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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)    31 Mar 2020 13:01 
 To:  milko      16 of 32 
42590.16 In reply to 42590.8 
How are you doing today?
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead
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 From:  milko   1 Apr 2020 09:54 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       17 of 32 
42590.17 In reply to 42590.16 
Thanks for asking. Day 8 by my estimation. 
this morning my chest finally feels a bit better, the tightness/heaviness is almost gone. I’ve got a return of the headache though. I’m starting to get aches that I know are just from being stuck in bed so long, so I’m going to try and move about some more today, see how that goes. The worry with that is if I’m still emitting a viral load or whatever they call it, I don’t want to increase the chances of the household getting it. 

I’ve been thinking back to possible ways I caught this (boredom) and I remembered my son having that ear infection a couple of weeks ago. Is it possible I caught whatever gave him that and it manifested in me with these Covid-like symptoms? It’s so frustrating that I can’t find out what I’ve got for sure. 
milko
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)    1 Apr 2020 10:34 
 To:  milko      18 of 32 
42590.18 In reply to 42590.17 
It is frustrating. I know plenty of people who are wondering whether that odd illness they had sometime in the last couple of months may have been Covid-19. Maybe there'll be an antibody test available eventually. I had an attack of something I assumed was norovirus back at the end of December (largely because the in-laws had it too) but it was immediately followed by flu symptoms, conjunctivitis and a hacking painful cough. The cough was so bad I couldn't lie down and for a few nights I had to try and sleep propped up on the settee. I now read that in China, about a third of confirmed cases began with D&V rather than the classic fever/aches and pains. My brother in law had it too and he was with all of us around the same time. The thing is, we all naturally self-isolated - not because that was a thing, but because we all felt too ill to go out.

Anyway, this is the kind of talk that feeds the pointlessly optimistic narratives of the libertarian right that it isn't so bad and we've probably all had it anyway. Hardly unusual to be ill in winter.

Stay warm and take paracetamol for the headache. Over here the idea that ibuprofen may be dangerous to Covid-19 patients is sniffed at a bit. My rellies in France tell me that it's pretty standard wisdom over there, with strong advice to avoid it. And stop shedding your load all over the place. We all know you're bored. 
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead
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 From:  milko   1 Apr 2020 11:31 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       19 of 32 
42590.19 In reply to 42590.18 
Tina reminded me of the day (approx day 2 for me) where she had an allergic reaction to something that meant she was lying next to me in bed gasping for air and coughing continuously and I was barely aware of it at all, so I think I may have been mentally downplaying my early fever symptoms. 

It's going to be so surreal if this thing sticks around for the year in waves. And possibly even more so if/when we step out of the other side into whatever normality will be then. I see the early moves in the "we should implement societal change from this" vs "we should aggressively return to the previous ways" are happening already.
milko
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   1 Apr 2020 11:44 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       20 of 32 
42590.20 In reply to 42590.18 
Quote: 
it isn't so bad and we've probably all had it anyway.


I'm sure many more have/had it than have been tested positive, either for lack of testing or testing only indicates active infections. The sheer number of deaths attributed to it so far (again probably some fraction of the actual total) indicates it is so bad. Latest theory is asymptomatic infecteds (to borrow a term from Dead Island) probably spread it the most, since they haven't been self-isolating.

“Americans are buying more guns, though mass school closures mean there are fewer favoured locations to use them.’”
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)    1 Apr 2020 13:39 
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)      21 of 32 
42590.21 In reply to 42590.20 
Quite likely since the level of testing on both sides of the pond has been abysmal. Over here it's been targeted at patients who have already been admitted to hospital with almost no subsequent contact tracing - which, in essence, means that it's incredibly ineffective. Hospital staff are rarely tested even when they have symptoms that make it extremely likely that they have contracted the disease. The government repeatedly lies and obfuscates about testing. It's a top priority, but then nothing happens. It's all down to a shortage of chemical reagents, but then the Chemical Industries Association says there's no shortage and besides, nobody has asked them for more. The government says what it wants. There's plenty of news and with a compliant press it won't be on the front page in a day or so.
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   1 Apr 2020 14:14 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       22 of 32 
42590.22 In reply to 42590.21 
Then there's this: "Hiding infections in the future is not the same as avoiding them"
 
Quote: 
extreme mitigation efforts which end (even gradually) reduce the number of deaths only by 1% or so; as the mitigation efforts let up, we still see a full-scale epidemic, since almost none of the population has developed immunity to the virus.
“Help conquer COVID-19 with a bundle of games and ebooks’”
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)    1 Apr 2020 15:21 
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)      23 of 32 
42590.23 In reply to 42590.22 
The paper represents a rather flawed view of things though, doesn't it? In essence it's saying that if you practice isolation and distancing for a period and then stop, you get a pandemic at the end which is just as bad because your population doesn't develop resistance. In particular there's a very fuzzy piece of argument here 
Quote: 
This is not to say that there are not good reasons to use mitigations as a delay tactic. For example, we may hope to use the months we buy with containment measures to improve hospital capacity, in the hopes of achieving a reduction in the mortality rate. We might even wish to use these months just to consider our options as a society and formulate a strategy. But mitigations themselves are not saving lives in these scenarios; instead, it is what we do with the time that gives us an opportunity to improve the outcome of the epidemic.

But that's not true. Part of the reason for slowing the initial spread is to allow hospitals to prolong the lives of those with otherwise terminal infections by means of oxygenation, ventilation and anti-viral medication, so that there own immune systems eventually fight off the infection. This is described here as "the hopes of achieving a reduction in the mortality rate." Well, no! These aren't "hopes" these are actual reductions in mortality rates. So when the paragraph continues "mitigations themselves are not saving lives" this is wrong.

And, of course, the other thing you are doing during the delay phase is looking for 1) a vaccine 2) more effective treatments 3) allowing time so that the hospitals are not swamped with patients should they be required at the end of the isolation period for subsequent infections.

Of course, the UK govt and others are making a pig's ear of things, so we may well end up with the nightmare, but this associate professor seems to have been dazzled by a sexy bit of argument and rushed to print with it.

 
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead
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 From:  ANT_THOMAS   1 Apr 2020 16:09 
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)      24 of 32 
42590.24 In reply to 42590.22 
I haven't read that one, feel like I've exposed myself to too much info already at the moment, but I've got a feeling that was an article that was roundly debunked or derided for being quite wrong.

Something along the lines of the maths isn't epidemiology.
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   1 Apr 2020 16:28 
 To:  ANT_THOMAS      25 of 32 
42590.25 In reply to 42590.24 
There are a lot of theories floating around. I try to limit my exposure to the 24/7 barrage of cv news because it can get really scary and depressing.
“Help conquer COVID-19 with a bundle of games and ebooks’”
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   1 Apr 2020 16:33 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       26 of 32 
42590.26 In reply to 42590.23 
"Part of the reason for slowing the initial spread is to allow hospitals to prolong the lives of those with otherwise terminal infections by means of oxygenation, ventilation and anti-viral medication, so that there own immune systems eventually fight off the infection."

True, but I think the problem is that there aren't nearly enough ICU beds, equipment (ventilators, PPE) and staff to meet the escalating demand. As it is, the current mortality rate has been quoted as something the 50% ballpark for those lucky enough to get into an ICU -- factoring in people with pre-existing conditions who don't take much to tip over the edge.  :-@
“Help conquer COVID-19 with a bundle of games and ebooks’”
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 From:  Dave!!   2 Apr 2020 17:40 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       27 of 32 
42590.27 In reply to 42590.14 
I've never quite understood why some managers are so resistant to it. For my place of work I have a laptop and VPN (had that kind of setup for years). Works a treat and means that I can work from home just as effectively as I can in an office. And of course with no commuting it means I can do a full day of work and have plenty of time for family too.

We've started furloughing people at my place, but only some. I should be OK overall due to the nature of my role. Company policy is pretty decent on furlough anyway as they're topping up the 80% government rate to 90%, so not too bad really.
---

 
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 From:  milko   2 Apr 2020 23:13 
 To:  ALL 28 of 32 
42590.28 
I’ve had my official furlough letter. 100% pay (well, basic so not what I’d normally expect as I have a decent chunk ‘incentivised’ but still good) for March and April then getting reviewed. My prediction is that unless sport happens in May I’ll be dropping to 80% at that point. I don’t think sport will happen in May. 

Aside from that my chest still improving so that’s nice, I feel almost better at times. Then attempt to do something like walk to another room and quickly discover I’ve a way to go yet. 
milko
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 From:  Manthorp   3 Apr 2020 10:06 
 To:  milko      29 of 32 
42590.29 In reply to 42590.28 
Sheesh! Hope you get better soon.
"We all have flaws, and mine is being wicked."
James Thurber, The Thirteen Clocks 1951
 
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)    4 Apr 2020 14:52 
 To:  ALL 30 of 32 
42590.30 In reply to 42590.1 
Finally, my son will be working from home. Also, this past week they have made proper working arrangements for those who will be going into the office, with properly spaced desks, markers all over the floor all 2M apart. Seems that somebody at head office realised they would be totally fucked if they suddenly lost half their case workers. The threat of smaller bonuses and so on.
never trust a man in a blue trench coat, never drive a car when you're dead
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 From:  Dave!!   4 Apr 2020 20:42 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       31 of 32 
42590.31 In reply to 42590.30 
I don't understand why some companies have been so slow to implement it. Where I work, we were planning weeks ahead of the lockdown - making sure all our guys had laptops, had remote access, had tested that access and were taking their laptops home every day. Anyone deemed "at risk" had WFH implemented ahead of the lockdown, then when it came along we shifted almost everyone immediately to WFH.

Now, only a bare minimum of the guys go to site, and as almost everyone else is WFH the risk is minimised, plus we've ordered all manner of PPE for them as well. It is as if some people don't seem to care about their employees, or think about what a wide-spread infection would mean to their companies.
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 From:  koswix   10 Apr 2020 21:34 
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)       32 of 32 
42590.32 In reply to 42590.1 
We're a manufacturer, so sadly most of the staff have to be on site to work. Management are also hiding behind the 'essential worker' veil on the grounds that we make bits of fancy pipe for the oil and gas industry. Most of the shop floor workforce are over 55, many with underlying conditions due to decades of work in manufacturing and other shitty environments.

Bottom line is that there's a fairly reasonably chance that if we shut down for coronavirus we may never open again. The industry is not doing well, and our company was in incubation prior to this. Although sales have picked up this year, the impact from the combined factors of oil price and corona could kill us. So it's an awkward position.

Management have buried their head in the sand for as long as possible. I've been working from home for 3 weeks now, and that's only because schools closed. I spent two weeks before that pestering the IT department to find out what facilities were in place to work from home should it come to it, and was resoundingly ignored. It was only the school closures that made them move. The rest of the office staff were still in the building with no contingency in place until 3 days after Bumblecunt Johnson put the country in faux-Lockdown.

The majority of my work (design engineer) is PC based so it's fairly easy for me to work from home (except for distractions of kids, trying to get them doing school work, and a general feeling of 'can't be arsed'). Others aren't so lucky.

My partner does something clever with her biology degree, her company makes test kits for blood typing that's used in the NHS (like to identify what blood you need when you go in for emergency surgery etc), so she still has to go to work. Her employer has been much better, and they've all been issued with various items of PPE which must be worn at all times. They've even enforced 2m separation in the canteen and break rooms, and staggered breaks etc to limit the number of people in one area. Her team is fairly small and they've not quite worked out if there's a better way for them to work but it is being looked at.

All in all, it's a bit fucking strange right now.

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