This morning, my friend Nedra called me. She is sheltering in place in Los Angeles. She called because she is worried about me, especially going to work at the hospital. I am as worried about her as I am about everyone. I've known Nedra since I was 15 or 16 years old. If she stays secluded as she has been, I think she will be okay. Me though, I am not so sure. I know I will be exposed to the virus at work. But I didn't know what to say to her about all of that. What can you say?
The conversation ended on a teary note...
Today's big announcements were about the $2 trillion financial relief package from Congress and that Prince Charles has tested positive for the virus. To me, the bigger headlines were the disaster the virus is causing in Europe.
Spain has now surpassed China's death toll with 3,647 deaths, 700 of which were just today. Italy still has the highest death toll at 7,503. They also had a huge toll of 683 deaths today. I also read that it is so bad in Italy that they have stopped giving its respirators to patients over 60. Geez!
My friend Rosa, in London, is frustrated by her country's slow actions.
"My government is stupid," she says. "We lost weeks trying 'herd immunity' and now London is infected."
Herd immunity only works when a large portion of the population is already immune to an outbreak. The survivors of COVID 19 should be immune if there are future outbreaks. But trying herd immunity on the outset? Absurd!
Worldwide, there are 471,783 confirmed cases and have been 21,306 deaths.
Italy's healthcare system is overrun with patients. Spain's hospitals are also impacted by the virus. And it is starting to happen here. New York City is now experiencing that. The article (and accompanying video) I saw had a doctor stating they had gone from one or two COVID 19 patients a shift to having virtually all patients arriving at the hospitals due to the virus.There are no beds. There are no ventilators. The staff are all issued one mask a day (for 12 hour shifts), which is totally against the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control.
Another article I read said the numbers of deaths here may be higher than are actually being reported.
Nedra was not the only one concerned about me today. Yesterday I mentioned that my hospital was actively seeking donations of Personal Protection Equipment (P.P.E.) and homemade masks. I was concerned about that. My friend Janine sent me a link about the benefits of homemade masks and their ability to protect against the virus. Any protection is better than nothing.
My mother was frantically trying to find me another, better mask online. We ordered one with expedited shipping (for $19.99 more), but later got a notice stating that due to the coronavirus outbreak, shipping (from China, of course), wouldn't happen for another 3 days at the earliest. Swell.
Of course, I am super concerned about my family on Whidbey Island, which now has 54 confirmed cases (up from 38 yesterday). I know it is bad in the Seattle area (where my sister and her family live). There are 2,580 cases there and they've had 132 deaths.
Locally, there is a slow creeping up of numbers.
Two cases have been reported in Merced Ciounty and a guard at the prison in Corcoran has also tested positive.
My friend Mel, who lives in Washington D.C., says they are going on lockdown now. (Welcome to the club...)
The US has 69,171 cases of COVID 19 infections currently. We have the third-highest number of cases behind China and Italy. Today, also, we marked our 1,000th casualty from the virus. But the death toll has already climbed to 1,050 as I write this.
From what I've read today, a vaccine is still 12 to 18 months away. However, New York will be trying a new sort of therapy. They will be injecting the plasma from recovered coronavirus victims into the current virus sufferers. I hope this is successful.
Speaking of treatments and vaccines, I received my first bogus email ad for some bogus way to keep safe from the virus. GEEZ! Even in times like these, scammers come crawling out of the woodwork...
My friend Sue Nan Douglass sent me a photo today of her family during the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. Social distancing may not have been in practice back then, but face masks (even for the family dog) were.
Depending on what source you read, 50 to 100 million people worldwide died during that awful pandemic. According to Sue Nan, none of her family members that are pictured here succumbed to it. We, as a species, can and will get through this. We, as individuals, must do everything we can to protect ourselves.
Shelter in place. Wash your hands. Wear a face mask if you got one. Wash your hands. Wipe things down. Wash your hands. Avoid other people. Wash your hands. And wash your hands.
Stay well.
CHEERS!
Continue to Part 12 HERE.
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CHEERS!