[DecaturFargo]

Don't shame people for a frightening experience. Shame on you.

[Swoop]

Originally Posted by ChickenDinner

I talked to my brother from Australia yesterday. Want to know many new cases Australia had last week? 4! Hmmmm, do they know something we don’t? I don’t know, but they didn’t hesitate to make masks mandatory early on. Can’t ignore the facts, as much as we try.

Or maybe it’s because it’s an island with roughly the population of Florida. They have completely closed their borders. We can’t even control the illegal entries to the US. States that have had mask mandates are some of the highest spiking states in the country. You really think the reason Australia has so few cases is mask wearing?!?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by ChickenDinner

I talked to my brother from Australia yesterday. Want to know many new cases Australia had last week? 4! Hmmmm, do they know something we don’t? I don’t know, but they didn’t hesitate to make masks mandatory early on. Can’t ignore the facts, as much as we try.

Australia is an island continent in the southern hemisphere. They have isolated themselves by prohibiting almost all travel into the country and have even restricted travel within the country. They have approximately the same population as Florida but it is spread across 45 times as much space.

A mask mandate might be the reason for the difference but....

[Gulfcoast]

They call it Grief Porn. People were just enjoying a nice Thanksgiving with their families, many hadn't seen their adult children or grandchildren for nearly a year and then a story like this gets "shared" on Facebook, it's then reposted and shared countless times by those who disapprove of the way that others spent their holiday.

It's getting very old. As Christmas draws near we can expect to see more and more of this grief porn being posted. By now, we have ALL heard these stories numerous times. Some of us may even have some firsthand experience with one or more Covid deaths. Yet, we are making the informed decision to celebrate the holidays with friends and family anyway.

[skippy05]

Yes, this is one of the scenarios that could happen. Also, you could be on the other end of the spectrum and be a carrier and be symptom-free like my mother is right now. Or, be someone with symptoms that are in the middle. The point is to be careful but at the same time continue to live life and experience life. The angle this post is written from seems full-on fear only. Be cautious but don't panic and hide.

[TrishMvhl]

Thank you, Taltarzac725. I just returned from six weeks at our house in Pennecamp. Before our lovely tenant moved out, his co-workers threw him big retirement party at City Fire. He got COVID from it, and spent five days in the hospital. A strapping guy in his early 70's, he said it knocked him on his a** and the struggle to breathe was scary.

Personally, I've known six people who have had COVID, all in the 40s and 50s, and pretty healthy. One was bad enough that she struggled to breathe for six weeks alone in a room so she would not infect her husband and six year-old son. So your post really resonated with me.

I see a lot of people scoff at taking precautions and using the words "fear" and "freedom" to back up their positions. I don't live in fear, but I am using common sense and protection when I venture out to the store etc. I don't eat inside restaurants, but I will support them by getting a meal to go. If a store is not enforcing mask usage (hello, Wal-Mart), I walk right out.

My niece is a nurse in Maine and her hospital is filling up, after being relatively quiet. She'll be working through the holidays and it will probably be Spring before we get to see her. So it angers me to see people who downplay the situation our country is in. This is a highly contagious virus, and while someone in the Villages may not be personally affected, that can quickly change. More and more nurses and doctors are exhausted, and posting videos begging people to simply wear a mask. It's the least we can do until the vaccines are widely distributed. Hang in there, everyone.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by jacksonbrown

Surprisingly, the deaths of older people stayed the same before and after COVID-19. Since COVID-19 mainly affects the elderly, experts expected an increase in the percentage of deaths in older age groups. However, this increase is not seen from the CDC data. In fact, the percentages of deaths among all age groups remain relatively the same.

See more here.

There is a poster called Goodlife who is no longer posting and he espoused this same theory.

I do not agree with it. I will go and find a link to support my view.

Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19

[Gulfcoast]

Originally Posted by TrishMvhl

Thank you, Taltarzac725. I just returned from six weeks at our house in Pennecamp. Before our lovely tenant moved out, his co-workers threw him big retirement party at City Fire. He got COVID from it, and spent five days in the hospital. A strapping guy in his early 70's, he said it knocked him on his a** and the struggle to breathe was scary.

Personally, I've known six people who have had COVID, all in the 40s and 50s, and pretty healthy. One was bad enough that she struggled to breathe for six weeks alone in a room so she would not infect her husband and six year-old son. So your post really resonated with me.

I see a lot of people scoff at taking precautions and using the words "fear" and "freedom" to back up their positions. I don't live in fear, but I am using common sense and protection when I venture out to the store etc. I don't eat inside restaurants, but I will support them by getting a meal to go. If a store is not enforcing mask usage (hello, Wal-Mart), I walk right out.

My niece is a nurse in Maine and her hospital is filling up, after being relatively quiet. She'll be working through the holidays and it will probably be Spring before we get to see her. So it angers me to see people who downplay the situation our country is in. This is a highly contagious virus, and while someone in the Villages may not be personally affected, that can quickly change. More and more nurses and doctors are exhausted, and posting videos begging people to simply wear a mask. It's the least we can do until the vaccines are widely distributed. Hang in there, everyone.

The WHO is saying that our businesses should be up and running. The CDC says that our kids should be getting face to face instruction in our schools. The courts are beginning to rule in the favor of religious freedom and the ability to spend time celebrating the holidays as we choose.

You may not feel comfortable with what the experts are actually telling us to do (remain open, working, sending kids to school) and you have the freedom to disregard them if that is what you choose to do. No one is going to bash you for it, either. Personal responsibility is underrated these days.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Gulfcoast

The WHO is saying that our businesses should be up and running. The CDC says that our kids should be getting face to face instruction in our schools. The courts are beginning to rule in the favor of religious freedom and the ability to spend time celebrating the holidays as we choose.

You may not feel comfortable with what the experts are actually telling us to do (remain open, working, sending kids to school) and you have the freedom to disregard them if that is what you choose to do. No one is going to bash you for it, either. Personal responsibility is underrated these days.

The CDC is saying "Wear a mask." Right in nice big letters, on their main coronavirus webpage here:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC It's the very next thing immediately under the big yellow box that says: "COVID-19 Alert: cases are on the rise."

On that same page, is a link to how to handle the holidays. You can see their recommendations here:

COVID-19: Holiday Celebrations | CDC

The CDC is saying open the schools when the location and severity of the spread of the virus allows for it (meaning - if there's a low risk in that district, go ahead and open it. If there's a widespread infection rate, keep it closed). It is ALSO recommending that EVEN IF THE SCHOOLS REOPEN - students and teachers wear masks, social distance, wash their hands.

Face to face WITH MASKS ON, or some other method of barrier between students (one teacher turned each desk into a play-car complete with tall 3-sided windshields so they could all see each other. In person. Without masks.)

Businesses should get back to work - with employees and customers WEARING MASKS AND MAINTAINING A SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER.

So yes - life should continue. But not as "normal." Normal is not possible at this point.

[Marine1974]

Terrified to know people who are not compassionate for others who
have to go on ventilators and turn a blind eye to others who suffer . Wait till they are faced with getting
sick . Don’t they have any concern at all for the healthcare workers that have to treat sick patients?
My lord , this is the society we live in and have to put up with such
Inhuman ones like these that don’t care .

[Gulfcoast]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

The CDC is saying "Wear a mask." Right in nice big letters, on their main coronavirus webpage here:

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC It's the very next thing immediately under the big yellow box that says: "COVID-19 Alert: cases are on the rise."

On that same page, is a link to how to handle the holidays. You can see their recommendations here:

COVID-19: Holiday Celebrations | CDC

The CDC is saying open the schools when the location and severity of the spread of the virus allows for it (meaning - if there's a low risk in that district, go ahead and open it. If there's a widespread infection rate, keep it closed). It is ALSO recommending that EVEN IF THE SCHOOLS REOPEN - students and teachers wear masks, social distance, wash their hands.

Face to face WITH MASKS ON, or some other method of barrier between students (one teacher turned each desk into a play-car complete with tall 3-sided windshields so they could all see each other. In person. Without masks.)

Businesses should get back to work - with employees and customers WEARING MASKS AND MAINTAINING A SOCIAL DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER.

So yes - life should continue. But not as "normal." Normal is not possible at this point.

There are guidelines in place and the schools, for the most part, have remained open which is great news. You are a former teacher if I am recalling correctly so you have a pretty good idea as to how likely 100% compliance to these guidelines will be in any given school. You know darned well that kids will have masks break, or that they will forget to put masks back on after lunch and walk halfway down a crowded hallway before realizing that their mask is off. Parents will give their sick kids Tylenol before sending them to school and then act all surprised when their kid's temperature rises as the medicine wears off and they become symptomatic. Yet, in looking at the data, schools do not appear to be the super spreaders that had so many people worried.

It's the same sort of thing with any other public place. There will be guidelines in place but nothing is ever going to be 100% perfect. There are people out there who don't know what a 6 foot distance even is much less how to always maintain 6 feet of distance between other people. Cloth masks only do so much if social distancing isn't maintained and good luck getting through a store and always maintaining 6 feet of distance. I believe it's been said that cloth masks are "better than nothing". Well, o.k.

We can't drive ourselves crazy over the little infractions that we see every day. We can't let the rules completely rob us of our quality of life, either. Living in fear of the absolute worst case scenario happening is no way to live. I, for one, am glad that I spent my Thanksgiving with my family - face to face. I don't think that virtual turkey would have tasted quite as good.

[Gulfcoast]

On a different note, I read recently of an Alzheimer's patient who was kicked out of a locked memory care unit for not wearing their mask. Just think about that one. Sometimes the rules can be a little bit crazy.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by paulajr

While I feel horrible that this scenario is possible for some...I know MANY people who have had, and recovered from Coronavirus, and all were able to stay in their houses, and have fully recovered. To put out this horrifying post does nothing but continue to terrify those who are already terrified. Stop. Shame on you...

I disagree. It is a great post about REALITY. We need to accept the reality of this national emergency. You can't fight against a life and death emergency unless you RECOGNIZE it. The after Thanksgiving case increase is likely to overload hospitals and Doctors and nurses will experience burnout. Patient care will suffer. Families of patients will suffer. Why NOT recognize this possibility in order to gear up properly for it.

The US needs to quickly start up the DPA to provide our overworked Medical personal with enough N-95 masks and all other PPEs needed to become more successful at fighting this pandemic. Right now all of US society is NOT being patriotic and doing its share to fight back the Virus. This is a situation where you NEED big government - you can't fight a NATIONAL emergency on a state-by-state basis. The CDC asked / suggested that Americans limit their travel on Thanksgiving. 40% of Americans disregarded this Medical Science Advice and were unpatriotic and uncaring toward their fellow citizens. You can't beat the Virus by being selfish and disregarding CV. Get REAL America !!!!!!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Lindsyburnsy

Thank you for sharing. It is jarring, yet, there will be a people that still want to go to war with anybody who eithers asks them to wear a mask and social distance, or because the person in the store is wearing a mask. The message needs to be repeated over and over for people to wake up and realize this is not political or a game. Soon there will not be enough healthcare workers to take care of anymore people.

I agree! Wonderful post. Kudos!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Gpsma

Keep Mongering that Fear. Most recover and didnt even know they had it.

I would call it REALITY mongering.