Preparing for Coronavirus?

[Caracal]

Venturing with some trepidation to an outdoor Farmers Market.  Will double mask.  Am in county that has identified new variant.

Outdoor, masked, distanced and brief contact remains very low risk. The more transmissible variants don't change the routes of infection. If you're thinking in terms of risk reduction, it would be like if someone told you that there was double the risk of all things falling from the sky tomorrow. If you were trying to take precautions, you'd want to look out for tree branches, not meteors.

[Langue_doc]

Announcement by store manager over the public address system: Masks must be worn over the nose as well as over the mouth. Presumably one or more of the shoppers had their noses exposed.

This was repeated twice. Yeah, manager, way to go. I wish the grocery stores would follow suit.

I say to anyone who will listen: Our messaging is wrong. "Wear your mask" leads to chinstraps and exposed noses. The message should be, "Cover your nose." (I have yet to see anyone with their nose covered and mouth exposed.)

Biden should be leading by example. Here he is with his mask barely making it to his nose: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/video/politics/bidens-fast-start-with-executive-orders/2021/01/28/2612924f-3e04-4613-bd30-c4ec6867467f_video.html?
Here's another picture of him stepping down from the copter (please scroll down to the middle of the page) https://www.nytimes.com/. This picture might not remain on the home page much longer.

During the past couple of weeks the media showed pictures of Biden masked even when sitting by himself at his desk, or when signing documents. Now that the CDC recommendation is to wear two masks, the media should at the very least show Biden properly masked.

[Thursday's_Child]

Announcement by store manager over the public address system: Masks must be worn over the nose as well as over the mouth. Presumably one or more of the shoppers had their noses exposed.

This was repeated twice. Yeah, manager, way to go. I wish the grocery stores would follow suit.

I just got my money back at a previously favorite sandwich shop because one of their delivery drivers was not only without a mask and any concept of social distancing, but walked through the food-prep area to check for any additional deliveries.  The fact that there was a mask-less customer being served didn't help, either.

It's going to be a year or more before I again consider eating food from that Jimmy John's.  Good thing I like Subway!

[spork]

Now have my supply of vegetable oil, along with ten cans of pumpkin and plenty of oatmeal. I have a special order of a crate of canned cat food waiting for pick up at Tractor Supply Co. Got to have food for the cats too.

My winter pandemic stockpile of flour, rice, oatmeal, vegetable oil, canned pumpkin, and other items will be exhausted in another 2-3 weeks. A bit off from my original prediction of the end of February, but that's ok.

[the_geneticist]

Now have my supply of vegetable oil, along with ten cans of pumpkin and plenty of oatmeal. I have a special order of a crate of canned cat food waiting for pick up at Tractor Supply Co. Got to have food for the cats too.

My winter pandemic stockpile of flour, rice, oatmeal, vegetable oil, canned pumpkin, and other items will be exhausted in another 2-3 weeks. A bit off from my original prediction of the end of February, but that's ok.

We just picked up several cases of canned cat food!  They are picky little things and the closest store was entirely out of the only brand they will eat.  OK, Sir Puck will eat anything, Izzy kitten will eat random whatever off the floor, but Lady Jane only likes pate style Friskies and even then not all the flavors.

[hmaria1609]

DC relaxed some restrictions as of today:
https://wtop.com/dc/2021/03/dc-loosening-some-coronavirus-restrictions/

Also, there's some parking enforcement returning to the city's streets:
https://wtop.com/dc/2021/03/dc-parking-enforcement-ramps-up-monday/
From WTOP Radio online (3/22/21)

[apl68]

Looks like our state's mask mandate will indeed expire at the end of the month.  Fingers crossed that this does not prove premature.  Meanwhile I and our Board of Trustees have some decisions to make about what to do at the library.  I expect we'll keep the same rules in place and wait and see whether the wider situation allows for relaxation.  I'm trying to figure out the best way to explain this to the public.

[Caracal]

Looks like our state's mask mandate will indeed expire at the end of the month.  Fingers crossed that this does not prove premature.  Meanwhile I and our Board of Trustees have some decisions to make about what to do at the library.  I expect we'll keep the same rules in place and wait and see whether the wider situation allows for relaxation.  I'm trying to figure out the best way to explain this to the public.

Ugh, the mask thing is so crazy. Look, I don't want to wear a mask in indoor or crowded public spaces for all eternity. They are annoying, they make my glasses fog up and I do find them socially alienating. But, in contrast to all of the other restrictions on daily life, they are just a minor annoyance and they're quite effective. Mask mandates should be the last restrictions to be lifted, not the first.

[hmaria1609]

Earlier today, Gov. Northam announced relaxed restrictions for VA:
https://wtop.com/virginia/2021/03/virginia-coronavirus-update-march-23/
From WTOP Radio online (3/23/21)

[spork]

The giant mail order pharmacy connected to my health insurance plan has run out of 1 cc syringes. I assume this is because a significant chunk of the USA's syringe manufacturing capacity is now devoted to making syringes for administering the coronavirus vaccine.

I would advise diabetics who inject insulin to stock up.

[mahagonny]

Not really worried! Young Mahagonny is safe and grown up. I'm planning to die anyway. Maybe not for awhile. We'll see. I see people on the news are bickering about who should get in line first. Seems like a silly thing to get angry about. I guess parents of young children should get preference. People who have others depending on them.

[hmaria1609]

The decline of office space since the pandemic in downtown DC:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/04/20/downtown-dc-recovery-vacancy-pandemic/
Posted on "Washington Post" online (4/20/21)

[hmaria1609]

Next month, Virginia will expand capacity for sport and entertainment venues:
https://wtop.com/virginia/2021/04/virginia-to-expand-capacity-in-sports-entertainment-venues-starting-may-15/
From WTOP Radio online (4/22/21)

[spork]

Our campus is basically shutting down, because of a post-Easter holiday outbreak of cases. Final exams start soon, so any faculty member who didn't plan on take-home/online exams is screwed. (I am not sympathetic.)

[Puget]

Our campus is basically shutting down, because of a post-Easter holiday outbreak of cases. Final exams start soon, so any faculty member who didn't plan on take-home/online exams is screwed. (I am not sympathetic.)

And that's why we didn't have spring break here! We've had zero positive tests in the past week, one the week before. And this week everyone gets vaccinated on campus (just got back from mine).