TIOLI Challengers' Corona Virus Support Thread - Page 2

We've been in this pandemic for two months now. How are things going for you? What are you doing to cope? Have things eased up a bit, or are they even harder now? How has your city, county. state, country responded to what is going on? Do you agree or disagree with what is being done in your jurisdiction?

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your thoughts. The sense of community I've felt here has gone a long way into my feeling less lonely during this time of isolation and anxiety. I hope you feel the same way.

I am finally reading more. Not watching as much TV. Work is back to the usual busy routine and not the ultra busy which I had for about 6 weeks. We are nearing the end of our 8th week of working at home. Our CEO (my company is actually Dutch owned and, while the CEO lives in Amsterdam, she was from my location) gave a relatively upbeat talk yesterday.

Still worried about catching it, of course, but now more worried that we will re-open too soon. Illinois has opened up a bit as to elective surgeries and curbside pick up of non-essential things.

I also HATE that adhering (or not) to social distancing/wearing a mask is quickly becoming a political statement. Suddenly, far too many "you can't make me wear a mask" people around.

Even so, I am incredibly happy that my usual Starbucks (which doesn't have a drive-thru) reopened today. I hope all of my favorite baristas are OK. In the big picture, it's just a small thing but, to me, it feels like a big step on the road to normalcy.

My zip code now has 100 cases and my county is garnering many new cases and remains the new two county in the state. Sadly, they are now updating nursing home numbers once a week and, alas, 3/4 of our county's cases occurred at nursing homes and just under half of the cases.

Please continue to stay safe and stay well, everyone.

I've been pretty much living my normal life with the 1-3/week shopping down to 1 every 2 weeks and no SCA social events or, for May, war prep. Oh, and the Easter Egg hunt was, of course, canceled. I am wondering what's going on with the Los Angeles County statistics - could we really have 1000+ new cases one day an 500-700 the next? A couple of low death toll days earlier this month have been followed by 2 50+ days. A week or so ago, Mike's shopping trip netted him a few small bottles of hand sanitizer, so that's one plus.

My county now has a total of 238 deaths and 4,473 cases, the majority of the cases in the state. Both my zip code and my kids' zip codes have 41 to 60 cases, the next to highest level in the county. No one in my neighborhood wears a mask. In fact, the neighbors across the street have been having a yard sale all week. The governor is supposed to announce opening plans in a speech this afternoon. I've enjoyed working from home. My biggest interview starts on the 17th, and I'm afraid at that time I'm going to have to stop phone interviews and will need to resume going to people's houses and, the worst for me, touching the stair rails as I walk upstairs to their apartments. I'm sure that's what got me sick a couple of months ago. I could try walking on the stairs without holding the rails, but I think that would just get me a broken leg. I imagine as that date approaches my anxiety level is going to rise.

Illinois is now up to 3,111 deaths and over 70,000 cases. My county is up to 165 deaths (including just over 100 in nursing homes) and almost 5,000 cases. (Cook, where Chicago is, has almost 50,000 cases and 2100 deaths) so my county is a very distant second in cases and a distant fourth in deaths, statewide). I think my town has 45 to 49 cases and, most likely two deaths (they don't report deaths by town but I've seen obits for at least two nursing home residents).

I don't even watch the daily press conferences anymore. I can see the numbers later and the press conferences have gotten very contentious. One day, we have 59 deaths and then the next, we have our worst-ever 179 deaths). I can understand that people want to throw all the doors to the state economy open and running but I certainly don't want to be part of it, unless I can do so safely.

I work across the street from where Cook County starts and, when we return to the office, I don't think things will suddenly be worse if I go into a restaurant on the Cook County side of the street but I can see why, for reopening purposes, we've been lumped in with Cook County. So many people in the "collar counties" work in Cook County and/or get healthcare there or otherwise travel into Cook for many reasons (for me personally, for baseball and hockey games, the symphony, the opera, and haircuts, just to name a few) and, oh and most of my closest friends live in suburban Cook County.

We've been self-isolating since our trip to Argentina was cut short in March. We flew into JFK on March 14, got groceries, and have only left the house for short grocery runs since. I work from home anyway, but it's interesting sharing work space with my husband :) His office is in Manhattan, so I'm glad he is able to work from home. We are living right near the epicenter, and our state has the 2nd highest number of cases, and our county the 3rd most in the state, but so far so good with us and everyone we know. A friend of mine from college lost her father to the virus - it got a long write-up in the NY Times because he was a virus skeptic and sometime Trump supporter. She is devastated, of course, but also so angry. I hurt for her. That is the closest it has come to me.

I've got lots of gloves and masks and hand sanitizer, as well as books and jigsaw puzzles to distract me if my mind starts going to negative places. I'm a pretty fatalistic person anyway, so for the most part, I just assume if it's my time to go, it's my time to go.

Stay safe, all!

These are our latest stats. We're in Essex County.

I really like how our governor has handled the crisis. He listens to the experts, seems compassionate and understanding, and his actions are reasonable.

He's "turned the dial" to allow non-essential, non-customer facing industrial and office businesses to open as long as they follow the guidelines (employees six feet apart, emergency plan if employee gets COVID-19, etc.) as well as contactless service businesses (like pet grooming) and curbside retail.

http://www.dli.mn.gov/sites/default/files/doc/COVID_19_business_plan_template.do...

Our numbers are still peaking. We had almost 800 new cases yesterday. 80% of deaths are at nursing homes and long term care facilities. Walz shared a detailed plan on how these facilities are going to get support including guidance, training, supplies, and even staffing, with the governor calling in the MN National Guard. He's also going to offer temporary jobs to State employees who have been furloughed though I'm not sure what that would entail exactly.

https://ccxmedia.org/news/5-7-2020-covid-19-update-from-mn-governor-walz-and-mdh...

>7 Morphidae: Our governor also, as you say, "listens to the experts, seems compassionate and understanding, and his actions are reasonable." I think Pritzker has done a great job, too. For most of the past 8 weeks, that was plenty but now, people are picketing and, in some ways, trying to undo all the good he's done. Even when the state reopens, I suspect there'll be a lot of people like me who might go back into work occasionally but I do not plan to gather in large crowds etc.

Another TBR stack showed up today on Maks Viktor Antiquarian Books FB page

I am doing okay. I worry about our children, especially our son who is living alone in Auckland Central with his flat mates currently wtih family. He is going into the office every day where their workstations are physically distanced. He is slated to begin working from home in the next week or so. He says the city got quite busy when New Zealand went from Level 4 (movement for essential services only) to Level 3 and 400,000 people across the country went back to work. There was a record-breaking amount of take-away food eaten in the first week of Level 3.

We have been very fortunate here to have such a low number of cases and deaths. I think isolation and quarantine of people coming into the country, and then the early and very restrictive lockdown, were key.

The announcement on whether or not to proceed to Level 2 comes next Monday. I think we need another week beyond that. But it may be okay as PM Ardern has suggested that Level 2 itself will contain stages. Still, retail shops and in-restaurant dining and pubs and schools will be re-opening and we will be free, possibly, to travel around the country, as long as we keep 2 metres away from people we don’t know. And we’re meant to be keeping a diary of all of our daily contacts, places we’ve been, etc, to assist with contact tracing. I think that’s a nice touch that reinforces the idea that we are doing this together.

I will start my new job at some point in Level 2. My previous “first day” was the day the Level 4 lockdown was announced, 23 March. I have mixed feelings about going to work in a school during a pandemic, because it’s a school during a pandemic. But, I think I will be able to keep my work to individual students or very small, physically distanced, groups.

>10 jeanned: " I think that’s a nice touch that reinforces the idea that we are doing this together." I think this whole pandemic could be addressed so much more easily if we all had this same idea.

I feel okay. I work partially at home, partially in the library, making ordered books ready for pickup or scan requested literature. And work three afternoons in the Caritas market, selling food to poor people (those receiving social welfare or live here as refugees). In Switzerland hair dressers, garden centers and the like re-opened this week, next week some restaurants can open when fulfilling the safety requirements (disinfectants, two-meter-distance between the tables, only a group of 4 people who belong together at a table, masks for the personnel). The borders to France and Germany are still closed except for those working on the other side. Unemployment reached 3.8 % in Basel in April.

Like Katie, we've been self-isolating since I got back from my Montana conference at the beginning of March. Our biggest concern is my 91 year old mother-in-law - mrsdrneutron is her primary caregiver, and we're both trying to keep from passing it on to her.

So she's been living with us for about 6 weeks, we're only going out for groceries, take-out, and to haul yard waste to the landfill. 😀

How was Mother’s Day for you?

At our house, my younger son did a drive-by with my daughter-in-law and our two grandchildren. He asked if the kids could play in the back yard, and I said no because I wanted to keep it a safe place. I agreed the kids could play in our front yard. They came, all wearing masks my husband made them. Because I’m hard of hearing, I couldn’t understand a thing they said with masks on. We all took our masks off, keeping our distance from each other. That is until my two-year-old granddaughter came running up to me trying to give me some buttercups she picked for me, but I had to run away from her. How sad is that?

My son and grandson wanted to look at a pawpaw tree in the backyard which I think is getting ready to bear fruit. I warned them not to touch anything in the back yard. How sad is that?

My daughter said she was sorry she and her husband couldn’t “hang out” with us this year. How sad is that?

My older son wished me a Happy Mother’s Day “ though we can’t get together Still”. How sad is that?

Nevertheless, I am still happy, being grateful that my family continues to be safe and healthy. Every day I worry about them, though.

My daughter brought me over a dozen roses and a case of beer. I finally used up all the beer I had except for the flavored stuff which I find I don't like anymore. I don't go to the store so I can't buy any for myself. There's one liquor store in town that delivers, but your order has to be at least $100 to qualify. I do like a beer with dinner every night, especially now that we're in pre-summer, but it would take me a good long time to drink $100 worth.
My grandson called me from his new base in Florida where his quarantine is finally over and he can at last work on planes as he has been trained to do. He loves it except when the engines are roaring he can't hear a thing anyone says because of the severe ear protection, and everyone is wearing a mask so he can't read their lips. He and his friends had a barbeque, and he told me about the squirrels and bears around his dorm. This sounds more like Colorado to me than Florida.

>15 Citizenjoyce: except when the engines are roaring he can't hear a thing anyone says because of the severe ear protection, and everyone is wearing a mask so he can't read their lips.

This made me laugh out loud (though it isn't funny) because I can so relate to that!

>16 SqueakyChu: I thought it sounded a bit like what you're going through.

>2 lindapanzo: That's really interesting that mask wearing/distancing has become a political statement.

>4 Citizenjoyce: I hope you can keep up the phone interviews. I empathize with the stair thing. I need the rails too.

>10 jeanned: The diaries are a great idea!

San Francisco is faring well, especially for such a densely populated city. I think it took a lot of people by surprise, how quickly our mayor acted to declare a state of emergency and then issue shelter in place orders, but it was fortunate. We've had less than 2,000 confirmed cases and I think 35 deaths.

I barely left the house from March 17th to yesterday. Walks, but not as often as I should. Going out made me anxious. It's slowly gotten better. Last week I went into a produce market and to the post office, and today I went into my bookstore for the first time. We aren't open, but we're getting things ready. We may be able to provide curbside pickup soon, but I'm not sure how well that will work. People who shop in physical bookstores want to browse! If they're going to order online, most would prefer to have their books shipped. It was ok being in the store with only 3 other people, and I walked to work taking less busy streets, but it's hard to imagine being in a store full of customers again, or taking the train to work when it's raining.

>14 SqueakyChu: It must be so hard to be that close to you kids and grandkids and not be able to hug and kiss them! That's so great that they were able to visit though. :)
I helped my mom finally figure out FaceTime on Mother's Day so I got to see her (mostly her forehead - she's still learning :) for the first time since February. That was really nice.

My province of British Columbia is doing well over all. Yesterday we only had 7 new cases. They are starting to open things up slowly but still want everyone to take appropriate precautions. My elder daughter has set up her backyard lawn furniture for being able to see each other and still keep a proper distance, so we have been over there a couple of times. It was ovely to see everyone face-to-face. We actually put on masks and gloves and went to a local nursery today, I was so excited to actually get to go someplace! We still go out on our balcony every night and bang pots and wave at our neighbours in honor of the essential workers. I have been filling my time with putting puzzles together, watching TV and reading, although I haven't been reading as much as I usually do - trouble with concentrating.

Yay, I got great news, we get to do our interviews on the phone again this month. Whew. I got masks with filters but was still mighty worried about those handrails. I'm reprieved for at least one more month.

>18 madhatter22: Yeah. I was lucky to have them near us in person for a visit. I think I've stolen enough hugs and kisses from them before COVID-19 came around to last a while!

>19 DeltaQueen50: I'm like you with the puzzle, but this last one of 1,500 pieces is so hard! My husband and I have been working on it for at least three weeks now. It looks so much easier than it really is. Like you, I find I can't concentrate much on books these days. I read a few pages a night.

>20 Citizenjoyce: Great news, Joyce!

I can't do puzzles. I think my spatial intelligence is very low.

Yesterday was the worst number of deaths in my county (15) in one day, and half were people without pre-existing conditions, including a woman in her 40's, which is scary. Better today but today, we had the worst number of deaths in the state (192) in one day. We are hanging in there, though.

For the first time, someone I know, a friend of a friend with whom I go downtown to plays, had to be tested for the virus. She'd gone into her law office and encountered a co-worker who later tested positive. Keeping my fingers crossed that she isn't positive. She's mid-60s and was a smoker.

On a brighter note, I'm finally reading more. Hope that welcome trend continues. Plus it looks like the frosts/freezes are in the rearview mirror and maybe spring is really here!!

>Woohoo! :D

>23 lindapanzo: My sister got tested for the virus because she had some symptoms. Fortunately, it was negative

>25 Citizenjoyce: That's a relief, I'm sure!

>25 Citizenjoyce: How frightening...and what a relief!

>25 Citizenjoyce: Oh no, glad to hear she was negative.

I don't want to make this a political forum but our worry about catching the virus has exploded astronomically thanks to the nincompoops on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. They barred the governor, who is of the opposing party, from having statewide virus mitigation efforts. So now, Wisconsin doesn't have a stay at home order, social distancing, or mask requirements, or any limits whatsoever, unless localities impose them. As soon as the decision was handed down yesterday, the Wisconsin Tavern League told its members that they could open immediately. All the photos/videos I've seen showed the bars were packed with no social distancing and no mask wearing. And here I sit, just a couple of miles from the closest such bar. I'd be shocked if no one from my town was in there. This is going to explode in Wisconsin and in neighboring areas, like mine.

I am angry beyond belief. All of our efforts are for naught.

>28 lindapanzo: I saw the ruling yesterday, and was horrified. I hope that counties and cities in Wisconsin come together with thoughtful and effective measures to lessen the spread.

We have a similar problem in Georgia - Governor Kemp declared that all counties/municipalities/etc. in Georgia must follow that state mandated rules (of which there are very few, at the moment) and may not enact any local regulations, even should they wish to do so. That means no local decisions to close the beaches he ordered open, or any mask requirements, or limitations on nightclubs or bars.

I don't mean to be political either, but I can happily say I didn't vote for him.

>29 Dejah_Thoris: The county where I went to college is the Wisconsin hot spot due to the meatpacking plants there. The other day, the female Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice said something to the effect that the virus was hitting "those people, not regular people."

I think I've mentioned that I am under the care of a pulmonologist, ever since I was hospitalized with pneumonia in Dec of 2017. I have an oxygen concentrator in the house but rarely need it (though it is reassuring to me that I do have it). Anyway, twice a year, I need to schedule a chest CT scan. I just said a little prayer and scheduled mine for two weeks from today. I pray this is safe. No doubt that they'll call closer to the date and tell me what I need to do and also make sure I'm not sick etc. It's a strange world where going to a medical facility is such a frightening prospect.

>28 lindapanzo: Up until that happened, it looked like our governor in Minnesota was going to extend the stay at home order until mid-June. But between that and the opposition in control of our legislature, he had to cave and made it a "stay safe at home" recommendation. Businesses can run only at 50% capacity, restaurants/bars are still closed, and gatherings must be kept to 10 people or less.

BUT our "grade" for social distancing had already fell from an "A" to a "D" in the last month (who grades these things?) People in stores weren't wearing masks or paying attention to the 6' rule before. Just forget about it now. And the state hadn't even reached peak cases yet.

>31 Morphidae: Pritzker is getting a lot of push back in Illinois but he knows he's got the overwhelming support of the populace. We are going to be reopening very slowly. Almost everyone seems to be wearing masks and seem embarrassed if they have one and forgot to put it on.

I don't always agree with him 100% of the time but he has a point that many of the surrounding counties are so connected to Cook County that they should be in the same section when it comes to reopening. Perhaps not all of them but most. I can understand that people are chomping at the bit to reopen but it's got to be done in a tactical, smart way.

>28 lindapanzo: That sounds like disaster in the making. Just take care of yourself. We cannot control how others behave. Communicate with others who agree with you. Stay safe. I really don’t trust others. When social distancing was first ordered in Maryland, I saw from videos that people were not following it, and they were walking against arrows in grocery stores. While out walking now, I see more people without masks than with masks. These people think they’re invincible. I know that my husband and I are vulnerable. This granny is not yet ready to die for someone else to either have a haircut or have a drink with their friends in a bar. These are people who feel so entitled. It is shameful.

From the pictures I've seen, and from observing the parties in my neighborhood, there is a large percentage of the population who doesn't believe a pandemic exists. Pure and simple. It's very hard for me to understand that way of thinking. If the virus were actual insects floating through the air and sticking to surfaces, then people would notice, otherwise, it's just like a boogeyman who should be ignored.

Awfully quiet around here. Hope that's a good sign and people are OK.

One more week and most of Illinois, except for Chicago, will be opening up substantially. My new motto is: Just because it's open, it doesn't mean I have to join them. We intend to carry on as we have. I have no desire to sit outside to dine. Maybe later in the summer.

My sister called and wants to make plans for all of us to go out to dinner for my birthday June 13 as we do every year. I told her we'll have to wait and see. The idea doesn't appeal right now.

>37 SqueakyChu: Although the hospitalization rates from covid-19 are going down in Maryland, the numbers diagnosed are going up which I think has resulted from more people being tested. I actually went out to walk today, walking for less than a mile, but I felt more comfortable being outside. My own zip code, though, has double the covid-19 rates than it did last week.

I, too, plan no big changes to what I’ve been doing up until now with the exception of slowly reopening my Little Free Library. My county is still a hot spot so I have to think about how to do this carefully.

My husband is still making masks and scrub caps. He’s getting really good at it!

Hope everyone is remaining well. I helped Mom with her annual wellness exam, via telehealth yesterday, and the doctor told her "just because everything is reopening, you have to keep safe and don't have to go to everything that is reopening.

We got a cryptically-worded message from the worldwide CEO. The final return to work date is expected to be by Sept 27 but the tricky part is that it is due to local rules and conditions. We don't know exactly what that means but it does seem longer than expected.

>38 lindapanzo: Wow, September. That sounds wonderful to me. I'm again fearing that I might have to go back to in person interviews on the 1st, but I haven't heard anything yet. Fingers crossed that I'm wrong.

>39 Citizenjoyce: I will have to take into account my own health and situation and the fact that I am in the same household with two elderly people.

I had my chest CT scan and it went smoothly. Have to have my temp taken to get through the door and it was my usual normal, 97.8. They brought registration paperwork out to me and I used my own pen.

One funny thing is that, when the tech called "Linda," some other woman claimed to be Linda as did I. However, the other Linda didn't pass the last name and birth date test. Frankly, to me, she looked older than 59, too.

ETA: Just heard my local library is reopening. Small steps. Starting June 1, can start returning books. Then, starting June 8, can do curbside pick up of books I've reserved. No inter-library loan at first though. This makes me surprisingly happy though.

No one is paying any more attention to the coronavirus! In my country (the USA) and the world over people are protesting the intentional tragic murder of George Floyd, a black man pinned down by a Minnesota police officer for trying to pass a forged $20 check. The violence and destruction following this episode has been horrible. All of the protests have started out as peaceful, but I'm wondering if there are certain "elements" within these crowds who are not protesters at all, but rather "others" with different intentions. One thing that finally gives me hope is that I finally see a backlash at a grassroots level to the moral corruption of my country. In the crowds of people, who were not held back by the threat of coronavirus, most of those I saw were masked.

I'm a product of the 60s. I also marched with friends, black and white, for racial justice, albeit at that time without masks or the threat of falling ill with an untreatable virus infection. I'm high risk now due to my age, but, if I weren't, I'd be out there with the crowds...maybe doing a bit more social distancing, though.

In my state of Maryland, we are in phase 1 of reopening but taking things very slowly because we are still a hot spot. My own county is remaining closed until we have better stats. In the near future, I have no intention of changing what I've been doing until now. I want to stay healthy, and I want to stay alive.

My anxiety at first turned into despair, but, despite the tragedies of this past week, I see a glimmer of hope in the future. I really do. We know a bit more about the virus so we know how to protect ourselves and our families if we want to. We have a just causes to fight for in my country. We will have a good outcome eventually.

I worry about my greater city of Washington. DC. which I love, and my hometown of Baltimore which I am growing fonder of as I age. We have a relative who is a police officer in Baltimore who is a great guy, and we want him to stay safe.

I'm hoping and praying that the protests will have a satisfactory outcome and that the coronavirus infections will continue to diminish despite the crowds of people coming together this past week.

How are things where you live?

>41 SqueakyChu: What they are finding out, especially with the curfew, is that a majority of the violence is being done by people from out of town, if not out of state.

>42 Morphidae: You know, Morphy, I was guessing that last night. I'm glad my thoughts came out to be true. Things started to seem suspicious when what I saw on Twitter videos today from various cities were mostly white people committing the acts of vandalism. That is not black anger! I am hoping that with the current facial recognition technology and the widespread use of cell phone videos that these troublemakers/criminals will be identified and prosecuted, even though most were probably masked.

Russia is glorying in the violence, but I do see a glimmer of hope that the message that black lives matter is getting through. Maybe we'll go through this fire to get to some healing.

I’ve seen literally hundreds of videos and photos of what I think of as the unexpected. Whites defacing and looting. Even one of police trashing their own police vehicle. I don’t know what to think. I think quite a bit of this is being done by outside anarchist groups.

One thing is for certain is that the HD in my sister’s upscale area, the one where my teen niece and nephew work, had to close early. I was shocked but relieved that they are home and safe.

>39 Citizenjoyce: Fingers crossed for you! I just found out today that our store is reopening to the public on June 15th and I'm nervous about it.

>41 SqueakyChu: We had some rioting Saturday in San Francisco. It was nothing as bad as some other cities - "just" property damage and theft - but as a result we went under an 8pm curfew the next night. I haven't always been the biggest fan of our mayor, but I'm glad that she's been very pro-active the past few months.

We're all about a protest here, so there've been some already, with more organized efforts being planned for the weekend. If the pandemic wasn't happening, I'd be out there, but I'm still too nervous. My husband wants to go. I'd rather he didn't and he won't if I ask him not to, but I want him to do what he feels is right. We're not young'uns or in the most fantastic shape, but we aren't in the highest-risk groups.

I'm still home for a while. Now my next fear is that I'll have to go back for a different survey the 14th. My fingers are aching from all the crossing.
Even without the virus, I wouldn't be at the protests. Well, maybe in the day time, certainly not at night. Things are rough around here.

I am heartbroken oven what happened in Washington, DC, my beloved city. Tear gas grenades and rubber bullets were targeted at PEACEFUL protesters so the (not my) president could have a photo op at a church. That act speaks volumes. I fully support peaceful protests. I do not support violence, vandalism, or looting in any way. There are better ways to address anger, but I still believe most of the vandals and looters were most likely not the protesters.

In my county, we are having ongoing peaceful protests in many cities and neighborhoods. I am grateful for support of everyone the world over. I pity my falling-apart country and fear for its future. I will continue to support the moral high road without wavering.

Well, the coronavirus is hardly making the news any more. The news near me is mostly now about racism and police brutality--with good reason. These are heavy topics, and I invite you to share your feelings here about these other topics as well. I have found that this group has been great support to me so far this year, and I hope you have felt likewise. Feel free to talk about what weighs heavily on you if you feel others can support you in any way.

Going forward, I'll continue this thread, but under another name. I like having a place to talk to all of you about topics that are not always about the TIOLI challenges. May I have your suggestion(s) for what to call our TIOLI "talk" thread?

Sadly, I learned yesterday about a friend's brother, in his 40s, who was stricken by covid-19, hospitalized for 18 days, put on a ventilator, given hydroxychoroquine and later released. I'm not sure I believe that about the medication 100 percent, although I'm not about to question the individual who related the story to me.

Here in Maryland our covid-19 numbers are improving, but we have had demonstrations in many cities. We'll know for sure by the end of next week if all of the demonstrations will have an adverse effect on the covid-19 stats. People were mostly wearing masks, but on films I saw, they were shouting, singing, and walking closely together for extended periods of time.

I am so tired of living like this. I took a walk today in the park and went past the playground. There was a big, red, sign clearly stating that the playground was closed and that no one should touch the gym equipment. And yet...there were parents pushing their children on swings and teens or young adults also playing on the equipment. Whether or not the equipment can be dangerous for contaminating people didn't disturb me as much as the people showing a complete disregard for the measures that had been put in place to stop the spread of covid 19.

Regarding the Black Lives Matter demonstrations, I was proud of the towns in Suburban Maryland (north of Washington, DC) which demonstrated peacefully. I'm especially proud of my own diverse city of Rockville for its peaceful demonstration. Were I not high risk, I would have been marching with them.

I heard a professor on Rachel Maddow tonight say that his studies have shown that the shutdown likely saved 60 million people from becoming infected, and from the beginning it seemed people were complaining about these life-saving measures.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/08/shutdowns-prevented-60-million-...

>50 Citizenjoyce: I heard that too. Also heard that some states that reopened have had huge spikes in COVID cases. Arizona, for instance. Here, in Illinois, a month ago, we'd have 2,500+ new cases every day and 150+ deaths, typically. Now, it's more like 700 to 800 new cases and 40 deaths each day. I suspect that our numbers could go up after the protests but I do note, at least in my county and in my sister's, almost all of the protesters wore masks and were at a social distance.

Things are starting to reopen. I have let down my guard just a tad, but cautiously. I got my hair cut on Sunday (our admin at work, who lives alone, moonlights as a hair stylist at a salon). Oh happy day. Then I went to visit my sister the rest of the day. We sat inside without masks but at a distance. BIL cooked out and we ate and talked. It was nice to get away for awhile and so somewhat normal things (no hugs, though, just an elbow bump).

Now, we've got our neighbor, a tradesman, and his son, ripping out our old bathtub and putting in a new walk-in shower. We're not going near them but I can watch them work at a distance (and, if so inclined, they can watch me work, but there's a lot more going on with theirs).

This is my first time posting in the thread, including the first part, I think. Almost no one I've known offline asks how I'm doing, and few people do online regularly. I feel that I'm out of practice with that kind of self-assessment.

How are things going for you?

Every member of my household who was alive in January remains alive. We continue to have an income (from work outside the home, but it's an income), have a house to live in, and have the use of utilities. We have lost power, the A/C (while the electricity was running), and the use of plumbing several times during the pandemic but have been able to get repairs done.

Allowing the A/C repair guys in the house was a little scary, though. The company needed prodding to come up with safety protocols. I refused to let any of the employees inside unless they wore masks and minimized contact.

What are you doing to cope?

Pester people and state agencies about taking the pandemic seriously. That's been a struggle, but I can't cope by hunkering down and staying silent.

A Black Lives Matter protest was held in a nearby city at the city hall. A friend was able to attend. Almost everyone was fully masked and spread out in the plaza. The police left them alone, and other workers in the judiciary system made their racist rants online (which was actually called out in a way that forced the racists out of the elections!). A few people had LGBT+ Pride signs off to the side, which is also a big show of resistance against the hate that's common around here. I was grateful for the event, though I couldn't participate in person.

I did break quarantine for Election Day earlier this month. That was an experience. Supposedly, I voted. Who knows if my votes counted. At least I wasn't much sicker afterward than I usually am.

Have things eased up a bit, or are they even harder now? How has your city, county. state, country responded to what is going on? Do you agree or disagree with what is being done in your jurisdiction?

I'm not as anxious as I was three months ago, when we had the greatest opportunities to drastically save lives, not only in this year but in the next decade. There's a familiarity to the situation now that's not so strongly linked to traumatic conflicts in my early childhood.

However, evil and negligent people continue to be evil and negligent, even if it's not with the same confidence as before. (ETA: I'm in the SE USA.)

Viral spread in my area is out of control. Hospitals in the state are filling up again. State reports show daily signs of manipulation to hide cases. Testing is difficult to get outside a few, major cities. Most of people outside and in stores act as if SARS-CoV-2 is no longer a concern.

The {expletive} returning to their regular lives after attending Donald Trump's celebrity tour this week will certainly worsen our health crisis.

I wish everyone in my family could get food delivery and work from home. We are fortunate for what we have, yet all of us have immune deficiencies.

I also wish we had trustworthy healthcare providers within driving distance. We're planning on driving upstate this summer for healthcare I shouldn't continue to put off. The risks are scary. Discrimination and unsafe practices were common before the pandemic; I doubt the medical practitioners are providing better care than before. I try not to think too much about what I can't yet act against.

>49 SqueakyChu: How are you feeling now, weeks after your last update here?

>49 SqueakyChu: I'm feeling drained. Every day brings new worries. Today a close family member expressed that she was not feeling well. Every time I hear that, you know what I'm thinking. My anxiety level waxes and wanes. My county in Maryland is in part two of stage 2 of opening up. The opening up is not the problem. It's the noncompliance with CDC guidelines of the public that is. I read that the count in my state has gone up again today. This is so endless. I am exhausted by the out-of-control pandemic, the malevolent, corrupt federal government, and the racial unrest. The hardest part is that, with all of this going on, we cannot or dare not be near those who mean the most to us.

On my bad days, I feel like I just described. On my better days, I'm able to distract myself by cooking and baking. Every day is like every other day. I am not entertained by television or podcasts or Zoom because of problems with my vision and hearing. I spend too much time reading on my phone. resulting in headaches and stiff neck. I'm trying to stop that dependency and have started doing neck exercises. I feel sad most of the time, although I'm not home alone nor do I have to go out to work as I'm retired,

I don't ask for much. I just want my old world back minus the racial inequities.

It's been a while and I thought I'd provide an update from here in New Zealand.

My son who was living in Auckland had transitioned to working from home, and once people were able to travel between districts he came to our house (a 5-hour drive north) to stay for 5 weeks. His company had a lot of connectivity problems with their VPN and that made it stressful for him in that his plans to stay for that period of time could be interrupted at any time.

On his first day with us, the schools fully opened and I went to work. It was May 18th, and New Zealand had had no new cases for 7 days.

We enjoyed a full 7 days of no active cases in the country, but this past week people returning to New Zealand from around the world began testing positive, and there are now 11 active cases.

The first 2 weeks of school, students were met at the door of each classroom with hand sanitizer, and desks were disinfected between classes. Some physical distancing in classrooms was somewhat possible because not all students immediately returned to school. Once restrictions were lifted (with the exception of 2-week isolation of those entering the country), most students returned to school and physical distancing is no longer possible. Now the only real difference in schools pre- and post-COVID is that the drinking fountains have been taken out of service so bottled water is provided for students and staff.

The students in the school where I work are aged 13-18. They are unable to keep themselves from touching each other, eating after each other, or getting in one another's "moist breath zone". Schools WILL BE coronavirus breeding grounds if it is present in the community.

I feel it is only a matter of time before something somewhere breaks out, either staff in the hotels where those returning are being isolated or community transmission from someone whose isolation was shortened for compassionate reasons. Until then, behavior has largely reverted to what it was pre-coronavirus. The senior "prom" is scheduled for the end of July, and sports teams have begun practicing and playing.

I am trying to enjoy each day as I can because I know at some point it could all go to hell and we might be back where we were in mid-April when the entire country was locked down.

I just got word from my supervisor that kits of PPE are being mailed to us. There's no definite word that we'll be doing in person interviews in July, but it looks that way. I had to go into a store for the first time in 3 months to buy a new phone and felt uncomfortable the whole time. I don't know if I'll continue working if I have to go to people's homes.

>55 Citizenjoyce: That is such a difficult decision to have to make, especially with no clear knowledge of which direction the covid-19 outbreaks will be going. It so depends on every individual to take personal responsibility - which is not happening consistently. *sigh*

We all got a brief survey today asking if we would be willing to do in-person interviews and if we will be willing to travel. I replied that I am not comfortable doing in-person interviews. and I will not travel. Then I got my assignment for next month including 4 personal visits to homes in a state that is spiking severely. I guess we'll see what happens.

>57 Citizenjoyce: Yikes! If they were not going to be affected by your response, what was the point of doing the survey in the first place?! That makes absolutely no sense to me.

I have a big issue with businesses who rule over lives of others. That does come from my history of being "let go" without notice by my job into forced retirement after almost forty years at the same agency. It's so easy for some business owners to take advantage of employees. Now I see workers being forced into situations which could be life-threatening due to COVID-19, but having little recourse because of the need for a paycheck. The whole situation the world over is heart-breaking.

>58 SqueakyChu: Sheesh!

>58 SqueakyChu: Fortunately, that is all history now as it happened in 2013. My only consolation at that time was that my husband was in his own business, and no one else could ever do that to him. Of course, he can’t work at all now because of COVID-19, but we both do get retirement checks. He is a concrete contractor and works by himself. It has been really sad to hear him turning down jobs. He likes to keep busy. As joint issues set into his aging bones, he no longer did roof jobs (chimney repair) or kneeling jobs, and pretty much picked small and easy things to do. This year, though, we’ll probably be paying more in taxes and insurance than he made. I’m hoping things will improve after there’s a vaccine so that he can go back to what he likes to do. In the meantime, he’s been sewing masks and scrub caps and building birdbaths. :D

>60 SqueakyChu: My son is an electrician with his own small business. He's taken the stay at home time to pretty much remodel all of the insides of his home, which is pretty exciting. In the past few weeks, he's taken on some jobs outside. He always wears a mask and practices social distancing. The tragedy is that the economy took such a big hit because of the lockdown, but not everyone closed down and too many areas opened too soon, so we've done all that suffering for nothing. The only thing that might make us able to reopen is mask wearing, testing, and contact tracing. The same people who ruined the lockdown are making sure to ruin the opening up. When are we going to work together to control this disease?

>61 Citizenjoyce: We are never going to work together to control this disease.
This problem has been exacerbated by the American leadership making mask-wearing and virus control a political issue, but I'm not going there as I'm filled with too much rage about that.

I feel that there are too many people who feel entitled and care not a bit about others. That will be the downfall of getting through this pandemic. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. *sigh*

I actually had someone (a person in a high risk group, I might add) tell me the other day that the government had no right to tell her she couldn't go out and eat in a restaurant. She might not choose to go, but no one should be able to tell her she couldn't, because she was an American. Sheesh.

Need I mention she wasn't wearing a mask?

>63 Dejah_Thoris: I think that people who react this way are in denial about the fact that they are threatening and risking the lives of others by their behavior. If what they are doing only affected them and their own loved ones, I'd say fine. Do it. However, I don't want my OWN life threatened by the behavior of others. I have no control over others. They ignore or protest against state or local governments telling them what to do. There is no central science-based federal leadership regarding the pandemic. What I see around me is utter chaos to which each state is reacting differently. I cannot recognize my own country. It's beneath shameful.

Phase 4 starts here in Illinois today and I hope our numbers continue to plummet. It's rare that I see anyone in a store without a mask and, if they are sans mask, they tend to be embarrassed about it. Failing to social distance is rare, too, and usually followed by an apology.

The governor posted info yesterday and, while I realized that our new case numbers and deaths each day are down, I truly did not realize how far down they are. (I haven't been paying much attention to the daily numbers lately) Daily confirmed numbers down 65% from our peak. Case positivity numbers down 89% from our peak 3 months ago. The number of COVID patients in the hospital down 65% from the peak 8 weeks ago and fatalities down 65% from our peak 6 weeks ago.

That said, restaurants are opening indoors but at 50% capacity today so are theaters etc. Not for me. I haven't even eaten outdoors unless there's been no one at all on a patio. In fact, while they can open up indoors, a few places I've asked at said they don't think they're ready to do so yet. One, in fact, said it didn't feel right to even open outdoors.

So, while I appreciate Pritzker's caution in reopening, and love the fact that he held his own against all those members of the other party who wanted a fast reopening, many people are far more cautious than even he is.

>65 lindapanzo: Great news. Enjoy gradually getting back to normalcy. I went to the post office today, second visit to a business in 3 months, and they are enforcing the mask mandate, but many folk wear their masks just covering their mouths.

It is a strange feeling to be (mostly) living my life as I did before coronavirus, knowing that this is not true for most of the world, including my family and friends in the US.

We are on a 2-week holiday from school. Three days into the holiday, I developed fever, swollen glands, nasal congestion, sore throat, hard dry cough, shortness of breath, chest pain. Made my long-suffering husband take me to the emergency department.

I was terrified, not so much that I had COVID-19, but of the knowledge that if I did that we had a severe outbreak in our small rural community.

I kept running through in my mind all the kids that gave me hugs on the last day of term, that I had helped with assessments and assignments in the past week, that I had stood with in a packed line to order from the canteen.

In the end, the ED doctor did not test me. My chest x-ray was "pristine" and he saw no need. He also insisted that I remove the mask I had worn to the hospital to show he was not afraid of getting whatever I had. Sent me home with 3 days worth of prednisone to help with the shortness of breath.

Stay safe. Be kind. Wear a mask.

>67 jeanned: How terrifying! I’m relieved that you’re okay.

We here in the US are resisting our president’s push to get all the schools to open up in September. This, while every day, my country is setting a new record for covid-19 cases. We are living in a horror show with no central coherent plant for how to get out of it. I am staying home and doing nothing different. I still am cancelling all non urgent medical appointments. The only people I will visit are my children, using distance and masks for protection. This is a living nightmare.

Delurking here to post this. It's really very good and explains the benefit of masks. Masks are now mandatory in my city in all public indoor spaces.

The science behind cloth masks, and why they work, made visible. Please pass this along, it's well worth it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tp0zB904Mc

>67 jeanned: Wow, he had you remove your mask. Amazing! That shows the difference between the US and New Zealand. Here that would be considered a ridiculous political statement. I guess there it's just realistic.

>69 jessibud2: Thanks for posting that, Shelley. It was an excellent video!

The nightmare goes on. The USA numbers are climbing every day. I'm not opposed to reopening. I am opposed to the entertainment venues across the nation that have reopened where individuals demonstrate no caring or restraint. I had a discussion with my husband about this. He says that in the USA people have "rights". My opinion is that no one in my country should have the right to put someone ELSE in harm's way. Irresponsible behavior by someone else could be a death sentence for me or someone I love.

With that said, another very close family member of mine has been exposed to covid-19 at work...so now it's a matter of waiting for a test and test results. It's hard to remain optimistic in all of this.

My husband and I did go out for pleasure today for the first time in four months. We went to the skateboard park to watch my grandson play on his wheeled vehicles (bike, skateboard). We hung out at a distance with my son's family and my daughter-in-law's family on separate blankets. The day was beautiful in weather and in spirit. But my soul is worried and sad.

>72 SqueakyChu: I'm glad you got out to enjoy the weather.
I have no doubt that our entertainment venues opened too early, but like many states, we face a problem. Our state budget has taken an enormous hit. trump and McConnell have no desire to help states out financially in any way, so what are we to do? We've tried reopening, and there is the usual number of no-maskers spreading their spit everywhere they go, so our numbers are spiking. It's a dilemma. I stay in my house and hope I won't have to do personal interviews this month. I think it looks safe for me at this time.

Even Illinois is inching up again. For a long time, everyone was wearing masks. But, on Saturday, we had lunch reservations to sit outside along the river to celebrate my father's 84th birthday. As we arrived, it just started to rain. They seated our party of six inside but far, far away from everyone else. I was exasperated that 3/4 of the people going in were not wearing masks. It is a much more Republican county than mine so maybe that explains it. On the way out, I mentioned to the owner that, while we love her restaurant and plan to come back if we can sit outside, we will not be back if we have to dine inside. She said that, despite the mask order, she feels she can't force her patrons to wear a mask.

That's a common view. My nephew said that the management of his retail store told them that, if they see customers without masks, they should steer clear of them but not say anything. Too many people going crazy when confronted.

That said, today, we had "only" 6 deaths. Much better than close to 200. But we are eager for no deaths for a long stretch. I worry about all of us but definitely worry about my niece who will be on her campus in Indiana in just about a month. She is a health sciences major and should know what to do but I am most worried about her. Thankfully, her sorority house will remain under remodeling construction this school year so that's out. She'll be in a 4-bedroom suite with 7 other girls.

>74 lindapanzo: The enforcement of mask-wearing is very difficult when people are so crazy. That's why I don't go into business, whatever the law, weird people do what they want. I hope your family will stay healthy.

>75 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce. I have a telephone "visit" with my pulmonologist tomorrow and I'm hoping she can give me the best tips. She was interviewed on the radio last week about the virus. Alas, I didn't heard about it til afterwards and can't find a recording, though I did see pictures.

The virus is bringing out the best and the worst of people. We have our second haircut this Sunday. Usually, we go to a particular coffee shop-type restaurant afterwards and we might do so this month, if they have outdoor dining. Just read in the suburban paper that, at 1:45 in the morning, a woman drove up to the restaurant and stole all the outside flowers he'd put out to welcome people back. When people heard, regulars donated more flowers than he had before and someone started a go fund me account that has raised over $300 for flowers for him.

I ordered the new Mary Trump book on Kindle. It arrived overnight and I hope to get started on it soon. I'd vowed never to read any book about him but, after hearing Rachel Maddow talk about it last week, I definitely want to read it.

>76 lindapanzo: - at 1:45 in the morning, a woman drove up to the restaurant and stole all the outside flowers he'd put out to welcome people back. What is wrong with people? I will never understand that mentality. I hope he had a security camera and that they find the person who did this and make her do community service. Sheesh. I am also curious about the book. If I can get it from my library, I will give it a go. I don't want to give a penny to anyone whose last name is t-Rump, even if she is not *on his side*.

>77 jessibud2: I know, right? Who does that? Fortunately, they have a video of her car pulling up and the woman herself furtively grabbing the flowers. Not a close up or head on but maybe someone will recognize her or her vehicle. I hope they catch her.

>76 lindapanzo: I'm on the waiting list at my library. It'll be months before I get it.

>79 Citizenjoyce: I think the author is on Rachel Maddow tonight. Her first major interview.

It's been quite some time since anyone posted so I'm hoping that this means all are well.

I am very troubled by the fact that a local kid is the vigilante who killed those protestors in Kenosha. Small town life and all means that everyone knows something about him. He was a lifeguard at Mom's Y for instance and, since he was an avid Trump supporter, I'm thinking that it's a good thing he never heard Mom spout off about Trump. A co-worker has a school connection. His small town is crawling with news trucks and brought a notoriety to our quiet area that we don't want. We're horrified by what one of ours has done.

>81 lindapanzo: Having a grandson who is a trump supporter (I'm hoping this will change) and who has gone through his own turbulent teenage years to come out healthy and in the Air Force, my heart goes out to this boy who has literally ended the lives of others and figuratively ended his own. What is in store for him? A life in prison where he can cozy up to white supremacists and feed his misguided hatred? Can this boy be saved? I don't know how.
And on a personal note, I found out yesterday that my in-person interviews will resume starting September 5. Every bit of me is recoiling at this change in my life.

>82 Citizenjoyce: Sorry to hear that, Joyce. I was just starting to think about our return to work date of Sept 27th when they moved it back to mid-January. Since we all doubt that we'd be going back to work in the middle of winter, we're thinking maybe it'll be spring of 2021. I actually don't mind going back but only a day or two a week for me, if I can help it.

Unfortunately, my closest friend at work moved back to St Louis right before this all hit but it would be nice to see some of the others if our schedules ever overlap again. I met one friend a few months ago for a parking lot conversation and our admin who moonlights as a hair stylist is the just about the only other co-worker I've seen. One friend at work has to take two buses and a train to get to the office and has a husband with severe asthma so we're doubting we'll ever see her again.

As for the kids in my life, the 19 year old niece (who just went back for her sophomore year of college in person and then a few days later they shifted to remote learning for a few weeks due to an outbreak, limiting them to their dorm rooms, the dining halls, and the outside...ugh) and my 17-year old nephew, the HS senior, seem to be quite liberal.

I just learned yesterday that a friend of mine whom I haven't seen in person since before the pandemic started had covid-19. She is kindly sharing her experiences with her friends so we can learn from her. She has no idea how she contracted it. She had been sick for four months, and no doctors would agree that she had been infected because she had three tests which came out negative over the course of this past four months. Even her pulmonologist poo-pooed the idea of her having covid-19, although in the end she sustained pulmonary and cardiac damage. She recently tested antigen positive so she indeed did have it. I'm hoping and praying for a complete recovery for her, but there is still so much we do not know about this virus. My friend's family and college age daughter were not infected.

A previous work colleague of my husband's just called him the other day to see how he is. This friend is a construction worker. He does not know how he contracted the virus. His wife and two sons were also infected. He was stricken the worst and spent a month in the hospital on oxygen, but not on a ventilator.

In Maryland our counts are lower than in some other states, but this is not the time to let down our guard.

My grandson starts second grade this September, but it will be at home, at least through the first semester. I know this is difficult all around, but I want our children and school personnel to be safe.

>84 SqueakyChu: Homeschooling is very hard on parents. It's quite a dilemma for families that need two paychecks, but you have to do whatever you can to keep your children safe.

>84 SqueakyChu: - Wow, that is so worrisome, Madeline. That your friend could have had covid and still have had 3 negative tests. That tells me that the testing still needs a lot of improving before it can be truly reliable. I am grateful beyond belief that I am retired because I would be very concerned about returning to the classroom. Things here are still so up in the air over how it will look and guidance from the government and school boards seem to change daily. Our schools usually begin after Labour Day (Sept 8 this year) but have already been pushed back a week, to the 15th. And still, it's hard to imagine what it will actually look like. I worry for school bus drivers, too, among others. No way, really, to *distance* on a school bus full of kids.

What a world we are living in right now.

I tested for COVID-19 for the first time. The result was negative, and that's probably true. I went because state-approved testing became available in my city for the first time, plus I've been out in public for voting and a funeral, both of which included unmasked people refusing to keep away.

Sadly, testing has decreased again despite increased availability. All of our schools have confirmed COVID-19 cases among the children, but the response has largely been that families should stop testing and continue taking their children to school, with or without masks or ensuring that other safety precautions address maintained.

My child is homeschooled, alone, because group schooling around here hasn't ever been safe. (Is it a really a surprise schools and religious study groups that regularly beat young children as punishment, condone sexual assault against female students of all ages, and ignore special needs don't care about preventing viral spread? No, no, it's not.)

>81 lindapanzo: I'm sorry that young shooter put your town in that situation. Of course, what happened to all protest and their loved ones was horrible, too.

Here, I'm watching (and carefully drawing attention to) locals try to cover up racism in the courts and prison while prosecutors from elsewhere in the state file protests and inmates try to get attention about unsafe conditions in the pandemic.

Our world wasn't great before. It's not good now.

I am grateful for the protection I can give my family at this time.

>85 Citizenjoyce: Since I posted yesterday, our governor said that schools in Maryland can reopen, This news has very much upset my older son, who works in for the tech department of our county's school system.

>86 jessibud2: We need to consider EVERY person infected. Tests are not 100% reliable , and we do not know exactly when we become infected and for how long we can transmit the disease. So much is not known.

The county in which I live has the kids doing virtual schooling the first quarter. My techie older son in the school system helped give out the chromebooks for the kids. He has some health issues, but we gave him some masks that my husband made and which I trust (as they are made of quilting cotton with a layer of Pellon interfacing for better filtering). He actually liked doing this as he said it got him out of the house.

In Israel , the kids returned to school when the Covid-19 numbers went down, and then they had a HUGE surge in cases. That was so unnecessary. I know that kids do better in and need the schools, but to me their LIVES and SAFETY of the children. their families, and the school personnel come first. I have no doubt we will see a surge in cases when our kids go back to school in the same way we saw a huge surge when the businesses in Maryland reopened, We have a niece who is a driver for our county's school buses. This week she had been transporting food for families in the school bus she drives.

>87 aspirit: I am grateful for the protection I can give my family at this time.

Despite everything, I try to be grateful for small things. The huge picture of what is happening around me is too overwhelming.

One thing I'm NOT grateful for is that I've developed tinnitus which I blame on the pandemic. My hearing aids broke, and I was too scared to be fitted for new ones. That is until the tinnitus got me, which I think was a result of not wearing any hearing aids. The brain does weird things -- like sending the sound of the roaring Niagara Falls crashing through my brain. I've worn hearing aids for over twenty years, but this is the first time I've ever experienced anything like this. and it is terrible!

I was suffering so much that I started the process of getting new hearing aids at a different company because my long-time audiologist suddenly lost her job mid-June and was replaced THE NEXT DAY by a hearing aid dispenser! We were told by her company that she was no longer with them, and they had no idea where she was or what happened to her! She's a friend of mine so I contacted her in a different way and found out what happened. She, too, is now looking for a new job as she needs the income. *Sigh* So miserable.

>88 SqueakyChu: Almost all of the Catholic schools around here have reopened for in person (though they provide a choice). Most of the public schools planned to reopen at least part time in person but most backed off.

No hockey yesterday and no Cubs so I thought I'd just read until the remaining HS swim mom I know (her daughter was a sophomore when my niece was a senior) told me they were having their first meet. I was curious to see how it'd operate in a time of COVID, especially since girls swimming is about the only HS sport allowed this fall, in addition to cross country, so I watched their You Tube feed.

Very interesting. Practices are staggered I understand, with no more than two girls per lane. At the meet, no spectators whatsoever, just swimmers, coaches, officials, and one announcer. The state announced no relays so, instead, each leg of the relay was a separate heat and all times added together. Instead of alternating a JV heat and a varsity heat, JV swam all their races then after a lengthy disinfection, varsity swam all their races. Only dual meets (one HS team against another) and no invitationals or large meets.

Since they're at home all the time, the friend's daughters are thrilled to see their teammates at practice and at meets but the senior is hugely disappointed that she'll be missing out on all the off-time team events. No beach trip because the Chicago beaches are closed. No Senior Night bc parents aren't allowed in. No pasta parties or sleepovers. No state finals.

Since I wrote here yesterday, I learned that a member of my husband's family is now recuperating from covid -19. I have no further information, but it's hitting too close to home now.

>90 lindapanzo: So much fun is taken out of the swim team experience. It's all so sad.

>91 SqueakyChu: Oh no!! Sorry to hear about your husband's family member.

We've had some family with medical issues (appendectomy needed and chemo for my sister's MIL after lung cancer at Mayo (she is not doing well after chemo)), but the only person I know with COVID is a friend of a friend, a woman I haven't seen since about this time last year. Thankfully, she got over it in 2 or 3 weeks.

My other bit of good news is that a friend who lives in Texas, not far from where Laura came ashore, checked in to say that she and her grandson are OK, albeit shaken, but they aren't sure about their house yet.

Yes much of the fun is gone but, for now, I think the swimmers are happy to be seeing other kids and competing. I think that, as the season wears on, the upperclassmen will start to miss some of the special events.

The other athlete I'll be following is the midshipman. I think he'll be doing cross-country and track.

Such difficult choices people are being forced to make right now. And of course in some cases, there's really not much of a choice. >82 Citizenjoyce: I'm sorry you have to resume your in-person interviews. It's so scary being forced into situations that feel unsafe. This week I had to decide between walking 30 minutes to work in very unhealthy air (due to all the CA fires) or getting on a bus for the first time since March. The first morning I walked, and the air affected me so badly that I braved a bus on the way home. Of course it was too full to maintain distance and quite a few people weren't wearing masks or were wearing them incorrectly so I felt scared the whole time. Not seeing an end to this is depressing me more and more. I was a few days away from a visit to my sister and littlest nephews in March when SIP started. I'd never gone even 5 months without seeing them their whole lives (they're 7 and 10) and now it's been almost 10 months. Worried for my sister trying to keep them safe in a Trump-loving, masks-infringe-on-our-rights-county. Worried for my mom who I haven't seen since February. She moved out of state to stay with my brother during this crisis and her new landlord used the opportunity to evict her from the place she's rented for 33 years. She wasn't ready for the finality of this move. She just turned 83 and is now feeling like her freedom is gone and that with not being able to visit her family there isn't much left to look forward to. Everyone is experiencing such loss and fear. How do you keep functioning?

>93 madhatter22: Such sad stories from everyone, but especially about your mom. I was wondering the same thing. I'm in my seventies. Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life? What kind of country/world am I leaving my children and grandchildren in?

I was not alive during WWII. I was active in the protest movements of the sixties, but I've never seen so much hatred, suffering, and agony as I'm seeing now. This is all compounded by the pandemic which keeps people isolated from one another. It's just these people who, in other times. would be our closest support.

How do you keep functioning?
For me, I try to always text my immediate family members and closest friends at the onset of every Sabbath. I use my book projects to keep me occupied as well as jigsaw puzzling and baking or cooking. If I closely focus on something at hand, it keeps my mind off everything worse...but for a while only. I miss my family and friends. I want to hug and kiss my grandchildren. I want to have people in for dinner. I want to travel to see my friends. Will I ever be able to do those things again? I truly do not know.

>93 madhatter22: In books we frequently see our hero having to choose between two bad actions. We feel for the character and hope everything turns out all right. Maybe those little minor pieces of empathy prepare us for our own bad situations. There's a character in a book I'm reading, Casimir from The Stars Are Legion, who is the eternal optimist. Oh, adventure - fun; strange characters don't really want to hurt us, they're just misguided or frightened; of course we're going to get where we want to go; science solves everything. I really love her because she's the exact opposite of myself. I heard someone in the trump administration say yesterday that we're all going to get the virus eventually. I'm at a loss as to how to deal with this attitude from those who should be trying to find a way to help us. So I guess I'm just going to snuggle down in Casimir and hope everything turns out well for her.

What I'm most worried about is Trump's plan to permanently end payroll taxes. Which means that by 2023, we'd have NO income. Worried isn't the word. How about terrified? And please don't just say it couldn't happen unless you can give logical reasons. There have been too many things that's been said about and they DID happen, over and over.

>96 Morphidae: One thing we’ve learned by now is not to say “it couldn’t happen.”

>96 Morphidae: I've been terrified for quite a while, and the possible loss of social security income which is keeping us afloat terrifies me even more. Not to mention all the years we, as workers, contributed to that fund. It really would be theft. I would never say "It can't happen" after what happened to my family during WWII. Anything could happen...anywhere.

>96 Morphidae: >98 SqueakyChu: I'm also very worried about it, currently, for 80-something parents who rely on it and, even though I'm probably 8 years from retirement, I hope, I'd be hugely disappointed to have paid into it for upwards of 40 years and get nothing in return. I tell friends who are Trump supporters and who are either on SS disability or getting retirement benefits that the Chief Actuary says the benefits won't last beyond mid 2023 if Trump is re-elected and they say he'd never do that to them. Wanna bet? Eliminating the payroll tax would be a huge savings for his corporate cronies.

What would most seniors do without Social Security income and Medicare?

Hope Election Day finds everyone well. Looking back at my comments during the summer, I can't believe how far Illinois has fallen. We were at 3% positivity rates during the summer and now we are approaching 10%. Worse yet, no one seems to care. Well, not no one but a very vocal minority wants everything opened up.

Feeling worried that we will never get over this.

It is very scary. Even in my own state of Maryland where I was starting to feel more comfortable, the virus is beginning to surge again. I think that people generally are not being careful enough. If they see someone who looks well and they know, that person is automatically considered covid-free. That's not necessarily true. We have to realize and understand that fully 40% of people who are infected are asymptomatic. We also need to understand that during the first 24 hours of infection, the disease is contagious, but the affected person will still test negative. We must assume that everyone who is not in our household bubble is infected.

This past week, I found out that a good friend is now in quarantine after possibly having been exposed to a person with covid-19. I also heard rom a friend who is a long-hauler who is still experiencing brain fog and bouts of exhaustion. She is six and a half months past active infection.

>101 SqueakyChu: I can't speak for COVID-19 patients but I do know from being hospitalized with pneumonia 3 years ago (amazingly), but sometimes the effects are forever or for at least a long time. I have a mentally challenging job and, of course, am an avid reader. The brain fog was horrible. I could work and I could read but, for a month later, all of my thinking and mental stuff took a lot longer than usual. Yes, exhaustion too.

My lungs, unfortunately, probably won't ever get better but I can live with where I am.

I remain scared to death that I will contract the virus and spread it to elderly parents. All three of us in our household would have trouble with it, I fear.

I've already voted but I worry about people standing in lines to vote today. Things can get very close, and I know there are people who delight in not wearing masks.

>102 lindapanzo: I hear you! I had pneumonia about 10 years ago and have been an asthmatic ever since. It only seems to get worse and when an attack hits it feels like someone is holding my head underwater.
We need a strong voice with a consistent message, a sort of scared straight, who isn't afraid to be disliked for the good of the people.
But I can't imagine how they could enforce mask wearing.

In trying to remain hopeful and optimistic I joined Morphidae in reading Barack Obama's little children's book Of Thee I Sing about the love he has for his daughters and the hope he has for their future. It may be possible to have this kind of humanity leading our nation again. It made me cry as it comforted me.

>105 Citizenjoyce: I went to sleep last night at midnight, feeling almost despondent. This morning, I was cautiously optimistic and thrilled about the late votes in Wisconsin in my old haunts. Now, increasingly optimistic.

Tonight, I plan to read and turn off the TV. Though I've sworn to do that all day today and haven't done very well with that, what with co-workers and other friends constantly, frantically saying, "put on channel xx or look at tweet from xx."

>106 lindapanzo: I'm feeling slightly better. Yesterday I spent in anxious, heartsick isolation and raw scraped nerves, making up for months of surface hope. I've been aware since 1972 how widely racist core values are disguised in "nice" people, and have even had to root out my own prejudices as far as I can detect them, but I hoped that the inner work I was doing was widely paralleled by other citizens of the USA. Apparently the effort has been much sparser than I expected.

>107 quondame: Yesterday was made much for me by my 84 year old Dem mother who was petrified that he'd be re-elected. I sat in another room. This am, I got up to go to the restroom and read more promising news out of Wisconsin and Michigan and I told her and she burst into tears she was so happy.

The whole election thing in the US has made me so physically anxious and upset. I have had that same lump in my stomach the other day that I had when I woke up in the middle of the night four years ago and found out who won the election then. Earlier today I felt hopeful, but tonight I'm anxious ahain. This anxiety is so pervasive that it's hard to imagine so many other people feeling exactly the same way.

>109 SqueakyChu: I Wonder if there’s been a big increase in antacid sales.

>109 SqueakyChu: Even I feel anxious about the elections in the USA.

And waiting for the COVID-test results from my father. He didn't feel well when I had him on the phone Monday, then he thought he got a cold. Wednesday he woke up with fever, and got himself tested. Results should be in within 48 hours.

ETA: My father just called, tested negative! *sigh of relief*
Now hoping for good reults in the USA election.

>109 SqueakyChu: Tuesday night I went to sleep in despair but work up Wednesday morning feeling much better after I read about Wisconsin and Michigan.

Last night, while I was a bit disturbed about the race tightening in Arizona, I am feeling much better about Pennsylvania and Georgia. (No idea what's up with Nevada)

Also quite miffed that my IL mail in vote has STILL not been counted. The nasty GOP trying to unseat my young Dem Congresswoman tried to claim victory but I suspect that, if my county hasn't counted my mail in vote, there are probably many others yet uncounted. I think the vote difference is 500 votes there. My friend whose son is at the Naval Academy is also heartsick by the results so far. This member of Congress nominated her son for the academy.

trump is supposed to be going to Nevada to speak this afternoon. He can't be going to get out the vote, so I guess he's going to officially sanction rioting and intimidation of vote counters. Our law and order president.

>111 FAMeulstee: Oh, what a scare, Anita. I am so relived that your dad tested negative. I hope he'll be fine shortly.

I am so anxious about the election that I don't watch or listen to the news any more. I have one friend who agreed to text me only good news. I find that helpful. The wait is agonizing.

>113 lindapanzo: Linda, what you are reporting is so disheartening.

>115 SqueakyChu: The counting continues and is going well. I think you can calm a little.
>111 FAMeulstee: How frightening. Good news for the results.
>113 lindapanzo: Here's hope that the counting will continue and your results will be positive.

>115 SqueakyChu: >116 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, the result was a big relieve.

Keeping my fingers crossed for positive election results.

Decision Desk HQ, a reputable source, called the race but it's infuriating that the networks won't do the same. Definite sense that the on-camera folks know it's over, as does nearly everyone else.

Went to sleep at midnight and got up at 3:30 am to follow the counts and catch all the latest.

I'm so relieved.

>118 lindapanzo: I'm really not getting sleep right now, but it's a happy insomnia.

The race hasn't been called yet so I still have that lump in my stomach. I want this all to be officially over...in our favor.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm not quite so terrified. But it's not over until it's over.

I took a 3 hour nap this afternoon, after getting only 3 hours last night, and feeling much better.

I've been glued to MSNBC all day but, unless Steve Kornacki is on, I plan to do some reading for a change. I haven't read all week.

>122 lindapanzo: "unless Steve Kornacki is on, I plan to do some reading for a change." It's hard to read through that fireball.

Not even in the US. So many of us in North London (and I'm sure in the rest of the UK) are really wired and anxious about this election thing too.

I am fine, my partner and kids are fine, my 80 year old dad and his partner seem to be ok and my dad is even getting a bit better, but just how dangerous this thing is has become scarily and sadly more real in the last few days. News of a COVID death - a person I know - and an extended family member (my aunt's beloved of over 30 years, Henry) is very ill in hospital with it too. Both my mum's sisters and Brigid's husband were also affected, all quite high risk, but are hopefully recovering.

We can breathe again. Biden won.

Pete Seeger - This Land is Your Land

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=HE4H0k8TDgw&fbclid=IwAR...

>125 Citizenjoyce: Now for the healing...in so many ways.

>124 elkiedee: So sorry to hear of how covid-19 touched your family. It's still scarily real. I'm hoping and praying that our new administration in the US will put some saner guidelines in place to stop the terrifying surge of cases we are now having.

Such a relief that Joe and Kamala won. I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off of me. VE Day was before my time but, to a lesser extent, today feels like that, as people everywhere erupted into spontaneous celebration.

As for me, I have been glued to MSNBC for days. Today, elderly Mom and I decided to go to a casino. I was checking twitter every 5 to 10 minutes and I caught the news about NBC calling the race. When I saw it, I ran around like a crazy woman looking for Mom, waving my phone. We jumped up and down and hugged and cried together. Not where I thought we'd celebrate but it was certainly memorable. (We were in a red area but I think the nearby people thought I won a jackpot.) Mom said later she knew exactly why I was running towards her.

Whew, it's scary how closely we dodged a bullet.

I loved how Joe heard he won--when his grandkids ran and told him. Also love that Hillary is a presidential elector for the the NY Electoral College slate. Perfect.

What a day!! I never thought I'd live to see a woman VP.

>128 lindapanzo: "Whew, it's scary how closely we dodged a bullet." Truly, I've been thinking that all day.

>128 lindapanzo: It's really amazing what a psychological burden has been lifted since the Biden-Harris success in the US election. I feel that same heavy weight lifted, the one that was continuing to plague me during the vote count. The vote count reminded me of the time I thought Hilary won the election only to wake up in the middle of the night to find out she lost. The lump persisted through the time that this election was called for Biden-Harris. I think I might even be able to start reading once again.

Our next big burden is to stop the surge of covid-19. I feel hopeful that with a new American government, which believes in science over fantasy, that progress will be made, albeit now with the rising numbers it is so much harder.

>130 SqueakyChu: I read for about an hour last night and had my best night's sleep in 4 years last night.

I'm watching football and reading and relaxing today, too. I vowed I wouldn't look at any political stuff today but my county released results for 3K of the remaining 8K votes in our Congressional district and my Dem congresswoman won those 69% to 31% and has wiped out the GOP guy's nearly 600 vote lead and she's now ahead by nearly 600. I think another 5K to count in my county in this race, including mine, but about 5 other counties are involved. Hope that positive mail in trend continues. All but one of those counties went for Biden so I'm hoping but we have a lot of moderate Republicans who hate Trump but would vote GOP on everything else, though.

>126 Citizenjoyce: - May this be an anthem for the years to come. (did you catch that brief glimpse of a younger Obama?).. So lovely (of course, I sang the Canadian chorus as I sang along!;-)

>132 jessibud2: Yes, I loved the glimpse of Obama, and was that guy with the silver hair George Lucas? To go from that uplifting song to the news I heard today that republicans are going to court to find out the names of vote counters. I will be so glad when these 4 years of oppression and terror are officially and completely over.
>131 lindapanzo: Such good news.

One last Biden thing I'm hoping for from the election. Do you recall how, in 2016, Trump claimed he won the electoral college in a landslide? Well, if Biden holds on to win both Arizona and Georgia, he'll have the same number of EC votes that Trump had in 2016 but Biden will likely have won the popular vote by a huge margin. Lots of blue states haven't counted anywhere near their mail in votes yet and the margin will likely be quite a bit higher than it currently is. I would love for that to happen.

>134 lindapanzo: Yup. And I'm pretty sure he won't have a superspreader rally every month to tell us about it.

It really didn't hit me until this morning when I read an article* about things Biden said he would be doing the first day(s) in office - rejoining the WHO and the Paris climate accord, requiring masks in federal property, reassuring NATO allies, “revers(ing) Trump’s rollbacks of 100 public health and environmental rules,” requiring appointees in the executive branch to refuse gifts from lobbyists, ending the revolving door of government officials becoming lobbyists (and vice versa) within two years of leaving their positions, restoring transgender students’ rights, (start working toward) making DACA permanent, ending the "Muslim ban," eliminating restrictions on union workers...

I started sobbing. It was over. It's finally over. We will have a "normal" president. We won't be waking up to "WTF has the president done today?" I might actually be able to stop reading the news without feeling like something horrible is going to happen and I won't know about it until too late.

I know it's still not guaranteed - but how much of that angst is because we've been abused by the president for four years? We've been lied to, gas-lighted, and manipulated. Is it any wonder we have no trust left?

* https://qz.com/1928560/bidens-day-one-agenda/

>136 Morphidae: Sigh of relief.

I've been very impressed by his COVID-19 board or whatever he's calling it. Expertise will be back in vogue. Not radiologists who believe in conspiracy theories.

>138 lindapanzo: - Or ingesting bleach.... ;-p

Personally, I loved the dancing in the streets. All the pent up emotion being released in a most positive way. Sad though, to see, not all wore face masks.

>140 Carmenere: I loved that, too.

For the first time, COVID came close. My dear only niece, away at college in Indy. had to be tested because one of the people in her 6-person friend "bubble" tested positive. Thankfully, my niece tested negative though she might need to be tested again. In the meantime, she has to quarantine for two weeks, which takes her right up to the end of the in person portion of the semester.

>141 lindapanzo: Here's hoping your niece will remain negative. Both my daughter and the husband of a dear friend had to quarantine. My daughter thankfully remained negative. A friend of a work colleague of hers had been positive. I haven't heard anything to the contrary about the husband of my friend so I assume he will be okay. He had met up with two friends, one from out of state, in a small room inside a building. Why would he ever do that as he has medical issues which would make him high risk? I think people are simply craving in-person friendship contacts and are denying the reality that such visits could be immensely dangerous. No one knows for sure how covid-19 will affect any individual.

In my state of Maryland our positivity rate from the current surge has gone from in the 2% range to now in the 5% range. It has more than doubled. This really scares me.

In another psychological blow, the husband of a dear friend suddenly passed away, not from covid-19, but from complications of something else. The saddest part of this is that his family could not visit him except through a window. He died two hours before one family member was going to be allowed an in-person, socially distanced, masked visit. The horrors of the pandemic continue. My friend's Zoom memorial service will be this weekend.

My daughter-in-law's mother has Covid and is in pretty bad shape in the hospital with pneumonia. My son and daughter-in-law were in very close contact with her. They're self quarantining but not getting tested, they say, unless they show symptoms.
My nephew last week had symptoms, bad cough and body aches. Last Thursday he went to the doctor who told him not to worry, it was probably just allergies, and didn't test him. Friday he stayed home from work, he's a server in a nice restaurant. Saturday he tried to call off again, but his boss made him come in saying they were short-handed. Sunday the fever started. Tuesday he finally got tested. Of course he's positive. He's starting to feel better, but there's no knowing how many people he infected.
Our governor has requested everyone stay home for 2 weeks. My big interview period starts Sunday and we were just told, as far as my supervisor knows, we're all supposed to continue doing in-person interviews. Everything will be fine because we'll wear ppe and practice social distancing. I've enjoyed the extra money, but I think it might be coming to an end. PPE and social distancing are great, but during a spike with hospitals almost full, staying home is better.

>143 Citizenjoyce:. Joyce, that is all so frightening. Do what you need to do
to stay safe now. I hope and pray your daughter-in-law’s mother does well and recovers soon. I am outraged that people with symptoms or even asymptomatic individuals are not tested. This is precisely why covid-19 is surging. I hope your son and daughter-in-law will be fine. I’m so glad your nephew is feeling better. This whole situation of the latest covid-19 surge is just a nightmare.

>143 Citizenjoyce: I'm glad your nephew is feeling better. It's so infuriating that not everybody can get tested when needed. I have a friend who was also told his symptoms were allergies and wasn't tested, who then turned out to be positive. "Luckily", he wasn't working at the time and so didn't infect any co-workers or students. It's also upsetting that so many people are being pressured or downright threatened into going in to work when they don't feel it's safe. I've heard so many stories, but just last month a friend quit her job because a co-worker was told he couldn't be guaranteed he would still have a job if he took time off after he had just tested positive for COVID-19.

So back in the main thread, I referred to a scare which had been my most terrible week so far this year. My daughter-in-law, who is a labor-and-delivery nurse, developed fever and severe diarrhea, headache, and muscle ache for over a week. She had three negative covid-19 tests. She was so dehydrated she had to be hospitalized. I was sure it was covid-19 because I have a friend who is a long hauler who also had three negative covid-19 tests. It took over a week to get a diagnosis of Salmonella. That was weird, but it explained everything in a way that I could feel reassured that it was not covid-19 in reality. After she came home from the hospital, she texted me that she was in an ambulance with my seven-year-old grandson who had a head injury he sustained at the playground. It turned out to be a gaping head wound which had to be closed with eleven stitches, but no further complications or any other serious injury to his head occurred. At that time, my son decided that being a parent was terrifying. Indeed it can be.

Now I'm pretty upset at watching everyone on television getting the covid-19 vaccine because my daughter-in-law was not invited to receive one at the hosital in which she works. The hospital has the vaccine, but no one in her department was asked to receive it. She takes care of covid-19 patients occasionally!

>146 SqueakyChu: oh my gosh talk about a scare. I’m glad everyone came through it but, wow, what a ride!

>146 SqueakyChu: - Oh, Madeline, how awful. Glad of her outcome, is she feeling better/recovered from her symptoms? Also, can she ask for (demand) a vaccine? I would think that ALL hospital workers should be in that first group to receive it! I also think it's criminal that the likes of Mike Pence gets the jab, before others who are actually doing the leg work, and are far more important and valuable than he is.

I hope your grandson is doing well.

>146 SqueakyChu: Oh no!! Can't believe she isn't getting the vaccine yet.

I thought he'd agree but just asked my doctor about the vaccine via my patient portal. He urged me to sign up with our county's vaccine portal, which I'd already done. Also said to take whichever vaccine is offered as soon as it's offered and, if I see it elsewhere, grab for it asap. Though I'm not yet 60, I have quite of few of the dangerous conditions they worry about. Plus I have A+ blood, which, apparently, isn't good when it comes to covid.

We'd planned to stay home but niece and nephew aka Mom and Dad's grandkids are coming over briefly today and at a distance.

Everything is okay, thankfully, with my daughter-in-law and grandson. She texted me this morning that she's getting the Pfizer vaccine today. Phew! She's back at work with a queasy stomach, but is otherwise feeling okay. My grandson is proud of his stitches and was disappointed that his Zoom classmates were not impressed by them (although they might have been hard to see on Zoom since they were close to his hairline and in his hair).

> 146 Glad to hear about your grandson. When my nephew was at Kindercare, about age 3 or 4, a kid threw a block and hit him in the head. Their policy was to get the injured kid to the hospital, which was a block away, by ambulance, asap. He thought it was all kind of fun but had a scar above his eye from the cut/stitches. For years, he liked to brag that he was the only one of us who'd ever ridden in an ambulance. Only until I had to ride in one when I had pneumonia a couple of years ago.

Glad to hear your daughter in law is getting the vaccine today. It'll be such a relief as each loved one gets the first dose and then the second.

>151 lindapanzo: I’d just as soon never have to ride in an ambulance again, although I was glad the ambulance was available when I thought I was having a heart attack. It fortunately turned out to be a gall bladder attack which required no surgery as I think I must have passed the stone while having the hospital workup. For being a former nurse, I am the biggest sissy when it comes to being a patient!

>149 lindapanzo: What?!? What's this about A+ people? I'm A+! Crap.

*runs off to Google Fu*

>153 Morphidae: I'd heard a few anecdotal stories that A blood type folks are a bit more likely than O's to get a worse case of COVID. Not sure whether it's true but it is a bit concerning to me, plus my pulmonary issues.

>153 Morphidae: >154 lindapanzo: I thought it was A- that was the risk. Nope, the - is a plus (maybe) "Risk of intubation was decreased among A and increased among AB and B types, compared with type O, while risk of death was increased for type AB and decreased for types A and B. We estimate Rh-negative blood type to have a protective effect for all three outcomes. Our results add to the growing body of evidence suggesting blood type may play a role in COVID-19."

>155 quondame: Thanks for posting that! I have been hearing about elevated risk with type A blood since spring, but nothing about Rh. I have A- blood.