancing or supply chain
        shortages, such as ensuring you have sufficient supplies of prescription medicines
        and ensuring you have about a 2 week supply of food and other necessary household
        goods.
      With these preparation in mind, it is important to not panic buy. Panic buying
        unnecessarily increases strain on supply chains and can make it difficult to ensure
        that everyone is able to get supplies that they need.
  @ Nextstrain / ncov animated
    genome tree
  @ Time to use the p-word? Coronavirus enters dangerous new phase
  @ Microsoft, Google Offer Free Remote Work Tools Due to Coronavirus only businesses


  @ The Joy of Tech comic... Coffee shop culture! presence drones
  @ COVID-19 – CMO Update and Overview – 2nd Edition | PartnerRe
  @ Why Some COVID-19 Cases Are Worse than Others | The Scientist Magazine®
  @ Pandemic Preparedness - Google Docs (siderea)
    " acquire a pulse oximeter. This measures your blood oxygen content.  Since COVID-19
      is a disease with significant respiratory involvement, and that's the pathway by
      which it usually kills, you'll want to go to the hospital if you’re having trouble
      breathing, and your blood oxygen levels are consistently below ~90-94% "
  @ How to respond to COVID-19 | Bill Gates

I resisted the temptation to call this series A Journal of the Plague Year, but it was hard. The fact that I don't like long tags helped. It would work as a blog subtitle, but I'm hoping that I won't need it.

Comments

[librarygeek]

I'm high risk too. Congenital heart disease, immune system disorder, and always, *always* breathing problems.

I'm following you and siderea for prep advice, for reminders on what I may have forgotten from past doctors' advice about keeping me healthy, enough.

I want to be a health care chaplain, helping people with this! But it's wrong to add me to the casualty list for hospital, too. So I stay home, and get everyone washing their hands!

[chaoswolf]

I wrote "Year of the Virus" TTO "The Eye of the Tiger" last month for FAWM. Lyrics here: Year of the Virus

[septemberlilac]

Sorry you'll probably miss Consonance. I was hoping to see you - it's been YEARS now - but it's just not a good idea to take chances right now, especially in a household with health issues. Take care and stay well.